US SURGEONS SAY "FIRE KESSLER"

The president of the American Society of Plastic and Reconstruct-ive Surgeons, Norman Cole, has written a letter urging more than 5,000 surgeons to ask that the Commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, David Kessler, be removed from deciding whether or not silicone-gel breast implants are safe.

The letter, which complains about Dr Kessler's "attitude," was sent before an expert panel recommended that the implants be used only experimentally. Dr Kessler has two months to decide whether to follow the recommendation.

Dr Cole's letter said Dr Kessler's attitude on the use of silicone, not just silicone-gel breast implants, "genuinely imperils current medical practice," and asked surgeons to urge Health and Human Services Secretary Louis Sullivan to remove him from this issue. "This issue must be decided by an impartial individual." In a later section, the letter urges Dr Sullivan to remove Dr Kessler from the matter "because of his gross mishandling of this issue and his refusal to disclose important medical information."