Florida woman claims mold in breast implants nearly killed her

A silicone breast implant.

A Florida woman who said her breast implants nearly killed her keeps a video of the saline breast implant covered with mold that was removed from her body. Now, Anne Ziegenhorn has set out to warn other women of the potential dangers, WEARTV.com reported.

Ziegenhorn’s symptoms began in 2011 when she gained weight, suffered vision loss and burning pains, and was misdiagnosed with conditions like lupus, arthritis and thyroid issues. Sores appeared on her body and she began to have cognitive problems, WEARTV.com reported.

She had the implants for two years before falling ill, according to Cosmopolitan.

“I felt like that was it, I was going to die and the doctors were going to let me die,” Ziegenhorn told the news station.

“Silicone sickness in and of itself is one entity. And then you add the mold to it that we had, and then you’ve got two illnesses going on,” she said.

It wasn’t until Ziegenhorn consulted Dr. Susan Kolb that she received the correct diagnosis. Kolb, the author of “The Naked Truth about Breast Implants,” told WEARTV.com that she has seen many women come in with mold in their saline implants, often from defective valves.

“My experience in doing this for 30 years is that eventually everybody will become ill from their breast implants, unless they die sooner from something else,” she told the news station.

Kolb also has breast implants, WEARTV.com reported, and advised others who do to replace them every 9 to 15 years to ensure safety. She said that some patients may have detoxification problems that make them sensitive to the silicone shells of the implants.

Since her diagnosis and implant removal, Ziegenhorn met other women through Kolb who experienced the same symptoms and created The Implant Truth Survivors Committee. The group seeks to educate women and doctors about the possible risks of implants.

“I literally willed myself to live and willed myself to get this message out here,” Ziegenhorn told WEARTV.com. “This is my purpose, this is why I’m here.”