Breast implants to be registered

Dutch plastic surgeons are to set up a breast implants register with detailed information about the breast reconstructions and enlargements they carry out, the NRC reports on Friday.

The Dutch association of plastic surgeons NVPC is signing an agreement on Friday with all the manufacturers and suppliers of breast implants in the Netherlands to set up the register, the paper says.

Registration will be automatic unless the patient lodges a signed objection.

The Netherlands is the first country to register breast implants on a national basis. It comes as a result of the scandal around PIP implants in 2011. The French-made implants were found to contain industrial grade silicone and had a higher chance of splitting. The 1,400 women with PIP implants were advised to have them removed.

Unrest

However, many patients could not be traced because there was no central register. ‘A search for possible victims creates great unrest,’ the NVPC’s Hinne Rakhorst told the paper. ‘With registration, we know with one push of the buttom who has which implant and we can immediately put their minds at rest and where necessary help them.’

The owner of the PIP factory was sentenced to four years in prison and a fine of €75,000.