Wave of Panic with Breast Implant Scare from France

The French government is still deciding whether or not to order women to get rid of defective breast implants, made from industrial grade silicone. However, senior officials told Libération newspaper that all French women given prosthetics supplied by the company Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) will be ordered this week to remove the implants.

A French company, PIP was closed last year, after it was found making breast prosthetics from cheaper industrial silicone normally used for electronics and computer parts, the Guardian reported. This questionable form of silicone is at higher risk of bursting. According to some reports, approximately 30,000 women in France and 40,000 in Britain have already had their implants, with the industrial silicone.

Meanwhile, Valérie Pécresse, the French Budget Minister and the government spokeswoman, said an action plan would be taken this week.

All women who have PIP implants should return to see their surgeons urgently, the Guardian quoted her as saying. She also said there was potential danger for these women.

Laurent Lantieri, a leading French plastic surgeon on the state's advisory committee, said that although there was no urgency, there was no choice and all implants had to be removed. He said it was about prevention not just precaution. So far, only women with ruptured or burst implants were advised to remove them.

In UK, at least 250 women with breast implants made by PIP intend to sue at least six clinics, the Daily Mail reports.

We wanted to pursue claims against [makers] PIP or its insurers, [but as the company has since closed] it is quite clear that is not viable, the report quoted Mark Harvey, a partner at Hugh James solicitors, which is pursuing the legal action, as saying. Apparently, the contracts had promised the implants would last a lifetime and not rupture or leak.

However, health officials in the UK said there was no reason for patients to panic since there was no immediate evidence linking implants made by PIP to increased risks of cancer.