Self Surgery on Breast Implants Stirs Warning : Health: Women are cautioned not to follow example of New Mexico woman who operated on herself with a razor to remove silicone.

The case of a New Mexico woman who operated on herself with a razor to remove silicone gel implants from her breasts prompted strenuous warnings Friday from groups concerned that other women might follow her example.

Laura Thorpe, 39, told the Albuquerque Journal that she fashioned a scalpel from a disposable razor, swallowed some Valium, and then slit her breasts to squeeze out the silicone gel from reconstructive implants that were put in after a double mastectomy in 1986.

Thorpe said she believes that silicone leaking from her implants have made her immune system misfire and brought on a disabling, inflammatory disease of the connective tissue--lupus--that can affect the joints and muscles, skin, blood vessels and other organs.

Thorpe told the Journal that she resorted to self surgery because her health insurance would not pay for the operation on the grounds that it was cosmetic. But a spokesman for the Veterans Administration Hospital in Albuquerque countered Friday that Thorpe--who served 13 years in the military--was checked by a hospital doctor April 9 and was scheduled to have the implants removed Thursday.

As a rule, insurance carriers will cover the cost of removing silicone gel implants when the operation is medically necessary, said Don White, spokesman for the Health Insurance Assn. of America.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has recommended that women not have the implants removed unless there is a problem because the risk of surgery may outweigh the risk of complications arising from the implants.

Experts and counselors familiar with the breast implant controversy said a wave of confusion and emotionalism has swept over many women whose lives have been affected by the implants.

“There has definitely been some hysteria,” said Westwood psychologist Sonia Brody, “but without a doubt, this is the most drastic case I’ve heard about.”

She said women can get information and advice about implant problems by calling various hot lines. The American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons operates a hot line--800-635-1635--where women can get referrals to doctors in their area who will help them for reduced fees, Brody said.

A group called Y-Me operates a breast cancer referral service through its hot line, 800-221-2141. And the FDA’s hot line, 800-532-4440, alerts women with implants to the symptoms they should watch for and report to their doctors.

Thorpe, who lives in a trailer park in a remote area of New Mexico and does not have a telephone, could not be reached Friday. But she told the Journal on Thursday that since her implants were put in, she believes that she has also developed symptoms of multiple sclerosis, a disabling neurological disease with numbness and recurrent weakness. Although she has not been found to have multiple sclerosis, a 1988 Florida hospital record she made available to the Journal refers to her “silicone-related autoimmune disease.”

In March, Thorpe was hospitalized for about six weeks for a gangrenous infection of her fingers that she believes the implants may have caused by cutting off circulation in her hands.

A doctor who treated her on another occasion for bone spurs described Thorpe as having “a lot of chronic pain all the time.” He added: “She’s always been coherent and intelligent about her problem and strong-willed.”

Thorpe told the Journal she operated on herself after asking an Albuquerque plastic surgeon how the silicone gel implants are surgically removed.

About 1 a.m. on April 10, Thorpe said she broke a disposable razor and taped the blade to the covered tip of a syringe to fashion a makeshift scalpel.

“I took 15 milligrams of Valium so the MS (multiple sclerosis) shakes would not be so bad and I prayed,” she said. “As soon as I cut through the tissue, silicone came oozing out of my left breast. The pain was like fire.”

She said she failed to remove the entire implant. When she started to cut the second one, she said she became faint and went to bed to rest. A couple of hours later she tried to finish the procedure and removed most of the silicone from the other breast.

Her husband, a nurse, said that his wife once unsuccessfully tried to pull one of her wisdom teeth with a pair of pliers. And a physical therapist, who recently treated Thorpe’s gangrenous fingers, recalled that Thorpe had volunteered to remove dead skin and tissue from her red, swollen fingers.

Correspondent Michael Haederly contributed to this report from Albuquerque.