Patient anger brewing over PIP breast implant scandal
Two Australian law firms are preparing class actions in relation to the PIP breast implant scandal, 7News has exclusively reported.
The local legal response has developed after the substandard implant scandal originally erupted in France in December, triggering cancer and rupture fears, and prompting the French government to subsidise removal of the potentially harmful implants.
The Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration moved to gather an expert panel to assess the risks to local women in early January 2012.
The TGA found that there was not enough evidence to suggest that the PIP implants increase the risk of cancer, saying that the risk of rupture is greater than any other breast implant.
Women with breast implants are at a 0.4 per cent rupture rate, according to the TGA who urged Australian women not panic.
In a previous report, Dr Daniel Fleming a breast implant surgeon alternatively told 7News that one in 10 women will have a rupture within 10 years of having the implants.
The 7News report says unrest is brewing among Australian women dissatisfied with the response of medical experts and doctors locally.
Countries like France and Columbia are urging women to have their PIP implants removed at the government’s expense.
In Australia the advice currently states that “risks are minimal” and implant removal is at the woman’s expense.
The Department of Health and Ageing says they have received over 1000 calls from concerned women on the matter, and are working with international counterparts to obtain more comprehensive information that will help further inform the risk assessment of this situation.
Documents uncovered recently have also revealed that medical experts raised the alarm of PIP implants in May 2010, highlighting the 18 months it took authorities to respond to the matter.
The same documents also revealed that PIP implants were thought to have industrial grade silicone intended for mattresses, rather medical grade silicone.
PIP breast implants manufacturers are currently under criminal investigation.
For more information:
The Breast Implant Information Line is available 24 hours a day at 1800 217 257
