Venezuela Offers Free Removal of Faulty Implants

But it won't pay for replacements
By Dustin Lushing,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 28, 2011 3:39 PM CST
Venezuela Offers Free Removal of Faulty Implants
Venezuelan Vera Aulestia, 26, who has breast implants from the now-bankrupt Poly Implant Prothese (PIP), shows the boxes of the product, during an interview with AFP.   (Getty Images)

The Venezuelan government has offered to pay for the removal of defective breast implants for its own citizens, reports the BBC. The implants were produced by a now-defunct French company and are filled with industrial grade silicone—increasing their chance of rupturing. Replacement implants, however, will not be covered.

Last week, France's government called for 30,000 French women to have the implants taken out as a precaution and also offered up public resources for the operations. An estimated 300,000 faulty implants were exported globally by the French company Poly Implant Protheses in the past 12 years, with more than half going to South America. (More breast implants stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X