Edinburgh woman makes plea over PiP implants
A woman from Edinburgh has urged other women to have their PiP implants checked after seeing her ruptured prosthetic for the first time.
Jenny Brown, 41, had her implants removed after she found that one of them had ruptured following a scan and silicon had gone into her lymph nodes.
She said she had been living "a complete nightmare" since she first heard about problems with PiP implants.
Ms Brown admitted to crying when she saw the broken, yellowing prosthetic.
Specialists had found lumps under her right arm and a scan confirmed that the right implant had ruptured and silicon had leaked into the lymph nodes.
She had the implants removed last week.
"When I found out about the rupture I was just terrified," she said. "I'm so relieved to have them out, especially when I saw how damaged these implants were.
"When I saw my ruptured implant for the first time, I just cried."
Ms Brown said she then took the implants home.
"I didn't look at them right after the procedure, but that evening I had a look," she said. "I was quite upset. I couldn't believe that was inside me. It wasn't nice.
"The left one looks intact and it's the colour you would expect it to be, although I noticed on top of it it looks almost like it's sweating - I didn't think it was meant to do that.
"The right one, it's almost as if somebody has slashed it and all the stuff is coming out - and the gel inside it is just breaking up. There were bits falling off it."
She added: "I was quite shocked when I saw the state of my right implant. I was told in my initial consultation that my implants were fine. I think it very important we all get these scans done as soon as possible.
"I was very upset and quite shocked. It's a mess. There were parts of jelly breaking off it as well as I thought: 'Where else has this stuff gone?"'
Ms Brown is involved with the PiP Implants Scotland campaign group, which includes women who have health problems because of the implants, and is calling on the Scottish government to set up a public inquiry into the issue.
As many as 4,000 women in Scotland may have had breast implants made by French company Poly Implant Prostheses (PiP) which used non-medical grade silicone intended for use in mattresses.
However, Holyrood's health committee has suggested that the figure could be as low as 1,300.
No women have received the implants in the Scottish NHS.
Across the UK, about 40,000 women received the implants, manufactured by PiP which has now closed down.
The owner of PiP, Jean-Claude Mas, was arrested and is facing charges of "involuntary injury".
The UK government has said women given PiP breast implants on the NHS will be able to have them removed for free, with private firms expected to offer the same deal.
While experts concluded there was no evidence to recommend routine removal of the implants, they said they could not entirely rule out that some were toxic.
Ms Brown said: "I never had any symptoms, no pain. I wasn't even aware of the rupture. There was no difference in size and no change in shape either.
"I am angry - when you go into this type of surgery, you think you would have some sign or be aware of that.
"We just want to make sure there is something consistent in place, and not having women just coming away from the clinic and thinking they have time to save up to get them replaced because they could have ruptures in their chest and not be aware of it".
Thompsons solicitor Patrick McGuire, who is representing the group, said Ms Brown's implants were "the most compelling and shocking evidence yet" into the dangers of PiP implants.
He said: "It was shocking. It was yellow, it was degraded. The silicon was exposed. It was, if I am being honest, revolting.
"Jenny has been through nothing short of a nightmare. What her experience clearly communicates is don't suffer in silence. Come forward, get scanned and get justice.
"The state of Jenny's implants hammers home the seriousness of the dangers faced by the victims of the scandal and the need to stop it ever happening again."