How will the PIP implant scandal affect the aesthetics industry?
BAAPS suggests preventative removal of defective implants is reasonable
The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) has said that the preventative explantation of defective French PIP breast implants, as advocated by the French government, is ‘not unreasonable’ and believes that a similar stance should be taken by the UK government.
In the UK, the Medicine Healthcare and Regulatory Agency initially stated that there was no need for the preventative removal of PIP implants in the UK, contradicting advice issued by the French government and by BAAPS. “The main reason for explantation in France is not any new scientific evidence linking these implants to cancer – none has been proven despite exhaustive testing,” explained Fazel Fatah, consultant plastic surgeon and president of BAAPS. “It is the nature of the irritant gel within them, which makes post-rupture a more complex and extensive surgery. Therefore some patients will prefer them removed as a preventative measure.”
More recently, however, a government-commissioned panel investigating the PIP scandal, led by president of the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS) Tim Goodacre concluded the PIP implants’ risk of rupture to be “very much higher than anything we’d consider acceptable” (based on data from private clinic Transform) and recommended that all the faulty implants come out.
Fatah stated that responsibility for removing the implants lies with the clinics that performed the initial operations: “We believe there is a moral and ethical obligation on the clinics who performed these operation in the first place to facilitate the removal of the faulty implants for free or at the bare minimum cost.”