Few cases of defective breast implants detected
A small number of faulty breast implants have been detected in Greece according to Deputy Health Minister Michalis Timosidis and the head of the National Organization for Medicines, Yiannis Tountas. Speaking on Skai Television on Wednesday, Timosidis noted that the ministry has issued a circular inviting all Greek women with breast implants to visit their doctor for consultation.
The move comes after France?s defunct Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) company was found to have used implants filled with silicone gel believed to have been originally made for mattresses. In 2011 a French woman died from anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL), prompting the French government to recommend that 30,000 women in France remove the defective implants manufactured by PIP.
Speaking on Skai, Tountas noted that the National Organization for Medicines acted swiftly and issued an order for the breast implants to be recalled and prohibited. He also noted that a European directive expected to be issued within the next few weeks will determine whether defective implants should be removed or not.
