Women want breast implant illness action as explant surgery rises

Breast implant illness is not officially recognised. But Australian women who’ve battled painful symptoms and forked out thousands to have theirs removed want action.

Chelsea Clifford, pictured with her 3-year-old daughter Madeline, believes her breast implants made her sick. Picture: Nigel Hallett

Women have told of having horror health symptoms after getting breast implants as figures show more are choosing to have them removed – with a significant number linked to overseas surgeries.

While the peak body for plastic surgeons says the number of women seeking removal due to these health concerns is small, those who allege they’ve suffered breast implant illness (BII) — which is not officially recognised — want action.

Mum of three Chelsea Clifford believes her implants caused a host of symptoms including fatigue, weight gain, hair loss, joint pain and tingling sensations.

“I almost felt like I was ageing rapidly,” she said.

The 32-year-old said doctors “dismissed it all”, put her on antidepressants and offered her other mental health medications.

“I was like, “No, I’m not crazy’,” she said.

“I even went through a period of time where I questioned how long I can do this for, like, I can’t live like this.

“Prior to these implants, I was so fit and healthy … after them, I struggled to even play with my own children.

“This has destroyed me.”

Ms Clifford, who lives in Cedar Vale in Queensland, said she got implants in 2020 to boost her confidence.

While working as a beauty therapist Ms Clifford learnt about BII from a client and having related to the symptoms, she researched more herself.

She underwent surgery to have them removed in June,digging into her superannuation to fund the procedure, and said her health improved quickly.

Nichola Stevenson had her breast implants removed and believes she had breast implant illness. Picture: Patrick Woods.

Nichola Stevenson, from the Sunshine Coast, says chronic health problems that plagued her vanished after she had her breast implants removed.

The 49-year-old said she had the implants — which have since been recalled — inserted in the UK.

She said she went from “peak fitness” to feeling like she’d been hit by a bus every day.

Ms Stevenson said she suffered problems including tiredness, bloating, and abdominal and joint pain.

The pilates studio owner, who had her implants in for 12 years, looked into BII and identified with the sufferers she found in online communities.

“Then I tried to find a surgeon and kept going from pillar to post, because so many surgeons just don’t believe in BII,” she said.

“Nobody would listen.”

She said she was “so emotional” when she found a surgeon who validated her experience and removed the implants last year.

The surgery, which also included a breast lift, cost about $15,000, she said.

Ms Stevenson said BII needed to be investigated further and taken seriously.

“I will swear on my children’s life that my health issues were completely related to the implants,” she said.

For cosmetic breast implants, from 2016 to 2023 there was a 12.7 per cent decrease in insertion procedures and a 7.7 per cent increase in explant-only operations, according to data captured by the Australian Breast Device Registry (ABDR).

There were 16,968 explant procedures, where the implants were not replaced, between 2012 and 2023 captured by the registry.

Almost 5500 operations involving removal of devices inserted overseas were registered.

But there were still considerably more implant insertions, accounting for 85.6 per cent of registry procedures in that period.

The registry has not historically collected data relating to BII but Susannah Ahern, the chair of the ABDR, said it would start in the coming months.

Professor Ahern, from Monash University, said the opt-out registry did not capture all breast device procedures and was believed to represent about 75 per cent across Australia — but explants were likely particularly under-represented.

Between 2015 and 2023, 67 cases of breast implant associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL), a very rare form of cancer, were recorded by the registry, and Prof Ahern said there had been a shift towards “smooth” implants rather than macro-textured, which have been associated with risk.

“The registry has been identifying a slight overall reduction in breast implant procedures,” she said.

“There may be a range of factors involved with this, including cost, cosmetic tourism, and health-related concerns.”

Anand Deva, head of plastic surgery at Macquarie University, has spent decades researching breast implants and feels that women are not properly informed of the medium and long term risks.

“If doctors are not levelling with women seeking implants today, then I think that’s a real problem,” Professor Deva said.

“I think BII (is a) reflection of what’s wrong with cosmetic breast surgery, in that women are seen as prey, as a commercial opportunity.

“We know that placing a permanent device into a young, healthy female breast sets up a cycle of local inflammation, which is backed by years of research.

“We do not yet know whether that local inflammation then causes problems with the immune system elsewhere, that’s the question we need to answer.”

Prof Deva said his study involving 185 women with BII who underwent explants showed a significant reduction in both the number and severity of their symptoms, and benefit was sustained for at least 12 months following surgery.

All patients also had local complications such as hardening and/or rupture and had a medical need for implant removal, and access to compensation.

Plastic surgeon Professor Anand Deva. Picture: Supplied

“Thirty-three ARTG entries for breast implant devices remain … all of which have conditions on their continued supply,” she said.

The TGA received about 510 adverse event reports about breast implants between January 2020 and June this year.

The array of events included rupture, complications including pain, and BIA-ALCL and BII symptoms.

The spokeswoman said the TGA worked closely with the ABDR to monitor ongoing safety and performance of implants.

“The TGA continues to review scientific data on breast implants, including for BII,” she said.

In April this year, it published information about symptoms associated with BII.

Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons president David Morgan said women requested removal for many reasons like change in stage of life and attitudes towards a full bust, changing “trends”, discomfort related to a heavy bust, and problems like rupture.

“Others present with concerns related to health risks they perceive as being related to the implants,” Dr Morgan said.

“This can include having implants in place that have been removed from the market, or a concern that the development of ill-defined symptoms may be related to having breast implants.

“This group remains a small proportion of women presenting for implant removal.”

Dr David Morgan. Picture: Supplied

Dr Morgan said the concept of BII has been around for a while, but there was no consensus on the validity of the condition.

“Most of us prefer to use the term systemic symptoms associated with breast implants (SSBI) to cater for this ambiguity in the condition.

“There is no definitive test to determine whether the condition exists, and many of the symptoms described are extremely general in nature and can be due to many other factors.

“There is ongoing research into the existence of the condition, but there is no definitive finding or consensus yet.”

He said the incidence of these symptoms in women with breast implants was not very common, so there should be no cause for alarm.

“If symptoms develop, SSBI would be low on the list of reasons as to why they might be happening,” he said.

“Nonetheless, if all other investigations are not helping to find a reason, then a discussion about implant removal can be undertaken.

“In my experience, women who have reached this stage are keen to remove their implants for a couple of reasons – to see if they get any better with them out, and to otherwise simply remove that possibility from the list of potential reasons.

“These women want to have their genuine concerns heard, and should be treated with respect.”

BII awareness advocate Robyn Smith got implants as part of a preventive double mastectomy due to the BRCA gene, but ended up having them removed in 2020.

The Canberra woman said she suffered an array of BII symptoms including tingling, weight gain, brain fog and hair loss.

“I felt horrendous after they went in,” Ms Smith, who estimates she’s been contacted by “easily” 100 Aussies suffering BII, said.

The collection of data was urgently needed, she said.

“There are a bunch of these women who are silently suffering,” she said.

Originally published as Women want breast implant illness action as explant surgery rises