HBJW Law & Victorious Claims Clinical Negligence departments are receiving a number of enquiries in response to recent news coverage on the use of PIP implants and the risk that they may pose to health.
PIP Impants were manufactured by the PIP implant company based in France between 2001 and 2010 and all batch numbers are affected. The main problem with the French Implants and which has caused global concern is that the implants contained industrial silicone rather than medical-grade fillers. It is the concern that the implants may be more prone to rupture and leakage.
The Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have issued a statement that there is a medical device alert on silicone gel filled breasts implants manufactured by Poly Implant Prothese (PIP). All models and lot numbers have been identified as requiring immediate action. At present there has not been a court case where the issue of such devices have been considered by the court but we are starting to prepare to issue letters of claim to the manufacturer of the products and also the hospital that have used such devices in surgery.
A number of private hospitals in the United kingdom have used such products and they include;
• Harley Medical Group.
• Surgicare Medical Group.
• Transform Medical Group.
• Newlook Medical Group.
You can follow the links on the above to the web sites of the relevant Health care providers to view the official statements.
Most implants are removed or replaced after 10 to 15 years so it is likely that if such a surgical device was used during your operation you would have expected for them to be removed at some stage. There is at present no expert evidence to show what if any risks are associated with PIP implants however the governments expert committee has suggested that the NHS should consider the removal of PIP implants and that all private hospital should follow suit. You can follow the links above to consider the statements of the Healthcare providers that use PIP implants.
The NHS intend to contact all patients that received PIP implants through the NHS and we understand that this process is being replicated across the private sector. More than 300’000 PIP implants have been sold across 65 countries throughout the period of manufacture. While European Countries were a large purchaser more than half of the implants were sold to South American Countries.
If you had PIP implants either through the NHS or through a Private Hospital please feel free to contact us to discuss your concerns. In addition the MHRA have issued advice to General Practitioners and all Healthcare providers to assist patients.
Nathan Hennah is able to provide free consultation to help.