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BIA-ALCL stage: understanding your care report

Ask your care team what the lymphoma stage means in your report. The extent of disease can guide care.

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Updated Oct 5, 202614 sources

This may apply to you if

  • Bring the implant brand, model and operation dates, if known.
  • Bring records of a BIA-ALCL diagnosis or other health concerns for an individual check.
  • Explain prior implant removal or replacement without assuming it decides your legal claim.

What the public record says

These are cited sources. Their inclusion does not imply that they endorse People’s Justice or reviewed this page.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration · Federal medical-device safety agency

Finding: FDA requested the BIOCELL recall because of BIA-ALCL risk. It did not recommend routine removal in patients without symptoms because of surgical risks.

FDA recall request, July 24, 2019 (opens in a new tab) · Jul 24, 2019 · Checked Oct 3, 2026

Leda Dunn Wettre · United States District Court for the District of New Jersey · United States Magistrate Judge

Finding: The July 14, 2026 order set pretrial deadlines for the Henson and Rabin cases. It did not set an individual award.

Case Management Order 42 (opens in a new tab) · Jul 14, 2026 · Checked Oct 3, 2026

The evidence and its limits

U.S. Food and Drug Administration · 2019

FDA BIOCELL recall safety review

Design:
Agency review
Participants:
Review of safety reports, registry data and literature; not one enrolled patient trial.
Finding:
FDA requested recall of certain Allergan BIOCELL textured devices because of BIA-ALCL risk.
Main limitation
The recall does not decide an individual claim or mean all patients should have implants removed.

Read the source: FDA BIOCELL recall safety review (opens in a new tab) · Checked Oct 3, 2026

The short answer

What is a BIA-ALCL stage?
It describes the extent of the disease. Tests can check tissue and whether disease has spread. Ask your team to explain the findings in plain words. [14]
What signs should I discuss with a doctor?
Discuss lasting swelling, pain or a lump. A symptom alone cannot assign a stage. Ask your team which tests are needed. [2]
How do diagnosis and tissue evidence help with care?
The capsule is scar tissue around the implant. The disease may involve fluid or this tissue. Tests help show where it is found. [2]
Who may qualify, and does stage set an award?
No payment rule follows from these medical sources. A stage is a care finding. A legal claim needs separate evidence and law. [2]

What rules a case out

Not covered by this case

  • A recalled model alone does not establish a legal claim.
  • Symptoms need a clinical assessment; no award or personal filing date is promised.

The process

What happens next

  1. 01

    You answer a few questions

    About two minutes. Nothing is sent until you agree on the last step and press submit.

  2. 02

    A lawyer looks at it

    A lawyer at the firm reads your answers and checks them against the current case criteria.

  3. 03

    The firm decides and gets in touch

    If the firm takes your case, you get the terms in writing to read before you sign. You can always say no.

When it fits this case

  • Bring the implant brand, model and operation dates, if known.
  • Bring records of a BIA-ALCL diagnosis or other health concerns for an individual check.
  • Explain prior implant removal or replacement without assuming it decides your legal claim.

Ask your care team what the lymphoma stage means in your report. The extent of disease can guide care. It does not set a fixed legal payment.

What is a BIA-ALCL stage?

It describes the extent of the disease. Tests can check tissue and whether disease has spread. Ask your team to explain the findings in plain words.

The diagnostic guideline by Jaffe and colleagues addresses tissue involvement and invasion. It is guidance based on prior literature and experience, not a new trial of treatments. This page does not replace your specialist’s staging assessment.

What signs should I discuss with a doctor?

Discuss lasting swelling, pain or a lump. A symptom alone cannot assign a stage. Ask your team which tests are needed.

FDA describes evaluation of fluid or tissue near an implant. The guideline also addresses examining capsule tissue and lymph nodes where appropriate. Ask which report supports the stage your clinician has assigned.

How do diagnosis and tissue evidence help with care?

The capsule is scar tissue around the implant. The disease may involve fluid or this tissue. Tests help show where it is found.

The guideline recommends mapping capsule samples to assess microscopic disease and invasion. A description of symptoms alone cannot supply that information. Keep the pathology report and ask about terms you do not understand.

Who may qualify, and does stage set an award?

No payment rule follows from these medical sources. A stage is a care finding. A legal claim needs separate evidence and law.

Do not use an online stage chart as a damages table. The July 2026 court order concerns named cases’ pretrial work. It is not an official payment grid for different disease stages.

What records help if reports use different words?

Ask the clinician which diagnosis and extent are confirmed. Keep each report and its date. Do not change a stage to match a legal form.

Give the team the full report rather than an isolated label from a scan. Ask whether a later test changed the assessment. A lawyer should receive the actual sequence, including any uncertainty.

What should I ask at the next appointment?

Ask where disease was found and what that means for care. Ask which tests remain. Keep your legal questions separate from treatment choices.

FDA calls for an individual plan with specialists familiar with this lymphoma. Ask for a written explanation you can revisit. No choice of operation or medicine is prescribed by this page.

Find out where you stand.

The review is free and private. Asking for it doesn’t commit you to anything.

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Sources

  1. FDA recall request, July 24, 2019FDA recall request, July 24, 2019 · regulator
  2. FDA BIA-ALCL questions and answersFDA BIA-ALCL questions and answers · regulator
  3. FDA SCC safety communicationFDA SCC safety communication · regulator
  4. FDA BIA-ALCL medical device reportsFDA BIA-ALCL medical device reports · regulator
  5. Allergan recall announcement posted by FDAAllergan recall announcement posted by FDA · regulator
  6. District of New Jersey Allergan MDL homeDistrict of New Jersey Allergan MDL home · court
  7. Case Management Order 42Case Management Order 42 · court
  8. Case Management Order 43Case Management Order 43 · court
  9. FDA breast implant risks and complicationsFDA breast implant risks and complications · regulator
  10. FDA what to know about breast implantsFDA what to know about breast implants · regulator
  11. ABA Model Rule 1.5: FeesABA Model Rule 1.5: Fees
  12. HHS your medical recordsHHS your medical records · regulator
  13. SDNY how long do I have to file?SDNY how long do I have to file? · court
  14. Jaffe and colleagues: BIA-ALCL diagnostic guideline abstract

Checked against 14 primary sources by People's Justice editors · Updated

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People's Justice research team · Updated Oct 5, 2026