Breast implant scandal: clinic agrees to fund removal cost A company spokesman confirmed Nuffield would fund removal in women who were suffering psychological distress from having the implants, which contain industrial-grade silicon, but had no other symptoms. Nuffield can afford to take the step because it is a major private healthcare provider and only carried out breast enlargements operations using PIP implants on about 160 women. About 40,000 women in Britain have them - including at least 3,000 NHS patients given them during corrective surgery after breast cancer. The total cost of removing them has been put at £150 million. Other private clinics have so far been reluctant to admit the numbers of PIP implants they have used. None have matched Nuffield's pledge. Nuffield's decision came as an expert panel, convened by the Health Secretary, met on Wednesday to scrutinise data on PIP implant rupture rates, provided by clinics. Last month the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) stated the PIP rupture rate to be less than one per cent. But at the weekend Transform, Britain biggest cosmetic surgery chain, said its internal figures showed the rate was seven per cent. Earlier this week surgeons on the panel cast serious doubt on the MHRA's figures, saying they were based on clinics registering ruptures, which was voluntary. Fazel Fatah, president of the British Association of Aesthetic Surgeons (BAAPS), even speculated the true rate could exceed 10 per cent. On Tuesday, however, the Independent Healthcare Advisory Service, which represents private health clinics, stated that the "average rupture rates" for PIPs among its members was "within the industry standard of one to two per cent." It noted Transform's figures were based on just 100 patients. The matter is central to the decision whether or not to recommend blanket removal of the implants. Yesterday morning, Mr Lansley said that on the basis of existing data, the experts' advice "continues to be that there is no case for the routine removal of these implants." That statement directly contradicts the opinions of Mr Fatah and another senior surgeon, Tim Goodacre, president of the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS), who both sit on the panel. However, Mr Lansley also said that the "inadequacy and inconsistency" of the data on rupture rates was concerning. He has given clinics until Thursday to provide clear data. The expert panel is expected to make recommendations on how to proceed on Friday. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Wednesday, Mr Lansley also backed calls for a nationwide register of breast implants. He said it was possible to have "an effective register," citing the example of the National Joint Registry. A previous national register of breast implants was abandoned in 2004 because many women, concerned over privacy, refused to have their details entered. Surgeons think such a register would have enabled them to spot problems with the PIP implants much earlier.