Implant

Significant progress was made this weekend toward a record-setting $4.2 billion settlement to compensate thousands of women claiming injuries from silicone breast implants, according to attorneys for the women and three major corporations."

Dr. David Kessler, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, made a reasoned move when he asked for a moratorium on silicone breast implant surgery. It has been a decade since the FDA first expressed skepticism about the safety of these implants, but nothing substantive has been done.Though the FDA recognized silicone implants as possible health risks in 1981, the government was gripped for a decade by a fervent commitment to deregulation, and the agency, under Reagan-appointee Frank Young -- dragged its feet.

A record-breaking $3.75 billion settlement for women suffering from leaking breast implants cleared its first major hurdle yesterday as a federal judge tentatively approved the deal and set deadlines for filing claims.U.S. District Judge Sam C. Pointer Jr. of Birmingham, Ala., also appointed Judge Ann T. Cochran of Houston, Texas, to serve as the claims administrator for the settlement fund. She has been the coordinating judge for hundreds of breast implant cases pending in Texas.To protect the settlement fund from being drained by excessive legal fees and other costs, Judge Pointer decreed that at least 75 percent of the money will go to women with implants.

I AM THE proud and happy owner of two very nice, soft, untroublesome saline-filled breast implants that were inserted in front of my chest wall a few years ago after my second mastectomy.Sadly, many women think the implant choice is between silicone or nothing, when they have a perfectly good alternative in saline.I know something about how women feel about losing a breast. I know that some women, hearing of the dangers of silicone implants and not being aware of a good alternative, will avoid mammography, self-examinations, visits to their physicians -- actions that could save their lives.

It seems we've reached the point of equal opportunity obsessive vanity.A doctor in Beverly Hills, California is now installing silicone implants for men who feel their pecs aren't quite up to par.Dr. Mel Bircolli told Newsweek magazine he has performed 50 pectoral implants in the last 18 months, at about $6,500 a pop. He also does calf implants for about $5,000. The story didn't mention bicep or tricep enhancement, but something tells me if those aren't available, they soon will be.The pec implants, like other cosmetic surgery procedures, have a medical genesis.

ANNAPOLIS -- A House committee yesterday approved a weakened version of a bill designed to limit silicone breast implants in Maryland.The Environmental Matters Committee voted 16-4 for a bill requiring physicians to comply with Food and Drug Administration requirements on silicone breast implants. Under the bill, a doctor who violates those requirements would be subject to disciplinary action in Maryland.Introduced by Del. Joan B. Pitkin, a Prince George's Democrat, the bill originally had called for a temporary statewide ban on the implants in the wake of concerns about their safety.

LONDON -- Britain's chief medical officer has told doctors that they can continue to use silicone gel breast implants despite a temporary suspension of the procedure in the United States.Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended a 45-day moratorium on the supply or use of silicone gel implants while new information questioning their safety is evaluated. Concerns focus on the possibility of reactions in the immune system caused by a leakage of silicone."I understand the concerns and anxiety felt by women over silicone gel breast implants," said Dr. Kenneth Calman, the Department of Health's chief medical officer.

A Towson cardiologist who is accused of performing hundreds of unnecessary heart procedures met privately Wednesday with members of the state's Board of Physicians to address the administrative charges. After three hours behind closed doors, Dr. Mark G. Midei made no comment as he emerged from a state office building in Northwest Baltimore. His lawyer, Stephen Snyder, described the talks as confidential and said, "I can't divulge to you the results of the hearing." Snyder would not say whether the next step might be a settlement or a formal hearing on the charges before an administrative law judge.

The largest medical product liability settlement in history is in danger of unraveling under an unexpectedly large flood of legal claims from women who say they were harmed by silicone breast implants and the threatened bankruptcy of former implant maker Dow Corning Inc.This week, a federal judge said that because of the number of claims, the proposed $4.23 billion global settlement fund agreed to last year may be too small to pay the promised benefits .Dow...