The FDA today reported that it has received nearly 2,500 new reports globally of “breast implant illness” or BII. Reports of new breast implant-related cancer were also up.
BII is not cancer, nor is it a term often found in medical literature, the agency said. But it is frequently used by patients and healthcare providers when reporting adverse events related to breast implants.
The new total of 2,497 new BII reports that the FDA collected globally dates from November 2018 to October 2019. That’s in addition to the 1,080 BII case reports received from January 2008 through October 2018. The agency attributed the increase to heightened awareness from press, social media and its General and Plastic Surgery Devices Advisory Committee meeting held in March 2019.
The top 10 most common BII symptoms reported to the agency include fatigue (49%), brain fog (25%), joint pain (25%), anxiety (24%), hair loss (21%), depression (19%), rash (1…