Around ten Icelandic women who have silicone breast implants from the French company Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) are looking into a lawsuit over the faulty implants against the plastic surgeon responsible and Icelandic authorities for failing their role of surveillance.

Silicone-filled breast implants. The photo is not directly related to the story. Source: Wikipedia.

“Around ten women have confirmed that they want to participate in the lawsuit but other women have also been in contact with me,” lawyer to the Supreme Court Saga Ýrr Jónsdóttir at the law firm Vox, who represents these women, told Morgunblaðið.

PIP implants were taken off the market in Europe in 2010 because of the poor quality of the silicone. The production was approved when operations were originally launched but in 2000 the production process was changed and less expensive silicone was used without authorization.

There are indications that PIP implants are more prone to rupture than other brands, causing the silicone to leak into the breast tissue with accompanying discomfort or illness.

One Icelandic woman, who prefers to remain anonymous, revealed last month that she had become seriously ill after her breast implant started leaking, mbl.is reports.

She said she noticed the first symptoms of illness two years ago and that they had worsened significantly last year.

She had a knot in her throat and was certain that she had cancer but it turned out that it was silicone. After the implants were removed the illness disappeared.

French heath authorities recommended in December that all women with PIP implants in France, who number 30,000, have them removed as they contain industrial silicone rather than the medical variety.

Saga met the plastic surgeon who operated on her clients, Jens Kjartansson, yesterday, where he stated that he is working on having it approved that women can have their PIP implants removed for free if they have started to leak.

However, Saga said her clients aren’t content with having industrial silicone in their breasts, even if they are not leaking.

One of her clients said she is very discontent with the plastic surgeon’s reactions in this matter and wants to have her implants removed without having to pay for the procedure.

According to ruv.is, PIP breast implants have been used in Iceland for two decades and approximately 400 women have such implants in their breasts.

ESA