Former Playboy Models Are Removing Their Breast Implants After Life-Threatening Health Scares

(Photo: Twitter / @people)Last July, Playmate Crystal Hefner revealed that she decided to remove [...]

By Libby Birk

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(Photo: Twitter / @people)

Last July, Playmate Crystal Hefner revealed that she decided to remove her breast implants because she felt they were making her sick — and now, two other Playboy models are sharing similar personal stories.

Former playboy models Karen McDougal and Kimberly Holland both had their breast implants removed after experiencing chronic medical conditions. Both believe their implants caused breast implant illness.

Click through to learn the details.

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(Photo: Karen McDougal)

Karen McDougal got breast implants in 1996, but it wasn't until seven years later that she developed thyroid and adrenal problems, severe allergies and constant sickness.

"I would get sick every couple of months and be sick for six to eight weeks at a time," she told PEOPLE. "It just never went away."

Then, in January of 2016, things got much worse.

"I started having vision disturbances, blacking out, dizzy spells," she says. "Then July came and it just became so bad that I was passing out and I was afraid to leave the house. In October 2016, I was on bed rest. I couldn't drive, I was having panic attacks, I couldn't see. I had hearing sensitivity, I couldn't stand noise, I couldn't tolerate light, I had joint pain, brain fog — the list goes on and on."

After seeing countless doctors, McDougal wasn't any closer to a fix. When a friend's wife told her about breast implant illness, she was skeptical.

"I rolled my eyes — I had never heard of it," she says. "Then I started getting sicker, and I started researching breast implant illness, and I talked to women online who were going through the same thing and having the same symptoms and issues."

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(Photo: Karen McDougal)

Last January, McDougal decided to get her breast implants removed.

"I wanted to make sure I made the right decision, and that's why it took me a year to do it," she said. "I got to the point where I had no life and I literally thought I was dying. It was time to get them removed. Do I regret removing them? No. Do I miss having larger breasts? Yes, of course I do. But my health is so much more important than breasts."

As soon as her implants were gone, McDougal's health improved immediately.

"I noticed right away that I had no more blurry vision, I wasn't blacking out or passing out, I didn't have the severe migraines, my joint pain was gone, my sound sensitivity was better," she said. "It took me 20 years to get 'poisoned,' so it's not going to be an overnight process. I still have to go through a detox process to get rid of all the toxins in my body, but it's definitely an improvement. I feel like I can actually live and enjoy life now."

McDougal says she's sharing her story to help educate other women in her position.

If someone hadn't told me, I'd still wonder what's wrong with me," she said. "It's important to get the education out there. If you smoke, you're warned that smoking may cause cancer. If you get implants, why don't they warn us that these are the possibilities of what could happen to you? Let us make that decision."

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(Photo: Kimberly Holland)

For Kimberly Holland, she replaced her original breast implants from 2004 with silicon "gummy bear" implants in 2012 — and experienced health issues as soon as she had the surgery.

"I remember even that day and that whole week when I got back from surgery, I felt like my body was on fire," Holland told PEOPLE. "It was the most pain I had ever been in in my life. It was strange because the first time I had surgery I didn't have any pain or problems."

A month later, Holland experienced a recurring viral rash on her back, chronic dental infection, and even developed Raynaud's disease, a condition that can cause limbs and extremities to feel numb and turn red, white or blue.

Holland researched her symptoms and found that they were linked to breast implant illness. She even discovered that the manufacturer of her breast implants recalled some of the implants in 2015 because they were contaminated. While Holland's surgery occurred in 2012, she believes her implants were contaminated.

On Monday, February 13, Holland had her "explant" surgery.

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(Photo: Kimberly Holland)

"I just wanted them out," she says. "I didn't want to waste any more of my time or my health. There was no point in waiting. I have a son who's a toddler — I need to be around and be healthy."

Holland wants other women with breast implants to hear her story.

"I felt compelled to come forward because I think other women need to hear about this," she says. "I think it's wrong that the cosmetic surgery industry is just blowing this off."

Because she had her implants removed so recently, she is still dealing with many of the physical symptoms she had before the procedure.

"It takes time for your body to flush out all the toxins," says Holland, "but I feel better mentally because I know that I'm free."

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