Resources — ExplantHealth

We would rather you checked our work than trusted it. These are the sources we use, linked directly, so you can read them without an intermediary.

Regulators

The primary sources for device safety, recalls and labelling. Start here rather than with any site summarising them, including this one.

FDA — Breast ImplantsLabelling, boxed warning, patient decision checklist, safety communications and recalls.FDA — Systemic symptom reportsThe agency’s summary of reports of systemic symptoms in women with implants.FDA MedWatchReport a device problem. Patients can file directly.Health Canada — medical device problem reportingCanadian adverse event reporting.MHRA Yellow CardUK reporting scheme for devices and medicines.

Professional societies

Consensus statements and procedure guidance. Useful for understanding what surgeons are being advised, which is not always what patients are told.

BSCC consensus on capsulectomyThe 2024 statement defining capsulectomy terms and when en bloc is indicated.American Society of Plastic SurgeonsProcedure information, annual statistics, surgeon verification.The Aesthetic SocietyAesthetic surgery statistics and patient resources.

Research

Where to read the literature directly. Search terms that work: “breast implant illness”, “capsulectomy”, “BIA-ALCL”, “silicone implant rupture”.

PubMedThe main index of biomedical literature. Abstracts are free; many full texts are too via PMC.PubMed CentralFree full-text archive.Aesthetic Surgery JournalPublishes much of the primary research on explant outcomes and capsulectomy practice.

Verifying a surgeon

Public registers. Checking takes a few minutes and is worth doing before a consultation, not after.

Certification Matters (ABMS)Verify US board certification.American Board of Plastic SurgeryThe relevant board for this surgery in the US.Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of CanadaCanadian specialist certification.GMC specialist registerUK register.

Getting your own records

Your operative report and implant device stickers identify the manufacturer, model and lot number of your implants. Request them from the surgeon who placed them; if that practice has closed, the hospital or surgical facility usually retains records. You are entitled to these. They matter for recall checks, for warranty claims, and for any future surgeon.

A note on communities

Large patient communities exist on social platforms and are, for many women, the first place anyone took their symptoms seriously. That is worth something real. They are also where unproven protocols and supplement selling circulate hardest, often from people with something to sell. Both things are true. Read them for solidarity and for questions to bring to a physician, rather than for clinical guidance.