Brazil: Government Will Pay to Replace Ruptured Implants

President Dilma Rousseff has ordered the public health system and health insurance companies to pay for the replacement of ruptured breast implants made in France, even if they were implanted for aesthetic reasons. The health watchdog agency, Anvisa, said that Ms. Rousseff made the decision on Wednesday, reversing an earlier government position. Reports that the implants, made by the now-defunct French company Poly Implant Prothèse, were made with industrial grade silicone and had abnormally high rupture rates have elicited safety concerns around the world. More than 25,000 of the French-made implants were used in Brazil.