to think that it's not for the nhs to pick up the bill to remove potentially faulty breast implants?

[wannaBe]

There are calls today for women who have had the faulty French breast implants to have them removed on the NHS. Apparently 40000 women have these implants, and to remove all of them would cost the NHS £150 million.

Now, if a woman has had these implants as part of reconstructive surgery following mastectomy then I agree that she should be able to have them removed. But other than that, if you choose to buy yourself bigger breasts (and let's be honest, leaking implants are not a new thing), then it isn't the nhs's responsibility to pick up the tab if there might be a problem.

If your life is in immediate danger then you would obviously need to have surgery on the NHS, but just on the off-chance? I think the company responsible should be the ones picking up the bill and don't see why the taxpayer should shoulder the responsibility for other peoples' vanity.

Yes and in that case piglet the NHS will remove the source of the infection and treat the infection. Just like they do when somebody develops toxic shock through tampon usage or endocarditis through a piercing.
That's absolutely different from thsi scenario - where the NHS is apparently being asked to treat currently well women because it turns out the product they chose to insert in to their body wasn't up to scratch.

Oh, and I disagree that women only go abroad for surgery as it is a cheap option. There are good surgeons abroad too and I know a couple of people who have had very, very good cosmetic surgery abroad because they wanted to use a particular surgeon. Also, surgery under local anaesthetic with sedation is more of an option abroad and this attracts some women.

That isn't what we're talking about though pigletmania, at least not as far as I know.

People are demanding the NHS fund the removal/replacement(?) of implants which are showing no signs of leaking, purely on the basis that they might leak in the future.

Where someone's health is in immediate danger, then I think the NHS should intervene and treat.

Otherwise, these woman ought to make good their own mistakes in whatever way possible, either against the clinic responsible or through raising funds themselves.

You know once you've had breast cancer there is a significant risk of it coming back. The NHS doesn't fund scans to keep checking if it has or not, you have to live with that worry and learn to deal with it.

Altinkim - the point is that FabbyChic's "filthy habit" is NOT costing more to the NHS than she pays in!

The same cannot be said of the halfwits women who now expect to have their implants removed FOC.

fabby but what about the women who really can't afford removal? What if their implants rupture - should they be left to die?

I say this as someone who recently waited 18 mos for a kidney op.

Wubbly - your point about breast cancer follow up is a good one. The same is also true of other cancers. The type of cancer that I had requires 5 years of follow up, but the NHS has recently reduced this to two (unless you have private cover) when there is still a significant risk of recurrence, because the scans and tests are so expensive.

I gather that rupture can only be detected by scanning - anyone like to hazard a guess as to the impact of 40k (?) MRI scans on these women for cancer patients??

I'm struggling a bit to believe in somebody who could afford implants and now absolutely totally can't ever afford to have them taken out. If they rupture that will be treated as an emergency. That isn't the situation the OP refers to.

OK, so considering a woman who has breastfed umpteen kids and ended up with no breast tissue and empty boob sacks as a consequence, could you not argue that she is in the same position as someone who has had a mastectomy?

In other words, could you not argue that reconstruction is also vanity?

You could argue that Marie, although as far as I know, no-one has died from breastfeeding.

I repeat, anyone that had implants privately for cosmetic reasons alone, unless it's an emergency, should go back to the clinic where they first had them done.
After my mastectomy I was just grateful that they had got rid of the cancer, it took me a while to realise that I hated that chicken fillet and could no longer wear vest type tops in the summer, or any other pretty clothes.
My implant is part of me now, thank you NHS, and I know if there is ever a problem I will be treated.
But I never wanted huge fake breasts, if I had, I would never expect the NHS to pick up the bill if they went wrong.

Don' be daft Marie - there is a difference between the appearence of a body changed by natural processes and a body basically maimed by life saving surgery.

My filthy habit is paying for my cancer treatment if and when I get it, I pay tax on my smoking and I pay more in tax on my smoking than I do for the tobacco itself work it out, or I can do it for you I have been smoking since I was 11. I have paid tens of thousands in tax on my smokes.

If they rupture then the have to be seen obviously but the cost should be billed to them afterwards if the implants were done for cosmetic reasons and not because the had a masectomy. They should be seen by a general surgeon they should be removed and sewn back up, not like they were having plastic surgery.

Have you seen the state of some burn victims who cannot have plastic surgery why should a woman who has had her tits done get preferential treatment over a burn victim? Why? You tell me what in gods name this world is coming to when someone paid 3k for their tits abroad and they go wrong they can come and say to our NHS system hey dude I fucked up I got cheap tits I got what I paid for now I want you to put them right.

They should be told to fuck off get yourself back to where you had them done, get a second mortgage, get a loan do whatever it takes but YOU fucked up you suffer the consequences.

flabby in health economics tax raised on cigarettes doesn't cover nhs costs
not at all
so if youre puffing away think you pay your way,and cover costs..well that's absolute tosh

Realistically no one persons tax will ever cover the costs of cancer treatment if extended treatment is required. Nor of renal replacement therapy, intensive care, special care for newborns, reconstructive surgery etc etc. It#s simply not the case that you've paid for any treatment you might need Fabby. Yes you've paid tax - but don't kid yourself. I hope you never need it btw.

I agree wholeheartedly with Northern Lurker. It is an incredible sum of money.

If it is spent on this then something has got to give - and I can't think of many things that I would feel good about losing out to this!

Fabby, have you paid more in taxes during your life than you have taken back out of all combined public services and the welfare system?

By your reckoning, you're only entitled to get back what you pay in.

What if your cancer treatment cost more than the tax you paid on your cigarettes? Surely they should stop treating you when you've had your money's worth.

What about someone who eats too much and becomes obese resulting in the getting diabetes. Should they not be treated because their illness is self-inflicted?

The NHS has limited resources anyway, including breast cancer care.
If it was a choice between somebody that had cancer and who's implant had gone wrong or the cast of TOWIE or Jordan for that matter, then who would you choose.
And I'm just throwing those names out of a hat, how many other women went private just to have the perfect breasts.
Why should the NHS pick up the pieces?
It's their clinic's problem, they took the money, now they should face the consequences.

altinkum they might cause cancer, they might not. Why should the NHS fund the removal of every breast implant on the basis that they 'might' be a risk?

It is mightily difficult to persuade the NHS to fund the removal of a healthy breast for preventative reasons, even after you've had breast cancer. Despite that fact that you have a much higher risk of the cancer coming back, affecting your healthy breast or turning up elsewhere in your body, you have to live with that worry, except in very rare cirucmstances. I know.

Why should these women have the NHS pay for their peace of mind when the rest of us have to live with the fear?

My son had life saving treatment aged 9.

He is here today because the NHS found the money to pay for his treatment.

That 150 million would reduce the amount of money the NHS has available to pay for treatment for everyone else.

Which would have meant that my son would have had to wait longer for the operation that discovered his tumour. And he would have died while waiting.

If you went abroad to get cheap implants, and you paid for them yourself for vanity reasons, you should be responsible for organising getting them taken out.

That may mean pursuing the company responsible (surely they have insurance?) or it may mean paying yourself.

If they rupture (and it is only a small proportion that are estimate to rupture) and there is an imminent danger to health, then the NHS should step in. Otherwise, you picked 'em, you chose 'em, you pay to get 'em out.

As far as I know, as long as the company had insurance at the time that the implants were fitted, then they are covered?

But I'm sure someone who knows more will be along to correct me if that's wrong.

Well I'm the other way around I didn't ask for breast implants but I did get cancer.
It wasn't a choice IME.