We won’t show you gruesome pictures of breast implants gone bad; the internet is littered with websites that will gross you out. Instead, here are some stories from people who have had experience with misbehaving implants. The stories were culled from questionnaires; names have been changed.

“You want a story about a breast implant gone bad? I’ve got a story for you; I had to have a double mastectomy because of breast cancer, and decided to get reconstructive surgery. My doctor told me that my insurance would not pay for the reconstruction unless I used silicone implants, which turned out to be a lie because I could have had them reconstructed using my own abdominal muscle. On my doctors advice, I decided to have silicone implants placed beneath my chest muscle. The reconstruction failed four times. Each time they caused severe pain, and eventually they leaked silicone into my body. After the fourth time, the doctor finally suggested reconstructing my breasts with my abdominal muscles, but by that time, my chest muscles were so deteriorated that they wouldn’t support any more reconstruction attempts. It gets worse. Not only do I not have any breasts, but I do have small, but visible lumps of silicone in various places throughout my body like my neck and armpits and I have to have surgery to remove them. I now get migraine headaches, have had several strokes and have chronic fatigue syndrome.”
– Sue P.

“My husband was 100% against me getting implants, but I got them anyway. A few years after I got them, they burst and leaked through my nipples. I took them out, but had to remove all of my natural breast tissue, too. I have no feeling in my chest, which is now horribly scarred, along with my marriage.”
– Jenny R.

“Breast implants totally and completely destroyed my life! I was successfully running my own law practice, but within two years of getting the implants, I had to take on a partner and turn over all my clients because I was so sick I could barely get out of bed. I was almost sanctioned by the bar for not paying sufficient attention to my clients’ cases. I couldn’t play with my kids or have sex with my husband – my life was essentially over. I’ve been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, which no one thinks is a real sickness, even me, sometimes, so it’s hard to find support for what I’m going through. My husband has been trying to be supportive, but our marriage is severely strained due to my issues. My kids don’t understand what happened, and I don’t know how to tell them about the stupidest thing I’ve ever done.”
– Mary T.

“My wife got breast implants about a year ago, and I didn’t want her to do it. One of them is still really, really hard and it hasn’t dropped, so it’s about two inches higher than the other one. Also, they don’t move when she runs or walks or even bends over; it’s like they’re bolted to her chest. So, not only do they feel terrible, but they look ridiculous. I don’t know what we’re going to do.”
– Mike S.

“I’ve had my implants for about two months. The swelling has gone down, and they’re not noticeably bigger than they were before. And they’re uneven. I have crooked, small, fake breasts.”
– Diane T.

“Unfortunately, I got implants when I was 20. I have had them for six years now and they’ve ruptured twice. I’m going to my doctor to see about removing them.”
– Erica M.

“A few years back I was involved in a minor rear end collision, totally my fault, and I made sure both insurance companies knew it. I had no problem paying for the slight damage to the car, but we did go to mediation over one seemingly insurmountable problem: the woman driving the car I ran into wanted me to pay for her replacement breast. Apparently it burst in the accident. I didn’t like fake breasts before, but I’ve really hated them ever since.”
– John C.

“I am 23 years old and got implants five years ago. They look totally fake, especially because one of them is under my armpit. This is a recent development, and my surgeon said it can be repaired, but until then, this is totally embarrassing.”
– Julie L.

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