Look who pays for Canada's booboos

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Look who pays for their booboos - breast implant registry Briarpatch Magazine, Dec, 2003 A new Canadian study shows that follow up procedures from breast implant surgery performed in private clinics draws on the public health system. Aleina Tweed and Ann Pederson, researchers with the British Columbia Centre of Excellence for Women's Health, are asking the government to keep better records. There are currently no mechanisms in Canada to track the health outcomes from plastic surgery. An estimated 100,000 to 200,000 women in Canada have breast implants, approximately 80

percent for cosmetic breast augmentation, and 20 percent for cosmetic reconstruction after mastectomy or to correct under-or non-developed breasts. A recent Canadian study focused on health care utilization as a marker of the potential physical and financial burden borne by women and by the public health system as a consequence of breast implant surgery. Following implantation, over 51 percent of respondents from the study group reported at least one additional breast implant-related surgery. Of these women, nearly one-third reported three or more additional surgeries, and 40 percent had had their implants permanently removed. Cosmetic breast augmentation is not considered "essential" medical care, and is therefore paid for privately rather than through public insurance. However, when there are health consequences to this surgery, women enter the public health care system for care. Since most cosmetic surgery performed in Canada is done through

private practice, there is no public record of even the number of surgeries performed, let alone their health outcomes. Elsewhere, this is slowly changing. Many countries worldwide have now established breast implant registries. Breast implants are again gaining popularity, yet despite their wide acceptance, knowledge about the benefits and risks is sketchy. "We simply don't know enough about the effects of breast implants, and therefore cannot support women in making informed decisions," says Aleina Tweed. The establishment of a registry in Canada is long overdue. (source: BC Centre of Excellence for Women "s Health. Full study details available at their website at www.bccewh.bc.ca/PDFs/hcubreastimplants.pdf

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