Hello,

I read several posts about Alopecia related to Breast Implants and I think that my story is relevant on this subject:

When I was 29 I decided to get silicone breast implants and everything went very well with the operation and esthetic results. However, one week after the operation, I noticed a bald patch on the side of my head. I had always had long and nice hair until then and never once experienced alopecia before. I asked the surgeon who performed the operation if it was related to the implants and he said that it was perhaps related to the stress of the operation but not to the silicone. Then I went to a dermatologist who injected cortisone in the bald patch. The first bald patch did regrow within approximately three months and then nothing more happened for a few months. But then another bald patch appeared on the other side of my head. I returned to my dermatologist who injected cortisone again in the patch and did the same again and again about six times every three weeks, but the hair did not grow back this time and I noticed other red zones on my scalp which soon developped into more bald patches... I decided to go to the dermatology department of the hospital near my home and they offered to treat me with oral cortisone. About six months after the beginning of the treatment, all my hair begain to grow back and after about nine months everything was as it was before the operation, but there were difficult side effects: I was 15 kgs heavier, often red in the face, puffy faced, I had a lot more hairs all over my body and face, my belly was perpetually swollen as if I was six months pregnant and I was tired and also sick very often. So I decided to stop the treatment hoping that the side effects would subside, but the hair would remain and... the opposite happened! The hair fell out again, but two years later I have only managed to lose 5 kgs on the 15 kgs I gained. Well, at least the other side effects disappeared. I also tried methotrexate for several months, but there was no big success on my hair, only side effects like red spots all over my face, diarrhoea... so I decided to stop this treatment as well. Of course during these years I have also tried Regaine (no success), cortisone creams and lotions (no success) and shampoos and food supplements (without any success). The last thing I think I could try is to remove the breast implants, but if I'm unlucky with this I'll end up with no boobs and no hair... that would be difficult to accept... Has anyone tried to remove her breast implants and NOT put back other implants? I have tried to find studies about this situation on the internet, but never found one, only women with other autoimmune disorders who felt a lot better after removing their implants...