The
U.S. Food and Drug
Administration, confirming
a link between breast
implants of all types and
cancer.
/ A.M. Costa
Rica wire services photo
|
Ministry
of Health alerts women on
breast
implants links to cancer
By the
A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Ministry of Health is asking
women who have breast implants
or are going to submit to this
surgery to ask the doctor about
risks and care that this
implies. The ministry also asked
doctors to increase controls due
to the new safety information
issued by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration, confirming a
link between breast implants of
all types (independent of
filling or texture) and cancer
known as anaplastic large cell
lymphoma, known as BIA-ALCL).
"The majority of confirmed cases
of BIA-ALCL have occurred in
people with textured surface
implants, although cases have
been reported in patients with
smooth surface implants," said
the ministry's specialists in
its statement.
This type of tumor is not breast
cancer, but it affects the
immune system and is usually
found in scar tissue and fluid
near the implant. In some cases,
it can spread throughout the
body, the ministry said.
For this reason, the Ministry of
Health asked women who have
undergone a procedure of these
or plan to do so, to consult
with their doctor in order to
know the risks and care involved
in this surgery and the types of
devices that exist.
The specialists of the National
Center of Technosurveillance
gives a couple of
recommendations to women who
have performed this type of
operation:
- It is normal that, after
surgery that there is swelling
and pain. But, if the patient
notice changes in the way the
breast looks or feels after
recovering from the surgery, she
should contact the doctor
immediately to confirm or
discard the possibility of
BIA-ALCL.
-Notify to the National
Technosurveillance Center of any
irregularities associated with
the implants presented at any of
the offices of the Ministry of
Health in the country. The
information will be handled in a
confidential manner, the center
said.
"Although the number of
identified cases of BIA-ALCL is
small compared to the estimated
1.5 million patients who had
breast implants worldwide each
year, the confirmed data and the
published information that has
been reviewed to date suggests
that patients with breast
implants have a higher risk of
BIA-ALCL," said Guiselle
Rodríguez Hernández, director of
the National Center for
Technosurveillance
The health alert also urges
plastic surgeons to provide all
the data of the implant used to
each of their patients and to
make sure that the person is
clear about the pros and cons of
the surgery.
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about cancer caused by breast
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