Leak rate of faulty implants is 1 in 3 in the UK

The rupture rate of faulty PIP breast implants is as high as one in three, according to a new survey — at least 16 times higher than the rate previously claimed by the industry.

Two British surgeons carried out an audit of 453 patients and found between 16% and 34% of the French-made PIP brand ruptured. This compares with a failure rate of 0.9% among the new implants the surgeons are using.

The study, by Jan Stanek and Miles Berry, submitted to the Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery, comes as the government said it could not obtain reliable data and as the cosmetic industry trade body claimed a failure rate of PIP implants of just 1%-2%.

The new figures will put pressure on the government to follow the recommendations of ministers in France, Germany, the Czech Republic and Belgium and to advise removal of the PIP implants.

Original article on the Sunday Times