Breast Implants and the Third Generation
Breast Implants Comments Off
Until now, women wanting breast augmentation have a choice of implants filled with:
· Saline
· Silicone
Now, a third generation of breast implants is coming down the pike. The new kid on the block – or maybe the next breast thing – is known as the Ideal Implant and is undergoing FDA clinical trials in California, Texas and Florida.
The new model purports to offer the best features found in the existing saline and silicone implants.
When a woman opts for a silicone implant, she must sign a statement saying she has been counseled to get an expensive MRI every three or four years.
Why?
Because if a silicone implant leaks, it may not be immediately noticeable. Compare that to saline. A leak there and the whole breast goes flat. Score one for saline implants.
But….most women and their significant others opt for silicone due to the softer, more natural feel. Score one for silicone.
However, if a woman gets saline implants above the chest muscle, the edges may show through the skin. Also, some saline implants slosh when the owner reclines. And if the implant envelope wrinkles, a rip can later develop.
So a Texas plastic surgeon and professor asked for ideas, thoughts and suggestions from both implant patients as well as board certified plastic surgeons who work with the implants and listen to patient comments – the good, the bad and the ugly — for years.
The result is a saline filled implant with an inner and outer shell separated by two more unattached, perforated shells. The idea is to better control the movement of the saline. (Read more about the new breast implant.)
The new implant is more curved to rest more naturally against the chest wall. Its inventor and other plastic 
surgeons think the new model offers the natural look of silicone gel and the safety of saline.
They can be put above or under the chest muscle.
So far, only about 100 pairs have been implanted in the U.S.
But don’t rush out and to buy one!
The F.D.A. test period is for a decade on 500 women. And because the test period is so long, each test subject expects to receive anywhere between $8,000 and $12,000 when the test is concluded after 12 follow- up visits.
The breast implant maker is springing for the payments.
admin @ December 2, 2009