You may have read or heard recent news about the safety of certain types of breast implants. My partners and I perform numerous breast surgery procedures, including breast reconstruction and breast augmentation, for patients who travel from as far as Sarnia to our Waterloo, Ontario practice and Cambridge Memorial Hospital. Because of that, I wanted to address the news reports and clearly explain the facts involved.
First, it’s important to know that breast augmentation with silicone gel breast implants is generally an extremely safe and predictable operation that produces results the overwhelming majority of patients find very satisfying, without complications.
If you aren’t familiar with the recent news reports, the issue involves a process known as breast implant associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL). This occurs when certain types of immune system cells, called lymphocytes, become cancerous and appear in a collection of swelling fluid surrounding a textured breast implant. This ALCL process is neither unique nor specific to breast implants. It has been seen surrounding other types of implantable devices, such as dental implants and joint replacement hardware. Only recently have textured breast implants been implicated.
Even though researchers are in the early stages of studying ALCL as it relates to breast implants, certain facts we already know with certainty:
- BIA-ALCL is not breast cancer. Years of extensive studies into any links between breast implants and breast cancer have conclusively and emphatically shown that breast implants do not cause breast cancer. Again, BIA-ALCL is not breast cancer.
- Only textured implants are associated with BIA-ALCL. Smooth breast implants, based on the best information available at this time, are not linked at all to BIA-ALCL. The vast majority of our breast surgery patients at Cosmetic Surgery Clinic have smooth implants. My partners and I were never very impressed with textured (roughly surfaced) implants when they were introduced several years ago to address specific surgical needs. We’ve rarely used them for several years — long before information about BIA-ALCL became known.
- It’s easy to recognize BIA-ALCL. It’s not a condition that sneaks up on you. Patients notice a fairly rapid onset of a noticeably large swelling of the affected breast. It occurs over days or a few weeks, not months or years. Additionally, the swelling isn’t subtle. It is obvious and usually appears in one breast only, so you’ll see the asymmetry. It typically occurs approximately between 7 and 10 years after a patient gets textured implants.
Confirming the BIA-ALCL diagnosis involves collecting some of the swelling fluid and testing it for specific markers on the surface of the cells.
Fortunately, nearly 100% of patients diagnosed with BIA-ALCL are cured when it is recognized early and treated appropriately. The most common treatment is removing the implant and the surrounding tissue capsule that contains the ALCL cells. It’s generally not necessary for a patient to undergo chemotherapy or radiation to cure BIA-ALCL.
So, what if you have textured implants? The world’s leading authorities on the issue all agree that patients without swelling or any other symptoms don’t need to do anything other than to continue regular follow-up exams with their plastic surgeons. Experts agree that having surgery to remove textured implants poses more risk to someone with no symptoms than the extremely low risk of developing BIA-ALCL. We recommend our patients at The Cosmetic Surgery Clinic schedule routine follow-up appointments once a year, around the anniversaries of their surgeries.
It is, and has always been, our policy at The Cosmetic Surgery Clinic to immediately see any patient who has a problem or concern, which ensures that none of our patients are ever left wondering who to call if they have a problem.
Our door is always open if you have any worries about BIA-ALCL, or any other issues. That’s true not only of our patients with breast implants, but for anyone we treat. Call us at any time.
If you’re not sure what type of breast implants you have, or you just have questions about cosmetic or reconstructive breast surgery, please don’t hesitate to call our practice at (519) 804-9822 or contact us online. We are always available for you.
