LONDON/PARIS – Fears over the safety of silicone breast implants made by a now defunct French firm spread to Australia, South America and across Europe on Thursday as French officials prepared to decide if thousands of women should have their implants surgically removed.
The silicone gel implants, made by a company called Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) which was shut down in 2010, appear to have an unusually high rupture rate and have sparked an investigation in France into possible links to cancer.
About 300,000 PIP implants, which are used in cosmetic surgery to enhance breast size or replace lost breast tissue, were sold worldwide before PIP ceased trading last year.
“It’s not just France that’s concerned. We’re looking at 300,000 to 400,000 potential victims in the world,” said Alexandra Blachere, the leader of a French PIP implant patient group.
She said women from Italy and Spain had been in touch with her about implants, and she had seen reports of problems in Venezuela, Brazil and elsewhere.
No one linked to the defunct company was immediately available to comment.
Britain’s drugs watchdog, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, said there was no reason for patients to be alarmed and there was, as yet, no scientific evidence to suggest increased health risks.
Agency officials said they had talked to other health or regulatory experts from France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Denmark and Malta.
“They all agreed that there was no evidence of any increase in incidents of cancer associated with PIP breast implants and no evidence of any disproportionate rupture rates other than in France,” it said.
Founded in 1991, Poly Implant Prothese was based in southern France and for a while ranked as the world’s number three producer of implants, supplying about 100,000 a year.
About 80 per cent were exported and health authorities around the world said they were watching closely for the results, due today, of an inquiry by France’s National Cancer Institute into whether the implants can be linked to cancer.
France has had reports of eight cases of cancer in women with breast implants made by PIP, which is accused of using industrial-grade silicone normally used in anything from computers to cookware. – (Reuters)