Surviving Healthcare
Surviving Healthcare Podcast
265. SHAHER KHAN, MD, THE FOREMOST PLASTIC SURGEON TREATING BREAST IMPLANT ILLNESS (BII)
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265. SHAHER KHAN, MD, THE FOREMOST PLASTIC SURGEON TREATING BREAST IMPLANT ILLNESS (BII)

He stands against his peers, the FDA, and the doctor organizations, who all claim breast implants are harmless.
Shaher Khan, MD

The video is on Rumble HERE. Do not miss the YouTube links below if you are studying this subject.

Kahn says the risks of breast augmentation—even with saline implants—far outweigh the benefits. He adds, "In view of the diseases they cause and worsen, they should all be banned." He has seen recovery from breast implant illness many times after his careful removal technique. 

When I performed this surgery, I sang the party line like a parrot: "Breast implants are biologically inert." I did thousands of them. I also thought the symptoms were all in my patient's heads, but I was wrong. Here are just a few of the issues:

  • Joint pain

  • Muscle pain

  • Muscle weakness

  • Anxiety and/or depression

  • "Brain fog"

  • Fatigue

  • Memory loss

  • Trouble concentrating

  • Autoimmune condition symptoms or diagnosis

  • Chronic pain

  • Dry eyes or poor vision

  • Hair loss

  • Skin problems such as rashes

    Download Dr. Kahn's complete list here:

Bii Signs Symptoms Checklist
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Most of the time, all tests are negative. But we should be listening to patients instead of relying on the laboratory. The FDA, most breast surgeons, and the primary care doctors ignore their complaints.

Dr. Khan says that the implant and the entire scar around the implant must be removed in one piece en bloc to relieve breast implant illness symptoms and ensure proper healing. HERE is another video. This requires superior surgical skills and usually takes four hours or more. It is a young man's game and requires an athlete's endurance. Although I did a few lengthy procedures such as facelifts, by the end of my career I could barely tolerate them.

The implants above still have the scar still around the implant after the surgery. A strip of skin is usually removed below the original implant position to improve the final aesthetic result.

Khan’s entire practice is breast implant removal. He says his technique is "100/100/zero. This means that all of the time, all of the capsule is removed, and none of the scar is left. Proof that his surgical technique is outstanding is that he has not needed a surgical drain for years, and two-thirds of his patients need no pain medications after the surgery. Watch Dr. Khan explain it in this Facebook video. He has done over 1000 of these arduous surgeries.

Explanatory notes

  • There are toxic metals in silicone gel; see the references below. My recent Substack archives have my interviews with mercury and aluminum experts much more. Metals create many diseases. 

  • The authorities say the bacteria cultured from breast implant scars are benign: "The common isolated organisms from breast implant infection are S. aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci. Staphylococcus epidermidis is the most frequent coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species." Dr. Kahn says these are part of the problem, however. He sometimes cultures molds or other fungus from the capsular scars and finds nasty white pus around some of the implants; see a video HERE.

  • Ethibond or other permanent suture is sometimes used for breast surgery to pull up the scar tissue around the implant. Dr. Khan frequently discovers and painstakingly removes removes it.

  • Taking the capsule from the chest wall on the back side of the implant is a surgical magic trick that I never mastered. Dr. Khan shows photos and explains how he does this in this video. Do not try it at home.

  • Khan typically sees the nonspecific symptoms of breast implant illness—chronic fatigue and all the rest—vanish following his total breast implant removal process. Weight loss is common. He has also had patients who report that their inflammatory diseases, including Crohn’s and rheumatoid arthritis, improve after the removal. He makes no claims he is curing systemic disease, but I believe that just like with root canal removal, he sometimes is. 

  • Strangely, Dr. K has had little pushback from his colleagues and professional organizations. They know they are doing problematic surgery and understand they need people like him to clean up after them. Few plastic surgeons are willing to do this work because it is physically demanding and pays poorly for all the hours in the operating room. 

  • Even when a silicone gel implant has already ruptured, he can usually remove the entire scar around the implant and keep the gel contained as he takes it out. Watch his Facebook videos about this. 

  • People fly to Michigan from all over the world to see Dr. Khan. You need a surgical "clearance" letter, typically from an internist. Expect to spend about four or five days there to allow the doctor to evaluate you before and after surgery. The work requires four or more hours under twilight sleep sedation, and you will not remember anything. This technique minimizes your chances of nausea, blood clots, and other problems. 

  • Khan supplies a special compression garment for post-operative care and recommends careful massage. He says it takes a year for the tissues to completely settle and heal.

  • Breast implants occasionally cause squamous cell and other forms of cancer such as lymphoma—another good reason to remove them.

  • I have "polymerized" silicone implants in my cheeks that look like hard plastic. Kahn says these pose few risks; they do not get yellow or leak silicone gel like breast implants. I am considering getting mine taken out anyway because I was diagnosed with Parkinson's and am looking closely at all my toxic exposures.

  • Every breast implant manufacturer recommends removal and replacement of their products ten years after the original surgery. I always thought this was a scam to sell more of them, but I am now convinced they self-destruct and create problems if they are left in the body too long.

Sample testimonials and explanations from patients

Zeamora Pablo

I just explanted with Dr Khan a little over two weeks ago. Dr Khan is everything they say he is; what all medical professionals should be. You will get the best care and peace of mind that everything was removed so you can begin to heal. A few months ago I thought I was dying. I, too, had all but 5 symptoms. The day after surgery I felt life return to me. I had more energy than I’ve had in years. I was up and walking. I could breathe deep breaths without pain. The gritty sandpaper eyes no more. It was simply amazing! Every day I get better and better. You will be here too. I traveled from CA to MI. The best decision I could have made.

Felicia Ncq

2 Weeks Post-Op UPDATE!

Things I noticed in these 2 weeks:

My INFLAMMATION is almost gone all over my body, In my upper body, it is down by probably 90%, and I can see how much my body is changing every few days more and more for the better!

I've lost 5 lbs already in these two weeks! My BRAIN fog is gone! My ENERGY level is normal and without any crashes during the day! Amazing, considering I've had so many energy crashes throughout the day in the last two years.

BACK PAIN—gone!! Not one HEADACHE! I've had those at least once a week in the last three years. CRAVINGS for sugar or bad fast food carbs ZERO! Unbelievable!!

Another fantastic change: I feel in tune with my body after my surgery, and I think that it's working with me for the first time in a long time and speaking to me in ways I haven't experienced before. I crave only the healthiest foods, and I stay away from those I do not need.

I love my body without the toxic bags inside! I feel free and happy they are out. I feel thankful for my life and the brilliant man who did my explant. I haven't felt any pain—just those first few days and that's it!

No stabbing pains, no weird tingling sensations or any other symptoms like some women described and experienced. My incisions are looking better and better with each passing day.

I feel like I made the bra and binder part of me in the sense of not paying attention to it and embracing the "compression "as "normal" and temporary. Training our minds that way will help us get through these six to eight weeks with a more positive attitude. Instead of complaining every day about how uncomfortable it is, ignore it! It's not that bad!

Learn about Dr. Khan and BII 

His main website is executiveplasticsurgeon.com.

His Facebook links are HEREHERE, and HERE. These are the best introductions. 

TwitterTikTokInstagram, and LinkedIn links.

Video 1 Video 2

A few references 

https://utswmed.org/medblog/breast-implant-illness/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9400612/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7170128/

MD Anderson study of breast implant harms.

Breastimplantslykissamaharaj2006a
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Breastimplantsaudinomaharaj2011
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Breastimplantsmaharaj2008
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Breastimplantsmaharaj2007
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Silicone Breast Implants
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I apologize to my breast implant patients. 

After what I have read and considered, I have concluded Dr. Khan is right and I am wrong. In my defense, my peers and the professional organizations all supported breast implant surgery, and I could only do what I understood then. I still believe that the through-the-umbilicus saline implants I used were the safest ones ever offered. These have the advantage of rarely producing a "hematoma," which is bleeding around the implant. This decreases the chances of capsule (scar) formation.

My followers have watched me change my mind many times over the past four years. It has been agonizing for me.

Depending on who is counting, one to ten percent of all US women have breast implants. Forward this article to your friends with them and ask if you can sign them up for Surviving Healthcare.

Parting shots

  1. Please review Dr. Gammal’s important dental book. Reading my summary HERE is enough background to write it. As of now, there is only one review—mine.

  2. Critically important: how to back up all your Substack posts at once:

Substack Archive Export Instructions
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Thanks for this, Fred! Here is a link to your recent post, “Constitution on Life Support.”

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