What is it associated with? What is the cause of the disease?

• It is mainly related to materials like breast silicone implants, and even vaccines, but can also be related to other medical devices and therapeutic products that are usually considered safe. 

What are the risk factors?

• Genetic factors, family history of inflammatory and autoimmune disease.

What are the symptoms of the condition?

• body aches, muscle pain, muscle weakness
• Joint pain
• Chronic fatigue, sleep disturbances, memory loss
• Dry mouth and eyes

 What causes the problem?

• it is caused by the presence of a foreign material in the body that induces the production of autoantibodies, causing signs and symptoms similar to autoimmune diseases.

What is the relationship between silicone implants and rheumatic diseases and chronic pain?

• if the symptoms appeared after the placement of breast implants, a rheumatologist should evaluate if the disease was caused by the breast implant

As this is a recent study, is it already known how to diagnose the disease accurately?

• The diagnosis of this syndrome consists of the presence of these signs and symptoms that appeared after the placement of the breast implant and silicone or the use of some other medical device or related treatment.

Is there already a treatment for silicone-related disease?

• Treatment with medications can help control symptoms, but the definitive treatment consists of en bloc removal of the silicone implant with its entire intact capsule.

Do all women have a predisposition to develop silicone-related disease?

• Having a silicone implant is already a risk, regardless of whether the implant is breast or in some other part of the body. People with personal and family history of autoimmune diseases (of the immune system) have an increased risk.

What examinations are necessary before undergoing silicone implant surgery?

• There is no specific test at the moment that indicates an increased risk of developing any silicone-related disease.  The routine examinations requested by many surgeons for those undergoing breast augmentation with silicone generally consist of breast examinations (mammography and ultrasound), blood tests (complete blood count, coagulogram, renal function), pregnancy test, urine test. There are scientific studies proposing the collection of specific tests to assess inflammatory activity and the presence of autoantibodies, but without proven benefits to date. And we must remember that each patient may have a different medical history  and may require specific examinations and even evaluation by another specialist.

What precautions should women take before opting for silicone implants?

• Inform if the surgeon is truly a specialist  in Plastic Surgery, inform about all the risks of the procedure, understand where the scars will be, know the postoperative evolution, and mainly, be well informed that, to date, there is NO eternal breast implant. ALL silicone implants need to be replaced.

What are the contraindications for silicone implants?

• There is no formal absolute contraindication, and each case must be studied, but there is a relative contraindication in patients who already have autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, especially in those patients with difficult disease control.

Is there treatment for the syndrome?

• Treatment with medications can help control symptoms, but the definitive treatment consists of en bloc removal of the silicone implant with its entire intact capsule, and even then, symptoms may not regress or even improve.

Any final considerations?

• Despite being a risk related to breast implants, it is a rare syndrome.