One of the implants has ruptured and as compensation she's been give just $1500.

It's a pittance which doesn't cover Rebecca Jorgensen's medical costs, let alone the pain she continues to suffer.

The end result of Jorgensen's breast implant gone wrong is ugly and painful.

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The former outgoing swimwear model is now afraid to go out in public because of the plastic bag which drains toxic fluid from her left armpit.

Last year she started suffering warning signs, noticing that something was wrong with the implants she'd had since 2003.

"There was a burning sensation running down my arm, and tingling," Jorgensen said.

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Scans confirmed that one of her mentor implants had ruptured.

"They said it was just wear and tear on one side," Jorgensen said.

The 31-year-old underwent surgery to remove both implants, but not before some of the silicone leeched into her lymph nodes.

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"They were all abnormal due to the silicone - some were four to five times the size lymph nodes should be," she said.

Jorgensen needed another operation to remove seven lymph nodes, which form part of the body's immune system.

"My body is not happy about having that in there, so it's trying to work overtime to get rid of everything," she explained.

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Jorgensen is also suffering emotional scars. "I constantly break down," she said.

Figures show the Mentor Corporation received more than 8000 rupture complaints from 1985 to 2003 in the United States - with one woman seeking damages of $50,000.

As a 'gesture of goodwill' Jorgensen was offered just $1500.

When approached about Jorgensen's payout, the Australian distributor of Mentor breast implants, Johnson and Johnson released a statement saying "any patient complaint is treated as a serious matter" but "out of respect ... we do not believe it is appropriate to discuss publicly specific patient matters."

• Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons - www.plasticsurgery.org.au
• Shine Lawyers - www.shine.com.au