Fw: POST- Not so OLD- but goodie-CHILD CLAIM OVER HAZARDS OF SILICONE

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Subject: POST- Not so OLD- but goodie-CHILD CLAIM OVER HAZARDS OF SILICONE

Abstract: States that legal aid has been granted for 21-month-old la Bowler to pursue a claim in the United Kingdom against an unidentified foreign company because her mother's silicone breast implant has allegedly damaged her health. Details about the court case; The suggestion by professionals that studies involving more than 10,000 individuals show that implants sensitise the immune system to silicone..

CHILD CLAIM OVER HAZARDS OF SILICONE BREAST IMPLANT PLANNED IN UK

Legal aid has been granted for 21-month-old la Bowler to pursue a claim in the UK against an unidentified foreign company because her mother's silicone breast implant has allegedly damaged her health. The award does not cover proceedings, only the cost of obtaining an expert's opinion. Then a decision will be made about further funding. Director of Silicone Support Group UK, Margot Cameron, believes that la is an example of a baby who received transplacental transfer of silicone as well as silicone in her mother's milk. Cameron claims to have records of 75 children in 50 families who are similarly affected. Immunologist, Smally, and pathologist, Radford Shanklin, (University of Tennessee, TN, USA) believe that the court case has a strong chance of success. They maintain that studies involving more than 10000 individuals show that implants sensitise the immune system to silicone. They also point to animal studies that indicate the transplacental movement of silicone. "The people who says there is no evidence that this occurs are sticking their heads in the sand", says Shanklin. But president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, T Sharp, is extremely dubious about the standard of the evidence that purports to show transplacental passage of silicone or silicone products as well as the suggested link between silicone implants and connective tissue disease. He also points out that there is more silicone in proprietary milk products than in breast milk and that silicone is a major constituent of anticolic products as well as items such as bottle teats. Jama Russano, director of the US interest group Children Affected by Toxic Substances, is concerned about the lack of information available to women before they have an implant. She claims that the manufacturers have ignored the issue of the safety of implants in pregnant and breastfeeding women. As a consequence, she believes that their lack of basic research gives the Bowler case a strong chance of success. On the other hand, Baum, professor of surgery at University College London, UK, thinks that the case is an atrocious waste of UK taxpayer's money. "The court room is not the right place to resolve a scientific argument and emotional cases do not serve the public or science."