‘I wept after seeing my faulty breast implant’

A WOMAN has described how she wept after she saw her ruptured PiP implant for the first time.

Jenny Brown had her implants removed after she discovered one of them had ruptured following a scan.

The 41-year-old, from Edinburgh, yesterday displayed the broken, yellowing prosthetic as she urged other women to have theirs checked.

She said she had been living “a complete nightmare” since she first heard about problems with PiP implants.

Specialists found lumps under her right arm and a scan confirmed that the right implant had ruptured and there was silicon in the lymph nodes.

She had the implants removed last week.

“When I found out about the rupture I was terrified,” she said. “I’m so relieved to have them out, especially when I saw how damaged they were. When I saw my ruptured implant for the first time, I just cried.

“I took them home. I didn’t look at them right after the procedure, but that evening I had a look. I was quite upset. I couldn’t believe that was inside me. It wasn’t nice.”

Ms Brown said that while the left implant appeared intact it was sweating from the top. The biggest concern, however, was the state of the right implant.

“The right one, it’s almost as if somebody has slashed it and all the stuff is coming out.

“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.”

Ms Brown is a campaigner 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 4000 women in Scotland may have had breast implants containing non- medical grade silicone intended for use in mattresses.

Across the UK, about 40,000 women received the implants, manufactured by now-closed French company Poly Implant Prostheses (PiP).

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. 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.”

Solicitor Patrick McGuire, who is representing the group, said Ms Brown’s implants were “the most compelling and shocking evidence yet” of 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.”