France recommends removal of faulty breast implants

Dec 23, 2011, 8:49 GMT

Paris - France's Health Ministry recommended Friday that the 30,000 women who received the faulty PIP brand of breast implants be offered surgery to have them removed as a preventive measure.

Health Minister Xavier Bertrand stressed that the recommendation was 'not urgent in character' but that it should be proposed to all those who have the implant made by French company Poly Implant Prothese, 'even without clinical signs of a deterioration of the implant.'

Bertrand said a task team of health experts had found there was 'no increased risk of cancer currently in women wearing the PIP brand compared with other implants.'

'The well-established risks linked to the implants are ruptures and the irritant powers of the gel that can lead to inflammation, making removal difficult,' he said in a statement.

The implants have triggered a scare in France after a 53-year-old woman with the implants died of a rare form of breast lymphoma in November.

PIP was discovered to have been using a substandard, industrial silicone in the implants that can cause them to tear and the gel to leak into surrounding tissues.

More than 2,000 French women have already begun legal action over the implants.

Bertrand said those with the implants should consult a surgeon. If they wanted the implants removed, the surgeon should offer the surgery within the rates reimbursed by the national health insurance fund.

Worldwide, there are an estimated 300,000 wearers of PIP implants. Up to 40,000 British women are estimated to have the implants.

The British medical watchdog has said the implants pose no safety risk, but that concerned women should contact a surgeon or clinic.