South African women who have breast implants produced by French company Poly Implant Prothèses (PIP) need not panic as there has been no proof that the implants are problematic.
An Association of Plastic and Recontructive Surgeons of South Africa executive committee member, Dr Schalk van Heerden, said of the few surgeons in the country who had used the company’s products, none had received complaints from patients.
However, in Europe, where thousands of surgeons have used PIP products, patients have been warned that their breast implants could be defective because poor quality silicone has been used.
In the UK about 50 000 women have been warned of the potentially hazardous implants.
And the French government is preparing to issue an order to have the implants removed from every woman who has had them implanted.
The implants are said to have been made from sub-standard, industrial-grade silicone and exported around the world. In France, eight cancer cases, including one death, have been tentatively linked to the implants, and hundreds of other women have reported ruptures.
French daily newspaper Libération reported on Monday that a decision was taken, in principle, to have all implants that were fitted in France removed.
In Britain, regulators said tests had shown no evidence of a potential for cancer or chemical toxicity of the filler material inside the implants, and there was no reason for their routine removal.
Van Heerden said in SA people must not rush to have the implants removed because nothing untoward had been proved so far.
He said if patients were uncertain, they should contact their surgeons. If they then chose to remove the implants, Van Heerden said, the plastic surgeon would normally perform the procedure free.
The patient would have to pay the charges for services by the hospital, anaesthetist and new implants.
In France the removal surgeries will be paid for by the state health service. New implants will be provided only to women who had the original operations for medical reasons. More than 80 percent of the potentially defective implants were for cosmetic purposes. French prosecutors investigating fraud and manslaughter charges against PIP have received formal complaints from 2 172 women. - Pretoria News