Shifnal sisters facing operations for breast implants

Three sisters who were fitted with potentially dangerous breast implants today revealed they all faced replacement surgery.

Sisters Debbie Pierce, 30, mother-of-four Katie Perks, 33, and Amanda McMurtrie, 31, all from the Shifnal area, all underwent breast implant surgery over the last five years. The three weight-loss consultants were given PIP implants, produced by French firm Poly Implant Prothese, which were banned in 2010.

They contain cheaper, industrial grade silicone which is not meant to be inside humans and have a higher risk of rupture.

Some 40,000 British women are thought to have had the implants, with one in 10 experiencing problems.

Mrs Pierce, 30, a mother of two, has been told that the implant in her left breast needs to be removed after discovering enlarged lymph nodes and lumps in her arm – which could be signs that silicone is seeping into her body.

Mrs Pierce, who spent £5,000 on the implants at a Harley Street clinic in 2008, said she was very 'anxious' and 'upset' by the situation.

She decided to have implants when the removal of three lumps a few years ago left her with very little breast tissue.

She said she had recently been complaining of tiredness and headaches, although her doctors could not say for certain that this was a reaction to the implants. Last week her surgeon told her they would have to be taken out. She is due to have the operation on March 4.

Her sisters also had breast implants after losing weight and although their implants are not believed to be leaking, they also face having them removed.

Mother-of-three Mrs McMurtrie, who had her implants in 2009 after losing weight and having her children, said: "The surgeon maybe wasn't aware of the implications but I feel cheated in a way."

She said she was in discussions about the removal and replacement but she would have to pay for them to be replaced.

A spokeswoman for Linia, who did Mrs Pierce's implant operation, said up to 1,000 corrective operations could be carried out.

The firm is not charging a clinic or surgeon fee, although it is charging for the cost of the operating theatre and the new implant.