The NHS guidelines regarding the removal and replacement of the French PIP breast implants will force private surgeons into an “unfavourable legal and ethical position” according to Professor Laurence Kirwan, a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons and a Plastic Surgeon on Harley Street.
The NHS has spoken out about a number of private patients who feel they have been failed by their private providers and have offered to pay for implant replacements on the NHS. The NHS Chief Medical Officer, Professor Sally C Davies, says that private providers have “failed in their duty of care”. Professor Kirwan takes issue with the statement by the NHS stating that the private plastic surgeons were using legal implants approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and that the fault therefore lies with the regulatory agency. Prof Kirwan suggests that full responsibility for the removal and the replacement of the faulty breast implants should be with the MHRA.
Consultant Oncoplastic Breast Surgeon, Professor Kefah Mokbel, has in a separate statement promised to waive his fees in order to remove PIP implants from those women affected. For more information on the offer from Prof Mokbel, please click here.
