bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Patsy Moy

Enlarging treatment has serious side effects, including cancer, doctors warn

Doctors have warned of serious side effects from a breast-enlarging gel popular in Shenzhen that they say can cause patients to lose their breasts or develop cancer.

They say they have treated dozens of Hong Kong patients with problems including serious inflammation or hardening of the breasts after they were injected with polyacrylamide, marketed as 'Amazing Gel'.

Plastic surgeon Gordon Ma Fong-ying said drug treatment was successful in some patients but in the worst cases surgery was required to remove breasts.

Dr Ma expressed his concerns after the issue was discussed at a meeting last month of the Hong Kong Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons, of which he is a council member.

Despite successful treatment in some cases, 'the long-term health impact of the gel on patients remains unknown'.

He said polyacrylamide can become highly toxic and can cause cancer if it breaks down into single molecules inside the body.

Unlike more common breast-enlargement practices such as insertion of a saline or silicon bag, the gel could not be removed once it was injected, he said.

The gel is also used in other cosmetic operations, such as nose reshaping.

Dr Ma said plastic surgeons in Hong Kong were reluctant to use the gel because of the health risk. But they had treated dozens of Hong Kong patients over the past couple of years for common side effects, including inflammation and hardening.

Most had received the injections across the border and some had developed the symptoms immediately.

'Our concern is the gel can move beyond the breasts to other parts of the body. However, we are unable to retrieve it once it is injected into the bodies - unlike the saline and silicon bags which can be replaced before any leakage happens.'

The president of the plastic surgeons' society, Ho Chiu-ming,  a public doctor, said the procedure was popular with women who saw it as easier, cheaper and quicker than having implants.

'The product attracts some women who can have their breasts enlarged as soon as the gel is injected without going through any surgery.'

He said the gel had been extensively used by clinics and beauty parlours in Shenzhen since 1998.

It has been banned in Ukraine, where it was invented, and has not been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

It is, however, allowed in Europe and has not been restricted in Hong Kong.

Dr Ho said: 'We see the urgency to give a health warning to those who plan to have the injection across the border before more patients return with the side effects.'

He said there were also concerns about hygiene at some of the clinics and parlours and he warned of the risk of infection if equipment was not properly cleaned.



Women could lose their breasts after gel injection