First breast implant risk study!

Dutch research shows: lymphoma in breast prostheses very rare.

Yesterday, physician assistant plastic surgery Mintsje de Boer, in training with MOOI plastic surgeon Prof. Dr. Rene van der Hulst, was the first to receive her doctorate on the subject.

PhD research by Mintsje de Boer maps risks of Breast Implant Associated Large Cell Anaplastic T-cell Lymphoma (BIA-ALCL). Mintsje, PhD, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon in training at Maastricht UMC+, shows that women with breast prostheses have a much higher risk of developing this disease than women without prostheses. However, the absolute chance that a woman with breast prostheses will develop disease before age 75 is very small: 1 in 7,000. By comparison, the chance of getting breast cancer in the Netherlands is about 1 in 7.
The doctoral research has provided important information on several aspects of BIA-ALCL, which has enabled global policy making around BIA-ALCL and optimal patient information. This dissertation shows the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration and proper registration of breast prostheses to monitor the understanding of prostheses and related complications, as done in the Netherlands by the Dutch BIA-ALCL Consortium and by the Dutch Breast Implant Registry (DBIR).

The study has gained national and international attention because it describes the true risk of bort implants. The doctoral research came about through a collaboration with Dr. Hinne Rakhorst of ZGT and Medisch Spectrum Twente, prof. Floor van Leeuwen (Netherlands Cancer Institute – Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital (NKI-AVL), prof. Daphne de Jong (VU Medical Center), prof. Rene van der Hulst (Maastricht UMC+), prof. Marc Mureau (Erasmus MC), PALGA and of course the Dutch Society for Plastic Surgery and all pathologists and plastic surgeons in the Netherlands.

In the coming years, we will continue to work to provide solid evidence to women who want to increase their quality of life without scars and complex surgeries.

We advocate for medical evidence over media evidence and will continue to share our knowledge with stakeholders, including the media.

See this link for her full dissertation.