Re: removal of Bio-Alcamid. Fact or fiction?

[Guest guest]

"I mentioned to him that there is a surgeon in Houston, TX who has been successfully removing Bio-Alcamid and that while it may not be possible to remove it all, patients who have undergone this procedure, have reported fairly encouraging results. He disagreed and insisted that Bio-Alcamid does not form a "cyst-like" shape that can be squeezed out like a big pimple...So which is it? Can it or can it not be removed? "One of the dangerous lies that those selling Bio-alcamid told community people was that BA would be encapsulated like a water balloon, and it could be easily removed with no complications.It's just not the nature of tissue to react that way to a fluid implant.Still, I think that in many cases, removal can be effected, without too much trauma to surrounding tissues.Is your dentist recommending removal? Or is this something that you think you should do?JB

[Guest guest]

first of all having gone through a serious infection and BA removal here

in Houston, I can confidently tell you that your plastic surgeon doesn't know

what he is talking about.

While the BA material can migrate and become more difficult to remove it looks

like " chicken fat " , does encapsulate and is not a product like PMMA or other

products which integrate/renew the collagen.

Removal from the surface can sometimes be accomplished but from my experience it

is more complete when removed from inside. I was the first patient Dr.

the surgeon you are referring to in Houston removed the product from. He went

from inside my mouth and sucked the material out. You are limited slightly in

the areas you can reach by this method. BA material that has migrated closer to

the jawline might be reached more easily using plastic surgery as Dr. Casvantes

has described to me previously.

Also, if you have material near the temples it will need to be removed from the

surface. I still have one temple area that needs to be removed, but both of my

buccal cheek areas have been removed. It took about a year or so for them to

retract fully after the surgery and I am back to having dips on both sides.

While Dr. C has offered me PMMA my family and partner have begged me not to have

anything else put in there because of the three months from infection to surgery

and then IV antibiotics for 6 weeks.

If you are planning extensive dental work I would definitely consider an

antibiotic for the period before, during, and then right after the procedure.

An infection within the BA material does not require a puncture of the

encapsulation and is difficult at best to treat with oral antibiotics. Rest

assure if it gets far enough along they will want to stick a line in you and do

them via IV.

Again, your plastic surgeon does not know what he is talking about. Most U.S.

surgeons have no experience or knowledge of this product. I recommend

contacting Dr. C if you have further questions. He is the foremost authority on

this material and helped me a lot when I had my infection and subsequent

surgical removal.

Regards,

JJ

>

> Years ago, I was injected with several cc's of Bio-Alcamid for facial

lipoatrophy. The implant has done well and I haven't had any problems with it.

>

> Due to recent complications with re-treating a root canal on one of my molar

teeth, my dentist recommended a dental implant. Trouble is, my sinus cavity

reaches down too close to the root of the affected tooth, so he recommended

" lifting " the sinus to prevent a possible puncture by the implant.

>

> This is rather an invasive dental surgery and I became concerned about

possible complications involving the Bio-Alcamid implant due to its proximity to

the anticipated surgical site. Long story short, I ended up seeing a plastic

surgeon to get some recommendations on the course of action. He assured me that

it is not possible to remove Bio-Alcamid from my face and compared it to trying

to remove water that is spilled on sand (sand being the soft tissues of the face

and water being Bio-Alcamid). Further, he assured me that Bio-Alcamid does NOT

get encapsulated by the soft tissues, but rather it dissipates into the

surrounding tissues, so its removal is impossible unles you remove the tissues

along with it.

>

> I mentioned to him that there is a surgeon in Houston, TX who has been

successfully removing Bio-Alcamid and that while it may not be possible to

remove it all, patients who have undergone this procedure, have reported fairly

encouraging results. He disagreed and insisted that Bio-Alcamid does not form a

" cyst-like " shape that can be squeezed out like a big pimple...

>

> So which is it? Can it or can it not be removed?

>

> I'd appreciate any feedback.

> Best,

>

> Chris

>

[Guest guest]

JB,

I alerted my dentist after he explained to me how he was planning to deal with

the untreatable tooth. I became aware of the BioAlcamid complications after

reading many posts on this board over the last few years. The dentist then asked

for a consultation with my primary care physician, who in turn referred me to

the plastic surgeon.

The plastic surgeon was adamant about not being able to remove BioAlcamid. I

should say that although he never used it he was somewhat familiar with the

product and even knew the chemical name of the material.

Based on your response and the response from JJ below and two others that have

written me privately, I am actually no closer to deciding on what to do. All of

you have basically acknowledged that removal of BioAlcamid is possible. However,

the recurring theme in the responses is a great degree of caution, as

complications from the removal itself are not uncommon.

Thanks to all of you who have shared your thoughts and experiences.

Best,

>

> " I mentioned to him that there is a surgeon in Houston, TX who has been

successfully removing Bio-Alcamid and that while it may not be possible to

remove it all, patients who have undergone this procedure, have reported fairly

encouraging results. He disagreed and insisted that Bio-Alcamid does not form a

" cyst-like " shape that can be squeezed out like a big pimple...

> So which is it? Can it or can it not be removed? "

>

> One of the dangerous lies that those selling Bio-alcamid told community people

was that BA would be encapsulated like a water balloon, and it could be easily

removed with no complications.

>

> It's just not the nature of tissue to react that way to a fluid implant.

>

> Still, I think that in many cases, removal can be effected, without too much

trauma to surrounding tissues.

>

> Is your dentist recommending removal? Or is this something that you think you

should do?

>

> JB

>

[Guest guest]

JB,

I alerted my dentist after he explained to me how he was planning to deal with

the untreatable tooth. I became aware of the BioAlcamid complications after

reading many posts on this board over the last few years. The dentist then asked

for a consultation with my primary care physician, who in turn referred me to

the plastic surgeon.

The plastic surgeon was adamant about not being able to remove BioAlcamid. I

should say that although he never used it he was somewhat familiar with the

product and even knew the chemical name of the material.

Based on your response and the response from JJ below and two others that have

written me privately, I am actually no closer to deciding on what to do. All of

you have basically acknowledged that removal of BioAlcamid is possible. However,

the recurring theme in the responses is a great degree of caution, as

complications from the removal itself are not uncommon.

Thanks to all of you who have shared your thoughts and experiences.

Best,

>

> " I mentioned to him that there is a surgeon in Houston, TX who has been

successfully removing Bio-Alcamid and that while it may not be possible to

remove it all, patients who have undergone this procedure, have reported fairly

encouraging results. He disagreed and insisted that Bio-Alcamid does not form a

" cyst-like " shape that can be squeezed out like a big pimple...

> So which is it? Can it or can it not be removed? "

>

> One of the dangerous lies that those selling Bio-alcamid told community people

was that BA would be encapsulated like a water balloon, and it could be easily

removed with no complications.

>

> It's just not the nature of tissue to react that way to a fluid implant.

>

> Still, I think that in many cases, removal can be effected, without too much

trauma to surrounding tissues.

>

> Is your dentist recommending removal? Or is this something that you think you

should do?

>

> JB

>

[Guest guest]

Personally, I think I would let the dentist decide. If he is comfortable

working around the implant, I think it would be ok. Perhaps a prophylaxis with

antibiotics would be a good idea.

JB

Permanently etched on your screen by my iPad's phaser gun app.