- Note: For breast augmentation surgery Sublimis Argentina uses Mentor, Eurosilicone or Nagor breast implants

- PIP breast implants were sold under a different brand name in Europe

The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons issues a warning to women who have gone abroad for breast augmentation – following reports of implant rupture from patients who never suspected they were given controversial devices now taken off the market. PIP implants, it has emerged, were being sold under a different name in some of the most popular cosmetic surgery tourism destinations around Europe, regularly visited by British patients seeking low-cost procedures.

It has been estimated that around 50,000 women in the UK have Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) breast implants, but the discovery that the fraudulent devices were also sold in countries such as Belgium, Poland and the Czech Republic under re-branded name ‘M-Implant’ by Dutch firm Rofil Medical means that the number of women who should be on the alert is much higher. Studies last year found that the company originally making the low-cost implants, which has since gone into administration, not only dispensed with a protective shell but used an untested gel, said to have been intended for use in mattresses.

- Breast Implants (no specific brand)

Although the French medical device regulatory authority (AFSSAPS) found no acute toxicity (cytotoxicity) effect on tissue, tests for genotoxicity (effect of the gel on DNA of cells) did not give a conclusive result and further extensive testing will need to take place.

PIP implants were known to have been popular with the larger domestic chains and commercial clinics because of their low cost. It has been estimated that 60,000 people travel out of the UK for medical tourism every year, and roughly a third of those do so specifically for cosmetic surgery.

Plastic Surgery Team Perform First Full Face Transplant in USA

A Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) plastic surgery team, led by Dr. Bohdan Pomahac, performed the first full face transplant in USA last week, the second face transplant procedure to be performed at BWH.

The team of more than 30 physicians, nurses, anesthesiologists and residents worked for more than 15 hours to replace the facial area of patient Dallas Wiens, including the nose, lips, facial skin, muscles of facial animation and the nerves that power them and provide sensation.

- Bohdan Pomahac, MD, of BWH Plastic Surgery

“Today’s tremendous news marks a new milestone in Brigham and Women’s legacy in transplant surgery. The pioneering achievement accomplished by the entire transplant team is a gift made possible by the most selfless act one human being can do for another, organ donation,” said Betsy Nabel, MD, president of Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

“This remarkable, anonymous gift is another example of the life-affirming power of organ and tissue donation,” said Richard S. Luskin, president and CEO of New England Organ Bank. “As always we are immensely grateful to the donor and the donor family for their generosity.”

Below you will find the press conference highlights: