Pip implants - who should foot the bill

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussion' started by HYDROGEN86, Jan 12, 2012.

  1. Phil A

    Phil A Guest

    Ratings:
    +0
    Reminds me of when I enquired about Cryogenics, they wanted £150,000.

    I said you're joking, the Butcher's on the high street said he could freeze me for 50p a pound.
     
    • Like Like x 5
    • HYDROGEN86

      HYDROGEN86 Head Gardener

      Joined:
      Jul 17, 2011
      Messages:
      1,868
      Gender:
      Male
      Location:
      in the shed
      Ratings:
      +883
      Lmao! :dbgrtmb:
       
    • Jack McHammocklashing

      Jack McHammocklashing Sludgemariner

      Joined:
      May 29, 2011
      Messages:
      4,436
      Gender:
      Male
      Occupation:
      Ex Civil Serpent
      Location:
      Fife Scotland
      Ratings:
      +7,429
      There is a big difference between a needed hip replacement and a private breast enhancement

      If the breast enhancement was not a needed operation for medical reasons then tough, or at the worst case then the NHS shoud REMOVE but NOT REPLACE
      These artificail women can then go about as they were born or PAY the correct price for correct implants

      Jack McH
       
    • clueless1

      clueless1 member... yep, that's what I am:)

      Joined:
      Jan 8, 2008
      Messages:
      17,778
      Gender:
      Male
      Location:
      Here
      Ratings:
      +19,598
      I don't understand what all the confusion is about. The law is very clear.

      Its under the Sale of Goods act 1990 as amended.

      Despite the name of the piece of law, it is not just about goods, but also services too.

      Basically, when you buy anything in the UK, there is a contract of sale. That contract may be a formal written contract, or it may be an unspoken understanding, or anything in between. Regardless, there is a set of contract terms that always apply and can't be overwritten. These are called 'implied terms', and are defined in the Sale of Goods act.

      One of the most important points in the law is that 'goods must be as described, fit for their intended purpose, and of serviceable quality'. Basically that means it must not be faulty, unless described as faulty.

      When a seller breaches the implied terms of the contract, ie when the goods (or service) is not as described etc, then he/she is in breach of contract.

      Another of the implied terms (written in the Sale of Goods act) describes what must happen when the seller is in breach. He/she must offer a refund, repair or replacement, at the buyer's discretion.

      That means the buyer has the right to claim all their costs back, and no more.

      Simple.
       
      • Like Like x 3
      • Daisies

        Daisies Total Gardener

        Joined:
        May 26, 2005
        Messages:
        9,335
        Gender:
        Female
        Ratings:
        +2,686
        Dead right, clueless. :thumbsup:

        Jack, to have an implant that has been in place for some years removed means the woman is left with grossly abnormal 'bags' for breasts. Hardly an acceptable condition to leave them in. It wasn't their fault they were sold faulty goods.
         
      • ClaraLou

        ClaraLou Total Gardener

        Joined:
        Aug 12, 2009
        Messages:
        3,527
        Gender:
        Female
        Ratings:
        +2,731

        Years ago Channel 4 did a programme on cryogenics. A budget service was available. This did not involve freezing an entire body. Instead, the customer could opt to have only his head placed in cold storage, in the hope that future generations would have learnt the art of reconstituting the remainder of the body from scratch. The head could simply be reattached to the new body with a bit of deft stitchwork.

        One of the tv critics of the time dismissed this as pure silliness. Imagine, he wrote, having to spend all eternity wearing polo-necks.
         
        • Like Like x 3
        • shiney

          shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

          Joined:
          Jul 3, 2006
          Messages:
          64,876
          Gender:
          Male
          Occupation:
          Retired - Last Century!!!
          Location:
          Herts/Essex border. Zone 8b
          Ratings:
          +127,064
          This is a complicated legal and ethical problem. As clueless says, they should come under the Sale of Goods and Services Act - but our government are doing the usual govenrment weaseling out of things by not declaring them a possible danger. Therefore, at the moment, the surgeons/clinics aren't responsible.

          On the ethical side we have a number of factors. As Daisees says, it's not simply a matter of removing the implants and that they will return to their original shape. This just doesn't happen. The NHS have offered to remove them free of charge but that's a typical poor solution put forward as a spur of the moment response. They're say "we are happy to go ahead with removal operation with the attendant theatre costs of surgeons, nurses, anaesthetists etc" but they're not prepared to replace the faulty implants at the dame time for the minor additional cost.

          If they only do the removal then there is a longer term cost to the NHS. Apart from the psychological effect on the woman, which could cost us an enormous amount of money in their GP's time, there are the possible other medical problems caused by leaving their breasts in a, now, more unnatural state or the possible dangers (if they then have the implants done elsewhere) of them going through another operation and anaesthetic.

          This is all without us looking at the matter of the authoritites having approved these implants in the first place and their responsibility for that - or the much more contentious issue of cosmetic surgery.

          Where do you draw the line on what should be acceptable? Having your teeth straightened as a child? Having false teeth? Having an operation to correct a problem with one leg being half an inch shorter than the other? Or lots of other minor or not so minor problems.

          A lot of the 40,000 privately done breast implants could have been done on the NHS (according to the government) but people chose to have them done privately because either they could afford it or the waiting list was too long. You can't blame the patient for having chosen these implants. I don't know whether they were cheaper but it doesn't matter because the NHS were using them as well, so they were obviously approved.

          The trouble is that we are just like the government and jump to conclusions without considering, or knowing, all the factors. In the past, with one of the numerous hats I used to wear (Care and Welfare in the Community), we had to deal with the possible medical problems that might arise out of decisions that were made on a purely fiscal basis. Fortunately, in many cases we were able to point out to the pct (Primary Care Trust) the other ramifications of too quick a decision.
           
          • Like Like x 2
          • Fidgetsmum

            Fidgetsmum Total Gardener

            Joined:
            Jul 25, 2009
            Messages:
            1,592
            Location:
            Deepest, darkest Kent
            Ratings:
            +867
            OK, so these implants weren't of medical merchandable quality and therefore not fit for the purpose for which they were used - that I accept.

            Apart from the fact that I can't begin to understand why you'd choose to have totally unncessary and highly invasive surgery purely on the grounds of vanity, as I understand it, these implants have been banned in the US since 2000. Yes, so sometimes the US over-reacts, but these women were so keen to have it done that rather than doing even a little research, they still chose to go ahead and agreed to have these particular implants.

            The phrase 'caveat emptor' is the one which springs to mind and why I/we should be expected to pick up the bill for their stupidity is beyond me.
             
            • Like Like x 1
            • shiney

              shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

              Joined:
              Jul 3, 2006
              Messages:
              64,876
              Gender:
              Male
              Occupation:
              Retired - Last Century!!!
              Location:
              Herts/Essex border. Zone 8b
              Ratings:
              +127,064
              Although, except in certain situations, I also wouldn't dream of having cosmetic surgery (I'm a devout coward :heehee:) I'm not sure that it should be called stupidity.

              Caveat emptor has, nowadays, been replaced by caveat venditor (except in very restricted situations) and the implants were approved by the authorities and the NHS were also using them. So I'm not prepare to condemn someone for having accepted those assurances and accept that they had it done in good faith - as the law states.
               
            • Daisies

              Daisies Total Gardener

              Joined:
              May 26, 2005
              Messages:
              9,335
              Gender:
              Female
              Ratings:
              +2,686
              Quite so, shiney, and very well put.

              The implants were much, much cheaper than the rest of the market which (as one person said on tv this am) that should have alerted the surgeons and hospitals to the possibility of them being substandard. And the fact remains that these supposedly bio-compatible devices were filled with industrial type silicone which is far from being bio-compatible.

              But the important fact is that the patients didn't choose these particular implants, their surgeons did. Very few actually have any idea of the make of their implants just as patients who have hip or knee implants rarely know what type they have received and often don't even know if they are cemented or uncemented. In this country we are brought up to trust the surgeons and accept without question what they think is best and appropriate. That is why I still say the surgeons should be the ones responsible for this.

              And another factor that cannot be easily dismissed is that, even for those who did have this surgery out of 'vanity', they have now moved into the arena of potentially serious complications which changes the whole thing. They had also been assured that even if the implant did rupture, the filling was a semi-solid "like a jelly baby" so just tear and there was no risk of it leaking out into the body. Totally wrong - it's a semi-liquid and readily enters the lymphatic system. So some women have developed painful glands all over their body which are full of this silicone, some have developed hardened and extremely painful tissue in and around their breasts. They need help.

              There was a young lady on breakfast tv this am who said she has been having symptoms of pain and swelling and has been back to the clinic several times, each time the nurse has just told her not to worry! :DOH:

              I'll be most surprised if there isn't a class action law suit under construction .....
               
              • Like Like x 1
              • longk

                longk Total Gardener

                Joined:
                Nov 24, 2011
                Messages:
                11,401
                Location:
                Oxfordshire
                Ratings:
                +23,150
                If we sell a car on behalf of a client and it fails, it is our responsibility as the seller (ie; we issued the invoice to the purchaser) to sort it out and recover our costs from the previous owner - even if "sold as seen".

                However, the government will not allow these healthcare providers to fail as that would not fit in with their plans for our NHS!
                 
              • Jack McHammocklashing

                Jack McHammocklashing Sludgemariner

                Joined:
                May 29, 2011
                Messages:
                4,436
                Gender:
                Male
                Occupation:
                Ex Civil Serpent
                Location:
                Fife Scotland
                Ratings:
                +7,429
                They can afford £4k to enlarge their breasts, Though they can not afford to pay to save their life ?
                Or they can take on debt to enhance, but are not prepared to take on debt to save their life, odd outlook on life

                They can have them removed, then if they want enhanced breasts again they can do what they did before, pay for them

                Anything more than a mouthful is wasted anyway

                Jack McH
                 
                • Like Like x 1
                • HYDROGEN86

                  HYDROGEN86 Head Gardener

                  Joined:
                  Jul 17, 2011
                  Messages:
                  1,868
                  Gender:
                  Male
                  Location:
                  in the shed
                  Ratings:
                  +883
                  Would be ace if they taste like jelly babies too so if it ruptured you eat it :D
                   
                  • Like Like x 1
                  • clueless1

                    clueless1 member... yep, that's what I am:)

                    Joined:
                    Jan 8, 2008
                    Messages:
                    17,778
                    Gender:
                    Male
                    Location:
                    Here
                    Ratings:
                    +19,598
                    Sorry to be boring a throw in a serious point, but...

                    I have no idea of the statistics, but sometimes breast implants are not purely about ladies wanting to look more well endowed (or being 'encouraged' by their husbands/boyfriends). Sometimes a lady will have had a perfectly fine pair for most of her life, and then tragically, through serious illness such as breast cancer, have to have one or both removed. As a bloke, I can't even begin to imagine how this must make the lady feel, but I know that in some cases the NHS pay for implants because the drastic measure has such a negative impact on the lady's emotional/psychological state that for her long term happiness and wellbeing, measures are taken to help the affected lady feel comfortable with herself again. This sometimes includes the use of implants to replace what had to be surgically removed due to life threatening illness.
                     
                    • Like Like x 1
                    • Jack McHammocklashing

                      Jack McHammocklashing Sludgemariner

                      Joined:
                      May 29, 2011
                      Messages:
                      4,436
                      Gender:
                      Male
                      Occupation:
                      Ex Civil Serpent
                      Location:
                      Fife Scotland
                      Ratings:
                      +7,429
                      It was stated earlier for VANITY purposes NOT for medical purposes

                      Having any of them removed is OK we pay for it, If for medical purposes then we replace, if for Vanity then they get them removed only with the option of paying for a replacement, after all they managed to find the money to get them enhanced, then find the money to enhance them again after we have saved your life
                      Though I suppose if you think about it needing them enhanced for vanity is a mental health problem of a feeling of inadequacy

                      What is the website for the extra inches again?

                      Can hubby sue for marrying a 38G when in reality it is 30AAA ?
                      Thank goodness they did not use Memory foam

                      Jack McH
                       
                      • Like Like x 2
                      Loading...

                      Share This Page

                      1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
                        By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
                        Dismiss Notice