New Saline Breast Implant Produces Fewer Capsular Contractures and Less Wrinkling
In 2011, the most popular plastic surgery that women underwent was breast augmentation. According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, nearly 320,000 breast augmentation procedures were performed last year. Though breast implant surgery is definitely still on the rise and many women experience great results from their procedure, a number of breast augmentation patients are disenchanted with the wrinkling they see as a result of saline implants. And some women end up with capsular contracture and have to go in for a second surgery to try to correct the problem. But new saline breast implants that have been developed with design features to reduce wrinkling and capsular contracture may help women overcome some of those issues related to the saline implants that are currently on the market.
According to the Aesthetic Surgery Journal, the new implant, dubbed the IDEAL IMPLANT, has a high satisfaction rate among both patients and surgeons so far. The implant has a double-lumen, saline filled core. Other saline implants on the market have only a single-lumen and a much higher rate of capsular contracture than this newer breed of saline implant. The traditional single lumen implant has been likened to a balloon filled with fluid that can move about freely inside the implant. As one might expect, these single-lumen balloons can look unnatural implanted in the breast and many women dislike the wrinkling that they create. Silicone implants are often chosen despite the potential they have to produce adverse health problems just because they look and feel more natural. Though saline implants are safer in some ways that silicone, their unnatural look and feel didn’t always result in high patient or surgeon satisfaction.
The IDEAL IMPLANT has a baffled structure and two lumens. Inside the implant there is a series of shells of progressively increasing sizes that are knitted together. This structure helps control the flow of saline within the implant giving more internal support and thus a more natural appearance and feel. Just over 500 women have the IDEAL IMPLANT right now and are being studied to determine whether the implants are safe and effective over time.
The new IDEAL IMPLANT is a potential alternative to saline or silicone gel implants that are currently on the market. In studies examining the IDEAL IMPLANT, doctors were surprised to find that in addition to creating a more natural look and feel, the rate of capsular contracture with the IDEAL IMPLANT was significantly lower than with single-lumen saline implants. This is a major plus for any women undergoing a breast augmentation with these new implants. Any implant that is able to lower the incidence of contracture is likely to be popular.
Of the women who have had the implants so far, patient-reported satisfaction is high at about 93%. Some of the women who are being studied have never had breast augmentation in the past and some of them are trying IDEAL IMPLANTS as an alternative following another breast augmentation procedure in the past that wasn’t successful. The two year follow-up rates of capsular contracture are lower than the capsular contracture rates for single lumen saline implants after only one year. And patient and surgeon satisfaction is very high which makes it seem likely that these implants will be a very popular choice for women in the near future.
New Saline Breast Implant Produces Fewer Capsular Contractures and Less Wrinkling is a post from: Plastic Surgery News