Case report: Multiple arterial stenoses induced by autosomal-recessive hypophosphatemic rickets type 2 associated with mutation of ENPP1: a case study
My Breast Implants Made Me Go Blind: 'I Felt Like I Was Slowly Dying'
These implants were certainly eye-popping.
A British mom says she was left temporarily blind after going under the knife to get DD-sized breast implants at the age of 19.
Danielle Sheehan, now 32, had the artificial assets inserted after winning a $6000 beauty makeover back in 2010.
At the time, the teen — who started out as a C cup — was working as a model and believed a big bust would help further her career.
But shortly after having the implants inserted, Sheehan says she started to experience eczema flare-ups.
Doctors told her the issue was stress, but the skin condition never subsided.
Later, Sheehan began experiencing more health problems, including thinning hair and recently, a terrifying loss of vision following the birth of a baby.
Danielle Sheehan, now 32, had the artificial assets inserted after winning a $6000 beauty makeover back in 2010. She is pictured with the implants. Danielle Sheehan / SWNS"After I had my son and over the last year, I had constant eczema, weeping skin and dry eyes — I ended up in [the emergency room] because I couldn't see," the Brit told SWNS. "I felt like I was slowly dying, and I just didn't feel well at all.'"
Believing her breast implants were to blame, Sheehan sold her car to fund surgery to have the assets removed.
Afterward, all her ailments immediately evaporated, she said.
"The moment the implants came out I felt so much better," she declared.
She is pictured after undergoing surgery to have the implants removed. She said she immediately felt better after the assets were out of her body. Danielle Sheehan / SWNSSheehan believes she suffered from Breast Implant Illness — a condition that the Cleveland Clinic says is "just starting to be studied."
According to the Clinic, "symptoms of Breast Implant Illness can vary from person to person."
An explainer on the condition added that "people have reported more than 50 symptoms that impact their musculoskeletal system, ability to think and focus (cognitive symptoms) and overall body (systemic symptoms)."
Meanwhile, information published by the British government in January 2020 revealed that experts were aware of BII and were investigating.
Sheehan suffered severe eczema soon after she had her breast implants inserted. The condition has cleared up now that they have been removed. Danielle Sheehan / SWNSThe government's Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency declared that they did not currently know whether "there is a link between breast implants and the reported health problems" — but did not rule it out.
For years, many in the medical community dismissed claims that breast implants could cause health problems.
However, in 2021, celebrity plastic surgeon Dr. Anthony Youn spoke out, saying he believed BII was real.
"Throughout my training, I was told [Breast Implant Illness] was hogwash — and that's what I believed," Dr. Youn told The Post. "Plastic surgery literature is not supportive of the notion of Breast Implant Illness."
Sheehan is seen following her explant surgery. Danielle Sheehan / SWNSStill, Youn says most women who opt to go under the knife experience no adverse affects.
"A vast majority of my patients tolerate breast implants just fine," he told The Post.
No official diagnosis of Breast Implant Illness can be given, but patients who have ruled out all other possibilities of cause of their symptoms with their primary care physician and specialists.
As for Sheehan, she says she is on a mission to raise awareness about BII so other women don't have to experience the harrowing health problems she has endured.
"I feel safe in my body now, I feel emotionally stable, the rashes around my eyes have gone and the eczema is trailing off now," she stated.
The mom is on a mission to inform others about the potential health hazards of having breast implants. Danielle Sheehan / SWNS"I don't think anyone would know – you never would put hair loss and rashes down to having implants," she said.
The mom has even taken to TikTok to share information about BII, and has been contacted by other women who also experienced the same phenomenon.
"So many girls have messaged me since seeing my video on TikTok … to say they're getting a consultation to get their implants removed," Sheehan stated.
Are Breast Implants Behind A Debilitating Illness? These Women Say They Are Proof
For the first ten years, Leslie Zakian's loved her breast implants. But then, around 20 years ago, she started experiencing a series of strange and increasingly alarming symptoms.
"I started experiencing these horrible night sweats," the 56-year-old said. "I started going to all kinds of doctors."
But they could not find the cause, so they moved onto bloodwork.
"They'd call me back and say, 'Your blood levels are really off'. They sent me to an oncologist. I did all kinds of tests. The nuclear, the this, the that. Nothing [worked]," Zakian said.
She then got Bell's palsy, a neurological disorder that causes paralysis or weakness on one side of the face — not once, but twice. Next, she said she started having problems with her eyes.
That's when she listened to a friend who had been urging her to research Breast Implant Illness, or BII. She soon found a solution — and realized that she was not alone.
READ MORE: Why breast 'density' matters in breast cancer screenings
Thousands of women from all around the world have taken to social media to describe what they call their 'BII journey,' setting up groups like 'Breast Implant Illness Warriors,' 'Fake Breasts, Real Women' and 'Breast Implant Illness Mystery.'
While breast augmentation is the second most popular cosmetic procedure in the United States according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, a 2023 report found a 12% increase in breast implant removals over 2022.
A very real solution for many
The medical community has yet to acknowledge BII as an official diagnosis, but for so many women, like Zakian, it is very real.
Last December the New Jersey realtor came to Miami for her explant surgery — the removal of her implants.
She noticed the first change immediately.
"Normally I used these eye drops every single day to be able to open my eyes to wake up. I didn't use the drops. Look at me. I'm getting emotional. I haven't used them since," she said.
Her plastic surgeon was Dr. Dev Vibhakar, or Dr. Dev, as he's known in the explant community.
The founder and medical director of Aqua Plastic Surgery in Miami said his training and practice was initially focused on breast cancer and breast cancer reconstruction, as well as explant surgeries for cosmetic surgeries.
But as years went by, more and more women came to him complaining of BII symptoms. So, he said, he made a decision to stop doing breast augmentation surgeries.
"I just felt that [implants] were causing a lot of harm to patients. I just didn't feel right putting them in. And I became a big explant advocate and almost felt hypocritical if I would put implants in somebody and be such a big advocate for removing the implants. So I stopped completely," Vibhakar said.
In his experience symptoms can take anywhere from three months to 20 years to appear. Vibhakar recommends women first consult their primary care physician to make sure the symptoms are not related to any other conditions.
"Chronic fatigue, brain fog, low libido, chronic back neck, shoulder pain, night sweats. I had swollen lymph nodes ... You know, it's just it's quite, quite a long list."
Yaglin Medina
Not everyone who has breast implants will develop BII symptoms, and there is no guarantee that removing the implants will help, he said. The only way to find out is by removing them.
"The biggest fear is not feeling better after the surgery. Anecdotally, looking back, it ranges between 90% to 95% improvement and that can range in a variety of symptoms from fatigue improvement and joint pain," Vibhakar explained.
For Yaglin Medina, who lives in Miami, the improvement was dramatic and immediate.
The 40-year-old had her breast implants removed two years ago, after 17 years. She said before she made that decision, there were a lot of symptoms.
"Chronic fatigue, brain fog, low libido, chronic back neck, shoulder pain, night sweats. I had swollen lymph nodes," Medina said. "I had very dry skin. My nails were very brittle. Shortness of breath. You know, it's just it's quite, quite a long list."
Today, she is a different woman, she said.
"All 44 symptoms that I had are completely gone. And I'm thankful and blessed for that," she said.
Medina was an elementary school teacher for 14 years and her experience led her to follow a new path as a nutritionist and BII advocate. She has created a support group for those dealing with BII and considering removing breast implants.
"This is a very lonely journey. It was for me. I've shared everything from day one and I created a support group where we can help each other. You are not alone. You have a friend in us," Medina said.
While some doubt, others push for official diagnosis
Not all plastic surgeons agree with the correlation between symptoms and breast implants established by the BII movement.
Dr. Harry Salinas, the chief of breast reconstruction at the Cancer Center at Baptist Hospital in Miami, acknowledges the symptoms are real but said it is difficult to discern which one are directly caused by the implants and which are unrelated.
"Most of the literature has shown some association with these complaints and breast implants. But, an association does not mean cause and effect," said Salinas, who performs around 500 breast procedures per year at a cosmetic surgery office.
Although in his experience some patients that remove implants "will get better," the "overwhelming majority" don't, he said.
According to Salinas, the "only ones that will get better are the ones that present with rheumatologic complaints, with autoimmune syndromes that started at the time of implant placement."
"So it's a very challenging condition because although for a small subset of the population it is 'real,' the majority of the patients that complain don't get better when you explant them," he added.
A breast explant is a major surgery and can cost anywhere between $7,000 to $15,000, but most insurance policies do not cover the cost because BII is not an official medical diagnosis.
For years, the National Center for Health Research has been working to get it recognized as a medical condition which would give it a code and pave the way for insurance companies to cover the procedure.
The number of women who decide to have their breast implants removed continues to grow, and they continue sharing their stories online to help others.
In October 2021, the FDA began requiring breast implant manufacturers to include information about the risk of symptoms that affect the whole body in a boxed warning on breast implant packaging.
Medina's next support group will get together Sunday, Nov. 12.
Breast Implants Don't Need To Rupture To Cause Illness
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