A global scare came to a dramatic conclusion as Jean-Claude Mas was arrested in France earlier this month. Following a long investigation, the man who was CEO of the firm Poly Implant Prothese was found to have sold sub-standard implants to clinics for implantation in women. If convicted, he could go jail likely for the rest of his days. The charges range from involuntary manslaughter, fraud, and causing injury. This brought a chilling reminder to thousands of women who carry PIP implants.
This case isn’t new. The situation was brought up to the authorities years ago, and in March 2010 the implants were forced off the market because of safety concerns. France authorities have been criticized as being slow to act in this matter. When it comes to implants, or medical equipment of any type, the bar should be higher, and as such these situations always raise public anger. The company had been providing implants until very recently still, with nothing much being done to slow their distribution. The authorities having finally acted, lawyers representing some of the women suing said that seeing Mas brought to justice was a welcomed sight for those wronged.
PIP had been selling their implants for years on the international market, and had good success thanks to lower prices, but what they hid was the fact that they had apparently used industrial silicone not certified for use in medical equipment. While there’s been no sign that this could lead to higher cancer rates, some doctors have reported seeing a higher rupture rate in those implants. Mas had admitted selling over 300,000 implants with sub-standard products, but says they caused no greater risk than normal implants. He also apparently admitted lying about the implants to medical certification boards. Meanwhile, a judge will have to decide whether he is let out on bail or not.
France has called for tighter medical regulations in the EU, and asked women that have PIP implants to get them removed. Meanwhile, other countries such as Britain and Brazil have suggested that anyone using these implants should get a check with their doctor, in case of a potential problem. While there’s no definitive answer as to how risky these implants are, it’s always best not to take any chance. Any sort of rupture can cause complications which are not easy to live with.
Some of the recent news of PIP implant victims have been horrible, Louise Chambers, a 25 year old mother of three, Debbie Lewis or 28 year old Joanna Van Rooyen.