Commons committee calls for federal registry of breast implants
Commons committee calls for federal registry of breast implants
At 34 sitting members, this is not an itty bitty titty committee.
Despite the funny headline I guess there is a real issue here in that breast implants are subject to occasional manufacturing defects that can pose serious health risks to the owner. That said,
The committee report recommends the registry be implemented through a mandatory "checklist" form signed by surgeons and patients. It said that patients would be offered "the possibility of opting out."
I think making this mandatory with the option to opt out rather than the reverse maybe crosses a privacy line.
I think making this mandatory with the option to opt out rather than the reverse maybe crosses a privacy line.
Is it really that different with a medical procedure? You're signing informed consent forms regardless - it's just a matter of if it says "decline" next to the check box as opposed to "opt-in."
Because signing these documents must be accompanied by a doctor explaining things (informed consent) I don't think it's really possible for people to not realize what they are agreeing to.
Also because it is medical information it will be held to a much higher privacy standard than is typical.
For these reasons I don't really think a privacy argument makes sense and the case to reduce harm seems pretty robust.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
A new Commons committee report is calling on Ottawa to create a national breast implant registry to better track the devices, alert patients promptly when there's a recall and collect "reliable and comprehensive data" on associated health risks.
In Canada, CBC's investigation uncovered a lax oversight process for implanted medical devices that put vulnerable patients at risk.
Patient advocate Julie Elliott — who testified before the committee last spring — told CBC News this is the first time she's felt heard in her six years of advocacy.
It also suggests that private practices, such as plastic surgery clinics — which perform the vast majority of breast implant procedures — should be required to report problems with medical devices.
Elliott — who had her implants removed in 2018 after suffering from years of brain fog, hair loss, joint pain and thyroid problems, among other symptoms — has been demanding better patient consent procedures.
In a press release published last year, the FDA said it had identified over 7,400 medical device reports from patients describing symptoms of breast implant illness between 2008 and 2022.
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