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Breast Implants Today
Breast implants are sold in the US by three and all three have US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of their fifth-generation breast implants. These are the so called gummy bear breast implants. What that means is that the gel inside the breast implant is like a gummy bear candy and will not run as if it were filled with non-cohesive gel that acts a little like a thick glue or molasses and can run like a fluid. These companies are:
Sientra
Allergan
Mentor
Here is a video by Sientra as to what is meant by a cohesive gel breast implants.
The cohesive gel breast implants from each company are quite unique due to the texture of the shell, implant dimensions, gel-shell interaction, gel fill ratio, degree of cross-linking, and form stability. Form stability means that the breast implants will hold a shape and these cohesive breast implants have the capability of holding their basic shape. This form stability and the cohesiveness of these fifth-generation breast implants provide surgeons with a new implant that can more closely create a natural breast in terms of shape and softness.
Implant characteristics on the bench or in your hands differ from how an implant will perform as well as feel within the body. The concerns of the FDA, surgeons and hopefully you the patient in terms of performance in the body are:
· Shape. Your breast implants should look natural and “breast like”.
· Feel. Your breast augmentation should feel as natural as possible.
· Safety. The risk for capsule contracture, implant rupture, and other medical complications should be minimal.
· Longevity of the implants. While there is no medical device that will last forever, your implant should be designed to last your lifetime and not have to be replaced every few years.
These concerns remain an important area of research and the data provided by all 3 manufacturers on these new medical devices demonstrate both safety and efficacy. With these breast implants surgeons have sound science to improve outcomes. The studies to date are highly encouraging in that it appears that the form stability and texturing of these implants will likely prove to enhance not only the cosmetic result but also patient safety.
Sientra Breast Implants for Breast Augmentation
What is that makes Sientra breast implants special?
· PROVEN:
Sientra implants are not new! They have been available outside of the US for 30 years by a company called Silimed. These implants have been studied extensively.
· QUALITY:
The form-stable, gummy bear consistency of the cohesive gel filler is unmatched for strength. The implants retain their shape, even when the gel is displaced under high pressure.
· SAFETY:
Sientra will only sell its implants to board-eligible and board-certified plastic surgeons. This means that you are assured that your surgeon has the proper training to get the best result and is committed to your safety. Studies have documented a lower rate of capsular contracture and a decreased incidence of wrinkling compared to fourth-generation silicone gel implants.
· WARRANTEE:
Sientra implants have the industry standard of lifetime replacement for rupture and if your breast implant does fail in the first 10 years, Sientra offers $3600 of financial assistance and will replace not only the failed implant but your other breast implant as well. In the rare event that you have a breast implant rupture (it has been documented that Seintra has the strongest implant on the market) you can also change sizes under this warrantee. Sientra was the first implant company to offer an unprecedented warranty that includes implant replacement for first time patients if you have a capsule contracture.
If you develop a breast implant capsule contracture (most capsule contractures occur in the first 12 months after surgery) Sientra’s 5 year CapCon warrantee will allow you to get a new implant, free of charge, if you need surgery for a breast implant capsule contracture. The CapCon warrantee does not provide any financial assistance for surgery that deals with capsule contracture.
· VARIETY:
The Sientra form stable implants are available in three shapes: round, oval, and classic. These round gummy bears come in low, moderate, or high profile, which means more choices for customizing results. This is the largest selection or variety of implants produced by any of the manufactures.
· CONSISTENCY and SHAPE:
Breast augmentation results should be natural and the Sientra breast implant seems to almost become a part of you after about 6 months. The edges more tapered and the back of the implant is almost flat. As a result Sientra implants fit you a little better and the edges are more natural in terms of look and feel.
· THE WOW FACTOR:
When an anatomically shaped implant is placed, just about everyone in my operating room says, “WOW! Those look great. They look so natural.” I can tell you that when my patients who have had these breast implants come back to see us they say the same thing. There is no question that the anatomically shaped “gummy bear” or highly cohesive gel implants look very nice and the Sientra implants seem a little softer than the others.
Patients say that when they compare their breast augmentation to their friends breast augmentation, their breast look and feel more natural.
Sientra SHAPED Textured Gummy Bear Breast Implants
by Dr. Brian Windle
Click the image for more views and the patient”s story.
Before
6 months After
Gummy Bear Breast Implant Video FAQs
Are these implants more firm than regular implants?
This question and one that that gets asked a lot or at least is a question that is in the back of many women’s minds after they have felt both in the office. Most, if not all, of the gummy bear breast implants or highly cohesive silicone gel implants are textured so that your tissue will grow into the texture to reduce scarring or capsule contracture. This has the advantage that the implant becomes “part of you” rather than just sitting in a pocket like the smooth one breast implants do. With the smooth implants, we put them in pockets that are bigger than the implant and we hope that the pocket does not shrink and result in a tight pocket or capsule contracture.
What we are finding is that the gummy bear implants, while they feel a little more firm we handle them in the office, they feel more natural when they are inside you because they are sort of “velcroed” to you.
These breast implants also have the benefit of being highly cohesive, meaning that they will go back to their original shape after being squeezed similar to a gummy bear implant as well as breast tissue. This semi-solid gel makes these breast implants stronger and they have been shown to have a lower rupture rate than other breast implants and again allows them to look and feel more natural than the older model semi solid partially cohesive silicone gel breast implants.
What is Different about Sientra Breast Implants for Breast Augmentation that They Have Less Capsule Contracture?
To answer this we need to first understand smooth breast implants (silicone or saline). Surgeons usually created a pocket that is bigger than the implant with smooth implants. This is because, with any implant, your body will encapsulate the implant or wrap it in scar since it sees the implant as a foreign body. By wrapping the implant in scar the breast implant is no longer recognized as being “inside you”.
Unfortunately, all scar shrinks, and if the shrinks too much it can create a problem for your breast implant and your breast augmentation. You get “capsule contracture” which results in hardening of the breast implant. Thus, by making the breast implant pocket bigger than the implant we hope to avoid this problem of breast capsule contracture.
With the Sientra textured implants (and for Mentor and Allergan textured breast implants), the pocket is made the same size as the implant. We call this called a “hand in glove” dissection or breast implant pocket correction. This way your tissue can grow into the texture so that the implant just like Velcro. This dramatically reduces the chance for capsule contracture! The reported rates for capsule contracture drop from well over 10% down to about 2% depending upon the study.
Breast implants for patients in Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland, Bothell, Redmond, Issaquah, Woodinville, Snohomish, Everett, Mill Creek, Edmonds, North Seattle, Auburn, Kent, Mercer Island, Renton, Sammamish, West Seattle, Marysville, Bremerton, Burien, West Seattle, Federal Way, Tacoma, North Bend, Munroe, Ellensburg, Maple Valley, Shoreline, Burien, Des Moines and Lynnwood.