Breast implant

A breast implant is a prosthesis used in cosmetic surgery to enhance the size and shape of a woman's breasts (known as breast augmentation) or to reconstruct the breast (for example, after a mastectomy, or during male-to-female sex reassignment surgery). There are four types of breast implant:

Related Topics:
Cosmetic surgery - Breast - Reconstruct the breast - Mastectomy - Male-to-female sex reassignment surgery

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• Saline-filled, which have a silicone shell filled with sterile saline liquid. These implants are currently the only ones available in the United States.
• Silicone gel-filled, which have a silicone shell filled with silicone gel. They are not currently available for implant in the United States, but future regulation may change this. In the 60 countries outside the United States where silicone implants remain available, they are used in approximately 90% of implant operations. The FDA is conducting clinical trials of a new type of silicone gel implant filled with a new type of silicone called "cohesive silicone gel" that are believed to have decreased incidences of leakage.
• String implant, a third, much less common type of implant, is a method of achieving extreme breast sizes, initially developed by Dr. Gerald W. Johnson, M.D.P.A., using polypropylene (PPP). String implants are unique in that they cause the breast to continue expanding after surgery, and are preferred by those women who choose to have the largest breasts possible, including many adult entertainers. They are not currently available for implant in the United States, but future regulation may change this.
• Tissue engineered implant, a new form of implant currently in development. The principle is that cells are taken from the patient themselves, which are then combined with an appropriate scaffold material to produce a Tissue Engineered Breast Implant. The advantage of this method is that there is no risk of leakage or rupture, and the size can remain stable for the lifetime of the patient, a contrast from the silicone or saline filled implants which typically reduce by in the region of 40%. Further coverage may be found within the related links.
 
Breast implant: History ►