To read Helen's obituary, please click here.
Date: Sat, 04 Sep 1999 16:48:02 -0500
From: Helen Wattier
My name is Helen and I had around 9 breast biopsies from the ages 18 - 21, the last 2 being pr-cancerous. I had pain all the time and never felt safe.
When in 1973 my general surgeon said, "Helen there is a new surgery out for people like you, it is a big surgery one of the hardest I do, we do a mastectomy and place a gel filled sack into the breast." I spoke with him for over 2 hours before the surgery was done. and I made the decision because, #1.
I was too young for mammogram, he even begged them and they said no, I had to see him every three months to check for lumps and the pain never left. I think I was the first person in Des Moines Iowa who had it done. I know I was the first patient my surgeon did. I recovered well, but from day one they were hard as rocks and cold as ice. When I went back in he felt it was because I was so thin and that they were lying on the nerve endings rather than floating around. I was never told to ever have a mammogram. what they were made from and for over 23 years I had problems, I was ill most of the time, with many infections.
In 1984 I had a hysterectomy with a lot of complications and two months later a gall bladder removed. I developed severe skin problems, ulcers on my legs, my arms covered with sores and no one knew what they were caused from. I went to Iowa City Hospital to be evaluated and my GP wrote and asked them to check and see if my body was in some way rejecting these implants or allergic to them. The internist I saw, said, "I don't want to talk about it!" So I went back and she called and the next time I saw the doctors in Iowa City, I had one physician who stated; the only way you are going to know is to take them out and find out. He was a skin specialist. After two major surgeries that past year I was not up to any more surgeries. I saw an immune deficiency doctor and he found an immune system problem But it was not bad enough for me to have treatment. I continued on and tried not to think about any of it, if I was sick I took extra strong antibiotics to get over it. I had pneumonia many times and was able to treat it. Through out all of this time my family and mother swore up and down my problems were being caused my the implants, and of course I denied it, I really deep down did not think this was right. Stupid, wasn't I?
I saw another immune deficiency for about 3 years and she had me taking antibiotics 2 weeks out of the month, this cause severe c-diff(colon problems). In May of 1996 my insurance changed which meant I had to change doctors. I felt at this time I had a rupture. I told the new doctor and he immediately ordered a mammogram, which came back abnormal, then an ultra sound which came back abnormal. It took me 3 months to find a doctor to remove these implants. He wanted to do a mastectomy right away and I refused. He never said why, I asked for him to use my own tissue and he refused stating, I was not a candidate for a tram. He removed both implants, both were leaking and ruptured and they found more tissue and pre cancer cells, fast growing cells, silicone and many other things I did not understand. I went to a women general surgeon and she backed him up so in 11-96 I had a mastectomy, bilateral, with expanders placed under the muscle. I ended up having 3 office surgeries to close because of infection.
I finally had the expanders taken out and saline put in March of 1997. Two weeks later I began to drain and had a huge amount of fluid come out of the breasts. So he went back in and placed tubes. He then left town and my ps now got stuck with me. He tried very hard to safe these implants, with a pic line and drugs but by the end of May I had both removed. 9 surgeries in all. I asked him if he was a micro surgeon and he said yes, I then asked if he would use my tissue and he said yes but to wait a year and try to recover from all I had gone through.
Which I did and in that year I broke an ankle while walking and fell and broke 2 ribs. I was then diagnosed with osteoporosis.
In June of 1998 I went in all prepared for a tram flap on one side and a free flap on the other. I have a gall bladder scar. He was able to do the tram flap but not the free flap because the veins were not good enough. I almost died on the table, my blood pressure dropped and I lost a lot of blood. I recovered and in 7-98 went back in to be debrieded and closed again. I then waited until 11-98 and had a lattisimus flap on the other side. They didn't match but I had something to put into a bra. The prosthesis caused sever rash and itching. We waited until 5-99 and he went in to try to make them both the same size. They are pretty close, and in clothes I look fine. But of course I did not heal well and I went back in 9-2-99 and had the breast restiched from one end to the other.
I have had a wonderful ps who has supported me and felt really bad for all that has happened to me. I guess I was the first he had seen with all these complications. I have reflected when I write back to so many girls and women about having implants. I have educated myself to realise that saline is no safer than silicone, it has an expiration date of one year shelf life and a silicone covering. It also is a foreign substance in your body. My way to go was the flaps but probably because of my immune difiency I should not have gone thru all of that. But I felt like I was sunken in and ugly. After 13 surgeries and being ill most of that time I am tired, they have found I have fibermyalgia my hands and whole body hurt all the time, this I feel is from the silicone leakage, because that is when it began.. I see my life as shortened, and every day I have to fight to survive. I still work because that keeps my mind busy and me busy.
I am angry that Dow lied to doctors, lied to us and continue to lie to everyone. They are making money right and left, where most of us our bankrupt and too sick to fight them. There are millions of women out there who they have played with their lives and not given a damn! Will I see any money? I doubt it, anyway not what I deserve if they ever decide anything. So I now have taken it upon myself to be a crusader and when someone writes in about implants, I write back and tell them the truth. I hope I will make a difference in someone’s life. I wish there had been someone who could have helped me 25 years ago.
Helen Wattier
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To send a message to Helen's husband, David, please click below.
I was just re-reading Helen's last emails to our group. Her doctors had never heard of silicone going to the lungs, but we certainly have.
In fact, beloved country singer Tammy Wynette died of a pulmonary embolism after years of serious health problems. Here are a few studies:
Celli, B., Textor, S., and Kovnat, D. M. (1978). Adult respiratory distress
syndrome following mammary augmentation. Am J Med Sci 275, 81-5.
Chastre, J., Brun, P., Soler, P., Basset, F., Trouillet, J. L., Fagon, J.
Y., Gibert, C., and Hance, A. J. (1987). Acute and latent pneumonitis after
subcutaneous injections of silicone in transsexual men. Am Rev Respir Dis
135, 236-40.
Chen, Y. M., Lu, C. C., and Perng, R. P. (1993). Silicone fluid-induced
pulmonary embolism. Am Rev Respir Dis 147, 1299-302.
Hirmand, H., Hoffman, L. A., and Smith, J. P. (1994). Silicone migration to
the pleural space associated with silicone-gel augmentation mammaplasty.
Ann Plast Surg 32, 645-7.
Lai, Y. F., Chao, T. Y., and Wong, S. L. (1994). Acute pneumonitis after
subcutaneous injections of silicone for augmentation mammaplasty. Chest
106, 1152-5.
Matsuba, T., Sujiura, T., Irei, M., Kyan, Y., Kunishima, N., Uchima, H.,
Miyagi, S., Iwata, Y., and Matsuba, K. (1994). Acute pneumonitis presumed
to be silicone embolism. Intern Med 33, 481-3.
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