9:24
- wellness
- March 20, 2023
Why Bachelorette alum had breast implants removed
Clare Crawley opened up about her long journey to getting her implants removed.
In the United States, breast explant surgeries are on the rise, data shows.
In 2020, plastic surgeons removed more than 36,000 breast implant augmentations, an almost 8% increase from the previous year, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
While that number has grown, breast implant surgery remains one of the top five most popular cosmetic surgeries, a position it's held since 2006, according to the group.
Breast implant illness, the condition that causes some people to get their implants removed, is not a formal diagnosis. The FDA though is now tracking symptoms to investigate a possible association with breast implant illness.
The condition is described by experts as a \"diagnosis by exclusion,\" according to Diana Zuckerman, Ph.D., president of the National Center for Health Research, who has studied the health impact of breast implants for over 30 years.
\"Diagnosis by exclusion means that there is no test for it, but there are tests for other things that have the same symptoms or similar symptoms,\" Zuckerman, who was not involved in Crawley's medical care, told ABC News last year. \"And if there is no other reason for this array of symptoms, then there are doctors who will call it breast implant illness.\"
There are as many as 40 symptoms of breast implant illness, but the most common symptoms include joint and muscle pain, fatigue, memory problems or brain fog, hair loss and difficulty breathing, according to Zuckerman. She said it can take years for breast implants to start causing complications, which makes it more difficult to link complications back to breast implants.
Breast implants may cause damage if they leak in the body, or because they can cause scar tissue to build in the body, according to Zuckerman.
In the U.S., saline-filled and silicone gel-filled are the two types of breast implants approved for use, according to the FDA.
In October, the FDA released new guidelines on breast implants, adding a black box warning and a checklist for doctors and patients about potential side effects.
\"The patient must be given the opportunity to initial and sign the patient decision checklist and it must be signed by the physician implanting the device,\" the FDA noted in its guidelines.
","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Wellness/bachelorette-alum-shares-health-scare-led-breast-implants/story?id=97985832","legacySlug":"/wellness/story/bachelorette-alum-shares-health-scare-led-breast-implants-97985832","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"19:02","publishDate":"03-20-2023","updatedTime":"19:02","updatedDate":"03-20-2023","socialImage":{"alt":"Clare Crawley speaks to ABC News during an interview on Nightline.","credit":"ABC News","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/Clare-Crawley-1-abc-gmh-230320_1679331283496_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"3/20/2023 19:02:27 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":97985832,"headline":"Why Bachelorette alum had breast implants removed","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA_Clare Crawley shares explant story_230320","description":"Clare Crawley opened up about her long journey to getting her implants removed.","duration":"9:24","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2023/03/230318_ntl_plastic_surgery_1240_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["70901006","94526045","91327350"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"May 27, 2020","headline":"Chrissy Teigen is 'over' her breast implants, so she's getting them removed","section":"culture","slug":"/culture/story/chrissy-teigen-breast-implants-shes-removed-70901006","id":70901006,"image":{"alt":"Chrissy Teigen is 'over' her breast implants, so she's getting them removed","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/chrissy-teigen-gty-rc-200527_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"George Pimentel/Getty Images, File ","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"December 9, 2022","headline":"Ryan and Kayla Lochte expecting baby No. 3: She opens up about the pregnancy","section":"culture","slug":"/culture/story/ryan-kayla-lochte-expecting-baby-3-opens-pregnancy-94526045","id":94526045,"image":{"alt":"Ryan and Kayla Lochte expecting baby No. 3: She opens up about the pregnancy","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/ryan-lochte-ho-mz-40-221209_1670613545269_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Rya Duncklee/Ryaphotos","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"October 11, 2022","headline":"'Bachelorette' alum Clare Crawley announces engagement to Ryan Dawkins","section":"culture","slug":"/culture/story/bachelorette-alum-clare-crawley-announces-engagement-ryan-dawkins-91327350","id":91327350,"image":{"alt":"'Bachelorette' alum Clare Crawley announces engagement to Ryan Dawkins","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/clare-crawley-file-gty-ml-221011_1665498179030_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images, FILE","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Why Bachelorette alum had breast implants removed","description":"Clare Crawley opened up about her long journey to getting her implants removed.","duration":"9:24","uploadDate":"03-20-2023","publication":"03-20-2023","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2023/03/230318_ntl_plastic_surgery_1240_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2023/03/230318_ntl_plastic_surgery_1240_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/wellness/story/bachelorette-alum-shares-health-scare-led-breast-implants-97985832"}},"playlist":[{"id":"133015093","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132998564","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132998072","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132977374","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132977531","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132962364","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132958371","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132932494","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132927870","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132911868","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132911765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132880952","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132873763","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132844494","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132840754","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132748964","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132636882","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132747869","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132738086","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132714218","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:wellness:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"wellness","title":"Why Bachelorette alum had breast implants removed","pubTime":"15:02","pubDate":"03-20-2023","modTime":"15:02","modDate":"03-20-2023","taxonomyTags":"none","id":97985832,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Why Bachelorette alum had breast implants removed","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA_Clare Crawley shares explant story_230320","videoId":97985832,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/wellness/story/bachelorette-alum-shares-health-scare-led-breast-implants-97985832"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/97985832","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/97985832","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};