Venezuela's Chavez urges caution over implants

05 Jan 2012 01:28 Source: Reuters // Reuters * Venezuela offered to remove PIP implants for free * Chavez blames capitalism widespread breast surgery Jan 4 (Reuters) - President Hugo Chavez on Wednesday urged Venezuelan women to be cautious about breast implants after a global scare over faulty prostheses ( prosthesis is an artificial replacement for a missing or non-functioning body part. ) and blamed capitalism for the widespread popularity of breast augmentation. Frequent ruptures of implants made by now defunct French manufacturer Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) spurred worldwide concern about possible health effects and led Venezuela to offer to remove them for free. "We have to be more rigorous and, of course, we have to act to protect our people and call on the female population to be more careful," the socialist Chavez told reporters. He blamed "capitalist advertising" for spurring the widespread use of breast augmentation surgery that is so popular in Venezuela it is sometimes given to teenage girls as a birthday present. "They get it into your head that this is an indispensable part of beauty," Chavez said. "Now we've got this health problem, you see how far capitalism and the degeneration of health have gone." Venezuela's health ministry urged women with breast implants to have them checked, but said they would not replace them if they were removed. One prominent Venezuelan plastic surgeon estimated that between 30,000 and 35,000 prostheses of all brands were used each year in Venezuela. The French government has been investigating possible links to cancer from the gel used in PIP implants, which in some cases included industrial grade silicone, but has found no evidence so far. (Reporting by Marianna Parraga. Writing by Brian Ellsworth, editing by Christopher Wilson) ============================ No increased risk of PIP breast implant ruptures in Australia 05 Jan 2012 02:53 Source: Reuters // Reuters SYDNEY, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Australian women do not face an increased risk of rupture from French-made silicone breast implants that are at the centre of a global health scare, the country's medical regulator said on Thursday. Some 4,500 Australian women have the breast implants made by Poly Implant Prothese (PIP), which was ordered by French authorities to withdraw its implants from the market in 2010 after it was revealed it used unapproved industrial-grade silicone in some products. French authorities are investigating possible links to cancer from the gel used in PIP implants after a woman died in 2010. PIP -- once the third-biggest breast implant maker in the world -- is facing a lawsuit by 2,400 women in France. As many as 300,000 women worldwide may have received the gel products, used to enhance breast size or repair lost tissue, and health authorities have called for users to consult their doctors for checks. Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) said all breast implants, not just PIP implants, have a 10 percent risk of rupture over a 10-year period after insertion. The PIP rate of rupture reported to the TGA was approximately 0.4 percent or 37 ruptures in 9,054 implants between 2002 and 2011. "This rate remains well within the expected performance of breast implants based on historical and international trend data," said TGA National Manager Rohan Hammett. Hammett added that testing in Australia and Britain found that PIP implant gel used in both countries was non-toxic to the tissue around the implant even if the implant ruptured. "We know that breast implants won't last a lifetime in many women, and rupture is relatively common but the results of laboratory analysis both here and in the UK are reassuring in that even when rupture occurs the risk with PIP implants appears no different to other implants," he said. PIP breast implants were recalled from the Australian market in April 2010. PIP, which began selling implants in 1991, went bankrupt and its doors shut in 2010 after an inspection revealed it was using industrial-grade silicone in some products that was not approved by health authorities but which was cheaper than the medical-grade equivalent. Colombia said on Wednesday that it would pay for the removal of breast implants made by PIP if a doctor recommends it. (Reporting by Michael Perry; Editing by Yoko Nishikawa) =============== Psychologically frail women are trying to make money out of me, says Frenchman behind PIP breast implant scandal By PETER ALLEN Last updated at 3:11 PM on 6th January 2012 Comments (13) Share The tycoon at the centre of a faulty breast implant scandal has accused thousands of 'psychologically frail' women of trying ‘to make money’ out of him, it emerged today. Jean Claude-Mas, a 72-year-old who faces criminal charges around the world, also insisted that he had ‘nothing to say’ to his victims. They are among 450,000 women worldwide, including some 45,000 in Britain, who had implants made by Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) placed in their bodies. Accusations: Jean Claude-Mas, pictured in a file photo, faces criminal charges around the world, insisted that he had 'nothing to say' to his victims and 'psychologically frail' women of trying 'to make money' out of him All are filled with industrial chemicals including those used as fuel additives or for the manufacture of industrial rubber tubing, and are liable to split open. But Mr Mas, who is currently in hiding, told police in 2010 that ‘psychologically fragile’ victims had only filed complaints ‘to make money’. More... Could men now be hit by implant scare? Faulty gel may have been used in male surgery New implants warning: More women at risk from suspect silicone sold under different name The debate over sub-standard breast implants has been hijacked by the sisterhood Excerpts from Mr Mas's original interviews are being re-examined by a French magistrate, who has released what he said. It shows that PIP had deceived European safety inspectors ‘without any problems’ for 13 years by ordering employees to hide the unauthorised silicone when they visited its factory. Worldwide issue: 450,000 women, including some 45,000 in Britain, had implants made by Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) placed in their bodies Asked if he knew the industrial-strength gel could cause the implants to rupture, Mr Mas told gendarmes: ‘Not to my knowledge. I have nothing to say to the women supplied with them.’ Mr Mas also told police that he ‘felt really good’ about his products throughout the period during which they were being manufactured, right up until PIP was liquidated in 2010. Health scares: Gemma Garrett, left, has to have her breasts drained every six weeks after her implants ruptured and Catherine Kydd also suffered a ruptured implant and was told the silicone had spread to her lymph nodes Following the release of the interviews, Laurent Gaudon, a lawyer who is representing four women victims of the defective implants, denounced the ‘appalling cynicism and greed of Jean Claude Mas.’ Yesterday it emerged that that thousands of contaminated false chests, buttocks and even testicles were sold by PIP for use by men. Mr Mas is said to have targeted the lucrative market so as to add to his multi-million pounds fortune. Concern about PIP implants grew at the weekend when figures suggested a 7 per cent rupture rate for Britain. Analysis: Health Secretary Andrew Lansley ordered a review of the data amid speculation he would order mass removal of the implants Health Secretary Andrew Lansley ordered a review of the data amid speculation he would order mass removal of the implants, which were among the cheapest on the market. The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) says the implants are not fit to be in the human body and so should be removed, whatever the rupture rate. France is paying up to 60 million pounds for women to have the implants removed, with health secretary Xavier Bertrand saying ‘the gel used was truly contaminated.’ Leaks of silicone from the implants can cause agonising pain, as well as swelling and lumps in the breast and armpit, some of which can be easily mistaken by women for tumours, causing unnecessary anxiety. There have been 16 cases of breast cancer detected in French women who have the implants, but no link with the disease has been proved. PIP, which was based near Toulon, in the south of France, filled its implants with the industrial products Baysilone, Silopren and Rhodorsil, which are normally used as a fuel additive or in rubber tubing, Mr Mas is currently in hiding, and is facing two separate French police investigations for manslaughter and fraud. He has claimed through his lawyer, Yves Haddad, that his implants were entirely safe, and helped women who might otherwise not have been able to afford an operation. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2083103/PIP-breast-implant-scandal-Jean-Claude-Mas-accuses-psychologically-frail-women.html#ixzz1ik4Y0RDN =========================