Breast implants are artificial devices that are inserted into the tissue beneath a woman’s breast to increase the size and alter the shape of the breasts. Many women are insecure about their bust size and tend to be shy or lack self esteem when it comes to their physical appearance. Breast implants are a quick and easy way of augmenting the size of the breasts, thus improving one’s perception of physical attractiveness.
Lupus is a collection of various diseases that have similar symptoms and similar causes. Lupus is related to the immune system. The most common form of lupus is systemic lupus erythematosus. This form of lupus causes inflammation in the connective tissue of the body due to the sustained attack by the immune system. The immune system attacks the connective tissue perceiving it to be threatening to the health of the body. Lupus, particularly systemic lupus, is extremely dangerous as it could affect many of the vital organs of the body including the heart, lungs and kidneys. Women tend to be more susceptible to lupus than men.
Studies into whether breast implants cause lupus have not been conclusive. While there is considerable conjecture about the subject, there is no evidence to suggest that there actually is a link between the use of an implant and the susceptibility to lupus. Lupus is an auto immune condition. Like many other auto immune conditions, its timing is unpredictable. There can be periods where the condition flares up causing attacks of pain and there can be periods when the condition is virtually absent. When considering whether a woman can use breast implants if she has lupus, one needs to consider the state of the lupus condition. Breast implants are foreign objects.
Even though they are non reactive, they have caused issues in the past where the immune system has sealed the implants off from the rest of the body. Adding implants into a body with a fragile immune system may not be the best option. That being said, it is not impossible to have breast implants after being diagnosed with lupus. When the patient’s lupus is in remission, that is, not active, the implant surgery can be performed. Hopefully the surgery itself will not trigger an immune reaction. However, this cannot be taken for granted because it is not possible to detect the exact cause for lupus to flare up. Taking this into account, it is probably unwise to go in for breast enhancement when one is suffering from lupus.