Listen to Dr Fleming speak about PIP breast implants on ABC Radio

Did Sunday Night and 60 Minutes properly inform women about PIP implants? If you were frightened after watching their stories, watch this ABC analysis may help you.

Australasian College Of Cosmetic Surgery Information Movie Series On PIP Breast Implants

The Australasian College Of Cosmetic Surgery (ACCS) has produced a series of short videos to provide PIP Breast Implant patients with the unbiased, factual information they require to be able to make informed decisions.

Click here to view the PIP Breast Implant video series.

PIP Breast Implant Information

Some breast implant patients in Australia have a brand of French implants called PIP.

In March 2010, the French authorities discovered the PIP company had been, in some of its implants, using a type of silicone gel which was different to the one approved on its manufacturing license.

There have been reports from some surgeons, mainly overseas, that these implants may rupture more often than other implants and also that the gel may cause irritation to the tissues if it leaks. Other surgeons have not had the same experience with PIP implants.

Because of these concerns, the Australian regulatory authority, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), has tested multiple batches of PIP implants used in Australia and has found the gel used conforms to all the required standards. There has been no evidence of an increased rate of rupture of PIP implants, nor of any harm or health risk to patients who have these implants even if they do rupture. The UK authorities have found the same results. The media has not generally reported the fact that all patients with silicone gel implants of any brand have a rupture risk of about 12% by 10 years after their augmentation.

It is particularly important to note that the tests of the gel used by PIP has cleared these implants from having any cancer risk and from being toxic to humans.

The current advice from the Australian regulator – the TGA, the UK regulator – the MHRA and the European Union advisory group on PIP implants is all the same: There is no need to recommend routine removal or replacement of un-ruptured PIP implants at this time. Further testing is ongoing and the TGA is performing the most tests and the most comprehensive tests of any authority in the world. So far all the tests have been normal and if this changes we will update this advice on this website.

You can check out the latest information from the TGA at www.tga.gov.au and follow the links for PIP breast implants.

Some of our patients do have PIP implants. Most of these had their surgery in 2006, 2007 or in early 2008. A few patients had PIP implants before 2006. The type of implant you have is on the implant information sheet given to you on the day of your surgery. If you are not sure what implants you have please call our office and we will advise you.

If you do have PIP implants, we understand this will be a worrying time for you especially because of the sensationalised media reports. It is important therefore to make sure you understand the real facts. Having read this advice and that on the TGA website, both of which are based on the facts, if you are not worried there is no need to do anything different to any other woman with breast implants. We will let you know if this changes. If you do have further concerns or questions, please make an appointment to come in for a consultation with your surgeon or contact our office. A Medicare rebate is now available for patients with PIP implants who want to have an MRI scan to check if their implant is ruptured. MRI is the most reliable scanning method for this and is more than 90% accurate.

To help it advise patients properly about PIP implants, the Australian Government has convened an expert panel to assess this evidence and make recommendations. The panel is meeting regularly to ensure that patients are receiving, and continue to receive, correct advice based on the facts. Dr Fleming is a member of this expert panel and fully supports the current recommendations of the TGA.

Contacts:

In Australia: 1800 682 220
International: +61 7 3252 8929
Email: reception@breastimplantsaustralia.com