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Breast Implants - If You're Thinking Of Getting Them Make Sure They're Not French


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Breast implants: France recommends removal

 

The French authorities have recommended that 30,000 women have their faulty breast implants removed as a precautionary measure.

 

The government, which says there is no evidence of a cancer link, will cover the cost.

 

The implants by French firm Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) were banned last year after they were found to contain a non-medical grade silicone filler.

 

It is thought some 40,000 British women have the implants.

 

The UK medicines watchdog has said there is no need for women with PIP implants to have them removed. However, anyone with concerns should contact their surgeon or clinic.

 

The French health ministry said that women with PIP implants did not have a higher risk of cancer than women with implants made by other companies, but said there were "well-established risks of ruptures".

 

Health Minister Xavier Bertrand urged French women to have the implants removed as a "preventive measure," but said that it was not "urgent."

 

The corrective surgery will be paid for out of public health funds but the French state will only pay for a new implant if the treatment was done as part of reconstructive surgery following breast cancer.

 

'Seek advice'

 

Eight cases of cancer have been reported in women with the implants but the French authorities say these are not necessarily linked to faulty implants.

 

PIP used non-medical grade silicone believed to be made for mattresses, according to the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS). This meant the low-cost devices were more likely to split.

 

Of the 30,000 fitted in France, more than 1,000 have ruptured.

 

PIP went into administration last year and the use of its implants was banned.

 

At least 250 British women are taking legal action againt the clinics that treated them.

 

"We would have preferred to sue PIP, obviously, but they are bankrupt so they have no money and no assets," lawyer Mark Harvey told Reuters.

 

More than 300,000 implants are believed to have been sold globally by PIP over the last 12 years in some 65 countries.

 

More than half of its exports went to South America, including to Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina and Chile. In Brazil, some 25,000 women are believed to have had the implants, the AFP news agency reports.

 

Western Europe was another major market. As well as the UK, Spain, Italy, Germany and Ukraine are known to have imported PIP silicon sacs.

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Breast implant scare: Interpol seeks French boss arrest

 

Interpol has said it is seeking arrest of the founder of a French firm at the centre of a global breast implants scare.

 

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The international police agency listed Jean-Claude Mas, aged 72, as being sought by Costa Rica for offences concerning "life and health".

 

Earlier, France advised 30,000 woman to remove faulty breast implants made by Mr Mas' Poly Implant Prothese firm.

 

'Decency and discretion'

 

In a "red notice", Interpol posted two police mugshots of Mr Mas.

 

It said Mr Mas was wanted by the Costa Rican authorities, without providing any further details.

 

A lawyer for PIP told Reuters earlier on Friday that Mr Mas was in the south-eastern Var region of France and intended to stay there.

 

Yves Haddad added that Mr Mas had not spoken out publicly on the scandal out of "decency and discretion".

 

Women around the world have PIP's implants, however most of them live in South America and Western Europe.

 

Health Minister Xavier Bertrand urged French women to have the implants removed as a "preventive measure," but said that it was not "urgent."

 

The corrective surgery will be paid for out of public health funds but the French state will only pay for a new implant if the treatment was done as part of reconstructive surgery following breast cancer.

 

If women do not want to have their implants removed, the state will pay for six-monthly ultrasound scans.

 

The UK medicines watchdog, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA), says France has reported rupture rates of around 5% for PIP implants, compared with 1% in the UK.

 

Eight cases of cancer have been reported in women with the implants but the French authorities say these are not necessarily linked to faulty implants.

 

PIP went into administration last year and the use of its implants was banned.

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