Observations
Women with PIP implants advised to have ultrasound
Surgeons 'not accountable,' claims BAAPS
Women who have undergone breast augmentation with poly implant prostheses (PIP) implants are being advised to contact their surgeon to establish whether there is any weakening or rupture.
A study by the French Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery has found that PIPs are missing protective barriers and are filled with an unapproved gel.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency issued a medical device alert in March to breast implant surgeons and healthcare professionals. The agency recommended that no more PIPs should be implanted and any remaining implants should be recalled. The French company manufacturing the implants has since gone into administration, but it is estimated that around 50,000 women in the UK could be affected.
The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) has issued safety recommendations for all women with PIP implants to undergo an ultrasound scan in the next six months. BAAPS president Nigel Mercer says: “Removal is recommended in these cases, but if there is one ruptured implant, the contralateral one should be taken out as well, as a preventative measure.”
Mr Mercer adds that surgeons who had fitted the implants should not be held accountable for doing so. “This study concludes this situation is clearly not the fault of the surgeon, who acted in good faith. There was no way of knowing the gel was untested or that the protective envelope, which adds strength and restricts the gel from travelling into the body, had been dispensed with.”
