ROME (Reuters) - Italy will tell hospitals and clinics to compile a list of women who received breast implants from a French firm accused of selling faulty prosthetics, Health Minister Renato Balduzzi said Thursday.
Clinics that had not used any implants manufactured by the now-defunct French firm Poly Implant Prosthese (PIP) would be required to send a declaration saying they had not done so, he said.
PIP is accused of selling breast implants made with industrial rather than medical silicone, potentially affecting hundreds of thousands of women worldwide.
The French government has urged 30,000 women in France to seek removal of PIP implants because of the danger they could rupture and cause inflammation and irritation, though it said there is no evidence of increased cancer risk.
Other countries, including Britain and Brazil, say women should visit their surgeons for checks. The Italian minister did not give any health advice to women in the statement on Thursday.
He said he had ordered police to check how clinics had acquired the PIP implants and the procedures leading up to surgery.
Last Updated: 2011-12-30 10:15:24 -0400 (Reuters Health)
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