The Government is right to offer NHS patients with PIP implants removals free of charge, a leading plastic surgeon said today.
Fazel Fatah, president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), said women with the implants should be reassured that removal is a precautionary measure, rather than because of an immediate threat to their health but the government's decision was "sensible".
Fatah said: "It is accepted that these implants are sub-standard and not of a high medical grade. When they rupture, they cause significant disruption and it is not acceptable. This is a sensible decision, taken after intense deliberation and we support that."
Fatah said he urged surgeons to co-operate with hospitals, adding: "At the BAAPS we are very pleased that patients who received these defective implants by the NHS will undergo both removal and replacement of implants via the NHS."
However Mark Harvey, a partner at Hugh James solicitors, which is representing more than 250 women, said his clients would not be satisfied by the review.
"I understand the Government to be saying that they (the implants) do need to come out, but it seems to be a tacit admission that they have no power to compel the clinics," he said.
"Really what they have done is put the ball firmly in the court of the clinics, and we expect the clinics to meet that challenge and to follow the NHS's lead. If they do not, then we will be asking the courts later this year to compel them to do that.
"Either way, we expect ultimately to ensure these ladies have the implants removed."
Meanwhile, Spire Healthcare, the second largest private hospital provider in the UK, said it would be offering every patient free removal and replacement of the implants.
Dr Andy Jones, group medical director at Nuffield Health, also welcomed the recommendations. He said: "Nuffield Health contributed data for consideration to the expert panel on PIP implants. We are pleased that the Department of Health has issued this report quickly."
Tim Goodacre, a consultant plastic surgeon who represented the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery (BAPRAS) on the government's expert panel for PIP breast implants, said: "This has been a constructive process and we are supportive of the report's recommendations.
"As BAPRAS has always said, it is the needs of women with PIP implants that are our primary concern and now they have a clear path to having the implants removed."
"BAPRAS has been recommending the development of a national, compulsory, device-based register for all episodes of breast implantation for the last 18 months and has been liaising with peers in American and Australia about the best model to use. We look forward to the next meeting of the expert group so we can discuss this in more detail."