The revelation that the head of a large organization of plastic surgeons had urged physicians to play down the risks of breast implant surgery touched off an angry response from Public Citizen's health research group.

The consumer watchdog said in a recent statement that the president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Dr. Phil Haeck, advised participants in a recent webinar to downplay the dangers of anaplastic large cell lymphoma.

"We decided that we would call this a condition when we talked to the media - not a tumor, not a disease and certainly not a malignancy …. and I would recommend that you use the same terms with your patients rather than disturb them by saying this is a cancer, this is a malignancy," Public Citizen quotes Dr. Haeck as saying.

While the link between ALCL and implant surgery is still unproven, the Food and Drug Administration announced recently that it would look into any possible connection. Clearly, any additional risk is a worrying possibility for prospective implant recipients, and the health insurance industry is doubtless following the controversy as well.