England Will Register All Breast Implants

Officials look to fix 'cowboy industry'
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 30, 2013 12:09 PM CST
England Will Register All Breast Implants
Britain is setting up a breast-implant registry.   (Shutterstock)

Following a scandal over potentially dangerous breast implants last year, England is cracking down on what officials call a "cowboy industry." The country plans to begin registering every breast augmentation that occurs; Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are considering following suit, the BBC reports. "The PIP implant scandal has shone a light on what is sometimes a cowboy industry where there are some murky practices," says England's health chief.

"What we need to do is more effectively track the quality of implants women receive and to make sure that when things go wrong with those implants, that can be acted on as quickly as possible." The decision comes after some doctors couldn't confirm whether certain patients had received the risky implants. England will begin the registry on a trial basis before it's required. The UK had a particular problem with a lack of records: A review called it a "data-free zone." Now, health officials will also look to stem buy-one-get-one-free surgeries and "win a boob job for your girlfriend" contests. (More Britain stories.)

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