Breast-surgery patients have been left in limbo after a clinic that gave them sub-standard silicon implants went out of business.
Scores of women who received PIP implants at the Surgicare clinic, in Northenden, are unable to get free replacements or treatment for leaking silicon from the clinic because the business has gone under.
Surgery is still taking place at the site under the name of Surgicare Medical Group, after the defunct company was bought out by The Hospital Medical Group in October 2010. But the terms of the £40,000 takeover mean the new owners have no responsibility for Surgicare's former patients.
Marie Hooley, 37, from Hollins, near Bury, said it meant there was nowhere to go for help replacing her PIP implants, – made from unapproved industrial-grade silicon. She paid Surgicare £3,750 for the op in December 2006 and was quoted £2,995 for replacements by the new owners.
She said: "If I knew what they were going to put in me I would never have handed over the cash. It is disgusting. I want them out and I want them replaced, but I’m not in a position to pay."
The Surgicare clinic used PIP implants, made by now-defunct French company Poly Implant Prostheses for several years until a few months before they were banned in 2010.
Nationally, around 40,000 British women could have the implants, which had been thought to be one of the safest and cheapest on the market.
They were banned in 2010 after a French inquiry found they were filled with a type of silicon usually used in mattresses, and were missing protective barriers. French authorities are funding the removal of PIPs from 30,000 patients after health worries relating to their high rupture rate.
The NHS is replacing PIP implants put in by the health service and has agreed to pay for removing ruptured implants from private patients whose clinics have closed – but will not remove unruptured implants or replace them.
Michelle Johnson, 46, from Oldham, paid £3,700 in 2006 for a breast augmentation at Surgicare and was told her implants were 100 per cent safe. Now she wants them replaced – but cannot afford £2,995 for the surgery. She said: "It is sickening because you don’t know what it causes. It’s like a time bomb waiting to go off."
Michelle says she asked her GP for help finding out if the implants were leaking but was told she would have to go private and pay £200 for a scan. She added: "We are in limbo. We don’t know if it has ruptured or is leaking and the only way to find out is to pay £200 for a scan. It’s sickening.
"The NHS will only take them out, not replace them. But if you have them out and not replaced you could have psychological and physical problems from what you are left with."
Her sister-in-law Deborah Price, 46, also from Oldham, had PIP implants at the Northenden clinic in 2007. She is worried they will make her ill, leaving her unable to look after her grandchild and four children.She said: "I’m considering having them replaced but I don't want to pay again. I don’t know whether to put my trust back into anybody."
The former boss of Surgicare says he is sorry for the women left in limbo by the breast implants scandal – but claims the clinic is ‘another innocent victim’ of the affair.
Ex-chief executive Mark Bury said the firm had reported concerns over the rupture-rate of PIP implants to the importer and had contracted a new supplier months before they were banned.
And he told the M.E.N: "I feel very sorry and concerned for the patients. I also feel that the clinics are another innocent victim in this horrendous regulation disaster. The industry has always wanted tighter regulation and received the opposite.
"I feel the French government has taken a sensible long-term view by replacing all PIP implants. It will cost them less than dealing with ruptures as they come along after damage has been done.
"They are also doing the honourable thing as it was their regulators that had failed over 10 years to monitor and certify PIP properly. I feel that the UK government should do the same thing."
Sir David Nicholson, chief executive of the NHS, wrote to healthcare bosses last week, following a review into the implants, saying there was not enough evidence to recommend that all PIP implants should be removed and that there was no link with cancer.
But he added: "Many of the implants are made up of non-medical grade silicone and should not have been implanted in women in the first place."
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Sorry to hear this clinic has gone bust.
The NHS is replacing PIP implants put in by the health service and has agreed to pay for removing ruptured implants from private patients whose clinics have closed – but will not remove unruptured implants or replace them.
I have every sympathy with those women who have had these implants for medical reasons, and now are faced with leaking implants.
As a taxpayer i have no problems with the NHS removing these implants and replacing them with a safe alternative.
I do have a problem with the NHS dealing with those women who have paid to have the implants purely for their own vanity. I sympathise with your position only on the danger you face from an implant that may rupture. BUT you put yourself in that position by having these implants, you did not need to have them. There are more people in this world with imperfect bodies, than those with perfect bodies, accept what you have got and dont mess with it.
You managed to find the money to have the "alteration", find the money to have it put back to what it was like before. Don't expect others to pay for your mistakes.
While its a significant amount of money its hardly earth shattering!
You managed to find the cash to get the op done in the first place I'm sure you can save up and find the cash to have them replaced in a year or two.
Unless they are shown to already be ruptured the risk is still quite low and you have time to save up.
The NHS should only pay for replacements/treatment where they were originally provided by the NHS or in extreme cases where they have already ruptured and the original clinic no longer exists
Why should the NHS pay for the removal, if they have to leave these patients without implants and back to their pre surgery status. No implant is guaranteed for life, so perhaps in some cases they would need a replacement anyway. Yes I sympathise with these ladies why dont they take a private case out against the surgeons of the now closed clinic they were the ones making the big bucks not the NHS who i assume these ladies could not use as they wanted cosmetic operations not necessary operations.
The lesson here is that in private medecine & surgery you can meet rogues, even rogues with a string of qualifications after their names who ,as ever,are in it for the money.
These PIP implants were licensed and the UK's Licensing Authority failed to keep a continued check on the quality & fitness of the implants.
However what should concern people even more is that this same flawed process applies to "generic" drugs.
The NHS goes for the cheapest for the patient since so much of its cash is spent on high salaries for its "healthcare" professionals many of whom are the highest paid for their grade in the world,our GPs for example.
There are too many cheap dubious generic drugs in our health services as well as cheap dubious implants.
Sadly today in our overblown NHS bureaucracy ,it is a case of "Never mind the quality,Feel the width" and ordinary folks' trust is betrayed.
Hard luck!
Save up and pay for your own Ops, like you did in the first place.
The NHS should not be used for things like this.
I have no sympathy for people who get surgery for cosmetic reasons.
We all get older, it is a fact of life.
If I bought a car from Ford and they went bust and then the car developed a major fault could I take back to Vauxhall to get it repaired ?
I DONT THINK SO DO YOU !!!
There is NO WAY the NHS 9Taxpayer) should pay for these removals !!!!
I do hope the NHS are persuing the French manufacturers who made the dodgy implants and the private clinics still in business who endorsed them in the first place
If they could all save up for the initial op, or get it on finance as a lot do, then they can do the same for the removal and replacements and then try and claim it back legally from either where they had the initial op done, or the French government perhaps.
The NHS should only be assisting those they gave implants to. I saw on the news last night 3 women wanting the NHS to sort it all out for them, with replacements, and do it now, no waiting, just jump the queue ahead of real operations for real illnesses. Seriously ladies, your vanity seems to have clouded reality somewhat.
I agree with oggy7224
Why should the NHS (which is already financially crippled) pay to replace implants that were not necessary? There are many more health issues that the money can be used for. If a woman has had implants for cosmetic reasons (or any other cosmetic procedure, for that matter) then they should be responsible for any problems; they chose to have unnecessary surgery so they personally, should deal with the consequences. I think the NHS is being more than generous to offer free removal of the implants & certainly do not think the NHS should pay for new implants. If these women were so concerned about their health, then they would happily accept the free removal service & I would expect them not to want more implants & run the risk of having similar problems some time in the future.
I would rather the NHS money was spent funding cancer treatment & similar health issues that are not self induced.
Dead easy the government has said that the implants are safe & that it will remove them if they rupture, at the moment they have not ruptured, but if they do and they cause any serious side effects then the government is liable, as it has declared that there not enough risk.
It might well end up costing the government more money in claims against it than it would to remove them.
It is a requirement of all UK businesses to carry insurance and claims can be made against this insurance after a company has been wound up, therefore all these women should see a solicitor about making a claim.
If it saves only 1 life its worth the nhs paying i pay taxes i dont have inplants,but i dont mind the nhs paying
My ex girlfirend had hers done at this clinic. They were clearly cheap implants as they felt like two steak puddings. Three years on one ruptured and she went back to the clinic for re upholstery at her expense the same type were put back in. Vanity overtook all sensibility in her case and I dont see why I as a tax payer should subsidise her or any other woman's vanity through the NHS. Save up and get a refit yourselves!!
If they were stupid enough to have spent thousands on needless surgery they and they alone should deal with the consequences. I will be livid if my taxes are wasted on these women.
Something else that should be Borne in mind is, breast implants are temporary and need to be replaced, therefore, they should have always known they would need to come out, as such they should have considered that cost in the first place, and as such have the funds for their removal
I don't see why the NHS should foot the bill.
Those women had no qualms in stumping up £3000+ for the implants.
So I'd day tough tiddys girls. It's time to fork out to have them removed.
And don't rely on our overworked NHS.
It's your own fault. Perhaps you should have left things as they were.
Tough luck, if you havent got the money to have your problem put right, get a bank loan.
This issue makes me furious..their problems are self inflicted
cosmetic surgery is surerly to enhance yourself.if they could find the money to get it done then they can find the money to get it corrected end of
If you can pay nearly £4k for vanity then you can find £200 if you are concerned about your health.
Sorry if I sound harsh, but why should 'we' have to pay?
Their choice, so they pay!
The problem being that the ladies (and odd man) may have had breast implants at their own costs.
If required removal by the NHS, they should pay the NHS for the cost of the operation. This does mean that lots of women (and men) are going to have to decide what is the best option.
Pay for a replacement, or risk having NHS removal and looking like a little saggy in some areas.
Difficult choice, isn't it.
if the implants are faulty surely the manufacturer should pay
Whilst realising that all cases are different it appears that the majority of women with the implants paid for them to enhance their self esteem ego or whatever.Like I summise,the majority.
Having watched my beautiful Wife suffer from Breast Cancer,go through surgery,Chemotherapy,Radiotherapy all in a failing NHS it angers me immensly that these women now seek our help.
Perhaps this year I shall run the Great North Run to raise money for them,then again I will be doing it to aid the wonderful "Breast Cancer Campaign" and every night tell my Wife how much I love her,just the way she is,a complete woman without the ego to think bigger boobs will make her something special.
Please do not offend the majority of people because your makeover did not work.
Good luck to you ladies but in the majority of cases it was your own choice,My Wife had no such choice.
Do these 3 women have good jobs to be able to pay thousands in the first place, I wonder or is it the tax payer who paid for them in the first place..............Get my drift?
If they want the NHS to help then they should be charged for it.