Breast Implant Safety Alliance (BISA) advocates from across the country traveled to Charleston, South Carolina, this summer to advance patient and consumer safety.

The right to affordable access to DIEP flap breast reconstruction has been preserved! Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recent decision to preserve affordable access to breast reconstruction is a win for women.

Psychotherapist, author and BISA’s Mental Health Advisor has been invited to deliver a keynote address at the upcoming Chicago Social Work Conference to be held on August 17th & 18th of 2023.

BISA is part of the Patient, Consumer and Public Health Coalition. The Coalition recently sent a letter to the FDA’s Commissioner Robert Califf expressing concerns about Advisory Committees.

This month, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) published a life-saving article for patients and doctors on Breast Implant Associated Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (BIA ALCL), the most common cancer caused by breast implants. 

Maria Gmitro and BISA’s Mental Health Advisor Amanda Savage Brown, PhD, LCSW were both quoted in the article from Mad in America, a publication that focuses on science, psychiatry and social justice.

According to the Komen Foundation, “an estimated 300,590 people will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 43,700 that will die from the disease in the U.S. this year alone.” BISA representatives Maria Gmitro and Sarah Beckcom joined the Komen Foundation on Capitol Hill.

BISA leadership, in partnership with the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), attended a highly successful “Hill Day” on June 14, 2023, in Washington, D.C., aimed at educating members of Congress on the alarming trends involving the most common cancer caused by breast implants called Breast Implant Associated Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (BIA-ALCL).

If you are in the Charleston area, the “Get Engaged” meet and greet welcome event is the perfect opportunity to learn more about the Breast Implant Safety Alliance nonprofit organization and connect with the core advocate team. This is the official kick off event of the 2023 BISA Meeting.

A promise that was marketed by the Ideal Implant manufacturer to breast augmentation patients is now broken and patients who paid for these warranties may now be responsible for future surgery.

Back in 2019, when Breast Implant Safety Alliance (BISA) was founded, advocates hoped there would be more awareness and better safety systems in place by now. Unfortunately, the same issues continue, and new risks are emerging. Advocates from BISA’s core team are traveling from all over the US and Canada to Charleston, South Carolina, from June 8 - June 11th, 2023.

Breast Implant Associated Lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) is a type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system. Accumulating evidence suggests that BIA-ALCL may be a common—not rare—risk from exposure to Allergan Biocell® breast implants.

Washington, DC: On May 16, 2023 members of the Patient, Consumer and Public Health Coalition met with members of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to discuss issues related to prescription and medical device approvals, surveillance and oversight, and how CMS is providing information to the public.

Advocates in Canada and the U.S. have long stressed the urgent need for improved data to protect public safety. As a result, the federal committee is studying the feasibility of a database. On May 11, 2023, BISA advocates will testify to Parliament at the nation’s capital in Ottawa in favor of creating a national breast implant registry for Canadians.

So often the emotional healing from breast implant and explant surgery is completely overlooked however it can be equally as important as the physical healing. Amanda Savage Brown, Ph.D., LCSW, a psychotherapist, author, and member of the Breast Implant Safety Alliance (BISA) advisory council, seeks to help guide others in the process of emotional healing during breast reconstruction.

Maria Gmitro of Breast Implant Safety Alliance (BISA) addresses breast implant related illness and cancers, BIA-ALCL, and BIA-SCC with a focus on informed consent and her personal experience with breast implants, advocacy and the FDA.

Get the most important information about breast implants. Whether you’re considering breast implants or already living with breast implants, here’s what you need to know.

BISA advocates, Sherri Gorbett and Heidi Rolfs, will be representing at upcoming events in Bend, Oregon to raise awareness and interact with healthcare professionals.

BISA wants to protect the right to access to all reconstruction options. We are pleased to announce that BISA has partnered with Community Breast Reconstruction Alliance (CBRA).

On March 8, 2023, the FDA released a Safety Communication Update on reports of Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC) in the capsule around breast implants. BISA wrote a statement about the new safety alert.