Women's Health

I thought my breast implants were killing me — and I had no idea why

The safety of breast implants may be called into question as yet another woman comes forward with her unsettling story.

In 2021, Kayla Caputo couldn’t explain why she was feeling run down, developed adult acne and gained 20 pounds — until she realized the answer could be in her breasts.

“I feel like my implants were killing me,” Caputo said.

The 25-year-old had gotten breast implants in January 2019 while she was still in college, saying she was “literally a twig” before the surgery and wanted to appear curvier.

“I used to be called ‘Noodle’ or ‘Twiggy,’ ” the LA-based brunette described in a TikTok. “I was just very small.”

Caputo said, after she got the implants, she noticed they were “really hard,” but was told they would soften around three months after the surgery.

@kay_caputo

Replying to @emilypolanco_ just a lil quick info #bii#biiawareness

♬ original sound – Kayla Caputo

“Mine just never fully did,” she said, adding that after a few weeks, she started noticing other side effects such as weight gain and inflammation. Her symptoms “spiraled out of control” around two months post surgery.

”I had like 20-something pounds of inflammation,” she said in a video with over 131,000 views.

In retrospect, Caputo said it was “crazy” she didn’t connect her symptoms to the breast implants sooner.

“In June [2020], I was like, ‘Holy s – – t, I need to go on a diet, like something is wrong,’ ” she recalled.

Caputo ultimately had the implants removed in May 2021, and said the changes to her body were immediate. Almost right away she was less puffy and her skin began to clear.

“My mom [said], ‘You just seem so much more alive, like life has come back into your face,’ ” she said.

@kay_caputo

Replying to @wraithbbi #greenscreen crazy if you cant see the difference and inflammation here youre blind

♬ original sound – Kayla Caputo

Caputa hopes her TikTok videos make people aware that this reaction from breast implants is not normal, finally revealing that she had developed capsular contracture.

Capsular contracture may occur in some women who have had breast implants. Fibrous scar tissue forms around the implant, creating a tissue capsule, which helps to keep it in place. However, in some women, the tissue capsule becomes hard and dense, which can cause chronic pain and distortion in the shape of the breast.

Caputo said her videos were never intended to scare anybody, but make women aware of illnesses related to breast implants.

“Truly, the most life-changing and trauma-filled experience I’ve ever had,” she said.