French Police Arrest Founder of Poly Implant Protheses

Jean-Claude Mas was arrested by French police in Six-Fours-les-Plages, which is located in the southern region of France. Mas was the founder of Poly Implant Protheses, which is also known as PIP. The company is allegedly responsible for providing plastic surgeons with breast implants that contained substances that caused cancer in some women.

Mas is being investigated for manslaughter after a French woman died in 2010 after she developed cancer. Back in December, French authorities opened up an investigation into the breast implants and the heath risks associated with those implants from PIP. Public health officials and the Marseille police are in charge of the investigation.

The health scare has reached South America, as well as many European countries. An attorney for many of the women who had the implants said that while he wishes that Mas’ arrest had come sooner, he doesn’t believe that Mas will have much to say other than there was no problem with the gel. However, Phillippe Courtois says that it is not Mas’ decision. That will be left up to the courts.

There are more than 300,000 women in more than sixty countries that received PIP implants. In 2010, the implants were banned, causing the company to file for bankruptcy the same year. The United States did not approve the implants.

Last month, France announced that the government would pay for the removal of the implants; however, they also said that women did not need to rush to have the surgery immediately. The implants are prone to rupturing, which can cause fibrosis, inflammation, and acarring. Many French officials, as well as those in England, say that there is no link between the implants and the cancer. More than 500 women in France have had the surgery to remove the implants. Since that time, more than 1,000 implants have ruptured.