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HEALTH

PIP scandal: One in four breast implants ‘faulty’

France's medicines safety watchdog on Tuesday revealed that doctors have removed breast implants made by disgraced French manufacturer PIP from more than 16,000 women. Some 25 percent of the products also had signs of splitting or leaking.

Published: 25 June 2013 18:37 CEST
PIP scandal: One in four breast implants 'faulty'
Photo: Webhotographeer/Flick

A total of 16,426 women have had the implants removed since investigators found the devices were twice as likely to rupture as rival brands, and that French manufacturer PIP used industrial silicone to fill them, the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) said.

Of the 28,276 implants that have been removed, 7,186, or 25.4 percent, were defective, it said.

Of these, 4,406 showed signs of splitting in the implants' outer skin, and in 1,976 others, illegal gel was "sweating" through it, the agency said.

The ANSM's figures apply only to France. An estimated 300,000 women in 65 countries are believed to have received the implants; some 30,000 of them in France.

News of the faulty implants in 2011 sparked fears worldwide, but health officials in various countries have said the prosthetics were not toxic and did not increase the risk of breast cancer.

The ANSM said on Tuesday that it had found 70 cases of breast cancer among women with PIP implants, "but the detected tumours are not associated" with the devices.

PIP founder Jean-Claude Mas, 73, has been charged with manslaughter and fraud. PIP's implants have been banned and the company, located near Marseille, southern France, has been wound up.

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HEALTH

Lengthy waiting times at Danish hospitals not going away yet: minister

Danish Minister for the Interior and Health Sophie Løhde has warned that, despite increasing activity at hospitals, it will be some time before current waiting lists are reduced.

Published: 10 May 2023 15:09 CEST
Lengthy waiting times at Danish hospitals not going away yet: minister

The message comes as Løhde was set to meet with officials from regional health authorities on Wednesday to discuss the progress of an acute plan for the Danish health system, launched at the end of last year in an effort to reduce a backlog of waiting times which built up during the coronavirus crisis.

An agreement with regional health authorities on an “acute” spending plan to address the most serious challenges faced by the health services agreed in February, providing 2 billion kroner by the end of 2024.

READ ALSO: What exactly is wrong with the Danish health system?

The national organisation for the health authorities, Danske Regioner, said to newspaper Jyllands-Posten earlier this week that progress on clearing the waiting lists was ahead of schedule.

Some 245,300 operations were completed in the first quarter of this year, 10 percent more than in the same period in 2022 and over the agreed number.

Løhde said that the figures show measures from the acute plan are “beginning to work”.

“It’s positive but even though it suggests that the trend is going the right way, we’re far from our goal and it’s important to keep it up so that we get there,” she said.

“I certainly won’t be satisfied until waiting times are brought down,” she said.

“As long as we are in the process of doing postponed operations, we will unfortunately continue to see a further increase [in waiting times],” Løhde said.

“That’s why it’s crucial that we retain a high activity this year and in 2024,” she added.

Although the government set aside 2 billion kroner in total for the plan, the regional authorities expect the portion of that to be spent in 2023 to run out by the end of the summer. They have therefore asked for some of the 2024 spending to be brought forward.

Løhde is so far reluctant to meet that request according to Jyllands-Posten.

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