My £3,500 breast implants ruptured inside me after 25 YEARS: Mum left in terror, 49, had to pay £11,000 for private surgery after being told to wait a year for the NHS to remove illegal implants

By Liam On Apr 4, 2024

A mother whose faulty breast implant suddenly ruptured was forced to pay £11,000 for private surgery after a year-long wait on the NHS.

Beth Hewson, from York, paid £3,500 for a breast enlargement in 1999 and received Poly Implant Prothèse (PIP) implants at a private clinic in Manchester.

The 49-year-old suffered a painful ‘stabbing pain’ in her left breast last year when one burst. After a breast cancer scare, her GP confirmed it had leaked into her body.

French company PIP’s products – given to around 50,000 British women – were banned in 2010 after it was discovered they had been fraudulently manufactured to contain cheap industrial silicon intended for mattresses. Data also showed that cracks were up to six times more likely to occur.

However, Ms Hewson’s clinic refused to remove them after the scandal emerged.

Beth Hewson, from York, paid £3,500 for a breast enlargement in 1999 and received Poly Implant Prothèse (PIP) implants at a private clinic in Manchester. The 49-year-old suffered a painful ‘stabbing pain’ in her left breast last year when one burst. After a breast cancer scare, her GP confirmed it had leaked into her body

Ms Hewson, an NHS worker at York Hospital, said she felt she had no choice but to opt for private treatment due to the long wait.

The Department of Health has long said there is no evidence that ruptured PIP implants are toxic, nor does it believe they pose a threat to women’s long-term health. But more than a decade later, victims of the scandal have reported a wide range of serious side effects, including a “terrible burning sensation” in their chest. Pictured left: Ms Hewson’s ruptured PIP implant. On the right of the photo is her second PIP implant

And when one implant eventually ruptured, she was told there was a 12-month waiting period on the NHS for corrective surgery.

The Department of Health has long said there is no evidence that ruptured PIP implants are toxic, nor does it believe they pose a threat to women’s long-term health.

The NHS also states that there is no evidence that burst PIP breast implants lead to ‘serious health risks’ for those affected.

But more than a decade later, victims of the scandal have reported a wide range of serious side effects, including a “terrible burning sensation” in their chest.

Others who received the implants after a mastectomy complained of sore joints, pain and fatigue.

WHAT WAS THE PIP SCANDAL?

The French company Poly Implant Prothese (PIP), which has since gone bankrupt, was found to have made silicone breast implants from silicon intended for mattresses and not for medical use.

PIP implants stopped being used in Britain in 2010, but an estimated 47,000 women had the implants before this happened.

20,000 women sued the company responsible for testing the implants – TUV Rheinland – and were awarded £2,600 each.

Although PIP implants do not pose a serious health risk, they are two to six times more likely to rupture.

If they rupture, they must be removed because they can become deformed and cause pain, swelling, and enlarged lymph nodes in the armpit.

The NHS does not recommend that women have PIP implants removed unless there is a problem. Women can discuss the implants with their surgeon if they have any concerns.

Most PIP implants were used in private clinics and hospitals, but a small number were administered in NHS surgeries for women who had had breast cancer surgery.

Source: NHS

Experts say PIP implants are linked to a range of health problems, including cancer.

Campaigners say it has left women affected ‘Suffering and dying in silence’. PIP was liquidated in 2010.

In 2010, the French government also recommended removing the implants after finding a five percent rupture rate.

Ms Hewson, an NHS worker at York Hospital, said she felt she had no choice but to opt for private treatment due to the long wait.

She said: ‘It was a shooting pain all the time. It was horrible. I’ve been off work for six months.

‘I couldn’t lie on my side. I couldn’t bend over. I couldn’t lift or take anything off the shelves. It was really grueling.

“I kept my hand under my breasts all the time, just grabbing my ribcage.”

She added: ‘They did a mammogram in the middle of last year and they said it had ruptured.

‘When I found out I was in absolute panic.

‘Then they said I had to have it removed but it would be on the NHS waiting list for 12 months. They usually deal with cancer patients first.

‘But I didn’t know when I would be seen, the waiting lists are so long at the moment.

‘It could have been twelve months, it could have been fifteen months or two years.

‘I had to borrow money from family (for the private operation). It’s something I had to do. The risks were too great for me.’

PIP founder Jean-Claude Mas was sentenced to four years in prison for fraud in 2013. He died in April 2019 at the age of 79.

Ms Hewson has now called for further public inquiry and research into the potential long-term health effects of PIP silicon on those who have suffered fractures

The scandal is believed to have affected around 300,000 women in as many as 65 countries.

After the scandal came to light, Ms Hewson, who decided to get implants after breastfeeding her daughter, contacted the private clinic that carried out the procedure, Transform Healthcare.

But it refused to remove the implants for free, claiming expert advice ‘did not recommend’ their routine removal. The NHS still says the implants do not necessarily need to be removed.

Ms Hewson has now called for further public inquiry and research into the potential long-term health effects of PIP silicon on those who have suffered fractures.

In 2021, an appeals court in Paris ruled that thousands of victims of the scandal, including 540 British women, would receive compensation.

The case in Paris was brought by 2,700 women who said they suffered long-term health effects.

She said: ‘Someone has to take responsibility.

‘There are 45,000 other women who suffer from it. Many French women were compensated. But here it seems like everyone has swept it under the rug.”

The UK government says that from 2025, doctors must give patients an implant card with information about any necessary warnings, precautions or measures.

A spokesperson for Transform Healthcare said: ‘Transform Healthcare followed independent expert advice to the industry at the time, which did not recommend the routine removal of PIP breast implants.’