PIP BREAST IMPLANTS

In the past few weeks there has been much media attention in Europe around PIP (Poly Implant Prothèses) breast implants. The Board of Directors of the Canadian Society of Plastic Surgeons wishes to inform Society members of the following:

The PIP company based in France have in the past produced two types of implants, saline and silicone-gel based.

It is the silicone-gel PIP implants that have been targeted as problematic, on the basis that the composition of the silicone used during the period of manufacture cannot be guaranteed to have undergone rigourous toxicological testing. No conclusions can be drawn about the quality in the general context of breast implants. The statistical evidence on the rate of rupture for PIP implants compared with other implants is incomplete and cannot be assessed accurately.

Health Canada has never authorized either PIP implant, and even through the Special Access Program, no PIP silicone-gel filled implants have been authorized in Canada.

Patricia Bortoluzzi, MD, FRCSC

President

Canadian Society of Plastic Surgeons