CAN. NATIONAL POST: In the bosom of death

October 11, 2006

From: sjjoyceattis@... <sjjoyceattis@...

>

Thank you Joyce for the heads up ... and love and blessings to PJ's beloved family ...

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/bodyandhealth/story.html?id=23a024e2-5fe5-4c3d-b511-2478a2f399d4 & k=81933

In the bosom of deathSuicide risk is high among breast implant recipients, Canadian study says

New research pointing to the high risk of suicide among breast augmentation patients is generating debate as Health Canada reviews its restrictions on silicone implants.

Font: * * * * Hanes, National PostPublished: Wednesday, October 11, 2006

In 2000, P.J. Brent was dismissed as an anecdotal anomaly when she testified before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about the chronic health problems she suffered from her breast implants.

The 49-year-old mother of seven became a sad statistic two months later when she leapt to her death from a five-storey parking garage in Atlanta, Ga.

Just how significant a statistic became apparent when a new Canadian study published in the latest edition of an American medical journal reported a 73% higher rate of suicide among women with breast implants than the general population.

Although the number of suicides was just a handful from among tens of thousands of subjects, the Canadian research echoes the results of half a dozen recent studies from the United States and Scandinavia. It has experts speculating on the psychological, sociological and physiological explanations for the alarming trend.

The news has reignited a debate about the safety of implants in the midst of a Health Canada review of its restrictions on silicone implants, which were pulled from general use in 1992 amid safety concerns.

Published in the latest issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology, the Canadian study compared mortality rates for 24,558 women in Ontario and Quebec who received breast implants between 1974 and 1989, as well as 15,893 women who had other types of plastic surgery, with those in the general population.

The average age of the subjects was 32, and all the implants were done for cosmetic reasons, as opposed to post-mastectomy reconstruction.

The good news, said Jacques Brisson, a Universite Laval breast cancer specialist and one of the authors of the study, is that women with implants had a 26% lower mortality rate overall. There was also a reduced incidence of breast cancer, he said, likely due to the women having less breast tissue.

The bad news is the elevated suicide risk.

Women with implants were 73% more likely to take their own lives than the general population, while women who underwent liposuction, facelifts or tummy tucks faced a 55% higher risk.

Dr. Brisson pointed out the total number of suicides was quite low -- only 58 women with implants killed themselves, versus 33 who had other types of cosmetic surgery. " It is still a small number, so the risk is still small. "

But the results have prompted questions about whether some women who opt for breast augmentation may be predisposed to suicide because of underlying emotional problems, or whether the implants themselves are to blame.

Warren, a member of the Canadian Society of Plastic Surgeons and a clinical professor of plastic surgery at the University of British Columbia, said patients seeking nose surgery traditionally have been considered most at risk to suffer mental distress.

" The thing that's different about breast surgery is that it tends to be a slightly younger person [undergoing] it, " Dr. Warren said. " There are issues, such as are there other people involved in that person's life who may or may not want them to do this? Are they thinking that having changed a secondary sexual characteristic that their relationships with men will change? "

Plastic surgeons are trained to be on the lookout for psychological troubles, but Dr. Warren says there is currently no formal screening process, adding it all comes down to the doctor-patient relationship.

" My personal experience with sending patients to a psychiatrist for an assessment ... is I have been successful sometimes, but it is quite often taken as an insult, " Dr. Warren said. " At that point, you are out of the loop. "

Joyce Attis says attributing the suicide rate among breast implant patients to mental deficiency is simply blaming the victim.

" It's very insulting, it's very demeaning, " said the president and founder of the Breast Implant Line of Canada and the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit against Health Canada.

To Ms. Attis, who had a silicone prosthetic inserted in 1972 and removed 20 years later, the more likely explanation for the suicides is the despair women feel when their implants ruin their health. Ms. Attis had her right breast done because it had never developed due to a congenital condition.

By the late 1970s, her implanted breast had hardened and was extremely painful and she was experiencing a range of debilitating symptoms that stumped her doctors. One even inserted a steel rod in her spine in an attempt to ease chronic pain in her back and rib cage. But nothing helped and no one could conclusively diagnose her ailments.

When she had her implant removed in 1992, it was discovered to have ruptured earlier, leaking silicone throughout her body.

Today, Ms. Attis suffers from fibromyalgia, lupus syndrome and osteoporosis. She is on heavy pain medication.

" A lot of women are tortured because of the amount of physical pain that they go through, " she said. " They're not getting answers, and many women are put off and told there is nothing wrong with them. That, I would say, is the cause for the suicides. And at that point, yes, they are psychologically affected and psychologically dysfunctional. "

P.J. Brent is a prime example.

After she jumped to her death on May 29, 2000, an autopsy found platinum, a component of the implants, in her heart, lungs and brain.

Her husband, Ed Brent, remembers the pathologist's words: " He said, 'A woman with that much platinum in her brain could not have been thinking rationally.' "

Mr. Brent said his wife was in despair over the sickness her implants caused herself and her two youngest daughters.

She had her breasts done in 1982 in a futile bid to save her failing first marriage. When she remarried Mr. Brent, she breast-fed two more daughters despite her implants. The health of all three subsequently deteriorated.

On her best mornings, she woke up feeling as if she had the flu. Her joints hurt, her fingers swelled, she had lupus-like symptoms and she was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Her youngest daughters have a disorder that makes swallowing difficult. The eldest of the pair has suffered gastrointestinal ailments, wore leg braces as child and today relies on a wheelchair.

It wasn't low self-esteem that drove Mrs. Brent to take her own life, her husband said. " It was guilt, it was pain, it was looking for a way out. "

Anne Rochon Ford, co-ordinator of the Women and Health Protection Group, fears the suicide rate will only go up as younger and younger women opt for surgery - sometimes as soon as they turn 18.

" It's become institutionalized and it's just the norm to think there's nothing wrong, there's nothing harmful about undergoing these procedures, " Ms. Rochon Ford said.

" The larger societal issue is, how is it that we're breeding this population of girls and women who are so dissatisfied with how they look? "

A GUIDE TO IMPLANTS

Since 1992, silicone gel-filled breast implants have been available in Canada only through Health Canada's Medical Devices Special Access Program. The patient's surgeon or doctor must demonstrate that conventional therapies have failed, are unavailable or are unsuitable. There have been no refusals of special access program requests for silicone implants since December, 2004. Last year's approval rate was 100%. The department granted requests in 8,513 cases last year, although it cannot confirm that all operations were carried out. Health Canada

There were 364,610 breast augmentations performed in the United States last year, up 9% from 2004. Of those, 83.4% involved saline implants and 16.6% were silicone. American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Nearly 175,000 adolescents in the United States aged 18 or under had cosmetic surgery in 2005, with breast augmentation being one of the most popular procedures. Breast implants are frequently requested as a high school graduation gift. National Research Center for Women and Families

Breast implants are not considered to be lifetime devices. Whether implant surgery is for the purpose of reconstruction or augmentation, you will likely need additional surgeries and visits to your surgeon over time. At some point, your implants will probably have to be removed, and you will have to decide whether or not to replace them. Some women believe breast implants cause systemic illnesses such as autoimmune disease or connective tissue disease. To date, there is no definite proof that this is the case. Health Canada's " It's Your Health -- Breast Implants " Web site

Canadian provincial health insurance programs do not cover the cost of breast augmentation for cosmetic reasons; however, the cost of the surgery can be a personal income tax deduction. The average cost of breast implant surgery in Canada is $5,500 to $6,500. Canadian Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

POSSIBLE COMPLICATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH BREAST IMPLANTS:

- May interfere with detection of breast cancer;

- Can rupture during mammograms;

- Can leak or deflate;

- Hardening of the surgical incision scar, causing pain, distortion or displacement of the implant;

- Varying degrees of pain;

- Infection;

- Change or loss of nipple sensation;

- Dead tissue around the implant;

- Atrophy of breast tissue;

- Possible risk of connective tissue disease;

- Calcium deposits that can interfere with mammograms;

- Inability to breast-feed, or reduced milk production. Canadian Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

October 12, 2006

I do NOT like this, because it reinforces the stereotypes of BI women as nuts.

Of course, implants can CAUSE depression, when you are sick all the time....

>

> *From: sjjoyceattis@... <sjjoyceattis@...>

> *

>

> *Thank you Joyce for the heads up ... and love and blessings to PJ's beloved

> family ... *

>

> *

> http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/bodyandhealth/story.html?

id=23a024e2-5fe5-4c3d-b511-2478a2f399d4 & k=81933

> *<http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/bodyandhealth/story.html?

id=23a024e2-5fe5-4c3d-b511-2478a2f399d4 & k=81933>

>

> *In the bosom of death

> Suicide risk is high among breast implant recipients, Canadian study says *

>

> * New research pointing to the high risk of suicide among breast

> augmentation patients is generating debate as Health Canada reviews its

> restrictions on silicone implants. *

>

> * Font: * * * * Hanes, National Post

> Published: Wednesday, October 11, 2006 *

>

> *In 2000, P.J. Brent was dismissed as an anecdotal anomaly when she

> testified before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about the chronic

> health problems she suffered from her breast implants.*

>

> *The 49-year-old mother of seven became a sad statistic two months later

> when she leapt to her death from a five-storey parking garage in Atlanta,

> Ga.*

>

> *Just how significant a statistic became apparent when a new Canadian study

> published in the latest edition of an American medical journal reported a

> 73% higher rate of suicide among women with breast implants than the general

> population.*

>

> *Although the number of suicides was just a handful from among tens of

> thousands of subjects, the Canadian research echoes the results of half a

> dozen recent studies from the United States and Scandinavia. It has experts

> speculating on the psychological, sociological and physiological

> explanations for the alarming trend.*

>

> *The news has reignited a debate about the safety of implants in the midst

> of a Health Canada review of its restrictions on silicone implants, which

> were pulled from general use in 1992 amid safety concerns.*

>

> *Published in the latest issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology, the

> Canadian study compared mortality rates for 24,558 women in Ontario and

> Quebec who received breast implants between 1974 and 1989, as well as 15,893

> women who had other types of plastic surgery, with those in the general

> population.*

>

> *The average age of the subjects was 32, and all the implants were done for

> cosmetic reasons, as opposed to post-mastectomy reconstruction.*

>

> *The good news, said Jacques Brisson, a Universite Laval breast cancer

> specialist and one of the authors of the study, is that women with implants

> had a 26% lower mortality rate overall. There was also a reduced incidence

> of breast cancer, he said, likely due to the women having less breast

> tissue.*

>

> *The bad news is the elevated suicide risk.*

>

> *Women with implants were 73% more likely to take their own lives than the

> general population, while women who underwent liposuction, facelifts or

> tummy tucks faced a 55% higher risk.*

>

> *Dr. Brisson pointed out the total number of suicides was quite low -- only

> 58 women with implants killed themselves, versus 33 who had other types of

> cosmetic surgery. " It is still a small number, so the risk is still small. " *

>

> *But the results have prompted questions about whether some women who opt

> for breast augmentation may be predisposed to suicide because of underlying

> emotional problems, or whether the implants themselves are to blame.*

>

> * Warren, a member of the Canadian Society of Plastic Surgeons and a

> clinical professor of plastic surgery at the University of British Columbia,

> said patients seeking nose surgery traditionally have been considered most

> at risk to suffer mental distress.*

>

> * " The thing that's different about breast surgery is that it tends to be a

> slightly younger person [undergoing] it, " Dr. Warren said. " There are

> issues, such as are there other people involved in that person's life who

> may or may not want them to do this? Are they thinking that having changed a

> secondary sexual characteristic that their relationships with men will

> change? " *

>

> *Plastic surgeons are trained to be on the lookout for psychological

> troubles, but Dr. Warren says there is currently no formal screening

> process, adding it all comes down to the doctor-patient relationship.*

>

> * " My personal experience with sending patients to a psychiatrist for an

> assessment ... is I have been successful sometimes, but it is quite often

> taken as an insult, " Dr. Warren said. " At that point, you are out of the

> loop. " *

>

> *Joyce Attis says attributing the suicide rate among breast implant patients

> to mental deficiency is simply blaming the victim.*

>

> * " It's very insulting, it's very demeaning, " said the president and founder

> of the Breast Implant Line of Canada and the lead plaintiff in a

> class-action lawsuit against Health Canada.*

>

> *To Ms. Attis, who had a silicone prosthetic inserted in 1972 and removed 20

> years later, the more likely explanation for the suicides is the despair

> women feel when their implants ruin their health. Ms. Attis had her right

> breast done because it had never developed due to a congenital condition.*

>

> *By the late 1970s, her implanted breast had hardened and was extremely

> painful and she was experiencing a range of debilitating symptoms that

> stumped her doctors. One even inserted a steel rod in her spine in an

> attempt to ease chronic pain in her back and rib cage. But nothing helped

> and no one could conclusively diagnose her ailments.*

>

> *When she had her implant removed in 1992, it was discovered to have

> ruptured earlier, leaking silicone throughout her body.*

>

> *Today, Ms. Attis suffers from fibromyalgia, lupus syndrome and

> osteoporosis. She is on heavy pain medication.*

>

> * " A lot of women are tortured because of the amount of physical pain that

> they go through, " she said. " They're not getting answers, and many women are

> put off and told there is nothing wrong with them. That, I would say, is the

> cause for the suicides. And at that point, yes, they are psychologically

> affected and psychologically dysfunctional. " *

>

> *P.J. Brent is a prime example.*

>

> *After she jumped to her death on May 29, 2000, an autopsy found platinum, a

> component of the implants, in her heart, lungs and brain.*

>

> *Her husband, Ed Brent, remembers the pathologist's words: " He said, 'A

> woman with that much platinum in her brain could not have been thinking

> rationally.' " *

>

> *Mr. Brent said his wife was in despair over the sickness her implants

> caused herself and her two youngest daughters.*

>

> *She had her breasts done in 1982 in a futile bid to save her failing first

> marriage. When she remarried Mr. Brent, she breast-fed two more daughters

> despite her implants. The health of all three subsequently deteriorated.*

>

> *On her best mornings, she woke up feeling as if she had the flu. Her joints

> hurt, her fingers swelled, she had lupus-like symptoms and she was diagnosed

> with chronic fatigue syndrome.*

>

> *Her youngest daughters have a disorder that makes swallowing difficult. The

> eldest of the pair has suffered gastrointestinal ailments, wore leg braces

> as child and today relies on a wheelchair.*

>

> *It wasn't low self-esteem that drove Mrs. Brent to take her own life, her

> husband said. " It was guilt, it was pain, it was looking for a way out. " *

>

> *Anne Rochon Ford, co-ordinator of the Women and Health Protection Group,

> fears the suicide rate will only go up as younger and younger women opt for

> surgery - sometimes as soon as they turn 18.*

>

> * " It's become institutionalized and it's just the norm to think there's

> nothing wrong, there's nothing harmful about undergoing these procedures, "

> Ms. Rochon Ford said.*

>

> * " The larger societal issue is, how is it that we're breeding this

> population of girls and women who are so dissatisfied with how they look? " *

>

> *A GUIDE TO IMPLANTS*

>

> *Since 1992, silicone gel-filled breast implants have been available in

> Canada only through Health Canada's Medical Devices Special Access Program.

> The patient's surgeon or doctor must demonstrate that conventional therapies

> have failed, are unavailable or are unsuitable. There have been no refusals

> of special access program requests for silicone implants since December,

> 2004. Last year's approval rate was 100%. The department granted requests in

> 8,513 cases last year, although it cannot confirm that all operations were

> carried out. Health Canada*

>

> *There were 364,610 breast augmentations performed in the United States last

> year, up 9% from 2004. Of those, 83.4% involved saline implants and

> 16.6%were silicone. American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

> *

>

> *Nearly 175,000 adolescents in the United States aged 18 or under had

> cosmetic surgery in 2005, with breast augmentation being one of the most

> popular procedures. Breast implants are frequently requested as a high

> school graduation gift. National Research Center for Women and Families*

>

> *Breast implants are not considered to be lifetime devices. Whether implant

> surgery is for the purpose of reconstruction or augmentation, you will

> likely need additional surgeries and visits to your surgeon over time. At

> some point, your implants will probably have to be removed, and you will

> have to decide whether or not to replace them. Some women believe breast

> implants cause systemic illnesses such as autoimmune disease or connective

> tissue disease. To date, there is no definite proof that this is the case.

> Health Canada's " It's Your Health -- Breast Implants " Web site*

>

> *Canadian provincial health insurance programs do not cover the cost of

> breast augmentation for cosmetic reasons; however, the cost of the surgery

> can be a personal income tax deduction. The average cost of breast implant

> surgery in Canada is $5,500 to $6,500. Canadian Society for Aesthetic

> Plastic Surgery*

>

> *POSSIBLE COMPLICATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH BREAST IMPLANTS:*

>

> *- May interfere with detection of breast cancer;*

>

> *- Can rupture during mammograms;*

>

> *- Can leak or deflate;*

>

> *- Hardening of the surgical incision scar, causing pain, distortion or

> displacement of the implant;*

>

> *- Varying degrees of pain;*

>

> *- Infection;*

>

> *- Change or loss of nipple sensation;*

>

> *- Dead tissue around the implant;*

>

> *- Atrophy of breast tissue;*

>

> *- Possible risk of connective tissue disease;*

>

> *- Calcium deposits that can interfere with mammograms;*

>

> *- Inability to breast-feed, or reduced milk production. Canadian Society of

> Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

> *

>

October 12, 2006