Faulty Breast Implants Alert Shakes France, Bulgaria

A photograph made available on 26 November 2011 shows an Austrian patient looking at breast implants during a consultation session at the plastic surgery section of a medical center on the outskirts of Sopron, Hungary, 25 November 2011. EPA/BGNES

Women, who have gone silicone breast implants surgery in Bulgaria, have new reasons for concern.

The French authorities are to ask 30,000 women who received potentially defective silicone breast implants supplied by Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) to have them removed, reports say.

There are concerns that the implants supplied carry potential health risks, the Liberation newspaper reported.

"We have to remove all these implants," Dr Laurent Lantieri, a plastic surgeon on the committee, told Liberation. "We're facing a health crisis, linked to a fraud."

Government spokeswoman Valerie Pecresse told French television that a plan of action would be unveiled later this week.

"All women who have PIP implants should return to see their surgeons urgently," she added.

PIP implants were among the cheapest available, and were also exported outside France. It is thought that as many as 4,000 Bulgarian women may have them.

Investigations by the French Society of Plastic Surgeons last year found that PIP implants had a higher rate of rupture than other implants, that the silicone in them was not meant for medical use and that they may cause breast cancer.

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

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