PIPs: 7,000 more fitted pre-2001

The implants were manufactured by the French company Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) Over 2,800 PIP patients go to NHSImplant furore 'justifies' reform Around 7,000 more women in the UK have been fitted with banned PIP breast implants than previously thought, according to the government.

The original warnings were about breast implants fitted since 2001, however, it has since emerged that thousands were fitted before then.

It brings the total number of women affected in the UK to 47,000.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said the women "will be provided with all the help they need from the NHS".

He added: "The French regulator has confirmed this week that more women may be affected by the criminal activity of the French breast implant manufacturer PIP.

"These women are the victims of a fraudulent company and I know this situation is causing a huge amount of anxiety.

The Department of Health said approximately one in five breast implants needed to be replaced within a decade, so some of the women would already have had their PIP implants removed.

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It is thought 95% of women had the operation privately, 5% on the NHS. Implants fitted by the NHS will have them removed and replaced.

Continue reading the main story“Start QuoteThese women are the victims of a fraudulent company”

End QuoteAndrew LansleyHealth Secretary The government said private clinics had a "moral duty" to remove implants. However, the health service in England is acting as a "last resort" if clinics refuse or no longer exist.

If there is a medical need, which includes distress, and the patient cannot receive an operation from their private company, the NHS will step in to remove, but not replace, the implant.

The former president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), Nigel Mercer, said: All women with PIPs - now regardless of date of implantation - should seek advice from their implanting surgeon or clinics to have these defective devices removed or replaced, preferably before rupture.

"The BAAPS have always maintained that these implants are sub-standard and have no place inside the human body."