Clampdown on rogue cosmetic surgeons: New register will log every breast implant op to prevent repeat of scandal A new national register will log every breast implant operation in England to prevent a repeat of the scandal in which thousands of women received faulty implants, ministers have said. Tough marketing controls will also be introduced in the new year, with a ban on offering breast implants as competition prizes, time-limited offers, and so-called â€˜mother and daughter dealsâ€™ for multiple patients. The Government has accepted most recommendations made in a review by Sir Bruce Keogh, the NHS medical director, after the disclosure that French firm Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) made implants from industrial silicone. Almost 50,000 women in the UK and some 400,000 worldwide were affected by the scandal, which came to light two years ago when doctors found many implants were rupturing. Poor record-keeping by some private clinics meant that often women were unable to find out if they had the faulty implants. In future the implant a woman is given will be recorded in the new register, in the way hip and knee operations are already logged. Training will be improved, with the Royal College of Surgeons establishing new standards for cosmetic surgery. Surgeons will be required to have professional indemnity to protect clients. Ministers are expected to announce that the registry will be piloted from next month, and formalised later in 2014. Health Minister Dr Dan Poulter said: 'For too long, the cosmetics industry has been completely unregulated and there are too many tales of women who have been exploited and of lives ruined by rogue cosmetic firms and practitioners. Tough marketing controls will also be introduced in the new year, with a ban on offering breast implants as competition prizes, time-limited offers, and so-called 'mother and daughter deals' for multiple patients This has to change, so we are taking robust action to clamp down on the cosmetic cowboys in order to properly protect women and the public. For the first time, there will be proper training courses for cosmetic surgeons, and we shall be setting up a breast implant registry which will better track the quality of implants and, if required, enable us to act much more quickly to protect women and patients. We will also be outlining rigorous plans to clamp down on irresponsible cosmetics advertising. For the cosmetic cowboys, be it on the high street, or in the operating theatre, there will be nowhere to hide. The Governmentâ€™s proposals were welcomed by the president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, Rajiv Grover. 'We are thoroughly relieved that the Government has seen the light in terms of the importance of reinstating the implant register - but the system must be made compulsory, otherwise it is a waste of time,' he said. Whilst independent consultants and many reputable groups were able to easily contact their patients during the PIP implant crisis, the scandal shone a light on shoddy record-keeping from many corners of the sector; with women being given the wrong or no information at all in regards to what had been placed within their bodies. A centralised and comprehensive database is well overdue and essential for the publicâ€™s safety and peace of mind.