PIP Implant Recall was Predicted as Early
as 2005

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Dr. Grant Stevens, a board-certified Los Angeles plastic surgeon, discusses the widespread recall of breast implants made by France's Poly Implant Prothese (PIP). The company used industrial grade silicone rather than medical grade silicone in implants, which reportedly have a high rate of rupturing.

Marina Del Rey, California (January 2012) – News of a widespread recall of France's Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) breast implants sent shockwaves through Europe and other countries when it was reported that these implants were manufactured with substandard silicone and have a high rate of rupturing. Dr. Grant Stevens, a board-certified Los Angeles plastic surgeon at Marina Plastic Surgery Associates, notes that PIP has had problems for some time.

"PIP has been under a cloud for quite a while," Dr. Stevens says. "I warned that PIP saline implants had documented problems as early as 2005, detailing this in a paper." http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16772913

A second paper that Dr. Stevens authored, also published in 2005, dramatically documents cosmetic deformity and deflation of the PIP saline implants. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16874200

Dr. Stevens revealed that PIP company officials asked him not to report these studies. Therefore, he said, "This recent news of corporate corruption, contaminated silicone and a possible increased risk of cancer does not surprise me at all."

At his Los Angeles plastic surgery practice, Dr. Stevens uses only FDA-approved silicone-gel-filled breast implants and FDA-approved saline implants, both of which have been shown to be safe and effective.

It is important to be clear that the recent recalls are of PIP silicone implants, not saline. Nonetheless, PIP saline implants have never been used in the United States. For most women in Los Angeles, breast implants manufactured by PIP are probably not a concern.

However, Dr. Stevens cautions "Women who had implants done in any of the countries where these implants were used, and those who traveled abroad to have their implants in another country and now live here in the U.S., should see their physicians as soon as possible to determine the manufacturer of the implants and if they will need to be removed."

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