T. Questions to Online Breast Implant Support Group

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---------- Forwarded message ----------From: <karenattho@...>Date: Tue, May 5, 2009 at 8:44 AM

Subject: T. Questions to Online Breast Implant Support GroupDear Ilena ~ What a shame ... the messages being sent by some in our society.  I wanted to touch base with you again regarding a few things.  I don't know if I mentioned to you in one of my previous emails, but I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia in February of this year.  While I continue to have flare-ups, it seems to be getting better. 

Just a historical note:  I'm the one with the 30-year-old silicone implants that were diagnosed (MRI) 11/2007 as intracapsular ruptured and by the date of surgery, 12/2007, were extracapsular ruptured.  I tried the " exchange " procedure having new silicone implants inserted.  Spent over a year " fighting for my life " including malpractice by the surgeon (put wrong size implant in wrong breast); had a " fix-it " surgery performed in 11/2008 by same surgeon who then proceeded to cause a " hole " at the incision site while aspirating blood in 12/2008 thereby exposing the implant.  During this time, I continued to have an open wound on my right nipple that would not heal - caused by reaction to neosporin he instructed me to apply and keep covered to all of my incisions back in 1/2008.  This " treatment " caused half of my right nipple to burn off.  It did not help that another one of his wound care treatments was to pour Phisohex (contains Dioxin) directly on this open wound which, as I informed him, hurt and made the wound worse.  It was not until this surgeon was preparing me for yet another surgery during an office visit to " diagnose " the hole that I finally, finally knew I had to get out of there and seek other medical assistance.  No one knew I was at his office.  It was a visit during my lunch hour from work.  He told me to take 5 minutes and decide whether I wanted him to suture the hole and see if it would last or whether I wanted him to remove the implant on the one side and wait for the skin to heal and try implantation in a few months.  He told me all of this while I was laying on the patient bed with my chest area scrubbed with an orange-colored antiseptic, with a cuff wrapped around my upper arm attached to a machine, and with my hands beneath my rear-end (trapped) per his instructions.  With that kind of fear and panick, I finally got the nerve and refused to proceed and literally had to push my way past him and his surgeon's assis tant to get out of the building.  Just weeks after my " fix-it " surgery, still in 12/2008, I received an excellent evaluation and treatment from our local Hospital's Wound Care Center.  What a wonderful team of professionals!  The open wound of over 1 year, closed up in 3-days and now has completely healed.  I accepted the fact that my body could not tolerate the completely intact new silicone implants and had them removed by a different surgeon in 1/2009 and am getting better every day.  I just don't talk about or think about all of the scars ~ considering what I went through, I believe I'm keeping my feelings about them in perspective.

I did file a report with the FDA and they were quick to let me know I'm in the database, but probably will never be part of any research cohort.  Ahhhh ... But here's my question:  the FDA requires manufacturers to administer a baseline survey as part of allowing/permitting silicone implants back on the market.  #1:  my " bad " surgeon gave me the survey which I took home to copy and forgot to return to the office so my survey never made it to the manufacturer (Mentor).  Shouldn't " someone " be tracking the number of surveys received based on the number of surgeries reported as performed by each doctor?  Isn't someone ensuring surgeons are following the " rules " the FDA justified as the basis for allowing silicone implants back on the market?

And #2:  The current baseline survey is designed for first-time patients to try to determine if depression, auto-immune disorders, etc. are already present prior to implantation.  This survey does not ask the appropriate questions for the increasing cohort of women who are " exchanging " whether ruptured or not.  Has any one raised this issue?  I never returned my survey as I had so many comments/ " note: ... "  because prior to my original surgery in 1977, I could have answered " no " to most of the questions, but after rupture, needed to answer " yes " .  Upon analysis, my survey would indicate I had pre-existing conditions, but that's not the case.  The conditions occurred after rupture. 

Please feel free to share this if you think it might be helpful to others.  Thank you for all the work you do.  It is such a life-line to have you and the group.  My close friends love me and try to be supportive, but my husband, mother and others just don't " get it " .  Take care and keep up the blessed work that you do.

Sincerely, land

 

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