Supporting Women's Health Throughout Life

Deciding to Remove Breast Implants

More and more women are choosing to have their breast implants removed and not replaced, according to the Aesthetic Society. Many cite fear of breast implant illness and a rare cancer related to breast implants.

Breast implant illness involves a constellation of symptoms such as fatigue, joint pain, brain fogginess and rash. It can occur shortly after implantation or years later. Breast implant-associated anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) is a rare immune system cancer that may present as pain, lumps, rashes and breast asymmetry.

Martin Newman, MD, chair of the Department of Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery?at Cleveland Clinic Weston Hospital, wants more healthcare providers to be aware of these conditions. More awareness allows doctors to guide patients toward appropriate assessment and counseling. He and his team offer specialized testing such as image-guided fine needle aspiration, cytology and advanced imaging.

The department takes a personalized approach when helping women make decisions about breast implant removal. Explant options include definitive removal, removal and replacement, or definitive removal with a breast lift.

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Talking to an Expert about Managing Menopause

More than a million women go through menopause every year in the United States. But many are not talking to a healthcare provider about the transition, its symptoms, or potential long-term complications.

Certified Menopause Practitioner?Claudia Mason, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic Tomsich Health and Medical Center, wants to change the conversation around menopause. She encourages every woman to have a “menopausal visit” with a gynecologist or other specialist during perimenopause.

?A gynecologist with training in menopause management or a certified menopause practitioner can offer hormone therapy and nonhormonal treatments to manage common vasomotor symptoms. These often include hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, mood disorders, skin and hair changes, sexual dysfunction and urogenital symptoms. A specialist can also help prevent?long-term complications related to menopause and decreased estrogen. These include low bone density and increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Improving Survival Rates in Older Patients with Endometrial Cancer

A recent study involving older patients confirmed that laparoscopic and robotic approaches to endometrial cancer surgery improve survival rates compared to laparotomy. The lead author wants primary care physicians, gynecologists and patients to know that they have effective, minimally invasive surgical options for this disease.

Joel Cardenas Goicoechea, MD, MBA, a specialist in gynecologic oncology at Cleveland Clinic in Florida, and colleagues examined data from the National Cancer Database on 42,458 women older than 65 who had a hysterectomy for endometrial cancer from 2010 to 2015. Each patient underwent either an open procedure, a laparoscopic procedure, or a robotic one.

The findings indicate that laparoscopic surgery led to 14% higher survival rates than open surgery, and robotic procedures had a 12% better survival rate than open surgery. Readmission rates were also better in the laparoscopic and robotic groups. Dr. Goicoechea and coauthors published the results in Anticancer Research.

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