Patty: gunk in implants

[Guest guest]

I'm pretty sure Dr Kolb did her explant. She took antifungals and

recovered.

hugs,

Beth

> Thought this was a good article...

>

> When Gordon's black implant was sent for testing to Dr.

Pierre Blais, Ph.D., a former senior scientific adviser at Canada's

version of the FDA, Health Canada's Health Protection Branch, the

results were unnerving. " The implant was full of dead

fungus:aspergillis [sic] niger, aspergillis [sic] fumigatis and a

subtype of the albicans family,which could make the recipient very

ill, " explains Blais, who has analyzed more than 7,000 breast

implants. But he also found something far worse-dead, antibiotic-

resistant bacteria: " Enough to fill a teaspoon. "

>

> The bacteria and fungi were dead because the implant had been

dunked in formaldehyde upon removal from Gordon's chest, as is

customary, so clearly this wasn't mold that had grown

afterward. " We've seen hundreds of cases like this, " maintains

Blais. " But Ms. Gordon's implant ranks number four among the most

contaminated implants we've ever tested. "

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> In Blais' analysis, small amounts of the bugs had leaked into

Gordon's body as her implant aged, making her feel sick. When the

organism-filled sac was removed, antibiotics and antifungal drugs

were able to wipe out the remaining germs in her body and restore

her health. " Had the implant stayed in longer, she might have been

chronically ill; had it ruptured, her body could have been flooded

with bacteria and fungus that drugs would have been unable to fight.

She was really lucky to walk away from this, " notes Blais

solemnly. " If I were her, I would not buy a lottery ticket for a

long time. "

>

> Mounting evidence suggests that in a small percentage of women,

like Gordon, implants become tainted with bacteria or

fungus, which sometimes causes the sacs to discolor and, over time,

the wearers develop autoimmune-like illnesses. Although the FDA

maintains that implants do not cause these illnesses, the agency is

planning to review additional reports from the manufacturers'

ongoing studies (which will continue for about six more years).

Mentor Corp.'s studies so far have already shown that 2 percent of

augmentation patients and 9 percent of reconstruction subjects

developed unspecified infections within three years. Six women in

each of the manufacturers' studies were also deemed, using very

strict criteria, to have autoimmune problems.

>

> How could the implants become contaminated? When breast implants

are shipped to a surgeon, they arrive deflated; in the office, the

doctor fills them with saline solution through a valve. If the

conditions aren't completely sterile,if, for example, the solution

is exposed to air,germs could be introduced. Also, some doctors have

been known to add ingredients like antibiotics and disinfectants in

the hope of preventing infections. These additives degrade in the

implant's solution after years inside the body. In fact, in Gordon's

implant, Blais did find degraded Keflin, an antibiotic, which

contributed to the black color. Worse, instead of protecting her it

encouraged the growth of bacteria that were resistant to the drug,

hence more dangerous.

>

> Some experts believe that microbes can pass through the implant's

envelope and through imperfect valves. According to this theory,

bugs could enter the sacs from the body, and/or germs growing inside

could wind up on the device's outer surface, infect the surrounding

tissue and travel into the bloodstream. The idea is controversial,

however. " Cases of contamination have been cited in the past, but

with today's sterile techniques, bacteria or fungus should not enter

the implant during filling or afterward, " contends Diane Hart,

program manager of patient services at Mentor, the company that made

Gordon's implant.

>

> Meanwhile, Blais, who has authored 250 scientific papers on the

safety of implantable medical devices, believes women are still in

danger. He has seen hundreds of black, brown and green implants,

both saline and silicone-gel implants, which were banned for

cosmetic use in 1992 but allowed for reconstruction patients,removed

from women who had all types of health problems, including

autoimmune symptoms. These colors correlate to certain types of

microbes present in the implant, he explains. " One of the most

common contaminants in black implants is aspergillus niger, a black

variety of fungus, while two other forms, aspergillus fumigatis and

Bouffardi's black, cause dark brown discoloration. " In the case of

blue or green implants, the culprit is usually algae.

>

> V. Leroy Young, M.D., professor of plastic surgery at Washington

University in St. Louis, is another scientist who has shown that

disease-causing microbes including E. coli, staph bacteria and

aspergillus can grow in saline implants. Further, a handful of

studies have shown a connection between symptoms associated with

autoimmune disease and germ-ridden implants of both the saline and

silicone variety.

>

> In one of these studies, Marek .K. Dobke, M.D., head of the

division of plastic surgery at the University of California, San

Diego School of Medicine, cultured both kinds of implants, removed

from more than 300 hundred women complaining of muscle or joint

pain, chronic fatigue, skin rashes, low grade fever, dry eyes and

mouth, hair loss, and confusion or impaired memory. He found

bacteria (most commonly staph) or fungi in approximately 70 percent

of cases,three times the rate of occurrence of bugs in implants

removed from healthy women who were having an " explant " for cosmetic

reasons (such as trading up a cup size). He also found high rates of

microbe contamination in women with capsular contracture and breast

pain,a connection that many agree with, including Dr. Young, who

fingers bacteria as the culprit. " This strong correlation between

microbes,mostly bacteria,and symptoms, " maintains Dr. Dobke, " may be

the key to the health troubles so many women with implants have. "

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