Breast Implants Panic Spreads in France, Bulgaria in the Dark

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

The French authorities have officially asked 30,000 women who received faulty silicone breast implants supplied by Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) to have them removed.

The French government, which however says there is no evidence of a cancer link, will cover the cost.

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.

PIP implants were among the cheapest available, and were also exported outside France. It is thought that as many as 4,000 Bulgarian and 40,000 British women may have them.

The UK government ruled out routine removal, saying there was "no evidence" of a safety concern, while the Bulgarian government has completely ignored the case.

"At the moment we are are in a position where we have no evidence of a link to cancer," Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said, as cited by BBC.

"We have no evidence of toxicity, we have no evidence of substantial difference in terms of ruptures of these implants compared to others.

"So we don't have a safety concern that would be the basis for the routine removal of these implants."

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