France ponders removing risky breast implants

French health authorities are considering whether to suggest that an estimated 30,000 women in France get their breast implants removed, amid warnings by leading doctors about risks of rupture and possible cancer risks.

The decision could have repercussions outside France, too. Tens of thousands of women in Britain and other countries also have the pre-filled silicone gel implants made by French company Poly Implant Prothese, or PIP. British health authorities say they see no reason so far to get them systematically removed.

Experts from the French Health Ministry will meet Friday to decide what to recommend for women who have the implants, ministry officials said Wednesday.

More than 1,000 of the implants have ruptured, according to the French health and safety agency AFSSAPS, and eight women with the implants have developed cancer. The implants were taken off the market last year after French authorities discovered the company misreported what form of silicon they contain.

Friday's decision will depend partly on guidance from the French National Cancer Institute, which is studying whether there are links between the implants and the cancer cases.

Read full article here

source article:
source image: lilith-ezine.com