A woman who was forced to remove breast implants after eight years when they became contaminated has warned against others rushing into plastic surgery.
Simone McKenzie Slaven, 39, went under the knife in 2009 to increase her A cup breasts into a C cup in a bid to raise her self esteem after having three kids.
The Sydney mother soon developed inflammatory symptoms akin to a cluster of auto-immune diseases – but was told time and time again her implants were not to blame.
‘I felt like I was dying, but all of my scans were clear. I was getting brain fogs, anxiety and rashes,’ she told Daily Mail Australia about that time.
Simone McKenzie Slaven, 39, went under the knife in 2009 to increase her A-cup breasts into a C-cup, but soon suffered worrying symptoms
‘I felt like I was dying’: Simone told Daily Mail Australia she suffered a range of symptoms, including brain fogs and rashes
‘I went to the doctors but they had no idea,’ she continued. ‘I even suggested it could be the implants I just had put in, but I was told there was no link.’
As the months and years went on, Simone’s health radically deteriorated with absolutely no answers.
‘Six weeks after getting the implants I started to develop some weird symptoms, like swelling in my toes that made its way up and around my body,’ she said.
‘My friends said I was the healthiest looking sick person in the world. My body felt like it was shutting down but on paperwork nothing was wrong with me.’
It was only three months ago that doctors finally made the correlation between Simone’s ill health and her breast implants.
But as the months and years went on, Simone’s health radically deteriorated with absolutely no answers (Pictured before removal operation and after)
The mother-of-three felt as if her auto-immune system was shutting down, and was covered in swelling and rashes
‘My friends said I was the healthiest looking sick person in the world. My body felt like it was shutting down but on paperwork nothing was wrong with me,’ she said
It appeared Simone’s body had rejected the contaminated silicone as microorganisms found their way into her body tissue, causing her auto-immune system to fail.
‘That was when I realised I needed to get rid of the implants,’ she said.
‘It was a bit of a hard decision to make, but I knew I had to get these foreign objects out of my body and my health outweighed how I looked.’
The mother-of-three finally went back under the knife eight weeks ago to have her implants taken out – almost eight years after her first surgery.
To Simone’s enormous relief, almost all of her symptoms have now disappeared – but she is still battling the arthritis which emerged around the same time as her surgery.
It was only three months ago that doctors finally made the correlation between Simone’s ill health and her breast implants
Eight weeks ago Simone finally had her implants removed – nearly eight years after first getting the surgery
The former stylist has now warned other women looking at getting implants to check their bodies won’t reject implants before the operation, and says doctors must accept more accountability before and after surgery.
‘I want doctors to acknowledge the negative effect implants can have on some women. Far more research and tests are needed pre-surgery to ensure they won’t do any harm,’ she added.
Tasked with the difficult process of removing contaminated silicone from Simone’s breasts was Dr Louis Wessler, a Sydney-based plastic and cosmetic surgeon.
Dr Wessler told Daily Mail Australia he was faced with treating a breast implant illness he had never seen before.
‘It was really a one-in-a-million chance that Simone’s auto-immune system would be affected by contamination after breast implant surgery,’ he said.
‘It was a hard decision to make’: Simone removed her implants two months ago
Dr Wessler (pictured) told Daily Mail Australia he was faced with treating a breast implant illness he had never seen before
‘Every woman who gets implants risk microorganisms sneaking in through the incisions but it is very rare to have the sort of complications Simone suffered.’
According to Dr Wessler, some of the biggest problems post-surgery are suffered by patients who travel overseas for cheaper operations.
‘I definitely warn against people who want to go to other countries for implants, because a lot of the time they get on a plane almost immediately after when they need at least two weeks of rest,’ he said.
He is now working alongside other medical professionals to provide advice and treatment for women with implants at saferbreastimplants.org.