Maria Gmitro, M. Ed., BCPA, is a Board Certified Patient Advocate, a former educator, and an instructional designer passionate about improving patient outcomes.
As president and founder of the Breast Implant Safety Alliance, Maria uses her personal and professional experience to collaborate for better patient safety and education.
Maria travels nationally raising awareness, empowering patients, and educating audiences on patient perspectives on issues in healthcare. Maria recently worked as Director of Community Outreach & Patient Advocacy for a healthcare IT company.
Currently, she lives in Charleston, South Carolina with her husband; her two daughters are in college. She enjoys traveling, designing, learning, making new connections, and spending time in the ocean.
Maria hopes to create positive change and be a source of advocacy, advising, education, support, and inspiration.
Maria’s Implant Story
In 2014, I considered having breast reconstruction surgery because I had two different sized breasts. The surgeon recommended a breast lift and augmentation with breast implants.
He assured me that “they fixed all those issues from the 90s, and these were the latest and safest FDA-approved breast implants on the market.”
The aesthetic outcome was fantastic; however, within 6 months, my health started to change. I developed new symptoms, including rashes on my neck and chest, increased fatigue, and chronic inflammation.
Wounds on my body became slow to heal, and I felt ill quite often. After two years, I became so ill that I had to stop my career as a teacher to focus on my health concerns.
Unfortunately, after seeing multiple specialists and following recommended protocols, my health continued to decline.
I read about other women having similar issues and realized these issues began after having breast implants in my body.
In 2017, after only three years, I elected to have explant surgery and have my breast implants and surrounding scar tissue removed. Upon inspection, there were no obvious leaks or rupture of my implants.
When I regained my health, I realized I needed to help better educate women so they were better informed than I was.
I continue to persist that there be better patient education, communication, medical device tracking and alerting, and increased reporting of outcomes. This experience has taught me how to listen to my body, self-advocate, and take action to create better solutions.
Professional Experience
Over fifteen years of experience in education, educational technology, and instructional design
Adjunct instructor at the University of Central Florida and the College of Charleston
Founded the women's healthcare nonprofit Breast Implant Safety Alliance (BISA)
Three years as Director of Community Outreach and Patient Advocacy for a healthcare IT start-up
Education
University of Central Florida — Master of Arts, Instructional/Educational Technology
University of Central Florida — Bachelor of Science, Early Childhood Education
Bunker Hill College — Associate of Science, Radiography
Achievements
2023 HealthLinks, Best Patient Advocate
USA Patient Network, Board Member
American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) — first patient advocacy group represented at Annual Conference
Breast Surgery Collaborate Community (BSCC), member
Certifications
Board Certified Patient Advocate, Patient Advocate Certification Board
Graduate Certificate Instructional/Educational Technology, University of Central Florida
Memberships
Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS)
Medical Device Innovation Consortium (MDIC) Patient Advisory Group, SPI Steering Committee
FDA Medical Device User Fees Amendments (MDUFA) V Stakeholder, Consumer Representative
National Center for Health Research (NCHR), past Breast Implant Working Group member
American Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), past Breast Device Collaborative Community member
American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) past Breast Implant Collaborative Community member
Patients Rising, Delegate -Community Breast Reconstruction Alliance (CBRA) member
Patient Safety Action Network (PSAN) member
Medical Device Problems Patient Advocacy Group, member + administrator
The Light Collective Community Advisory Board Member
Association for Health Care Resource & Materials Management (AHRMM) Learning UDI Workgroup Komen
