Robert Whitfield MD explains why patients remove breast implants: the body forms scar tissue around them, and existing autoimmune conditions or inflammatory triggers like mold and water can worsen symptoms. Cosmetic patients may have undiagnosed inflammatory issues that emerge years after surgery.
Why are so many people getting explants?
Well, first of all, I think the breast implant itself, which has been around since the 60s, basically has been used for both cosmetic and reconstructive purposes. And in my line of work, which started basically taking care of cancer patients, I use them a specific way in reconstruction cases. And so from a protocol standpoint, we were very careful. But really, from your history standpoint, we were really careful. If you showed up and you had lupus or rheumatoid arthritis or another autoimmune disorder, I would not put an implant in you. I would find another way to take care of that problem. I think what I see now in cosmetic patients is many instances where they have preexisting autoimmune disorders. Or alternatively, like you asked me, why do I have so much inflammation? Like, inflammation from our bodies reacts in a way that if you put a device in someone, their body immediately forms scar tissue around it. And that's the capsule, the scar capsule everybody talks about. Your body's always going to try to get that out of your system. And then if you have other things from your environment, you know, the water we drink, the air we breathe, the food we eat, the products we come in contact with in our skin on daily basis in Austin, there's tons of mold. These things all add to the basically your toxic burden, and that's what gives you the inflammation.
So what you're saying essentially, is when you put an implant in, if you're already having, like, inflammation problems to begin with, or you already have underlying autoimmune, and then you put the implant in, your body is pushing it out like a splinter, or is it trying to.
Wall it off from the rest of your body? Yeah, it walls it off. It won't reject it in the. In the truest sense, like in the cosmetic patient, because the tissues are intact around it. But in a cancer patient who's had chemotherapy and radiation therapy, you will have examples of extrusion where the device is literally coming out of them.
So what seems to be happening is that people who got implants at 21 years old or 18 years old, like I did, 10 years, 15 years, 18 years, whatever. Down the line, they're explanting because it seems like it's actually exponentially getting worse.
Right.
Is that correct?
Right. So everybody has a certain pair of genes. Y' all have two little ones. You gave your genes to them. They're a blend of you. So everybody has these genetic pathways that help us detox. Everybody's heard the term detox. So our vitamin D pathway and something that helps our B vitamins, which is a methylation pathway.
