a question for ladies who were made false promises

Hi ladies.
I wanted to ask, who was promised that the PIP implants were highly cohesive and were 'gummy bear' like should they rupture? I have heard this was a common line told to would be BA patients and I am sure reassured many woman out there that rupture and leakage would not be an issue.

I ask this because I have been told the same thing about the co-gel Nagor range. That they are highly cohesive and should they rupture that silicone could not float around the body. But since hearing that the PIP ladies were told the same.....

How can I rely on what you have been told? I am so confused. Any feedback on your experiences would be greatly appriciated.xxx

Hiya babes,
I am an ex PIPeeeee!! I had mine put in in 2006 and was told I was getting the best quality implant on the market, that they were that good I could just get checked every 15 years if I wanted! They were strong and rupture was really uncommon with them! All a load of b************s!

Within the first 12 months of having them I had problems and my surgeon at the birkdale clinic would not entertain me! Anyway after years of moaning and being in agony I eventually went the doctors to find out in nov last year all the scandal about PIP implants and that mine had ruptured. I got mine replaced 19 Jan this year and feel great!

I really looked into the implants this time andmthe best 2 I think and most will agree is allergan natrelle and nagor. My surgeon swears by these two and will not use any other implants. I got allergan because I needed a slightly harder implant and the nagor are a lot softer! (they felt so real I wanted them!!) but with the problems I had from my first surgery allergan was much better for me.

It's such a scary time choosing the right implant I just knew I wasn't going with euro silicone or CUI, I wanted to pay the extra for the implant! I wish you all the best of luck babes and once there out you feel so much better in yourself! You really do.

Best wishes! X

I had my pips replaced 8 weeks ago. Like all the rest of the pip girls I was also told that the cohesive gel would stay intact if rupture did occur...which was highly unlikely unless I was to suffer extreme impact ie: car crash...would probably only need replacing many years in the future due to natural body changes...blah blah blah....
Within 18 months I had a confirimed rupture after finding a large lump in my left armpit. A scan revealed the gel had leaked and 3 lymph nodes were full of silicone.
I went to my original surgeon through word of mouth and really didnt put any research into making my decision...I didnt even question the brand of implant.
This time I couldnt afford to make a bad choice of implant so did plenty of research this time, on the implants,surgeons/clinics and warranties.I believe that Nagors are a quality,reputable implant...xx

Thanx for the replies ladies. So was it that they just lied about the cohesivness, or did they sell you one product and put something else entirely into you?
I am pre op at the mo, never had PIPS, but have been considering a BA for a few years now. I read somewhere that between 25-40% of women who have a BA will have to go back for some sort of re-op within 10yrs.
I have watched all the videos of the Nagors being cut in half and remaining intact etc, but obviously you were all told the same too
I spoke with the PS too about whether the cohesivness can alter and become more fluid when in the body. He reassured me but I just dont kno what to believe anymore. I want my BA but I am not sure I will ever have the confidence in the product to go thru with it. xx

Why not look into implants that have been FDA approved in the USA. They have been studied more extensively. x

Hi mimimax
The issue with the PIPs is two fold, firstly that the Gel is not approved for the manufacture of implants as it hasnt been tested properly in humans, and secondly that the shell has been proven to be weaker and therefore rupture more commonly than other implants. Having removed many ruptured and unruptured PIPs I can tell you that the Gel is quite cohesive but I think that it has a lot of less cohesive gel in it too - that is, it is almost a mixture. When ruptured the thicker part stays in the breast, and the thinner material travels in the lymphatics to the lymph nodes in the arm pit. I havent tested this but it explains what we see in simple terms. I have only seen a tiny number of Nagor cohesive Gel or Allergan Cohesive Gel implants rupture - really only one or two over the years, and never had to remove enlarged lymph nodes from these. I can only conclude from this that the cohesive gel in these implants contains very little runnier component and is a more pure cohesive gel. My yardstick for all my proceedures / implants that I use is "would I use this device/proceedure on my family?" my experience with both nagor and allergan implants over the last 10 years suggests that they are both very reliable implants. Of course rupture and capsule formation can happen so there is no absolute risk free product, but I would use these implants in my family.

JP

Just another quick point.
Im not sure how PIPs were sold to customers but I have heard from many patients that they were told that PIPs were the best quality implants when in fact they were the cheapest. I have never found anything in life where the best was also the cheapest - and on that basis I think this was a lie. I know some surgeons continued to use these implants despite knowing that they ruptured more commonly and their hands were tied because the clinics that they worked for had made good deals on the price of these implants - this is a very unethical thing for any surgeon to do - so think carefully where you go to get your PIPs replaced.
PIPs were sold as cohesive however, and CE marked, so in the first few years of putting them in surgeons may have been happy with the results they were seeing and believed that these implants were good.
On my part I never used them because I couldnt understand how they could be so cheap and still be good - and that has been a good decision for my patients.
I would always recommend that a patient makes a relationship with a surgeon - not a clinic. The surgeon has his reputation to think of and their business is very personal - most of us are proud of providing a quality service and having happy patients that will send their friends. Clinic surgeons change frequently and im afraid often "do as they are told" in terms of speed of operating and choice of implants etc. Your surgeon may only see you once and be gone by the time you get a problem - this is not a good service in my view !

JP

Thank you John, your posts have been very helpful. It's interesting to hear that you have encountered very low rupture rates with Nagor, not to mention very reassuring! Thank you again. And thanks peachy, I am looking into Fda implants, fda testing methods etc, so lots to think about!

Hi All, Just reading all the comments on PIP implants. This site is making me feel much better that I am not the only one going though this. I have PIP implants and I have only had them for 5 years and they have both ruptured/leaking. I found out only by a lump in my lymph glands then I got them checked. This has been extremely stressful for me and I have been in tears for 2 weeks on and off. I never knew about the PIP implants until I had a problem. I need to get them both replaced and I am so nervous I don't know why. Will be seeing my doctor tomorrow hope all goes will.

Hi Tammy hope everything goes ok with your doctor. Its natural for you to be nervous hun but hopefully you will get it sorted quickly : )