A mother whose faulty breast implant suddenly ruptured was forced to pay £11,000 for private surgery after facing a year-long wait on the NHS.
Beth Hewson, from York, paid £3,500 for breast surgery in 1999 and had Poly Implant Prothèse (PIP) implants fitted at a private clinic in Manchester.
The 49-year-old suffered an agonizing “shooting pain” in her left breast last year when one split. After a breast cancer scare, her family doctor confirmed that it had leaked into her body.
French company PIP’s products, supplied to around 50,000 British women, were banned in 2010 after they were found to have been fraudulently manufactured to contain cheap industrial-grade silicon intended for mattresses. The data also showed that they were up to six times more likely to break.
Mrs Hewson’s clinic, however, refused to remove them after the scandal emerged.
Beth Hewson, from York, paid £3,500 for breast surgery in 1999 and had Poly Implant Prothèse (PIP) implants fitted at a private clinic in Manchester. The 49-year-old suffered an agonizing “shooting pain” in her left breast last year when one split. After a breast cancer scare, her family doctor confirmed that it had leaked into her body.
Ms Hewson, an NHS worker at York Hospital, said she felt she had no choice but to opt for private treatment given the long wait.
The Department of Health has long said there was no evidence to suggest ruptured PIP implants were toxic and it did not believe they were a threat to women’s long-term health. But, more than a decade later, victims of the scandal have reported a wide range of serious side effects, including a “horrible burning sensation” in the chest. Pictured left is Ms. Hewson’s broken PIP implant. In the photo on the right, her second PIP implant.
And when an implant finally ruptured, she was told there was a 12-month wait for corrective surgery on the NHS.
The Department of Health has long said there was no evidence to suggest ruptured PIP implants were toxic and it did not believe they were a threat to women’s long-term health.
The NHS also states that there is no evidence to suggest that burst PIP breast implants lead to “serious health risks” to those affected.
But, more than a decade later, victims of the scandal have reported a wide range of serious side effects, including a “horrible burning sensation” in the chest.
Others who have had implants placed after a mastectomy have complained of joint pain, soreness and fatigue.
Experts say PIP implants are linked to a number of health problems, including cancer.
Activists say it has left women affected ‘suffer and die in silence’. PIP was liquidated in 2010.
In 2010, the French government also recommended removing implants after finding a five percent rupture rate.
Hewson, an NHS worker at York Hospital, said she felt she had no choice but to opt for private treatment given the long wait.
She said: ‘It was like a stabbing pain all the time. It’s been horrible. I haven’t worked for six months.
‘I couldn’t lie on my side. I couldn’t bend down. I couldn’t lift or take anything off the shelves. It was really debilitating.
“I was constantly holding my hand under my chest, just grabbing my ribcage.”
He added: ‘In the middle of last year, I had a mammogram and that’s when they said it had ruptured.
“When I found out, I went into absolute panic.
“Then they said I needed it removed but I would be on the NHS waiting list for 12 months. “They usually deal with cancer patients first.
‘But I didn’t know when they would see me, the waiting lists are very long at the moment.
‘It could have been 12 months, but it could be 15 months or two years.
‘I had to borrow money from my family (for the private surgery). It’s something I had to do. The risks were too high for me.”
The founder of the PIP, Jean-Claude Mas, was sentenced to four years in prison for fraud in 2013. He died in April 2019, aged 79.
Ms Hewson has now called for more research and public studies into the possible long-term effects of PIP silicon on the health of those who have suffered breaks.
The scandal is believed to have affected around 300,000 women in no less than 65 countries.
After the scandal emerged, Mrs Hewson, who decided to get implants after breastfeeding her daughter, contacted the private clinic that carried out the procedure, Transform Healthcare.
But he refused to remove the implants for free, saying expert advice “did not recommend” their routine removal. The NHS still says that implants do not need to be removed.
Ms Hewson has now called for more research and public studies into the possible long-term effects of PIP silicon on the health of those who have suffered breaks.
In 2021, a Paris appeals court ruled that thousands of victims of the scandal, including 540 British women, would receive compensation.
The case in Paris was brought by 2,700 women who said they suffered long-term health effects.
She said: ‘Someone has to take responsibility.
‘There are another 45,000 women still affected by this disease. Many French women were compensated. But here it seems like everyone is sweeping it under the rug.
From 2025, the UK government says doctors must give patients an implant card with information about any warnings, precautions or necessary measures.
A Transform Healthcare spokesperson said: “Transform Healthcare followed the advice of an independent industry expert at the time, which did not recommend routine removal of PIP breast implants.”