Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) went into administration in 2010 but more than 300,000 gel implants were sold globally by PIP over the last 12 years. Its implants are banned. It appears they used non-medical grade silicone perhaps made for mattresses, as a result their low-cost devices were more likely to split . As many as 10% of them did rupture within the first year, average implants should last at least 10 years. If you have concerns about gel implant rupture you may want to consider removal of these implants by an experienced plastic surgeon.
Dr. Hudson does NOT use these gel implants.
Press release Friday, December 23, 2011
In the USA in the 1990s PIP also sold a saline filled implant called a "prefilled is preferred" implant that had a high tear rate and did not gain wide acceptance from surgeons. It was withdrawn from the market in 2000 after failing to achive FDA renewal for its use and was only available for a short time thereafter for 'compassionate' reasons in patients with ruptured "prefilled is preferred" implants. These implants are NOT the same as the gel implants mentioned above that have caused a concern in Europe and elsewhere in the world and that were never avaiable for sale in the US.