Up to 1,500 women in Ireland are understood to have been given breast implants made by a French company that is at the centre of a health scare.
France health officials have said that up to 30,000 women there may need to remove defective implants produced by the Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) company.
The implants contain a gel that becomes lumpy and granular, increasing the risk of the implant tearing and the gel leaking into the patient's body.
France health officials said today that they will offer surgery to remove the implants if a study due out this week finds that the silicone they are made from could cause health problems.
The company, which is no longer trading, is accused of using industrial-grade silicone.
A French court is also investigating the death in 2010 of one patient that may be linked to an implant.
More than 2,000 complaints by women with PIP implants have been lodged since March 2010.
Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, plastic surgeon and spokesman for the Irish Association of Plastic Surgeons, Professor Michael Earley, emphasised this was not a cancer scare.
Prof Earley said there was no definite cancer link with this implant and that the warning is precautionary.
A recall of the implants was initiated in Ireland on 30 March 2010.
The Irish Medicines Board advised all implanting hospitals to identify and contact women who may have received these implants after 1 January 2001.
It recommends any Irish patients with concerns should contact their implanting surgeon for advice.
St Vincent's University Hospital and St Vincent's Private Hospital in Dublin have said that the PIP implants were not used in any procedure in their hospital.
