A prospective analysis of patients undergoing silicone breast implant explantation

Despite the lack of a scientifically proven link between silicone implants and disease, many women have chosen to have their implants removed out of c oncern for their health. Unfortunately, there are few studies in the litera ture that have investigated the outcome of explantations, and there are no prospective analyses of the effect explantation has on a patient's general health. The goal of this study was to use a prospective database to determi ne whether there were any preoperative parameters that could be used to pre dict which patients would be improved following removal of silicone breast implants and to provide a quantifiable measure of that improvement. A total of 38 patients with silicone breast implants underwent operative removal o f their breast implants by faculty at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. They were given questionnaires regarding several personal a nd medical parameters to be completed preoperatively, at 6 weeks postoperat ively, and at 6 months postoperatively. In addition, their physicians compl eted preoperative and postoperative evaluations of the patient's general he alth status. A control group of 38 patients was established; they were matc hed with the experimental group with regard to age and other initial parame ters. Their responses to questionnaires were then grouped according to stan dard subscales to evaluate physical functioning, physical role, bodily pain , general health, vitality, social functioning, emotional role, mental heal th, appearance evaluation, appearance orientation, illness orientation, and body area satisfaction. When compared with the control group, we found tha t patients who had undergone explantation showed a temporary decrease in mu sculoskeletal symptoms and bodily pain, as well as an increase in vitality, mental health, and body area satisfaction. Of the experimental group, thos e who initially indicated a higher number of musculoskeletal symptoms and a higher appearance evaluation were more likely to indicate a significant im provement in general health since explantation.