Renewed call for breast implant registry in Canada

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http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1114971532966_2?hub=Health Silicone comeback renews call for implant registry Updated Sun. May. 1 2005 2:17 PM ET Canadian Press TORONTO — The spectre of silicone-gel implants being re-approved for routine breast enhancement surgery in Canada has provided renewed vigour to the longstanding battle for a national breast implant registry. The push to create a cross-country databank containing information on all women

who undergo breast augmentation -- for surgical and cosmetic reasons -- is being spearheaded by women's health advocates and assisted by a member of the Ontario legislature. "There are a lot of safety concerns around breast implants," Kathleen O'Grady of the Canadian Women's Health Network said of both silicone and saline implants. "It's a serious women's health issue." A national breast implant registry would address those concerns in two ways: first, by allowing health officials to quickly contact women whose implants may pose a health risk, and second, by allowing the study the long-term health effects of those implants. Legislation brought by the federal New Democrats to create such a registry died last year when the election was called, cutting short the political battle to forge a list of the estimated 100,000 to 200,000 Canadian women with implants. In March, Health Canada held closed-door meetings to review

whether silicone-gel products should be re-introduced 13 years after being pulled from the market over safety concerns. A scientific panel in the U.S. has already recommended allowing silicone-gel breast implants to return to the American market under strict conditions. The Canadian panel's recommendations will not be made public for at least several weeks, but the possibility of silicone's return has emboldened politicians and activists seeking a national registry. "Our main concerns right now are with the possible re-approval of silicone breast implants," said O'Grady. "In both cases, silicone and saline, there are high rates of rupture and leakage and there have been concerns about the long-term health and safety of women who have breast implants." While the federal New Democrats await an opportunity to re-introduce legislation during uncertain times on Parliament Hill, their Ontario counterparts are leading the

regional charge. "The women's health community is getting so alarmed . . .they see it as a major women's health issue that has been ignored," said New Democrat Marilyn Churley, who introduced a private member's bill Thursday to create an Ontario-wide registry. "Partly because of the stigma attached to it, just like women's reproductive health issues for a number of years got ignored." The legislation, to be debated later this month in the Ontario legislature, would create a registrar's office whose responsibilities would include notifying women and doctors of any health concerns surrounding implants. It might also spur further action in Ottawa and among the other provinces, O'Grady said. Joyce Attis, president of the Toronto-based support group Breast Implant Line of Canada, had a silicone-gel implant removed in 1992. Attis said she believes a national registry would offer much-needed support for women looking for

answers about their implants. "There are many women out there now who are still going in circles because they don't have a voice when there isn't a registry." In the 1990s, allegations that ruptured silicone implants led to auto-immune diseases and vascular conditions culminated in Dow Corning Corp. paying out some $2.35 billion US to settle class-action claims brought by roughly 300,000 women, including Canadians. Despite the serious health concerns, Churley concedes that some women might be "squeamish" about disclosing breast augmentation surgery. "Some people may think, 'Well, women who chose to do these kinds of things, well, too bad, so sad if something goes wrong,' " she said. "The reality is there are huge health implications and huge cost implications to the public purse." While it's private practitioners who provide breast implant surgery in Canada and collect the fees, it's the public health system that foots

the bill treating the illnesses that follow, she added. The Ontario registry would serve as a provincial arm to any federal system that's established, and could further provide leadership to other provinces in establishing databases, said Churley. The vast majority of breast augmentation -- 80 per cent -- is purely for cosmetic reasons. The remainder are often performed on women who've lost a breast to cancer, according to the Canadian Women's Health Network. "In either case, we want to make sure this is a healthy thing for women to do," said O'Grady. "It seems right now we know far too little."

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