Date: 3 January 2012
Author: Trefine Maynard

The media have recently reported a promise by the French Government to pay for the removal of one brand of breast implants should a link be found between these silicone implants and reported cases of breast cancer amongst some women who had them.

Breast implants are often assumed to be a purely cosmetic procedure chosen for vanity. This is however far from the truth as many women now have them following the loss of a breast as a result of previous cancer surgery. It must cause huge additional worry to these women to find that they may have inadvertently added to their future risks by having implants. 

At present, no link between the particular implants in the news and any increase in risk has been established and it is hoped it will be found that no such risk does exist. Despite this, there have been concerns for a number of years about the effects of silicone and possible leakage, as well as other problems including the misplacement or slippage of implants and poor surgical technique resulting in the need for further remedial surgery. We have had a number of such cases and despite a successful outcome to the litigation, the women concerned are all too often left traumatised by what has happened to them.