Dr. Maurice Mimoun, a plastic surgeon at the St Louis hospital, holds silicone gel breast implants made by French company Poly Implant Prothese, or PIP, that he removed from a patient because of concerns that they are unsafe, Paris, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 20
Dr. Maurice Mimoun, a plastic surgeon at the St Louis hospital, holds silicone gel breast implants made by French company Poly Implant Prothese, or PIP, that he removed from a patient because of concerns that they are unsafe, Paris, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011. French health authorities are considering whether to suggest that an estimated 30,000 women in France get their breast implants removed, amid warnings by leading doctors about risks of rupture and possible cancer risks. Michel Euler, Associated Press
By Associated Press

PARIS — The health minister has called on some 30,000 women with breast implants made by French company Poly Implant Prothese to have them removed "as a preventive measure not of an urgent nature."

In a statement Friday, Xavier Bertrand recommended the removal of all PIP implants — not just ones showing signs of deterioration. The French state says it will foot the bill for the removals.

The statement said that while PIP implants have not been linked to an increased incidence of cancer, the risk that they could rupture and leak a questionable type of silicone gel has been shown.

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Tens of thousands of women in France, Britain, Italy, Spain, Portugal and other countries in Europe and South America have had implants made by PIP.

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