The Food and Drug Administration has issued an immediate recall to a breast implant manufactured by Allergan. The implant has been associated with causing a rare type of lymphoma which is a form of cancer.
Michael Whittaker, President of Beautologie Cosmetic Surgery and Medical Aesthetics, says they don’t carry the Allergan textured implants but says there is no harm for individuals to get checked.
“First thing I thought was we were going to get a lot of phone calls,” said Whittaker. “Whenever there is a recall, this is just a going back to knowing and research what's going in your body.”
Allergan listed 11 textured products for recall on its website.
“Whenever there is a recall, individual's need to go back to their point of origin and go back to their surgeon,” Whittaker said. “Because they will have copies of your medical history and this will validate what kind of implant was put in. If you can't get a hold of the surgeon call the manufacturer.”
In a statement Allergan said:
“BIOCELL® saline-filled and silicone-filled textured breast implants and tissue expanders will no longer be distributed or sold in any market where they are currently available. Effective immediately, healthcare providers should no longer implant new BIOCELL® textured breast implants and tissue expanders and unused products should be returned to Allergan.”
Whittaker says that the concern is with this product and not necessarily the cosmetic procedure or the physicians who perform them.
“In this situation when the surgery was done there was no fault of the surgeon,” Whittaker said. “They took a product known to be safe to them and performed the procedure.”
The FDA in their online statement read in part, “The FDA has been diligently monitoring this issue since we first identified the possible association between breast implants and ALCL in 2011.”
The FDA added that they do not recommend the removal of the implants without symptoms.
Allergan adds that individuals should look out for symptoms that include persistent swelling or pain near the breast implant and monitor the area around your breast implants for any changes.
To view a full list of the recalled products click here.
