After being misdiagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Christina Applegate is exploring whether her breast implants played a role in her health issues − raising questions about the safety of the popular plastic surgery and it's long-term implications.
On the "MeSsy" podcast
on Nov. 10, the 54-year-old "Dead to Me" star told cohost Jamie-Lynn Sigler she is looking into whether breast implant illness could explain why she "hurts all over" and experiences chronic fatigue.Her suspicions were reinforced when someone recently sent her what she described as a study about breast implant illness "presenting as MS."
"I swear, over the last five years I thought, 'What if they're leaking and they're poisoning me?'" Applegate said. "So that's one that I will be
looking into, because it's something I've thought about." Applegate has been on a journey to get answers regarding her health after finding out recently her MS diagnosis had been incorrect.
Can breast implants make you sick?
Breast implant illness, or BII, is a collection of symptoms that may be related to breast implants, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Symptoms of BII include "fatigue, problems with memory or concentration ('brain fog'), joint and muscle pain, hair loss, weight changes, anxiety and depression," the U.S. Food and Drug Administration adds.
However, BII is not a formal medical diagnosis, and "there are no specific tests or recognized criteria to define or characterize it," according to the FDA.
In addition to breast implant illness, the FDA has warned patients about other potential risks of breast implants, including capsular contracture (scar tissue that squeezes an implant), potential rupture of the implant and cancer of the immune system.
How common is breast implant illness?
It’s unclear how common breast implant illness is, according to the Cleveland Clinic, but more than 400,000 people in the U.S. have breast implants each year.
People have reported symptoms with both saline-filled or silicone-filled implants, the clinic adds, and symptoms can start soon after surgery or not for many years.
Following an early-stage breast cancer diagnosis in 2008, Applegate underwent a double mastectomy, followed by breast reconstruction. The actress, who was found to have the BRCA1 gene mutation that increases breast cancer risk, said she is "way overdue for having (the implants) replaced."
"Many people report that their BII symptoms go away after a surgeon removes their implants, but others don’t," the clinic noted.
Breast implant ruptures
Other celebrities have spoken publicly about complications associated with breast implants, including SZA and Denise Richards.
In 2024, SZA said she got her implants removed due to a spike in excess tissue that started growing in her breasts after undergoing augmentation. Richards said she had to get the procedure "redone" after her implants ruptured while doing extreme stunts on the Fox show "Special Forces: World's Toughest Test."
Ruptures or leaks can happen with both silicone and saline implants, according to the Mayo Clinic.
These ruptures can happen for a variety of reasons.
"The longer you have saline or silicone implants, the greater the risk of rupture or leaks," Breastcancer.org explains. "Saline and silicone implants can also rupture because of trauma − anything from a car accident to a needle insertion during a biopsy. But damage by surgical instruments during breast implant surgery is still the most common cause of silicone implant rupture, affecting 51% to 64% of cases."
The Mayo Clinic adds that leaking saline solution "isn't a health risk," but removing the silicone shell requires surgery. A leaking silicone gel "isn't thought to cause health problems, but it can travel to other parts of the body," the clinic notes, adding that a torn silicone breast implant might cause breast pain or other changes, which may require surgical removal of the implant.
Contributing: KiMi Robinson, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Christina Applegate breast implant comments raise questions on safety
