An article in one of last weekend’s papers re breast implants raises two important points.
Firstly the concern over the ‘PIP’ breast implants that has had so much press lately. There has been a lot of speculative and sometimes frankly uninformed comment on the subject.
The official organisation in Australia that oversees the approval of devices, including breast implants, is the ‘TGA www.tga.gov.au/ ’. I suggest referring to their website for their position on the matter. To confuse matters, they have themselves been under criticism by some groups and individuals.
I would suggest taking the TGA’s advice for now but watch for any change in their position.
Secondly, the newspaper referred to a woman who, in common with many others, went to Thailand to have breast augmentation simply because it is cheaper than having it done here.
There are two potential problems with this. The quality of the surgeon is unknown, since their own highly biased website is usually the main source of information upon which to make such an important decision.
And most importantly the lack of follow up once the patient returns home. An unsatisfactory result or complication needing attention back here in Australia might then prove as expensive as having it done here in the first place, apart from the associated emotional distress in having to cope with the problem itself.