Health Canada Will Ban Textured Breast Implants In Canada Soon Due To Cancer Risk
Last week, Narcity reported that Health Canada issued a warning regarding links between cancer and breast implants. Now, Health Canada intends on banning the sale of manufactured textured breast implants in Canada due to the serious risk of cancer.
According to a statement released on Thursday, April 4, Health Canada is advising Biocell implants by Allergan, the government health agency intends to remove the products from the market. They claim that this would be a precautionary measure to ensure that Canadians are not at risk for certain complications, including cancer.
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Health Canada reports that textured breast implants could post a rare and serious risk of breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL). These precautions are set to protect Canadians from developing the rare form of cancer before it happens.
In addition, Health Canada is advising the manufacturing company, Allergan, that the government department will be suspending its licences for Biocell breast implants as a precaution for Canadians.
The release also confirmed that as of April 4, 2019, there are 28 confirmed cases of breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) and 86% of those cases involved Allergan's Biocell breast implant.
BIA-ALCL is a serious and very rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. This rare cancer attacks the patient's immune system and can develop months and even years after the breast implant surgery. To be clear, Health Canada confirms this is not breast cancer.
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The cause of BIA-ALCL is still not known. What we do know is that the cancer usually becomes present as "an accumulation of fluid between the implant and the surrounding tissue".
Health Canada is continuing to review the safety of textured breast implants like Allergan's. They've also confirmed that if a satisfactory response is not received from Allergan, Health Canada intends to suspect Biocell medical device licences, meaning that the product will no longer be sold in Canada.
If you already have breast implants, you should reach out to your surgeon to confirm what type of breast implant you received. You can conduct regular self-examinations on your breasts as well as seeing your general practitioner for follow-ups.
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Removing your breast implants is not recommended if you don't have any symptoms suggesting you have BIA-ALCL. For more information on BIA-ALCL, you can visit this link.