The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons have welcomed the decision to ban a controversial breast enhancement injection.

The filler injection Macrolane, manufactured by Q-Med, became known as a ‘lunchtime boob job’. As many as 1 in 4 members of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons noticed that the injection caused complications, such as lumps in the breast and tissue hardening around the injection site caused by capsular contracture.

Medical experts at the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency believed that the filler could cause screenings for breast cancer to be less effective. The latter claim was rejected by the Swedish manufacturer Q-Med who said findings on the issue were not conclusive and radiologists had not yet reached a conclusive decision on the matter.

Fazel Fatah, president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, said that women should be cautious about breast injections as there was a lack of solid evidence about their effect on mammogram results. Previously breast injections were favoured as a less invasive form of breast enhancement, and an alternative to surgery which involved little or no recouperation time.

The injection is not thought to be harmful in other areas of the body, but will be banned this week for breast procedures. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency say that women who have had the injection in their breasts and subsequently had a scan for breast cancer should return to their GP for advice and possible re-screening.