Health Watchdog Says About 1,000 'Unsafe' Dutch Breast Implants

Around 1,000 Dutch women were given potentially risky breast implants made by a French company and should see their doctors, a health watchdog said Tuesday.

Sold under the brand name "M-Implants" the product was made by Poly Implant Prothese (PIP), Dutch health authority inspectorate spokeswoman Diane Bouhuijs said.

"We estimate that around 1,000 women in the Netherlands received these implants," she told Agence France Presse, referring to PIP's products, which were found to contain industrial rather than medical quality silicone.

"Although there is no reason to panic, we again advise women with these breast implants to consult their doctors," Bouhuijs added.

France's health ministry on Friday advised 30,000 women with breast implants made by the now-bankrupt PIP to have them removed, saying that while there was no proven cancer risk, they could rupture.

Bouhuijs said the Dutch health authorities' inspectorate (IGZ) had already last year banned the use of PIP's implants and in September 2010 issued an advisory for women to consult physicians or local clinics for an examination.

"The reason for this is because the implants stand a greater chance of rupturing or leaking and that it is not possible to say whether it will have a detrimental effect on the human body over the longer term," the IGZ said on its website.

PIP was shut down and its products banned in April last year after it was revealed to have been using non-authorized silicone gel that caused abnormally high implant rupture rates.

On Friday, Interpol issued a "red notice" for the arrest of Frenchman Jean-Claude Mas, the company's founder, after Costa Rica said they wanted him for offences concerning "life and health."