PIP Implants News and Research

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Safety of breast implants

Following the recent scandal, described in May 2012 by the BBC as the “PIP breast implant scandal”, (1) many women may have been put off having breast implants. But how safe exactly is breast enlargement? And how do the different methods compare?

29 May 2012

Failure rate of PIP silicone breast implants could be as high as 33.8%

New research published in the Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery suggests that the failure rate of silicone breast implants manufactured by Poly Implant Prosth-se (PIP) could be as high as 33.8%.

18 Apr 2012

Rise in PIP breast implant ruptures sparks fresh fears

According to the Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery all brands of breast implants carry a risk of rupture. Spokesman Dr Daniel Fleming said a rupture rate of 13.6 per cent over eight years is a normal rate for major brand Mentor.

5 Apr 2012

47,000 UK women have faulty PIP breast implants

According to Britain's health ministry an additional 7,000 women were fitted with potentially faulty French-made breast implants, raising the total in the U.K.to about 47,000.

18 Mar 2012

PIP breast implant removal and consultation costing the NHS large sums

After the Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) breast implant scare nearly 3,000 women have been seen by NHS specialists, of which over 1,000 have had scans and 67 have opted to have the implants removed, according to Department of Health statistics.

20 Feb 2012

Wyatt Technology Instruments employed to develop alternative materials to silicone breast implants

Wyatt Technology Corporation today announced that Professor Judit E. Puskas at the University of Akron has developed a system using its instrumentation that will also help to solve a prevalent and particularly controversial material science challenge. The researchers are employing the multi detector system to develop alternative materials to silicone breast implants. This development will be welcomed by many as faulty Poly Implant Prothèse (PIP) implants are causing global concern about implant safety, and as a result, alternative materials are sought.

1 Feb 2012

PIP breast implant mastermind arrested

The founder of the company - Poly Implant Prothese or PIP was arrested Thursday in an early-morning police raid on his luxury home in the south of France. The PIP implants have been the center of controversy and fear after reports of rupture of the breast implants due to use of second grade materials in their manufacture.

29 Jan 2012

Health Secretary stands firm on the issue of removal of faulty breast implants

Britain’s Health Secretary Andrew Lansley intends to take cosmetic industry companies that are refusing free operations to women wanting substandard breast implants removed to court. Lansley is ready to take action after the declaration of the Harley Medical Group that it will not pay for removal of the PIP implants that have triggered great anxiety in women in the UK and in France. Transform and the Hospital Group have also said that women will have to pay.

12 Jan 2012

More on the PIP breast implant scare

Model Jasmine Lennard underwent an emergency operation to replace her breast implants after discovering they contained banned silicone. The 26-year-old admits that she became ‘hysterical’ after discovering her implants came from French firm PIP, which is at the centre of a global health scare for using industrial-grade materials deemed unfit for medical use. And she believes last week’s procedure could have ‘saved my life’.

9 Jan 2012

HCA issues commitment to offer full support to PIP breast implant patients

Last Friday the MHRA advised that they found no evidence to support routine removal of PIP breast implants and they recommended that any patients who were concerned about their implant should seek clinical advice from their consultant surgeon.

8 Jan 2012

PIP breast implant update

The Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery update regarding French breast implant recall which may affect some Australian women

4 Jan 2012

Breast implant rupture risk scrutinized and assessed in depth

According to Tim Goodacre, one of the members of the government-commissioned panel investigating the PIP breast implant scandal, the rupture rates found by the country’s biggest cosmetic surgery company were ‘unacceptable’. Mr. Goodacre, president of the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS) and an Oxford University lecturer, said that if the panel confirmed the findings – in which almost one in 14 implants had leaked – then they should all be taken out in every case.

2 Jan 2012

Venezuela offers to pay for removal of faulty breast implants

Venezuela's government has offered to pay for the removal of PIP breast implants feared to be at risk of rupture. They would cover the cost of the surgery for Venezuelan women but would not pay for replacement implants, Health Minister Eugenia Sader said. Ms Sader said many implants made by French firm Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) had been imported illegally.

29 Dec 2011

Congress cuts federal funding for needle exchanges

Media outlets report on several public health issues, including a renewed funding ban on needle exchanges and a call for recalling a stent system.

23 Dec 2011

First Edition: December 22, 2011

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including articles on the Capitol Hill stalemate that threatens to cut Medicare payments to doctors and government efforts to keep details of a research experiment on bird flu secret.

22 Dec 2011

Fear of cancer spurs breast implant recall

There are concerns regarding breast implants and the association with cancer. UP to 30,000 French women and perhaps tens of thousands more around the world may need to have defective breast implants removed after several suspicious cancer cases. The final decision on recall of the implants, produced by the Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) company will be made by the end of the week, after a report from France's National Cancer Institute on December 23.

21 Dec 2011

Fear of ruptures spurs recall of silicone breast implants in France

Breast enhancement surgery utilizes implants that are essentially bags containing silicone gel. One of the commonest complications of this procedure is the rupture of these silicone implants that may necessitate a repeat procedure. In a new development the implants made French company Poly Implant Prothese (PIP), have reportedly double the risk of rupturing than other implants. Many breast implants used by Australian women have been recalled overseas for containing unauthorised silicone gel.

5 Apr 2010