Breast implant illness is a term used by patients who self-describe the symptoms and feelings associated with complications from breast implants. This term is not a real diagnosis, but physicians do offer treatment for these complications. Because it is not recognized as a medical diagnosis, there are no criteria for these symptoms to be called “breast implant illness.”
What is Breast Implant Illness?
Breast implant illness is the undiagnosed combination of symptoms and side effects from a breast implant procedure. The cause of this is unknown, but there are several treatment options available. Your body can react to breast implants in several ways. Many women notice fatigue and pain, ruptured implants, infection, or a possible connective tissue disorder.
What are Treatment Options for BII?
The two main treatment options that Dr. Buinewicz offers are an explant procedure and a capsulectomy. Both of these procedures require removing defective or infected implants. Dr. Buinewicz carefully cleans the site with saline solution and then places drains.
Why Should I Trust Dr. Buinewicz?
Dr. Brian Buinewicz is a leader among cosmetic and aesthetic plastic surgeons. He sets the standard for care and treatment of hard to manage conditions. This is especially true in his treatment of breast implant illness. The number of women who come to Dr. Buinewicz for treatment regarding their complications and symptoms after a breast implant procedure has drastically increased in recent times.
Dr. Buinewicz is a board-certified plastic surgeon. With more than 23 years of experience, he has helped many women. He has performed more than 300 breast implant explants. He has also performed numerous capsulectomies and treatments for these symptoms.
Dr. Brian Buinewicz is so renowned in this treatment that one of his former patients wrote a book on him and the explant procedure. Former patient, Tara Hopko, wrote the book “Let Me Get This Off My Chest.” This book details how she went from an energetic, athletic woman to someone who suffered daily from breast implant illness. She also explains Dr. Buinewicz’s expertise and how he helped her regain her life after falling ill from breast implants.
Are Breast Implants Safe?
After reading all of the above information, it is safe to say you may be terrified of breast implants now. There is no need to be. Take a deep breath and let’s discuss why breast implants are safe and how breast implant illness only affects a small number of women.
On a weekly basis, we still perform several breast implants. This procedure is performed by experts and when it is done correctly, there is no need to be concerned. At our facility, we offer breast enhancement procedures to improve the look of your chest.
If you are considering a breast enhancement procedure, such as breast implants, contact us. We are more than happy to sit down for a one-on-one consultation and discuss your options. We also would like to show you and explains the many benefits associated with breast implants.
If you are someone who suffers from breast implant illness, we would like to help you regain your health. Call us today to schedule a consultation to discuss your explant options.
Aesthetic Surgery Journal Open Forum – Regional Pain Blocks and Perioperative Pain Control in Patients Undergoing Breast Implant Removal with Capsulectomy
Abstract
Background:
Demand for breast implant removal with capsulectomy is on the rise, with more than 36,000 explants performed in 2020, an increase of nearly 7.5% from previous years. Postoperative analgesia is an important consideration in this patient group due to scar tissue surrounding the implant and the potential for extensive dissection during capsulectomy.
Objectives:
We sought to compare perioperative pain control between several different types of ultrasound-guided regional anesthetic techniques in patients undergoing implant removal with capsulectomy.
Methods:
We reviewed all patients who received an ultrasound-guided block and underwent breast implant removal with capsulectomy at our outpatient surgical center over a two-year period. We compared intraoperative, postoperative opioid requirement, and patient-reported pain on the first postoperative day (POD1) between three different block techniques using chi-square analysis. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results:
352 patients met inclusion criteria. 26 patients (7.4%) underwent a serratus plane block (SP), 13 (3.7%) underwent an erector spinae combined with pectointercostal fascial plane block (ES+PIFP), and 313 (88.9%) underwent an erector spinae combined with pectoral nerve block (ES+PECS1). ES+PECS1 was associated with less intraoperative and postoperative opioid use compared with SP and ES+PIFP (1.9% vs 19.2% vs 61.5%, p<0.001 for intraoperative, 26.8% vs 34.6% vs 38.5% postoperative, p<0.001). ES+PECS1 block was associated with mild pain on POD1 compared with the other two regional block techniques (p=0.001).
Conclusions:
Regional pain blocks, and specifically the ES block offer effective pain control for patients undergoing breast implant removal with capsulectomy, demonstrating high patient satisfaction in the postoperative period with low opioid requirements.
