Breast Implant Risk Was Downplayed by Surgeons, Group Says

Plastic surgery organizations have drawn criticism from U.S. regulators by trying to downplay the risk of cancer with breast implants, a consumer group said.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery said on their websites that a rare form of cancer tied to Allergan Inc. and Johnson & Johnson implants was benign and could be cured with surgery, the Public Citizen consumer group said today. The Food and Drug Administration talked to the organizations at the request of Public Citizen and the information was removed.