Short interview with Robert Whitfield MD discussing breast implant illness (BII). Whitfield recounts early exposure to BII in 2016 via a cancer patient and lists common patient-reported symptoms including neurologic complaints (brain fog, short-term memory loss), dizziness, tinnitus, visual/light/sound sensitivity, ENT problems (dry eyes, throat catch, dysphagia), and musculoskeletal symptoms (muscle and joint pain). The piece frames BII as clinically challenging to diagnose.
Chapters
You've been called America's breast implant illness expert, which is. That's quite a title. And breast implant illness is super, super important. A lot of people are talking about it, but I suppose not enough. And so I'm excited to do a deep dive with you, but let's start high level. What is breast implant illness and how might one know whether or not they have it?
Sure. I mean, we got exposed to it in 2016 with a cancer patient. Uh, so most of what people experience, and I, I don't envy the practitioners trying to figure this out when they sit across the table, is people will say they have neurologic symptoms like central nervous system, like brain fog, which, you know, everybody listening to be short term memory loss, but you forgot where you put your keys or you left the groceries in the car or something like that. You can have lightheadedness, ringing in the ears. You can have visual changes. Light sensitivity can also be sound sensitive, you know, all or all sorts of ENT type issues where you have problems with dry eyes, maybe a catch in the throat or difficulty swallowing. And many patients will go on to have extremity symptoms. Muscle pain, joint pain.
