tsadriana
01-06-2012, 07:08 AM
The Government is expected to advise women affected by the PIP breast implant scandal whether they should have them removed.
Around 40,000 women in the UK have breast implants manufactured by the now-closed French company Poly Implant Prostheses.
More may have travelled abroad for cheap surgery in clinics using the implants. Some British women may also have received Rofil M implants, which were produced by PIP and used in overseas clinics.
An investigation into the risk of the implants, ordered by Health Secretary Andrew Lansley, is due to report on Friday afternoon.
Experts including leading plastic surgeons have been examining UK data on rupture rates as well as concerns around the material used in the implants.
In France, the government has told women they should have the implants removed after they were found to contain non-medical grade silicone intended for use in mattresses.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has said its figures indicate 1% of implants in the UK have ruptured and insists there is no evidence of a link with cancer, as reported in one French case.
However, experts have cast doubt on the UK rupture figures, with Fazel Fatah, who is sitting on the Government review panel, saying there is no firm data on what proportion of devices have ruptured in Britain.
He said there could be a "significant number" of silent ruptured implants that nobody knows about while other patients may not have gone back to the clinic where they had their surgery if they suffered a rupture.
Mr Fatah, who is president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), said the real issue is that the implants are filled with non-medical grade silicone and should be removed - and his views are backed by another member of the review panel, Tim Goodacre.
Around 40,000 women in the UK have breast implants manufactured by the now-closed French company Poly Implant Prostheses.
More may have travelled abroad for cheap surgery in clinics using the implants. Some British women may also have received Rofil M implants, which were produced by PIP and used in overseas clinics.
An investigation into the risk of the implants, ordered by Health Secretary Andrew Lansley, is due to report on Friday afternoon.
Experts including leading plastic surgeons have been examining UK data on rupture rates as well as concerns around the material used in the implants.
In France, the government has told women they should have the implants removed after they were found to contain non-medical grade silicone intended for use in mattresses.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has said its figures indicate 1% of implants in the UK have ruptured and insists there is no evidence of a link with cancer, as reported in one French case.
However, experts have cast doubt on the UK rupture figures, with Fazel Fatah, who is sitting on the Government review panel, saying there is no firm data on what proportion of devices have ruptured in Britain.
He said there could be a "significant number" of silent ruptured implants that nobody knows about while other patients may not have gone back to the clinic where they had their surgery if they suffered a rupture.
Mr Fatah, who is president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), said the real issue is that the implants are filled with non-medical grade silicone and should be removed - and his views are backed by another member of the review panel, Tim Goodacre.