| MARKET TRENDS | ANALYSIS
Surgeons (BAAPS) members carried out just over 10 000 breast implantations for augmentation, almost 600 more than in 2010 (Table 1).
Prime need to maintain confidence The AssociationÕs president-elect, Rajiv Grover, tells PRIME that procedures for the most noticeable areas of the body, such as breast augmentation, continued to prove popular as patients look to get the most impact from any surgery, to enhance their mental wellbeing and confidence in themselves. They also need confidence in the
system, however, and Dr Grover acknowledges the potential worries that the public experiences. ' Trust is the biggest barrier; there is no lack of desire among the public. People are frightened, as they donÕt want it to go wrong.' He acknowledges that the PIP episode,
involving ostensibly genuinely CE-marked products, has knocked
confidence. 'Customers need high standards. They feel they have been let down on all levels: by the company, by the CE-marking body, and by the clinics. This does not engender confidence.' Part of rebuilding trust is acting quickly
and decisively. Dr Grover observes that UK Prime Minister David Cameron and Health Secretary Andrew Lansley, eager for the NHS to set a gold standard, say that women who have been treated in a UK clinic must at least be offered a medical consultation, and facilities if required. If their symptoms are related to rupture, the clinics must offer removal if the patient so wishes. Clinics that are financially unable to offer this would have to offer the service at cost price. Dr Grover believes that the PIP episode,
involving 40000 women in the UK alone, may take a while to unwind fully. It will certainly be a main talking point during his 2-year BAAPS presidency, which starts in September 2012. By way of comparison, the 200 BAAPS members
The increasing demand
for breast augmentation surgery demonstrates the high degree of satisfaction for women who have chosen to have it.
treated an aggregate of 10 000 patients in 2011; by this reckoning they would need four times as long to address the PIP problem if all women presented.
Lessons to learn Many wonder whether the PIP scandal needed to happen, in order for the industry and regulators to take stock and realise that better scrutiny was the way forward for the industry. Dr Grover says there are valuable lessons to learn, and these will have great benefit in the future, but he says it is a matter for regret that events turned out the way they did.
prime-journal.com | April/May 2012 ❚ 15
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