No PIP breast implants used in Burnley or Blackburn hospitals

WOMEN who have had reconstructive breast surgery at Burnley General Hospital or the Royal Blackburn Hospital have been assured the hospitals have never used PIP breast implants.

A group led by the NHS medical director, Prof. Sir Bruce Keogh, has concluded there is not enough evidence to recommend routine removal of these breast implants. The group also agrees there is no link with cancer.

The PIP implants are of non-medical grade silicone, and should not have been implanted.

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If women in the Burnley area have had implants at a non-NHS hospital, and are concerned they might be PIP, they should contact that clinic for advice.

If that clinic no longer exists, or refuses to care for the patient, then they should seek advice from their GP.

The NHS will support removal of PIP implants if, after an assessment of clinical need or risk, a woman and her doctor decide it is right to do so.

The NHS will replace the implants if the original operation was done by the NHS.

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If a clinic which implanted PIP implants no longer exists, or refuses to care for its patient – where that patient is entitled to NHS services – the NHS will support removal of PIP implants. In that case, the NHS not replace private cosmetic implants.

A Department for Health spokesman said: “We are working with the private sector to ensure we have a picture of the position, then we will consider what further meetings may be necessary.

“We have set out quite clearly what we expect the private industry to do, and that is to match the offer the NHS has made to its patients.

“We believe that private providers have a duty to take steps to provide appropriate after-care to patients they have treated.”

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