Breast implant illness (BII) has been a hot topic in plastic surgery for several years. Patients experiencing a range of symptoms, from joint pain to chronic fatigue, attribute their conditions to their implants. However, until now, there has been scarce scientific evidence to support this claim. A recently published study funded by the Aesthetic Surgery Education and Research Foundation (ASERF) sheds new light on BII-related symptoms.

The principal investigators of the “Systemic Symptoms in Women — Biospecimen Analysis Study,” Wall Township, NJ plastic surgeon Caroline Glicksman, MD, who is also the president of the Aesthetic Society Education and Research Foundation (ASERF), and Saint Louis, MO plastic surgeon Patricia McGuire, MD spoke to us about the importance of their findings.

“Our study, funded by a ASERF grant, is the first prospective, blinded study to compare women with self-described breast implant illness to two control groups,” explains Dr. McGuire. “One of our goals was to prospectively follow symptom improvement after implant removal. Most studies are retrospective, meaning they aren’t done until after surgery, which can be subject to recall bias.”

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