English doctor understands our issues~

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This doctor is in England, but she has written an excellent article on silicone poisoning. She has some treatment ideas for autoimmunity that I have not seen before. If you still struggle with autoimmunity and inflammation, please try her suggestion for high dose Vit D and Essential fatty acids.If you have children that may be sick from exposure to your implants, please read the paragraph on Second Generation Exposures. There is a support group for families affected by silicone implants (where mother and child have been sick) called SiliconeKids on , started by our member Rogene. http://www.drmyhill.co.uk/article.cfm?id=86Dr. Myhill Limited :: Registered in England and Wales :: Registration No. 4545198

Registered Office: Upper Weston, Llangunllo, Knighton, Powys, Wales LD7 1SL, UK.

Tel 01547 550331 | Fax 01547 550339 I have now been consulted by over 100 patients with chronic ill

health following silicone breast implants or injections. Silicone leaks

(so called "gel bleed") out of the implant where it is picked up by the

reticulo-endothelial cells and distributed widely throughout the whole

body. The government body responsible for licensing silicone, the

Medical Devices Agency, claims that silicone is inert and does no harm

despite this gel bleed. However, silicone injections are now banned. My

clinical experience and the scientific literature suggests otherwise.

There are many problems with implants, of which the most obvious is

reaction at the time of insertion. The majority of women who have

silicone implants do not seem to react to the silicone - the immune

system ignores it. However for an unfortunate few the immune system is

activated against the silicone. This can cause problems immediately

after implantation when the body tries to get rid of the silicone. It

does this by throwing up a fibrous capsule around the implant which

then contracts, trying to squeeze the implant out. This is akin to the

mechanism by which the body gets rid of any foreign body that gets into

it such as a thorn. In this event the implant goes hard and becomes

painful. Surgeons often treat this by crushing the breast between their

hands, either to rupture the implant or break the pseudo-capsule.

However this often creates just more problems. This technique is called

external capsulotomy.

However, the long term effects are far more malign. This stems from the

fact that silicone cannot be broken down by any enzyme system in the

body, is engulfed by macrophages, carried to distant sites by

embolisation and there it acts as an immune adjuvant, stimulating

immune activity. This means that these patients may suffer from

multisystem disease.

Therefore we see disregulation of the immune system with:

1. Autoimmunity, eg missed connective tissue disease, demyelinating

conditions such as MS, autoimmune endocrinopathies, vasculitis and

myopathies. 2. Chronic fatigue syndromes. 3. Disregulation of

the immune system leading to multiple allergies which may be to foods,

to chemicals, to inhalants, or to micro organisms. My clinical

impression is that the silicone poisoned patients suffer more from pain

than those suffering from virally or OP induced CFS. I have concluded

from my own observations that silicone causes a new disease unique to

silicone but resembling other diseases.

All of these cases I have reported to the MDA. None of these cases were

reported to the MDA by either their plastic surgeon or rheumatologist

or oncologist. This simply reflects the level of gross under-reporting

of side effects.

MECHANIST OF DAMAGE BY SILICONE It is well recognised that

the silicone bleeds out of the implants very readily and is widely

distributed throughout the body by the reticulo-endothelial system.

Silicone leaks out as soon as the implants are put in. I know this

because the Medical Devices Agency, which is the government body

responsible for licensing these products, tells me so. However, where

we disagree is what happens to the silicone then. The MDA maintains

that it is inert, but actually silicone is well recognised as being an

immune adjuvant and I suspect in susceptible individuals we get an

inflammatory reaction against the silicone which results in

multi-system disease. The Louisiana ruling on 19.8.97 showed that Dow

Corning was developing silicone for use as an active pharmaceutical

agent at the same time as when it was being declared "inert".

There is no known mechanism by which silicone can be excreted from the

body. Silicone leakage is accelerated when implants rupture, of which

50% do so by 12 years and 95% by 20 years. Most of these ruptures are

spontaneous but some follow closed capsulotomy, road traffic accident

or whatever. A Lancet paper (November 1997) recommends that all

implants are replaced every 8 years. Silicone leakage can be a problem

locally whereby the body throws up a scar capsule against the implant

to try to prevent the silicone from leaking. As this scar contracts

this causes local hardening of the breast, often with pain. Surgeons

treat this by crushing the breast between their hands (often with no

anaesthetic!) to rupture the scar capsule (this unproven, extremely

painful procedure has been sanitised by giving it a name: closed

capsulotomy). The implant may also be ruptured by this procedure. Once

ruptured, the silicone may migrate in a lump to the axilla and brachial

plexus causing pain and blockage of lymphatics, across the breast

causing a mis-shapen breast (one patient had to have her nipples

surgically re-sited), or down the chest wall. SECOND GENERATION EFFECTS

There is every reason to expect silicone to cross the placenta into the

unborn child. The effects of this are uncertain. Prof Shanklin has

looked at a group of 190 women who had babies before and after their

implant. There were 127 pre-implant children of which 100 were in good

health, 27 in fair health (minor transient problems) and none sick. This compares to 252 post-implant children, of which 78 were in good

health 81 in fair health with 93 WHO WERE MORE SERIOUSLY ILL (compares

to none in the pre-implant group!). This experience certainly accords

with what I am seeing in my patients.

TESTS FOR SILICONE POISONING The most sensitive test

available in this country to assess the reaction of white cells to

silicone in the body is a lymphocyte chemical sensitivity (silicone)

test. This just involves sending a blood sample to ACUMEN. My clinical

impression of tests done so far is that the worst affected women have

the highest levels of sensitivity.

TREATMENTExplantation I have been in

direct contact with Professor Radford Shanklin from the States who has

been most helpful with clinical management. We had a long meeting at

the Royal Society of Medicine where I could pick his brains. The

priority is to have the silicone removed by a surgeon skilled in

explantation. However, the problem with explantation is that it is

thought to stir up a reaction against silicone and patients often see a

worsening of their symptoms which may last up to 3 years. Prof.

Shanklin tells me that reactions against silicone are medicated by T

cells and interleukin 2. He has been trying Plaquenil 200mgs twice

daily for 30 days before and 60 days after surgery and believes this

damps down the T cell activity and prevents this post operative flare.

Plaquenil is a standard immunosuppressive drug used to treat rheumatoid

arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosis. It is a fairly benign drug

and it is felt that for short term treatment no special monitoring is

required although it is probably medically prudent to check a white

cell count and eye test before and during treatment.

Explantation needs to be done by a skilled surgeon aware of the need

not to rupture the capsule inadvertently. Furthermore, the scar capsule

also needs removing because it will be impregnated with silicone.

Insist on being given the implant after surgery and don't allow the

surgeon to make up an excuse. I had one patient who was told the

implant was removed intact, but it was "scrubbed" to make it look

better and ruptured in that process, therefore it was not available to

be seen! Let's face it - you've paid for it - it belongs to you! Chronic fatigue syndrome The CFS side of things

I treat in exactly the same way as I treat all my other CFS patients

with fatigue caused by viral infection or pesticide poisoning or

whatever - namely rest, nutritional supplements, Stoneage Diet, sleep,

mitochondrial function, thyroid and adrenal function. Reducing the autoimmunity High dose vitamin D,

by which I mean 50,000 i.u. per week, together with high dose essential

fatty acids such as VegEPA very much help to reduce the immune

reactions generally. Detoxing

Unfortunately, there is no mechanism by which silicones can be excreted

from the body. I am not aware of any method of detoxing to facilitate

this. One simply has to put in place all of the above measures and hope

that the immune system eventually loses interest in silicone and "burns

itself out". This is certainly my experience with women who are able to

hold the above regimes in place.

Related Test

Lymphocyte Sensitivity to Silicone - October 2008

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