Q&A: PIP breast implants health scare

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Breast implant

French breast implants caused a health scare across Europe and South America last year.

A UK report in June 2012 found the PIP implants, made from unauthorised silicone filler, had double the rupture rate of other implants.

The boss of the French company which distributed defective breast implants around the world has since been sentenced to four years in prison for fraud.

And a German firm responsible for granting European safety certificates for the implants has been ordered by a French court to pay compensation to hundreds of women.

What was the problem?

What happens when a silicone implant ruptures?

How many women were affected?

Should the implants be removed?

Who will pay?

What happened to the French company that made the faulty implants?

Has any other legal action been taken?

Where should women go for advice?

What are the further implications to cosmetic surgery?

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