(Image Source: Telegraph)

BY LAISHI ZHOU
ANCHOR NATHAN BYRNE

Britain’s National Health Service says providers of Poly Implants Prostheses (PIP) breast implants should remove or replace those implants in women, but major UK clinics are refusing to do so.

The chairman of Harley Medical Group – a private UK cosmetic surgery firm, tells the BBC replacing the implants for free would put them out of business.
 

“We don’t have finance; we don't have the resources; we don't have hospitals; we don't have the GPs; we don't have the facilities. We don't geared up for that type of facilities, and the NHS is geared up for that sort of facilities. This is a missive problem created by the government agency, and they must accept more responsibility.”

The implants made worldwide news in December when the French government said it would replace implants for French women who had them. The implants were found to be filled with a silicone not approved for medical use and to have high rupture rates, though Britain has maintained they don’t necessarily cause breast cancer and other diseases. The Telegraph explains the UK government’s stance.

“[The health secretary] said private healthcare providers were under a ‘moral duty’ to make the same offer. The Department of Health said it would use ‘all means at its disposal’ to ensure private clinics met their responsibilities.”

According to the Washington Post, the UK government now is collecting statistics on how many people have received the surgery.

“Britain’s health secretary has demanded that private U.K. clinics supply data by the end of the week on how many French-made PIP breast implants have ruptured in Britain. … officials don’t have good data on numbers of implant failures in British patients. Some 42,000 women in Britain are thought to have received the implants.”

The UK government also said it would cover fees if a private implant provider no longer exists. The Guardian reports,

“If a PIP provider no longer existed… the NHS [National Health Service] would, if medically indicated, support the removal of implants…[but] the offer covered only the removal of implants, not their replacement, adding that expert advice showed the risk to patients was low.”