Implants row lawyers slam regulator - http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5gnVzd8LbAqLeTooU5-LDtUfCS8QQ?docId=N0603341324557158008A
(UKPA) – 41 minutes ago
Lawyers acting for women who are suing UK clinics over health concerns linked to breast implants have launched a stinging attack on the medical regulator.
They accused the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) of failing to take action to deal with complaints and for dismissing serious health problems linked to the devices.
More than 270 women in the UK intend to sue those clinics where they underwent surgery to be fitted with the implants, manufactured by French company Poly Implant Prostheses (PIP), which has now closed.
Lawyers say the number of complainants is growing rapidly and they have lodged class action cases.
The implants have been linked to the death of a French woman from a rare form of cancer called anaplastic large cell lymphoma, and are implicated in another seven or eight cancer cases. They are filled with an unapproved non-medical grade silicone believed to be made for mattresses and there have been reports that the protective barriers are faulty.
French authorities are expected to formally announce on Friday that up to 30,000 women who received the implants in France can have them taken out. But UK regulators have insisted there is no link with cancer and there is no need for women to have them removed.
Figures from the MHRA suggest 84,300 PIP implants have been sold in the UK since 2001. Based on the assumption that each woman has two implants, at least 42,000 women in the UK could be affected, according to the MHRA.
But the figure could be higher because women undergoing breast reconstructive surgery following cancer may only have had one implant.
Mark Harvey, a partner at Hugh James solicitors, which is representing more than 250 women, said some of his clients had complained of inflammation, fatigue and fibromyalgia, a musculoskeletal pain disorder.
In a statement, Mr Harvey added: "The recent reports have, of course, been very worrying to our clients, many of whom have already suffered terrible problems as a result of their implants. I have written again to the MHRA to urge them to react to the developments in France and, similarly to France, to set up a suitable protocol for women affected in this country."
Copyright © 2011 The Press Association. All rights reserved
(UKPA) – 41 minutes ago
Lawyers acting for women who are suing UK clinics over health concerns linked to breast implants have launched a stinging attack on the medical regulator.
They accused the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) of failing to take action to deal with complaints and for dismissing serious health problems linked to the devices.
More than 270 women in the UK intend to sue those clinics where they underwent surgery to be fitted with the implants, manufactured by French company Poly Implant Prostheses (PIP), which has now closed.
Lawyers say the number of complainants is growing rapidly and they have lodged class action cases.
The implants have been linked to the death of a French woman from a rare form of cancer called anaplastic large cell lymphoma, and are implicated in another seven or eight cancer cases. They are filled with an unapproved non-medical grade silicone believed to be made for mattresses and there have been reports that the protective barriers are faulty.
French authorities are expected to formally announce on Friday that up to 30,000 women who received the implants in France can have them taken out. But UK regulators have insisted there is no link with cancer and there is no need for women to have them removed.
Figures from the MHRA suggest 84,300 PIP implants have been sold in the UK since 2001. Based on the assumption that each woman has two implants, at least 42,000 women in the UK could be affected, according to the MHRA.
But the figure could be higher because women undergoing breast reconstructive surgery following cancer may only have had one implant.
Mark Harvey, a partner at Hugh James solicitors, which is representing more than 250 women, said some of his clients had complained of inflammation, fatigue and fibromyalgia, a musculoskeletal pain disorder.
In a statement, Mr Harvey added: "The recent reports have, of course, been very worrying to our clients, many of whom have already suffered terrible problems as a result of their implants. I have written again to the MHRA to urge them to react to the developments in France and, similarly to France, to set up a suitable protocol for women affected in this country."
Copyright © 2011 The Press Association. All rights reserved
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