Breast implant illness revisited: A cohort study of health symptoms in women with implant-based reconstruction

Abstract

Background: This study investigated the association between silicone breast implants and health symptoms believed to be related to breast implant illness (BII) in women who underwent implant-based breast reconstruction after breast cancer. Although there is increasing evidence of an association between BII and breast augmentation cases, it is unclear in women with implant-based breast reconstruction.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study involved 254 women who underwent implant-based reconstruction after breast cancer treatment and a control group comprising 487 women who underwent breast-conservation therapy or simple mastectomy. We linked Dutch Breast Implant Registry data (2015-2019) and general practice electronic health records data (2014-2022) to study the occurrence of 13 BII-related health symptoms in general practice and number of consultations for these symptoms 1 year before to 3 years after breast surgery.

Results: Over the 3 years following implantation, no significant differences in symptom occurrence were observed when comparing the data from year before implantation and the control group. Women with breast implants did not have more consultations in general practice compared to the control group during follow-up. However, there was an increased likelihood of having ≥3 consultations in the first and second years post-implantation compared to that before implantation.

Conclusions: This is the first study on BII focusing solely on women who underwent implant-based reconstruction after breast cancer. We found no evidence for BII in this patient group. However, BII symptoms may not manifest within the 3-year timeframe but could emerge later, which warrants further research with longer follow-up.

Keywords: Breast implant illness; Breast reconstruction; General practice; Retrospective studies; Silicone breast implants.