subject: Which Type Of Breast Implant Is Ideal For Your Augmentation Goals? [print this page] American women can choose between two types of FDA approved implants: silicone gel or saline. There is a third implant that is currently undergoing clinical trials. It is called the Cohesive Gel Implant. The nickname for this new implant is the Gummy Bear Implant. It earned this nickname because its consistency and feel closely represent the very popular Gummy Bear candy. If you hold one of these implants in your hand and squeeze it, it feels very much like you're holding and squeezing a Gummy Bear! Although the cohesive gel implant isn't currently available for use in breast augmentation procedures, American women are still very curious about it.
Silicone gel implants were the first modern-day implant available, so we'll discuss them first. The silicone gel implant has been involved in controversy since day one. They have been accused of being the catalyst for all sorts of diseases and poor health conditions, including cancer. However, the silicone gel implant has remained the favorite implant of choice among American women for various reasons.
The most desirable attributes related to silicone gel implants are their look and feel. Men and women both agree that silicone gel implants mimic the feel of real breast tissue better than any other implant. They also agree that silicone gel implants move more like real breasts than any other implant. Those two traits are the primary reasons why silicone gel implants are favored more than saline implants.
The drawbacks to silicone implants are as follows: they cost more, they are prone to larger scarring, and it's difficult to detect a ruptured silicone implant. Despite their negative aspects, the silicone gel implant remains the number one requested implant currently available.
Saline implants have long held the distinction of being the safest implant on the market. If safety is a concern, they are arguably your best choice. The primary benefits to saline implants are as follows: they are the least expensive, lower incidence of scarring, and if they rupture, it is easily detected.
The drawbacks to saline breast implants are that they don't feel or move like a real breast. Although that was quite true of older style saline implants, the new designs have improved significantly, and some people believe their feel and movement now closely resembles that of real breast tissue.
The primary benefit of saline breast implants is their overall safety. They use a saltwater solution as filler. The solution is very much like the fluids found in the human body, and it is relatively harmless. Unlike a silicone gel implant, a leaking saline implant poses very little threat to the body, at least in regards to its filler.
The latest implant, the cohesive gel implant, is not yet approved by the FDA. Early evidence suggests that this new implant is impervious to rupture and leakage. It's also believed that this implant will easily last fifteen years or longer. Of course, these claims are not yet acknowledged by the FDA, which brings us to the primary drawback to cohesive gel implants: they aren't yet approved for unrestricted use in the United States.
If you're interested in breast augmentation and would be happy with either silicone gel or saline implants, then you can speak to any board-certified plastic surgeon that specializes in breast augmentation. He or she can answer all of your questions. If you're interested in the cohesive gel implant, you will need to speak to a plastic surgeon that is approved for the FDA's clinical trial. Only a clinical trial surgeon can fully answer your questions regarding the new cohesive gel implant.
