Expert Witnesses

Breast Specialist Professor Laurence Kirwan 20.04.2012 ES Magazine

“It is very sad our government is so reluctant to take the blame. We depend on the government for analysing and certifying many things that are sold and if we can’t depend on it for this it is a serious failing.  Even if it was an honest mistake, it was a mistake and should be put right. This is a health crisis and the government is pussyfooting around with select committees to justify a conclusion that it has already reached.’ To him, the issue is very simple. ‘If it’s industrial silicone, and you don’t know what the potential risks are, it has to come out.’”

PIP Implant Rupture: characteristically yellow

Testimony of Terry O’Neill, President, National Organization for Women (NOW)

Testimony of Terry O’Neill, President, National Organization for Women (NOW) Foundation Presented by Jan Erickson, Director, NOW Foundation Programs to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, General and Plastic Surgery Devices Panel Review of Post-Approval Studies for Silicone Gel-Filled Breast Implants August 30, 2011.

Ruptured PIP implant after removal

“Over the years we have heard from countless women who are saline and silicone breast implant patients and who have suffered from complications, involving both short- and long-term health conditions believed to be related to their implants. Implants rupture and leak. Implants sometimes migrate. Implants often harden and cause capsular contracture. Nearly all will need to be replaced at some point.

Reported conditions involve local infections, necrosis, hematoma, connective tissue disorders and immune disorders like fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple sclerosis, lupus, Sjogren’s syndrome and others. National Cancer Institute studies indicate that women who have breast implants are at increased risk of brain cancer, lung cancer, emphysema, pneumonia and suicide.

Although research paid for by implant companies disagrees, those findings need to be evaluated by independent researchers. And now we learn that a rare type of immune system cancer, anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL), is found growing near the capsule of scar tissue around the breast implant. The risk of developing ALCL for women with implants was significantly higher than that found in women without breast implants.”