Worldwide Scare Following Unearthing of Defective Breast Implants

Accusations against silicone implant manufacturer Poly Implant Prothese (PIP; La Seyne-sur-Mer, France) has triggered widespread panic in several countries, including France, Israel, Sweden, and the Czech Republic, which have advised thousands of women to have the implants removed.

The company produced around 100,000 implants per year, during almost 20 years of production, and approximately 300,000 women worldwide have had silicone gel-implant products implanted to enhance breast size or repair lost tissue. The implants have been exported to Latin American countries such as Brazil and Argentina, Western European markets including Britain, Germany, Spain and Italy, as well as Australia, and almost 60 other countries worldwide. The company went into liquidation in 2011 following the erupting public-health care scandal by order of the French government.

RTL radio (Paris, France) has said it has obtained an exact breakdown of the materials used in the faulty implants, including Baysilone, Silopren, and Rhodorsil, all of which are industrial products never tested or approved for clinical use. The products, used in the oil or rubber industries, allegedly contributed to the silicone gel implants having a high rupture rate. Authorities already knew that the implants contained industrial rather than medical quality silicone, but it has been further revealed that the company also used petroleum industry additives as early as 2005.

“We're facing a health crisis, linked to a fraud,” said leading French plastic surgeon Laurent Lantieri, MD, who is serving on the French advisory committee investigating the crisis that recommended the unprecedented step of ordering the removal of every PIP implant in France. “There's no urgency, but we have no choice. All these implants have to be removed.”

Interpol (Lyon, France) has issued a red notice seeking the arrest of Jean-Claude Mas (72), the founder of the PIP breast implant company, who is listed as being sought in Costa Rica for offences concerning “life and health.” According to confidential documents, a second company, France Implant Technologie (FIT), was registered in June 2011 to Nicolas Lucciardi, 27, and his 24-year-old sister Peggy, the children of Dominique Lucciardi, Mas' former partner. Mas himself was appointed as a technical and commercial consultant to the new company, which intended to produce 400 silicone gel implants per day at the former PIP production site in the south-east of France.

Related Links:
RTL
Interpol