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| Important
Info about Breast Augmentation |
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Silicone vs. Saline Implants
Some surgeons feel that silicone implants have
a more natural look and feel than saline implants
because silicone gel has a texture that is similar
to breast tissue.
Saline implants have some advantages
over silicone implants. Silicone implant ruptures
are harder to detect. When saline implants rupture,
they deflate and the results are seen almost immediately.
When silicone implants rupture, the breast often
looks and feels the same because the silicone
gel may leak into surrounding areas of the breast
without a visible difference.
Replacing a ruptured
silicone gel implant is more difficult than repairing
a saline implant. Silicone implants also have
a higher rate of capsular contracture and a higher
deflation rate.
Saline Implants
Saline implants have a silicone rubber shell
that is inflated to the desired size with sterile
saline. Most implants have a valve that is sealable
by the surgeon.
There are two types of saline-filled implants.
One type is a fixed volume implant, which is filled
with the entire volume of saline at implantation.
Another type is an adjustable volume implant,
which is filled intraoperatively and has the potential
for further postoperative adjustment.
FDA Approval
On May 10, 2000, the FDA granted approval of saline-filled
breast implants manufactured by Mentor Corporation
and McGhan Medical. To date, all other manufacturers'
saline-filled breast implants are considered investigational.
Silicone Implants
Silicone implants have a silicone rubber shell
that is filled with a fixed amount of silicone
gel. Each implant has a patch that covers the
manufacturing port of the implant.
Silicone implants vary in shell surface (smooth/textured),
shape, profile, volume, shell thickness, and number
of shell lumens. Most silicone gel-filled implants
are not adjustable.
After rigorous scientific review, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved the marketing of silicone gel-filled breast implants made by two companies for breast reconstruction in women of all ages and breast augmentation in women ages 22 and older. The products are manufactured by Allergan Corp. (formerly Inamed Corp.), Irvine, Calif., and Mentor Corp., Santa Barbara, Calif.
Our
board certified plastic surgeons are specialists
in the newly FDA approved breast augmentation with silicone breast implants.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
states:
"For some years controversy has existed
over silicone implants used for breast augmentation
or replacement after mastectomy. Adverse effects
from their use have been widely reported in the
popular press, with conflicting information often
appearing in the medical literature. This controversy
and the attendant publicity led the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) first to ban any use of these
implants and then to permit limited use, mainly
as replacement after mastectomy.
"Silicone is used not only in breast implants
but also in implants located literally throughout
every part of the body. It has been used: to construct
heart valves and other cardiovascular prostheses;
to fashion catheters which are used for purposes
ranging from drug delivery to cardiac monitoring;
in dentistry; in the gastrointestinal tract; as
a facilitator for nerve regeneration; in ophthalmology;
in the ear, nose, throat, and respiratory tract;
as a prosthesis or ingredient in prostheses for
many parts of the skeletal system; as a tissue
expander; as a cosmetic agent for treatment of
scars and wrinkles; in the urogenital tract, including
penile prostheses; and in many other applications."
Source:National Library of Medicine
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