We recently connected with Maria Gmitro and have shared our conversation below.
Maria, appreciate you joining us today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.
My health started to decline after I had breast implants placed in 2014. After many visits with doctors and specialists, numerous tests, medications and protocols, with no real diagnosis or solution, my health continued to decline. It took me a few years to realize that my health issues started after I was implanted. My medical records are evidence of this. After have my explant surgery, my health started to improve and my husband and I were dumbfounded as to why we were not aware of these complications and have my health monitored. When I learned about how many others had the same experience, I sprang into action. I started volunteering, founded BISA and started advocating for positive change. Breast implants have not been well tracked and safety information is slow to reach the public if at all. The public needs accurate information to make the most informed decisions for themselves, Knowledge is beautiful!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I am a former educator and now a Board Certified Patient Advocate, Consumer Representative and President and Founder of Breast Implant Safety Alliance – BISA.
I became involved when I was harmed by a common medical device, breast implants. I was not fully informed and now I advocate for others to have better information for informed choices.
As BISA we provide modern, balanced information about breast implants including FDA Safety Alerts, breast implant recalls, breast implant associated illness and cancers and how to report problems. BISA is an organization created by patient advocates that does not make a profit from the sale or use of breast implants. We advocate for better information, tracking, reporting, protection and safety measures. We teach patients and consumers how to self-advocate.
We are not against the use of breast implants and believe individuals should have choices. We are all one mammogram from a breast cancer diagnosis and you never know when you are someone you love will be faced with these decisions.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I fell for faulty or deceptive marketing tactics. I was told by my plastic surgeon that the past issues with silicone breast implants were all “fixed” and that these were the safest, latest and greatest FDA approved implants on the market.
What I learned was that these new implants did not have long term data and that new meant unproved. The FDA and industry discontinued the long term safety studies which still has a significant impact on patient safety today. Also, a significant amount of data was hidden from the public until the FDA stopped allowing the practice of “Alternative Summary Reporting” in 2019.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
First of all, I am a patient myself and have spent over 6,000 hours volunteering in this space. I hold a Master’s Degree in Instructional/Educational Technology. I have taught kindergarten to college and am a teacher at heart. I studied and became a Board Certified Patient Advocate. I volunteered or collaborated with several organizations, am a board member or became a delegate or representative:
MDIC – Medical Device Innovation Consortium
ASPS – American Society of Plastic Surgeons
ASAPS – The Aesthetic Society
FDA – Consumer Representative for MDUFA (Medical Device User Fees Amendments)
USA Patient Network
PSAN – Patient Safety Action Network
MDP – Medical Device Problems
Drug Watch
Patients Rising
CBRA – Community Breast Reconstruction Alliance
Koman Advocacy Ambassador
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bisanonprofit.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariagmitro/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariagmitro1
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-gmitro/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/maria_gmitro
- Other: Maria Gmitro TikTok: maria.persists BISA Links: BISA LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/breast-implant-safety-alliance/ BISA Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/breastimplantsafetyalliance BISA Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/bisanonprofit/ BISA Twitter – https://twitter.com/BISAnonprofit
Image Credits
Can credit: The Curated Moments @thecuratedmoments