Utah Car Accidents Could Cause Rupture in Breast Implants
We often equate Utah car accident injuries with broken bones, cuts, and bruises. However, we tend to overlook rare injuries that can be both painful and expensive. One such injury occurs to women who have had breast augmentation or reconstruction surgery. If a woman is in a car accident and receives a blow to the chest, her implants may rupture, causing potential health risks and expensive replacement surgery.
Breast implants consist of a silicone envelope with a saline or silicone gel filling. The design of the implant leaves it susceptible to potential tears or holes, causing it to deflate. When a saline implant ruptures, it leaks quickly out of the envelope and the body absorbs it. In some instances, this leak can lead to serious infection.
Silicone gel implants leak very slowly and can go unnoticed for years. The silicone may spread into other parts of the body, including lymph nodes under the arm and the lungs. If this happens, the silicone gel is impossible to remove. The FDA has reported that women with leaking silicone implants may suffer from fibromyalgia --a very painful disorder-- or other harmful diseases. Because of the potential health risks and the difficulty in detecting silicone gel leaks, it is important for women with silicone implants to schedule an MRI after a car accident.
It is essential to remove a ruptured implant as quickly as possible, a processes known as explantation. This process involves removing the implant in addition to some of the tissue and muscle in the surrounding area. Ruptured implants can usually be replaced with new ones, but this depends on the circumstances. Removing a ruptured silicone gel implant can be a difficult process, as the surgeon must ensure that the remaining gel does not spill into the body. A woman who needs to undergo explantation surgery should choose her surgeon wisely. She should pick a plastic surgeon who has substantial experience in removing implants. For more information on ruptured implants and subsequent surgeries, visit www.breastimplantinfo.org.
As you might guess, the cost of explantation surgery, follow-up visits with the surgeon, prescriptions, and other medical bills can quickly add up. Depending on the specifics of the procedure, an explantation surgery can cost anywhere from $8,000 to over $18,000. Insurance companies will try to find loopholes to avoid paying for the surgery, especially for women who received implants for augmentation rather than reconstruction. In both cases, the victim will need to prove that the implant was ruptured. This can easily be done through an MRI.
If you have suffered a ruptured implant due to a Utah car accident, you should not have to live with the consequences simply because the insurance company refuses to pay for the surgery. Implant leaks can lead to serious health complications that have debilitating effects on your life. Do not take the chances with insurance companies that will either refuse to pay the settlement or offer a lower payment than you deserve. Contact the expert Utah injury attorneys at the Christensen Law Firm for a free consultation. We approach each case with the knowledge and dedication needed to ensure our clients receive a just settlement. For a free, no-obligation assessment of your case, call 801.506.0800.
