Surgeons welcome withdrawal of controversial boob jab
In the wake of the PIP breast implant scandal, the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons have welcomed the decision to ban a breast enhancement jab.
The controversial treatment, marketed to women as the 'lunchtime boob job', involved injecting Macrolane, meant for body contouring.
But the procedure has been banned this week due to a lack of consensus regarding cancer screening results of breasts treated with the product.
'The concept of simply injecting a temporary filler to augment the breast may seem appealing,' says consultant plastic surgeon and BAAPS President Fazel Fatah.
'But any treatment can only be considered safe once it is known what long term effect it has on cancer screening as this can affect such a high proportion of women.'
A recent survey among BAAPS members found one in four surgeons were seeing patients with complications stemming from the use of Macrolane.
'We have urged caution in the past against the use of fillers in the breast,' says Fatah. The use of Macrolane can result in problems such as lump formation and capsular contracture in the breast.
'These problems can cause significant anxiety to patients who then must be subjected to scans and invasive diagnostic procedures.'
A spokesman for the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said there were no safety concerns with the product itself, and it could still be used for other purposes such as 'augmenting body contour' and correcting soft tissue defects.
'If women have been injected with Macrolane and subsequently had a mammogram, they should contact their GP to see if they need to be referred for further screening,' he added.
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