April 25, 2013
William P. Adams, Jr., MD
Caroline Glicksman, MD
According to Reuters, the head of a French breast implant company accused of selling faulty breast implants apologized, just days after denying the industrial grade silicone gel used to fill the implants posed any danger to women.
Fears over the defective implants spread across the world late 2010 after French health authorities advised thousands of women to have them removed because of an increased risk of rupture. Reports are now saying 300,000 implants were sold in France and internationally before authorities pulled them off the market. Sixty-five countries are believed to have bought implants from Poly Implant Prothese (PIP), once the world’s third-largest silicone implant producer.
William P. Adams, Jr. MD, a board certified plastic surgeon from Dallas, Texas says, “This was the perfect storm – very minimal European oversight for manufacturing, and a lot of hype and spin over a breast implant that was filled with ‘mattress gel’ and selling for a price six times lower than other implants. It’s a miracle it was not a bigger disaster than it has been.”
Maker of PIP Breast Implants Apologizes to Women
Jean-Claude Mas, the founder and CEO of PIP was making the implants with an industrial grade silicone that could cause potential health problems. Mas told reporters, “I apologize to the plaintiffs for the gel used by PIP since 1992. The anxiety syndrome described (in court by experts and witnesses) is real. I understand that they are suffering and that they are afraid.” Mas and four executives from PIP are charged with aggravated fraud and could each face five years in prison in addition to fines.
Glicksman warns, “Women in all countries need to be vigilant, and along with their surgeons, continue to insist on safe and effective silicone gel breast implants.” Adams agrees and says patients should remember two important things, “If it sounds too good to be true – it likely is, and you get what you pay for!”