FRANCE’S health ministry Friday advised 30,000 women with breast implants made by French firm PIP to have them removed, saying that while there is no proven cancer risk the prostheses could rupture.
The government stressed there was no urgency but the advice will add to the concern of tens of thousands of other women around the world who have the same implants made from industrial rather than medical quality silicone.
Global police agency Interpol, meanwhile, issued a “red notice” seeking the arrest of Frenchman Jean-Claude Mas, the founder of PIP (Poly Implant Prosthese).
Women with PIP implants “do not have a higher risk of cancer than women who have implants manufactured by other firms,” a health ministry statement said, but there were “well-established risks of ruptures.”
French Health Minister Xavier Bertrand called for their removal as a “precautionary measure”.
State-supported medical insurance will pay for the implants’ removal, but only women who received the implants as part of reconstructive surgery, rather than for aesthetic reasons, will have new implants paid for.
The total cost for social security is estimated at around 60 million euros ($78 million).
The French government advised women with PIP implants to contact their doctor and “a precautionary removal will be offered, even without clinical signs of deterioration of the implant.”
Any woman who declines the removal must have a breast scan every six months, the ministry added.
The now-bankrupt PIP was shut down and its products banned in April last year after it was revealed to have been using non-authorized silicone gel that caused abnormally high implant rupture rates.
Facing financial difficulties, the company, once the world’s third-largest producer of silicone implants, had replaced the medical-grade silicone in its implants with industrial-strength material.
Documents obtained by AFP showed that tens of thousands of women in more than 65 countries, mainly in South America and western Europe, received implants produced by PIP. AFP
Published : Monday May 21, 2012 | Category : Health & Wellness | Views : 76
BANANAS, like apples, have proven health benefits. In the latest studies, scientists have found additional benefits from bananas. A recent study suggests that eating three bananas a day cuts risk for stroke by 21 percent. This could prevent more than a million a year of stroke deaths worldwide. What’s in... Read more
Published : Friday May 18, 2012 | Category : Health & Wellness | Views : 236
LUNCH is over, your last sip of coffee was hours ago, and now your eyelids are starting to droop. There are better ways to beat an afternoon slump than a sugary treat which you'll regret later. Here are some tips to keep you energized till dinnertime: * Don’t overdo... Read more
Published : Sunday May 13, 2012 | Category : Health & Wellness | Views : 498
DO you want to prevent back pain? Try a few basic exercises to stretch and strengthen your back and supporting muscles. Repeat each exercise a few times, then increase the number of repetitions as the exercise gets easier. * Knee-to-chest stretch. Lie on your back with your knees bent... Read more
Published : Friday May 11, 2012 | Category : Health & Wellness | Views : 575
By : People's Journal
NOT only fried chicken. French fries, hamburger, etc. can cause heart ailments, simple carbohydrates like bagels, white rice and baked potatoes are more than twice as likely to help cause heart disease. In one study, not all carbs have the same effect on the body. Only those with a high... Read more
Published : Wednesday May 09, 2012 | Category : Health & Wellness | Views : 358
TATTOOS, whether permanent or through henna uses needle to impress the ink on the skin. As the number of tattoos a person puts on his body increases, the chance of acquiring Hepatitis C also increases. This is especially true if the needle used to draw an image is contaminated with... Read more
