Found it...formaldehyde reference for explant

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http://www.mold-survivor.com/breast_implant_horror__leaky.html

When Gordon's black implant was sent for testing to Dr. Pierre Blais,

Ph.D., a former senior scientific adviser at Canada's version of the FDA, Health

Canada's Health Protection Branch, the results were unnerving. " The implant was

full of dead fungus–aspergillis [sic] niger, aspergillis [sic] fumigatis and a

subtype of the albicans family–which could make the recipient very ill, "

explains Blais, who has analyzed more than 7,000 breast implants. But he also

found something far worse–dead, antibiotic-resistant bacteria: " Enough to fill a

teaspoon. "

The bacteria and fungi were dead because the implant had been dunked in

formaldehyde upon removal from Gordon's chest, as is customary–so clearly this

wasn't mold that had grown afterward. " We've seen hundreds of cases like this, "

maintains Blais. " But Ms. Gordon's implant ranks number four among the most

contaminated implants we've ever tested. "

In Blais' analysis, small amounts of the bugs had leaked into Gordon's body as

her implant aged, making her feel sick. When the organism-filled sac was

removed, antibiotics and antifungal drugs were able to wipe out the remaining

germs in her body and restore her health. " Had the implant stayed in longer, she

might have been chronically ill; had it ruptured, her body could have been

flooded with bacteria and fungus that drugs would have been unable to fight. She

was really lucky to walk away from this, " notes Blais solemnly. " If I were her,

I would not buy a lottery ticket for a long time. "

Mounting evidence suggests that in a small percentage of women, like

Gordon, implants become tainted with bacteria or fungus, which sometimes causes

the sacs to discolor and, over time, the wearers develop autoimmune-like

illnesses. Although the FDA maintains that implants do not cause these

illnesses, the agency is planning to review additional reports from the

manufacturers' ongoing studies (which will continue for about six more years).

Mentor Corp.'s studies so far have already shown that 2 percent of augmentation

patients and 9 percent of reconstruction subjects developed unspecified

infections within three years. Six women in each of the manufacturers' studies

were also deemed, using very strict criteria, to have autoimmune problems.

How could the implants become contaminated? When breast implants are shipped to

a surgeon, they arrive deflated; in the office, the doctor fills them with

saline solution through a valve. If the conditions aren't completely sterile–if,

for example, the solution is exposed to air–germs could be introduced. Also,

some doctors have been known to add ingredients like antibiotics and

disinfectants in the hope of preventing infections. These additives degrade in

the implant's solution after years inside the body. In fact, in Gordon's

implant, Blais did find degraded Keflin, an antibiotic, which contributed to the

black color. Worse, instead of protecting her it encouraged the growth of

bacteria that were resistant to the drug, hence more dangerous.

Some experts believe that microbes can pass through the implant's envelope and

through imperfect valves. According to this theory, bugs could enter the sacs

from the body, and/or germs growing inside could wind up on the device's outer

surface, infect the surrounding tissue and travel into the bloodstream. The idea

is controversial, however. " Cases of contamination have been cited in the past,

but with today's sterile techniques, bacteria or fungus should not enter the

implant during filling or afterward, " contends Diane Hart, program manager of

patient services at Mentor, the company that made Gordon's implant.

Meanwhile, Blais, who has authored 250 scientific papers on the safety of

implantable medical devices, believes women are still in danger. He has seen

hundreds of black, brown and green implants–both saline and silicone-gel

implants, which were banned for cosmetic use in 1992 but allowed for

reconstruction patients–removed from women who had all types of health problems,

including autoimmune symptoms. These colors correlate to certain types of

microbes present in the implant, he explains. " One of the most common

contaminants in black implants is aspergillus niger, a black variety of fungus,

while two other forms, aspergillus fumigatis and Bouffardi's black, cause dark

brown discoloration. " In the case of blue or green implants, the culprit is

usually algae.

V. Leroy Young, M.D., professor of plastic surgery at Washington University in

St. Louis, is another scientist who has shown that disease-causing microbes

including E. coli, staph bacteria and aspergillus can grow in saline implants.

Further, a handful of studies have shown a connection between symptoms

associated with autoimmune disease and germ-ridden implants of both the saline

and silicone variety.

In one of these studies, Marek .K. Dobke, M.D., head of the division of plastic

surgery at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, cultured

both kinds of implants, removed from more than 300 hundred women complaining of

muscle or joint pain, chronic fatigue, skin rashes, low grade fever, dry eyes

and mouth, hair loss, and confusion or impaired memory. He found bacteria (most

commonly staph) or fungi in approximately 70 percent of cases–three times the

rate of occurrence of bugs in implants removed from healthy women who were

having an " explant " for cosmetic reasons (such as trading up a cup size). He

also found high rates of microbe contamination in women with capsular

contracture and breast pain–a connection that many agree with, including Dr.

Young, who fingers bacteria as the culprit. " This strong correlation between

microbes–mostly bacteria–and symptoms, " maintains Dr. Dobke, " may be the key to

the health troubles so many women with implants have. "

Still, many experts discount such findings. Dr. Young, despite his own microbe

studies, contends that the real discoloring culprits in most cases are the

substances often added to the saline fill, such as Betadine, an antiseptic,

which is brown. He's also suspect of research finding live germs in contaminated

implants. " If the device has been sitting around in someone's closet, you may

find fungus, but that doesn't mean it was there when the implant was removed, "

he contends.

Others believe that implant patients' autoimmune complaints are coincidental.

" Women are genuinely suffering [from autoimmune problems], " explains L.

Baker Jr., M.D., clinical professor of plastic surgery at the University of

South Florida in Tampa, " but women who have implants have the same rate of these

diseases as those who don't. " Dr. Baker also points out that people who have

other kinds of implantable devices in their bodies aren't complaining of an

autoimmune epidemic. But this is another point of debate. Small studies by Dr.

Dobke and others have shown a link between painful symptoms in men and

contaminated penile implants. Blais adds that because implants are soft and

fluid-filled, they may provide a more conducive environment for germs to grow

than, say, a hard chin implant or knee replacement. However, he admits, a dearth

of research on other types of devices leaves many questions unanswered. " With

many medical implantable devices, " he notes, " the patients are elderly, so

autoimmune problems that take time to develop may not show up before a patient

dies or may never be linked to the implant. "