Wday.ru learned what to do for women who underwent mammoplasty with these implants.
Recently Roszdravnadzor published a letter stating that implants from Allergan, a popular brand whose medical products are often used in plastic surgeries, are being withdrawn from the Russian market.
According to the official press release of Allergan, published on the Roszdravnadzor website, a number of implants and a tissue expander of the brand are voluntarily withdrawn from our market. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released data on the unsafeness of these implants: cases of the development of anaplastic large cell lymphoma associated with breast implants (BIA-ALCL) have been identified. The media reported sad statistics: 500 women diagnosed with cancer, 12 of whom died. Data on countries and timing of the incident are not specified.
Plastic surgeons in Russia can no longer use Allergan implants listed in the company’s official press release, and all unused products must be returned to the manufacturer.
Considering the popularity and availability of breast augmentation surgeries among Russian women, we turned to a specialist for a comment. What should women do who have already enlarged their breasts with Allergan implants?
Plastic surgeon of the Center for Cosmetology, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Candidate of Medical Sciences
Allergan is one of the most popular and respected brands in plastic surgery.
– But in Russia, the implants of this company are used less often than in the United States, because we have many European brands, and in the United States, implants are sold only of American origin (Allergan is an American company. – approx. Wday.ru). I find it difficult to give exact statistics with the use of these implants.
In my practice, there have been isolated cases when Allergan implants caused complications after the operation. One of the typical complications for them is late seromas, as well as the formation of a double capsule, that is, the formation of a fibrous structure along the entire perimeter of the implants, consisting of two sheets, between which aseptic fluid is often collected.
The recall of Allergan implants is due to the fact that they can cause such a rather rare form of cancer as lymphoma. This disease is also manifested by the accumulation of fluid around the implants, but along with this, the lymph nodes are also involved in the process.
I would like to note that in my practice, fortunately, there were no oncological complications after mammoplasty using implants of this brand. I believe that complications arise due to the peculiarities of the texture of the shell of these implants. They have not a smooth, but a rough macro-texture, due to which a fibrous capsule is formed around the implants with special properties that contribute to the creation of a chronic inflammatory process at the interface between the implant shell and the patient’s tissues. By the way, the implants of this manufacturer with a smooth and microtextured shell were not included in the review. Allergan implants were among the most expensive in terms of price category. It is impossible to completely exclude the marketing component in this whole story like the battle of the titans among large medical corporations.
How should women with Allergan implants behave? There is no need to panic, because the number of confirmed cases of lymphoma in relation to the number of operations performed is very small. In the absence of indications, there is no need to carry out the operation and remove the implants.
It is enough to regularly see your doctor, once a year to do an ultrasound or MRI of the mammary glands and, most importantly, to ensure that no fluid forms around the implants, there is no prolonged increase in body temperature, as well as reddening of the skin of the mammary glands and reactions of the axillary lymph nodes …
Oncologist-mammologist, surgeon, doctor of the highest category of the international medical center ON CLINIC
As an oncologist-mammologist, I believe that there are specific indications for the installation of implants:
1. Congenital hypoplasia of the mammary glands
2. Post-traumatic and post-burn changes
3. Correction after removal of the mammary glands for cancer. In other cases, this is the introduction of a foreign body into a healthy body! Nobody can predict how this body will behave.
I came across Allegran implants a couple of times, I had to remove them, and not because of oncology, but because they were asymmetric, they were technically placed incorrectly. There is nothing difficult to place implants, and their removal is a difficult operation. Over time, the implant grows together with the tissues, and their removal is a serious job. Oncology after implants is not excluded, several times I referred women with implants to specialized specialists. Women need to be aware that at a young age the ratio of the glandular layer of the breast and adipose tissue is symmetrical, and implants, as a rule, take root well. And in adulthood, the glandular layer disappears and this can turn into problems after the placement of implants. And if a woman of age is slender and, accordingly, she has little adipose tissue, then the implants placed may look ugly, as if an apple was thrust under the skin.
Despite the fact that all firms claim that this is for life and there will be no problems with the implants, this is not true.
Often such complications arise after implantation: suppuration, ablation (adhesion to the inflammatory process of a secondary infection), phlegmon (total change in the mammary gland), rejection of the implant occurs at the moment when the immune system does not work and tries to “throw out” a foreign body.
Currently, there are a lot of doctors and non-doctors who perform implantations even at home. Moreover, there are many implantations without a Certificate of Quality and admission to a wide market! And regardless of the country of manufacture, the implant is, I repeat, a foreign body! In addition to the risk of counterfeit in our country, there is such a factor as the lack of certification for the “specialists” themselves. Many of those who practice implantation at home or in small private clinics do not have the relevant proven qualifications and / or sufficient experience.