ARGENTINA: Argentine women with controversial French implants react to maker’s arrest

Record ID: 446877

  • Title: ARGENTINA: Argentine women with controversial French implants react to maker’s arrest
  • Date: 27th January 2012
  • Summary: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (JANUARY 26, 2012) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF WOMEN WALKING IN THE STREETS OF DOWNTOWN BUENOS AIRES
  • Embargoed: 11th February 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Argentina, Argentina
  • Country: Argentina
  • Topics: Crime,Health
  • Reuters ID: LVAECWJEZ8GLV408YP4QUKFQN3MJ
  • Story Text: Argentine women fitted with the substandard breast implants sold by Frenchman Jean-Claude Mas say they hope his arrest Thursday (January 26) will lead to health officials recommending they have the implants removed under procedures covered by the state.
    Mas, who sparked a global health scare by selling the poor quality Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) breast implants was arrested on Thursday as Marseille prosecutors build a case against him for manslaughter.
    Argentina ranks near the top of a list of nations where cosmetic surgeries were carried out last year and Buenos Aires has long been a magnet for medical tourists looking for affordable cosmetic surgery.
    Argentine lawyer Virginia Luna, 34, says the South American country had imported 13,500 PIP implants before Argentina banned them in 2010.
    She is demanding clinics offer women with PIP implants, like herself, replacement implants free of charge.
    She says Mas' arrest is a step in the right direction and she hopes it pushes Argentina's drug and medical device regulating agency, ANMAT, to take further steps in dealing with the fallout from the medical scare.
    "It is good news [that Mas has been arrested]. It is really good because I think it could speed things up, including health measures on a national level that have still not been taken in Argentina. One thing is to know that the gel in the implant is of poor quality or that the implant doesn't meet the minimum quality standards - this is official information for ANMAT, it was said by ANMAT on September 30, 2010 in a release - and another thing is to have the actual person responsible in conditions to make a declaration pertaining to what he did. So, once we have a statement where he recognizes adulterating [the implants] the most likely step is that the country [Argentina] will take the preventative health measures. So, this gives a lot of those affected the possibility to be able to remove the implant, without having to front the costs," Luna said.
    Last month, the French government advised women with PIP implants to have them removed, and said it would pay for the operations in France, sparking alarm around the world amongst patients who had been fitted with products from the company, which was at one time the third biggest global supplier.
    PIP enjoyed years of success with international sales, but behind the scenes employees, and Mas himself, have admitted to hiding from certification agencies the fact they were using cheap, industrial silicone, not approved for medical use.
    Health authorities from the United Kingdom to Brazil have recommended patients with PIP implants see their surgeons for check-ups, but many women like Karina Pons are worried about their health and want those responsible on all levels to be made accountable for their errors.
    "I went trustingly, to the place I went to, and they assured me these implants were the best. I asked all the responsible questions I should have, because I was really scared of the operation. And they assured me these were the best implants. Six years later I find out that these are the worst implants. So, yes, I want those responsible for this to take responsibility for authorizing this, for doing this," Pons said.
    Some 300,000 PIP implants, used in cosmetic surgery to enhance breast size or replace lost breast tissue, were sold worldwide, tens of thousands of them in Latin America where demand for cosmetic procedures is high.
    Part of the French investigation involves the death of a woman from cancer last year. She had received PIP implants, but the French government has not presented evidence of an increased cancer risk from the product though surgeons report that they have abnormally high rupture rates.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register