Over the last few days, at Castlefield Clinic, we’ve fielded a huge number of phone calls from worried patients who have had breast implant surgery and want to know what their options are.
There is also a lot of confusion around about what the facts are. Everywhere you turn, someone else is spouting a new statistic, that isn’t designed to reassure, but instead scare and panic people.
While we don’t claim to be experts on PIP implants, we can collect a lot of the reputable information together so that you can make a more informed decision about your own health and wellbeing.
It is worth mentioning at this juncture that we have never used PIP implants, not because we had a crystal ball that allowed us to see into the future, but because our surgeon didn’t like the feel of these cheaper implants. We believe in only using the best tools and resources available, and that in turn will give you the best results.
The PIP implant
The PIP implants have a thin “plasticky” shell with a silicone gel inside, and they feel more like a semi-deflated water balloon. We have traditionally used cohesive gel implants that come with a more rhobust coating and the gel is laser shaped, which means that even if the outer coating were to rupture, the gel would remain in-situ. Imagine a jelly baby… if you cut it into 2 pieces, those pieces still retain their structural integrity.
- Co-gel implant with shaped gel
The picture shows a gel implant with the shaped gel. You can see how the gel has been pre-shaped and so it holds its structural integrity.
Implant Rupture
Once an implant is inserted into the breast, the body naturally forms a capsule around that implant because it is a foreign body. This is a perfectly natural defence mechanism. If these implants rupture, the gel remains in place, and removal of these implants is a relatively simple process. Indeed, these implants come with a lifetime structure guarantee… whereby if your implants were to rupture, they would be replaced free of charge.
With a PIP implant, if the implant ruptures, the silicone will leak into the capsule and become a free agent. It is at this point that some would argue that the presence of this silicone can cause cancer, and some would argue against. There is, according to the British authorities, no identified link as yet.
The problem with PIP implants specifically has been that the silicone used is not designated for use in the human body, and so it is inherantly dangerous to your health.
Implant Removal
In general, if you are worried about something, you should act on that, and if you are genuinely worried, have your implants removed. They can be replaced by non-PIP implants like the cohesive gel implants we use.
The MHRA, who are the UK regulator for medical devices, currently advise against mass removal. This is because, as mentioned earlier, there is no identified link between a rupture and ill-health.
Our Advice
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We would advise that the first port of call is the surgeon who inserted the implants in the first place. The reason is very simple, they know if you have PIP implants in the first place, and they also performed the original procedure, and so will know of any specific issues that they may have dealt with at the time of operation.
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Please don’t accept no for an answer if you are worried. You have a right as a patient to on-going care.
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We also advise against rushing to see “implant removal specialists”. A simple Google search will through up many companies offering this. Until the last week, this wasn’t an issue, so no one can be a “specialist”.
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Do, however, consider seeing a reputable company if you are beign knocked back by your original surgeon.
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Do consider that you may have to pay, not necessarily for the removal, but for replacement implants.
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Do ensure that you know what is being put in your body from now on.
Further to this, there is some advice for people considering having breast enlargement for the very first time.
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Don’t let this put you off… good quality breast implants are very safe indeed, as long as you know what is going inside your body
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Please ask your surgeon questioins about the implants themselves
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Be prepared that good quality means a realistic price. If the price is too good to be true, is the implant of sufficient quality for you to put in your own body?
Some Further Reading
We have been reading about this story with great interest, and have put together some of the best articles so you can make your own conclusions. These are hopefully reputable sources which keep the hype down to a minimum.
The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons
The British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons
The Guardian story on surgeons who put quantity before quality
MHRA official guidance
The Telegraph on who should foot the bill
BBC website Q&A
The very latest from the BBC
If you are worried or would like some advice on what to ask, please do no hesitate to contact us, we would be glad to provide some guidance on what your options are
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