HLA Typing in Women With and Without Silicone Gel-filled Breast Implants

Abstract

During the past 10 years or so, numerous anecdotal reports have appeared in the literature describing a small percentage of women who underwent breast augmentation or reconstruction with silicone gel-filled implants and later developed unexplained symptoms of weakness, chronic fatigue, myalgias/arthralgias, fever of unknown origin, burning breast pain and, in some instances, recognized rheuma-tologic disease. Many good investigations have been conducted recently to look for an explanation of what is happening with implant patients who seem to have symptoms suggestive of a connective tissue disease. Unfortunately, central questions remain unanswered. We do not know whether silicone gel-filled implants are causally related to the symptoms some patients are experiencing. To date, research has not shown that breast implants can cause disease, but if they do, we need to determine whether it is an already-defined disease or a new one. Alternatively, implants could be causing some women to experience a delayed hypersensitivity reaction that may or may not have an immune-mediated basis. If they are, we don’t know whether patients are responding to silicone gel, elastomer, or some component used in or resulting from the implant manufacturing process.KeywordsBreast ImplantCapsular ContractureRheumatologic DiseaseAsymptomatic WomanFibromyalgia PatientThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.