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Tuesday 3 January 2012

Clinics Ordered To Reveal Breast Implant Data

Katie Stallard, science correspondent
The Government has ordered private cosmetic clinics to produce data within the next 48 hours as part of an urgent investigation into suspect French breast implants.
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said he hoped to publish the results by the end of the week.
He said there was still no evidence of a link to cancer or to support the routine removal of the implants but for the first time he admitted there were problems getting information from private clinics.
He said: "We are clear that the overwhelming evidence of rupture rates for these breast implants does not require us to recommend routine removal of these implants.
"But we're also clear that we're getting inconsistent data, and sometimes inadequate and poor quality data from private providers in this country.
"So what Bruce Keogh [the Government's chief medical officer] and his colleagues have now gone to the private providers and said is that you must provide this data, we're expecting you to provide this data, literally in the next 48 hours, and if you do not do so we will publish the fact that you have not provided this data.
"All of this data will be published by the end of this week."
Around 40,000 British women are thought to have the implants from Poly Implant Prostheses (PIP).
They have been found to contain non-medical grade silicone gel, intended for use in mattresses and not the human body.
PIP was closed down in 2010 and its former boss Jean-Claude Mas is wanted by Interpol on a separate offence.
The French government ruled last month that all women with the implants should have them removed as a "preventative measure" to be paid for by the French equivalent of the NHS.
But the British position remains that there is no current evidence to support their routine removal here and no evidence of an increased health risk from the implants.
The Government has commissioned an expert panel to urgently review British data on the safety of the implants.
Professor Keogh said: "The expert advisory group needs good data on clinical results in order to give good advice to women who may be confused and worried about their implants.
"I expect all providers of surgical services to monitor their results. So I am disappointed at the ability of some private providers to submit accurate and meaningful data. I am pursuing this with vigour."
Leading British surgeons are already calling for the implants to be removed because of uncertainty over their safety.
Tim Goodacre, president of the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons and a member of the Government-commissioned panel investigating the implants, said: "Even with a very low rupture rate, we would want to see most implants removed on a staged basis.
"If you believe a device is faulty, I think this would be true in your car or any other object that you buy, you would want to have that replaced on a staged basis."
The conflicting advice has left many women with the implants feeling anxious and frustrated.
Sky News spoke to Karen Arthur, from South Wales, who developed pains in her side and lumps in her breast after having PIP implants seven years ago.
She is now desperate to have them removed but has been told it will cost thousands of pounds and she will have to find the money herself.
She said: "My surgeon who performed the operation first off was very good, ever so good and he said yes, he was happy to do the operation again and replace them, but then I spoke to the clinic manager who said no - not unless I pay £2,600.
"I don't have that so I'm walking around with ruptured implants and poison running through my body basically."
Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham said it was unacceptable that women were being asked to pay twice, and that some women had reported being charged an administration fee for access to their own medical notes.
He said the cost of removing the implants should be borne by the private cosmetic industry.
He said: "There should be no question here that the NHS should pay, this should fall to the industry and private cosmetic surgery providers. We can't have a situation where people are basically just pushed away.
"You get the feeling here that we're dealing with an industry that's very good at the sales pitch and taking people's money at the start of this process but less good at aftercare and facing up to its responsibilities when things go wrong."
The Department of Health said it hoped to publish the results of the advisory panel review on Friday.

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