How to Determine Your BIA-ALCL Risk скачать в хорошем качестве

How to Determine Your BIA-ALCL Risk

Board certified plastic surgeon and breast surgery expert Dr. Caroline Glicksman details how patients can determine their risk for BIA-ALCL. There have been several stories in the National news about breast implants and an association with a rare form of cancer called BIA-ALCL, or Breast Implant Associated Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma. While the FDA has determined that there is a possible connection between breast implants, specifically textured implants, and this uncommon cancer of the immune system, the risk factor is still incredibly low. The plastic surgery community, however, believes that this is real and this can be frightening for the many millions of women out there who have implants. Breast augmentation surgery is still the most popular cosmetic surgical procedure in the world with over 300,000 performed last year in the United States alone. Dr. Caroline Glicksman of Sea Girt, NJ discusses how she approaches this sensitive subject with her patients and why it is imperative that any woman with breast implants be examined regularly by her plastic surgeon. WHAT IS BIA-ALCL? First of all, Breast Implant Associated Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) is not breast cancer. This is something that confuses many patients. ALCL is actually a type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma which is a cancer of the immune system. This rare form of blood cancer occurs when your lymphocytes, which are the white blood cells that typically fight off infection, start to grow out of control. BIA-ALCL - causes. ALCL can develop in any part of the body, but the two most common areas are the skin and the lymph nodes. With BIA-ALCL, the cancerous cells tend to build up in the scar tissue around the breast implant, not the actual implant itself. However, like any cancer BIA-ALCL can spread to other areas of the body with time. ARE YOU AT RISK FOR DEVELOPING ALCL? The risk factor for developing BIA-ALCL is incredibly low. It has primarily been associated with textured, not smooth, implants. However, even if you do have textured implants, the lifetime risk of developing BIA-ALCL is estimated to be between 1 in 4,000 and 1 in 30,000. This makes it significantly rarer than breast cancer, which occurs in approximately 1 in 8 women in the US. Other risks associated with breast implants are far more common, such as capsular contracture, infection, and the need to revise for rupture. But Dr. Glicksman does not like to use analogies such as “‘you are more likely to be struck by lightning’ because everyone perceives risk a little differently”. For her patients with textured implants, Dr. Glicksman believes that their concerns are legitimate and need to be acknowledged. What she does tell her patients is “to be careful as your implants age” and to notify your surgeon and schedule an appointment if you notice any of the following signs or symptoms: swelling around your breast a lump pain in the breast or surrounding tissue changes in the shape of your breast Schedule an appointment to be assessed in person by your plastic surgeon. ALCL DISCUSSION SHOULD BE PART OF YOUR FOLLOW UP EXAM Dr. Glicksman does not wait for her patients to ask about ALCL and had made it a practice to schedule routine follow-up exams every two years for all of her breast implant patients. As a plastic surgeon who has used a lot of textured implants over the years because she believes that they were, and still are a wonderful implant, Dr. Glicksman knows that her patients are going to hear the word “textured” and panic.