Breast Implants: Is Gel making a come-back?

Dr. Brad Calobrace, my mentor and friend, recently co-authored an article regarding gel breast implants. If you have heard negative things about gel implants, you need to read this.

First, a little history lesson. The introduction of the silicone gel implant in 1962 began the modern era of breast augmentation, and over the past 50 years, breast implants have evolved to encompass a wide array of commercially available implants today.

In April 1992, the moratorium on silicone gel breast implants began, and much of the experience and development of the cohesive shaped implants occurred outside the United States. During this time, saline implants were used almost exclusively in North America, whereas silicone implants continued to be used throughout the rest of the world.

Breast augmentation in Orange County can be done using these smooth or textured implants. In 2001, cohesive gel implants became available in the United States under an Investigational Device Exemption Study. Three companies have US Food and Drug Administration approval of silicone implants, with the newest being 5th generation: Sientra, Allergan, and Mentor. Breast implants are unique due to the texture of their shell, implant dimensions, gel-shell interaction, gel fill ratio, stability of their silicone, and ability to maintain shape.

Cross-linking is the technical term for silicone stability, and improved techniques in cross-linking have resulted in the ability to create anatomically designed, shaped implants that provide a more stable form maintaining shape, despite breast position, restrictive forces, or external pressures.

Improvements in the silicone shell, achieved through cross-linking, means the risk of rupture is greatly reduced as well.

So before you dismiss gel implants, discuss these new, 5th generation implants during your consultation. For those seeking the latest in technology and styles of breast implants Orange County has to offer, SSK Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery may be the destination for you. This generation of implants allows Orange County plastic surgeons increased ability to create a natural breast in both shape and softness now, and in the foreseeable future.

Contact us today to learn more about what we can offer you.