Research and Education
Triple board-certified surgeon Dr. Landon Pryor and Breast Implant Illness patient advocate Laura Bowden are on a mission to spread awareness about BII among both the medical community and people suffering from BII.
They created the BII Centers of Excellence Certification to promote BII research and help patients suffering from BII connect with doctors knowledgeable about the condition and the high efficacy of treatments like explant surgery. After experiencing BII following a breast implant surgery in 1990, Laura Bowden placed an ad in the newspaper asking women who had experienced similar symptoms to contact her. From this ad, a BII support group emerged in the Chicago area. The group was invited to appear on Oprah, where Laura shared her story on a national stage, leading to more opportunities for her to spread awareness about her experiences and other women’s experiences with BII.
Laura met Dr. Pryor while participating in a documentary about BII; he was the only surgeon to answer an open call for contributors to a panel discussion on the topic. A triple board-certified plastic surgeon with extensive fellowship training, Dr. Pryor had been in his own surgical practice for a few years when he began hearing from patients experiencing a range of inflammatory symptoms following breast implant surgery.
He also began to perform some explant surgeries to treat these symptoms and saw the improvements that followed. He began attending forums and discussions featuring women who had similar experiences and suspected their implants as being the cause in spite of the FDA’s continued assurance that implants were safe. Dr. Pryor’s efforts to expand understanding of BII were galvanized when he teamed up with Laura, who shared her experiences and advocacy efforts with him. He developed a reputation as a BII patient advocate in the plastic surgery community, with many patients seeking him out to perform their explant procedures.
He also began sharing his research with medical students. This has led to a steadily increasing awareness of BII, as well as the development of new forums and initiatives like the Emerging Trends in Breast Implant Illness Summit, the Breast Implant Illness Team at Pryor Health, and the BII Centers of Excellence Certification.
Ongoing research focuses on topics such as the possible role of capsular contracture in the inflammation experienced by BII patients. As more surgeons and researchers learn about BII, the research in this area continues to expand, opening the doors for patients to find the care they need and live healthier and happier lives.
