SZA reflects on having breast implants removed due to cancer risk: 'I didn't feel good'

SZA has no qualms about going under the knife, but the singer is opening up about reversing one of her plastic surgery procedures.

The R&B hitmaker reflected on having her breast implants removed during an appearance on an episode of the “She MD” podcast that released Friday. The podcast is co-hosted by SZA's doctor, OB-GYN Dr. Thais Aliabadi.

SZA said getting breast implants was not advisable due to her increased risk of breast cancer and the fibrosis, or excess fibrous tissue, she has in her breasts. Aliabadi estimated that the singer, whose mother battled breast cancer, has a lifetime risk of 27% for the disease.

But the “Kill Bill” songstress said she avoided consulting Aliabadi prior to having the procedure.

“When I got my boobs done, my doctor took out some of my fibrosis, but there was so much fibrosis, it was crazy,’ SZA recalled. “And he took it out. And so, when I went back (for the biopsy), a lot of the concerns were gone.”

She added: “I have markers in my breast, like metal markers in my breast for all these fibrosis, for these lumps or whatever. I'm not supposed to be getting breast implants.”

'I paid for it': SZA talks pressures of fame, confirms getting plastic surgery

SZA said she ultimately decided to have the implants removed due to a spike in fibrosis she experienced after having the breast augmentation.

“They ended up hurting me. I got way too much scar tissue because my breasts are too dense, and I'm not supposed to have breast implants,” SZA said. “And I ended up getting extra fibrosis … and I didn't feel good and it was painful. So I took them out, and now they're just my boobs.”

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, some of the risks associated with saline and silicone gel-filled breast implants include the formation of scar tissue around the implants, rupturing of an implant, development of T-cell lymphoma (a type of cancer) and symptoms of what some patients call "breast implant illness."

The FDA has not recorded "any association between silicone gel-filled breast implants and connective tissue disease, breast cancer or reproductive problems" so far.

SZA embraces past plastic surgery on buttocks

In a May 2023 interview with Elle, SZA confirmed she underwent a Brazilian butt lift after hinting at the cosmetic procedure in the intro to her 2022 album "SOS."

"I treat my butt like a purse. It's just there to enhance whatever else," SZA told the magazine at the time. "And that's why I paid for it, because it works all by itself."

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The singer added that her decision wasn't influenced by the pressures of fame, but rather a longtime desire to have a bigger backside.

“I didn’t succumb to industry pressure," SZA said. "I succumbed to my own eyes in the mirror and being like, 'No, I need some more…'"

Contributing: Naledi Ushe, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: SZA removed breast implants due to 'painful' fibrosis, cancer risk