AUSTIN, Texas -- A woman who slashed her breast with a knife to force surgeons to remove her silicone gel breast implants was released Thursday from a hospital.
Marlene Hooker, 46, underwent a two-hour operation at Seton Medical Center Wednesday to have the implants removed after cutting open her left breast on Tuesday.
'I thought if I started it, someone would finish it,' she said.
Hooker was the second woman in the United States to mutilate herself in an effort to remove the controversial implants, which were restricted for use earlier this year by the government.
Some doctors and health care advocates claimed the implants can leak, causing health problems for the woman who have them.
Hooker, who blamed recent health problems on her implants, slashed her breast following a four-month battle with her insurance company over who would pay to have them removed.
'The time has come. They've got to come out,' Hooker said Thursday after she was released from the hospital. 'They probably erupted again. You can't take any more of this toxic substance and I had to do it. I felt I had to do it.'
Hooker's insurance company paid for the operation, which was performed Wednesday.
'I'm so relieved, it's unreal,' Hooker said. 'I feel like a burden has been lifted.'
