My explant journey... becoming a breast implant illness advocate

I've been wanting to write an update for SO long and I kept forgetting. Today is THE DAY to share my update! Why? because I feel SO healthy today... and I owe it to Dr. Chun   and to my family who supported me and made this possible. My husband was my absolute rock, my twin my co-researcher and cheerleader, and my mom my unconditional nurse. 

UPDATE. Today is January 16th, 2024. As of today, 7,681 people have read THIS blog! Wow! It gives me chills, information is power. I just told my mom these stats and she asked me to UPDATE this blog, so of course here I am! It's been 2.5 years. I feel FABULOUS. I got my life back. NO MORE BII SYMPTOMS, nothing, NADA (except my thyroid, but I'll take it!). I'm living MY BEST LIFE! I have the HEALTH and ENERGY to run a successful photography studio, my business is thriving! I get to empower women every day through my photography. The explant gave me a second chance at LIFE. I'm SO grateful! By sharing my explant story I'm paying it forward, other brave women helped me. I hope my BII testimony helps YOU. I'm ALWAYS just one email (andre@andretorophotography.com / IG message away! Please reach out and I'll be delighted to hold your hand in this process. We've got this!)

Here are some photos of us in Portugal in summer of 2023! 

 

We'll rip the bandaid off right away. Here are the graphic photos of my recovery. The before and after surgery, the drains, the sleepy face but hopeful soul. Also, the bathing suit photo because we all wonder how we'll look with no boobs by the pool

 

BEFORE AND AFTER MY EXPLANT

You've seen the drains. But THESE are the photos I wanted to share the most

 

 

In the Lavender field, I have BIG BOOBS. In the snowfield, I have NO BOOBS, I'm literally FLAT. I hope you can see in their faces that my family couldn't care less about the size of my boobs. Do you see how HAPPY the kids are regardless of my boobs? I'm mom, their superhero! I'm PERFECT in their eyes. They LOVE me inside out. For my kids & husband, NOTHING changed. I'm ME! The same passionate soul who is intense about everything in life. One who dances in the kitchen and hugs you 2958493 times a day. You probably wouldn't have looked at my BOOBS unless I asked you to. I'm sure you would have smiled looking at a happy family enjoying an epic sunrise (lavender) or sunset (snow) together!

 

 

 

 

 

Who was my surgeon?

Dr Chun. The best in the world. He dedicates his practice to explants. ONLY explants. He performs +300 explants a year. He has seen the easy cases and the difficult cases. 

I wasn't convinced about flying to California for surgery but my twin who is in the medical field convinced me. It was THE best decision ever. A BIG investment but worth every penny. 100% peace of mind. 

Here is actually a list of expert explant surgeons all around the world. Country by country, and state by state in the US and Canada. It’s an incredible resource. You can have peace of mind if your surgeon is on this list. The list is vetted constantly. 

My TWIN's explant journey

My twin explanted too, NO "symptoms"!

Was I scared of the EXPLANT surgery?

 

I made it to the OR table crying and terrified. Dr Chun had so much empathy and assured me that I wouldn’t mess his statistics. No one has died in his OR table (that made me laugh so much). His anesthesiologist was the biggest empathy, I felt that he cared so much. He heard nonstop crying and made me find peace going into the operating table. Held my hand while I went down. I woke up smiling and grateful. I made it through surgery and so will you ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹

 

 

How difficult was my explant recovery?

The recovery went great, surprisingly the 2 things that were the hardest to deal with the week after the explant.

• Headaches. I have had a severe concussion and then mild ones, headaches are my Achilles ankle. I had daily headaches that drove me bananas. It was seriously worst than any pain from the explant. I then realized that your body goes through a detox phase and headaches are normal. I guess I just had the top-of-the-notch headaches.
• Shoulder ache. I had muscle repair and the muscle next to my right armpit was SO sore, I woke up 2-3 times at night with shoulder pain and I need to change the sleeping position. The shoulder ache lasted 4 months, the pain was tough. I thought I would NEVER recover fully from that shoulder. 6 months later, I'm back to 99% OK with almost no pain.
• My breasts were in NO PAIN AT ALL ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹

Besides that, life was SO good. Getting implants 17yrs ago was SO painful. I remember the pressure and feeling like an elephant in my chest. Getting an explant is NO extreme pain/pressure at ALL, it’s actually liberating, the pressure is off the chest. You breathe awesomely, you feel lighter. The scars do itch (totally ok with that), random pain comes in the nerves (totally ok with that). I got an explant and a lift. I ONLY took Tylenol for the headaches/shoulder.

 

I couldn't move my arms much for 1 month, I was blessed to have my mom with me in California (2 weeks) and then a dedicated husband when I flew back to Boston. I’m super independent with a VERY strong personality. I surrendered to their unconditional love and care ❤️‍🩹

 

When did I go back to work? 

I had to take 6 weeks off. My recovery was VERY slow. My shoulder pain was TOO intense to be able to use my arms and grab a camera. I started working on the backend of my business (in the computer) in week 4, I started shooting clients in week 6. I had to take it very slowly, I couldn't raise my arms for a month.

On the other hand, my twin, who ALSO had muscle repair, explant, and lift... went back to work as an orthodontist only 2 weeks AFTER surgery!! Her recovery was faster than the speed of light. She started using her arms days after surgery and had NO pain whatsoever. No headaches, no shoulder pain, she was back in her feet a couple of days after the surgery. My mom who had taken care of ME could not believe her eyes. My sister looked like no surgery was performed. You might be as lucky as her ❤️😀

The expected time off would probably be between my twin's and my experience. 3-4 weeks is a good estimate. 

Did I receive my implants back?

Yes. I have them. I want to keep them so in a couple of years I can have a candid conversation with my daughters. I'm not throwing them away, they will help me navigate that very important & meaningful conversation.

There is a wonderful movement happening called: Not Our Daughters: Our grandmothers have suffered. Our mothers have suffered. We have suffered. The next generation will not suffer. They will be INFORMED. #notourdaughters

Does EVERY WOMAN with breast implants develop Breast Implant Illness?

Almost all the info shared today comes from this website. It's the holy grail of Breast Implant Illness, there you will find so much good and insightful information!

Foreign objects of any kind, can and will cause endocrine disruption and immune system dysfunction. THIS IS A FACT.

Who are the BEST explant surgeons in the world?

Here is actually a list of expert explant surgeons all around the world. Country by country, and state by state in the US and Canada. It’s an incredible resource. You can have peace of mind if your surgeon is on this list. The list is vetted constantly. 

• TOXIC TEETS
• EXPLANT

1. Silicone breast implants were suspended by the FDA for many years in the late 90s early 00s, only to be approved back. Doctors that worked in these investigations were later linked to the big pharma companies.
   
   
2. BLACK BOX WARNING: After years of activism, on October 27, 2021, the FDA issued orders restricting the sales and distribution of breast implants to ensure patients are provided adequate risk information including a black box warning and checklist for breast implants (already categorized as a Class III medical device which comes with the highest warning for medical devices) to further warn users of the negative health effects which many women have experienced: Textured implants causing BIA-ALCL breast cancer, all implants associated with increased risk of autoimmune diseases such as Sjogren’s, Scleroderma, Rheumatoid Arthritis Hashimoto’s (me & my twin), etc. Plastic Surgeons do not show this box to patients.
   
   
3. Gel Bleeding. This is a term that even the FDA is aware of. It means that the silicone slowly bleeds through the shell of the breast implant, even though implants are intact and do not appear ruptured  (see how my breast implants look after explant, 17y later, how deflated they are). Silicones are foreign to the body, and when silicone particles enter the body, the immune system is triggered and toxic effects can occur. For example, silicone migration to lymph nodes can trigger an immune system response, whereas silicone migration to the nerves or spinal cord can cause immobility. Depending on the migration pattern, concentration, and location of its degradation products, different symptoms can occur.
   
   
4. Toxic Metal. The list of toxic metals inside the silicone breast implants is so large, and we already described the term gel bleeding above. The approximate 40 toxic chemicals and an array of heavy metals in silicone which are known endocrine disruptors, inflammatory, carcinogenic, cytotoxic and neurotoxic poison our fragile endocrine glands especially thyroid and adrenals and poison our immune system and gut health which creates toxicity in our body.
   
   
5. With saline (saline breast implants, these are toxic too) there is also the added element that the saline fill valve ports collect body fluid and can mold and these mold organisms can cross into the implant due to defective valves and even colonize the implant. These microorganisms produce metabolites known as biotoxins which are toxic to us. The interior of capsules is a perfect place for infections to grow and the inside of capsules necrotize over time.
   
   
6. Textures (textured breast implants) add another layer of toxicity soaking up body fluids and providing spaces for infections to thrive. Textures also aggravate the immune system as they flake off and travel through our lymphatic system. Many of us also have pathogens and parasites in our gut due to bad gut health and even past our gut as they inhabit our body because there is very little immune opposition to them due to immune deficits. With poor gut health, we cannot digest our foods and due to autoimmune processes, our guts and bodies are full of inflammation. We could go on but as you can see saline and silicone implants profoundly damage our health in several ways
   
   
7. New gummy bears or cohesive gel implants are not safer. They still rupture.
   
   
8. In 2018 it was revealed by the FDA that FDA kept hundreds of thousands of breast implant incidents hidden from the public
   
   
9. Please read the story of plastic surgeon Dr. Amy DeRosa in Michigan. She is on the list mentioned above. She is an expert in performing breast implant explants, just a few months ago she decided to go through the explant journey herself. Please read her post below. She can explain better than me the reasons for explanting. Her awareness is incredible and her voice is so powerful.
   
10. For both saline and silicone breast implants a strong and immediate response to the silicone shell directly after implantation may be predicated by your genes specifically HLA B27, HLA DR52 and HLA DR53 which are genes associated with being ill in the first year after implantation and a higher sensitivity to silicone. Even if you don’t have these specific genes your body will still respond to the fact that breast implants are large foreign objects implanted in your chest over fragile organs and glands and you will experience the usual foreign body immune response as your body mounts an all-out war which causes immune deficits, immune dysfunction and eventually autoimmune symptoms and diseases. Our overwhelmed immune system eventually switches over to attacking itself instead of attacking invaders. This is known as switching from TH1 dominance to TH2 dominance and it is when the immune system develops antibodies against itself instead of killer T-Cells to kill what it perceives to be abnormal cells. Eventually, both saline and silicone breast implants cause immune system failure by overwhelming the immune system and allowing various infections in the body to gain a foothold which causes symptoms. These infections can be bacterial, viral, fungal or parasitical.
    
    
11. Visit this website for more info: 

a. Breast Implant Lawsuits Filed Globally
b. (Reading about breastfeeding and implants is something that I try to not read as it breaks my heart, it really does.)

Explant Q&A from my Instagram Page

Every couple of months I get questions about my explant journey on my Instagram page. Here are some examples. It might answer some of your concerns. If it's not there. Please email me at andre@andretorophotography and we can chat ❤️. I'm ALL ears and will be happy to point you to the right direction/expert.

Symptoms Consistently Reported by Women

• · Fatigue
• · Brain fog, memory loss, cognition problems
• · Muscle pain and weakness
• · Joint pain of neck, shoulder, back, hip, knee, hands/feet
• · Hair loss, dry hair
• · Premature aging of the skin
• · Skin itching, various rashes
• · Weight problems
• · Inflammation
• · Insomnia and poor sleep
• · Dry eyes, decline in vision
• · Hypothyroid
• · Adrenal fatigue
• · Parathyroid problems
• · Diminishing hormones, early menopause, hysterectomy
• · Low libido
• · Slow healing, easy bruising
• · Slow recovery after exercise
• · Vertigo
• · Headaches, migraines, ocular migraines
• · Throat clearing, cough, difficulty swallowing, choking
• · Reflux, GERD
• · Nausea, gastritis, leaky gut, SIBO
• · Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• · Fevers, night sweats, heat intolerance
• · Persistent bacterial and viral infections
• · UTI infections, Interstitial Cystitis
• · Yeast infections, Candida, Sinusitis (fungal)
• · Ear ringing
• · Metallic tastes
• · Sudden new food intolerances and allergies
• · Heart Palpitations, heart changes, heart pain
• · Blood pressure problems
• · Swollen and tender lymph nodes of breast and underarm
• · Bouts of dehydration for no reason
• · Frequent urination
• · Numbness and tingling in limbs
• · Cold and discolored hands and feet
• · Chest discomfort, shortness of breath
• · Pain or burning around implant and underarm
• · Liver problems
• · Kidney problems
• · Gallbladder problems
• · Pancreatitis
• · Depression, anxiety, panic attacks
• · Feeling like you are dying
• · Symptoms or diagnoses of Fibromyalgia
• · Symptoms or diagnoses of EBV
• · Symptoms or diagnoses of Lyme
• · Symptoms or diagnoses of autoimmune diseases such as Raynaud's Syndrome, Hashimoto's, Addison's Disease, Graves Disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Scleroderma, Lupus, Sjogren's Syndrome, Unspecified Connective Tissue Disease, POTS, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Multiple Sclerosis and others
• · Symptoms or diagnoses of BIA-ALCL, Breast Implant Associated B Cell Lymphoma, Breast Implant Associated Squamous Cell Carcinoma
• · Symptoms or diagnosis of other cancers known to be associated with breast implants such as Melanoma, brain cancer, Myeloma, respiratory cancer, various breast cancers, various lymphomas, various carcinomas and sarcomas

I hope this blog helps you navigate this journey.

I KNOW it is a LOT to digest.

I see you and I feel you. You're NOT alone. I'm here for you ALWAYS! Shoot me an email andre@andretorophotography and we'll chat.

Happy healing :)