NHS patients are choosing to have PIP implants removed whether or not they have burst

The options offered to women who had breast augmentation surgery with implants made by the discredited French manufacturer Poly Implant Prosthèse (PIP), which differ according to whether the operation was carried out on the NHS or privately, are affecting how keen they are to have the implants removed, new figures from the Department of Health indicate.

PIP closed last year after it emerged that the company had used non-medical grade silicone in its breast implants. The NHS in England has advised women with the implants not to have them removed automatically but to seek clinical advice. Women who had surgery done on the NHS are entitled to have PIP implants removed and replaced with new implants, but the NHS will only remove and not replace implants from …