Research complaints breast implants
In the Netherlands, more than 200,000 women have breast implants. Follow-up research into a possible link between silicone breast implants and health complaints has begun. RIVM coordinates the research program conducted by Nivel, Maastricht University, Erasmus MC, Erasmus University, Medical Center, the Dutch Breast Implant Registry, Amsterdam UMC, University Medical Center, and the Netherlands Cancer Institute. From Maastricht, Prof. Dr. van der Hulst and Dr. Hommes are involved in this research.
What is being investigated?
A previous study revealed that there are women with silicone breast implants who report physical complaints. These are symptoms such as fatigue, joint pain and problems with concentration and memory. However, the study does not answer the cause of these symptoms and whether breast implants have anything to do with it. All kinds of factors can influence the development of symptoms. With the new scientific study, they want to understand how common complaints are among women with breast implants and what plays a role in them. So it is being investigated whether there is a connection between the silicone implants and the reported symptoms.
Four-year
The research will take four years and consist of three program. Maastricht University uses anonymized data from healthcare registries of general practitioners, hospitals and clinics and the Dutch breast implant registry.
That this investigation has begun is not yet cause for concern. It is good that research is being done, though. Do you have questions following this topic? If so, check out the website of the Dutch Society of Plastic Surgery for more information: www.nvpc.nl.
