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The illness · Breast implant illness

Breast implant illness, explained

No jargon, no fear, and no claims beyond what is known.

Talk to Dr. Urzola's team
What it is

A cluster of symptoms, still being studied

Breast implant illness, or BII, is the name given to a group of symptoms that some women develop after breast implants. It is not a single disease, but a cluster of problems that appears differently in each woman, and it is still being studied. Doctors do not yet fully understand why it happens. Anyone who claims certainty is saying more than the evidence supports.

How it develops

  1. 01

    An adjuvant stimulates the immune system

  2. 02

    Silicone can pass through an intact shell

  3. 03

    The response cannot switch itself off

  4. 04

    Years later, the whole body feels it

Each step is explained below.

Could it be your implants?

Symptoms across the whole body

Women with implants report a wide range of symptoms across the whole body. Here are the ones most commonly described, grouped by system.

  • Cognitive & neurological

    • Brain fog, poor concentration & memory
    • Headaches
    • Dizziness or vertigo
    • Ringing in the ears (tinnitus)
    • Numbness or tingling in arms & legs

  • Mood, sleep & energy

    • Anxiety, depression & panic attacks
    • Insomnia & poor sleep
    • Fatigue or chronic fatigue
    • Slow muscle recovery after activity

  • Muscles & joints

    • Muscle pain & weakness
    • Joint pain & stiffness
    • Aching joints (shoulders, hips, spine, hands, feet)
    • Cramping

  • Immune & inflammation

    • Widespread inflammation
    • Frequent infections — bacterial, viral, fungal, candida, sinus
    • Colds & flus slow to clear
    • Swollen, tender lymph nodes (breast, underarm, neck, groin)
    • Sudden food intolerances & allergies

  • Hormonal & endocrine

    • Estrogen / progesterone imbalance
    • Thyroid symptoms (hypo or hyper)
    • Adrenal symptoms (hypo or hyper)
    • Unexplained weight changes

  • Skin, hair & aging

    • Hair loss
    • Dry skin & hair
    • Skin rashes
    • Premature aging
    • Slow healing & easy bruising

  • Heart & circulation

    • Palpitations or heart-rate changes
    • Chest discomfort & shortness of breath
    • Cold & discolored hands and feet

  • Digestive, eyes & organs

    • Digestive & gastrointestinal issues
    • Reflux, difficulty swallowing, throat clearing, cough & choking
    • Metallic taste
    • Dry eyes & vision changes
    • Liver & kidney dysfunction
    • Frequent urination & unexplained dehydration

  • Implant area & systemic

    • Pain or burning near implant / underarm
    • Fever, night sweats & heat intolerance
    • Toxic shock symptoms

Associated diagnoses

BIA-ALCLFibromyalgiaLyme diseaseHashimoto’s thyroiditisRheumatoid arthritisSclerodermaLupusSjögren’sRaynaud’sMultiple sclerosisConnective tissue disease

These are patient-reported and nonspecific symptoms — they can overlap with many other conditions and are not a diagnosis on their own. If several sound familiar, discuss them with Dr. Víctor Urzola.

The symptom most often dismissed

The mental fog is not imagined

Many women describe losing words mid-sentence, rereading the same paragraph, or feeling slower than they used to. Inflammation that begins in the body can affect the brain and the connections between neurons. A standard MRI shows structure, not this kind of low-grade inflammation, which is why a scan can come back normal even when the experience is real.

A tired woman resting her head in her hand
The leading explanation

The adjuvant theory

An adjuvant is anything that makes the immune system react harder than it normally would. The theory is that an implant acts as one: the body reads it as something to fight, and never stops fighting it.

In most women that leads nowhere. In some it turns chronic and starts affecting their own tissue. That is ASIA: autoimmune syndrome induced by adjuvants, described over fifty years ago.

It fits a pattern many women know: inflammation markers positive, a diagnosis of fibromyalgia or lupus, and no one able to say what caused it.

Only a small percentage of women have a predisposition to develop this kind of autoimmune response to implants, which is what we now call BII.
Dr. Urzola

How it happens

  1. The implantcontains an adjuvant
  2. Immune reactionthe body raises the alarm
  3. It becomes chronica whole-body response
  4. It attacks its own tissuethis is called ASIA
The part that is rarely explained

An intact implant is not the same as a harmless one

Most women are told there are only two possibilities: the implant is intact, or it has ruptured. It is not that simple. The shell of an implant is not a sealed barrier. Over the years, small amounts of silicone can pass through it, without any rupture. This is known as gel bleed.

Silicone has been identified in the capsule, in the lymph nodes under the arm, and elsewhere in the body. After several years, an implant is better understood as biologically active than as an object that simply sits in place.

Gel bleed on an intact implant · Filmed by Dr. Urzola

A response that does not switch off

The immune system sends cells called macrophages to remove what does not belong. Silicone cannot be broken down, so these cells stay active instead of completing their task. Over time, that ongoing activation can affect the whole body, which helps explain why symptoms can appear years after the surgery.

Individual susceptibility

Why it affects some women and not others

Not every woman with implants develops these symptoms, which points to an individual predisposition. Genetics sets the baseline, but which genes are active is influenced by other factors: infection, hormonal change, stress, pregnancy, and the body’s overall inflammatory load. This is consistent with the observation that symptoms often begin after a specific event, an illness or a demanding period, rather than immediately after the surgery.

The evidence, as it stands

Removing the source helps

0%

of patients improved after explant.

Maastricht cohort study

0%

improved, and 74% reported a higher quality of life.

Peters study

0%

reached full symptom remission at six months, with 85% reporting improvement.

Dr. Urzola’s ongoing study · 130+ en bloc patients

These are study findings, not a promise. Results vary from one person to another.

A private self-check

Do these sound like you?

A short set of questions can help you see whether your experience fits the pattern. It takes about two minutes, it stays private, and no one will contact you unless you ask.

A few questions about your symptoms

It takes about two minutes. Your answers stay in your browser — nothing is sent to us or saved anywhere.

This is not a diagnosis and does not replace a medical consultation.

The takeaway

Complete removal is what the evidence supports

The studies point in one direction. When the implant, and the capsule around it, are removed completely, most women improve. The capsule matters because it can hold the same particles that triggered the response. How that removal is done is covered next.

Your path, step by step

What comes next

Phase 02Explant SurgeryEn bloc and total capsulectomy: the implant and the capsule, out completely.
Next step

Have Dr. Urzola review your case

When you're ready, begin with a private consultation. There's no pressure and no obligation.

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