Dr Charles Cope talks breast implants and ALCL

The recent breast implant recall by Allergan has caused a media frenzy, and there has been a lot of confusion for patients wondering if they need to have their implants removed. The source of all the concern stems from a disease called Breast Implant Associated Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) also known just as ALCL. An inflammatory disease, the link between ALCL and breast implants has been confirmed, but Dr Charles Cope, Plastic Surgeon, gives us the facts and figures and says there’s no reason for women with the recalled implants or any other implants to panic. There have now been around 500 cases of ALCL confirmed worldwide with 100 of those in Australia but we should keep in mind that’s out of around 20 million women with implants worldwide, making ALCL extremely rare. Australia has one of the best breast implant recording and monitoring systems in the world but any woman concerned should see their surgeon.