Breast Implants
What type of breast implant?
Breast implants are available in a variety of shapes, forms and sizes. A breast implant can be made of natural body tissue or synthetic (man-made) materials, such as saline or silicone breast implants. Natural tissue breast implants are usually only used on women having breast reconstruction surgery (after breast cancer treatment) and are rarely used for cosmetic purposes. This is because they carry the potential for breast implant complication due to an increased risk of side-effects and scarring as tissue is taken from other parts of the body.
A breast implant contains different types of filler material inside a silicone elastomer shell. In the UK the two fillers used are Silicone Gel and Saline. In other countries patients might be offered hydrogel-filled breast implants, soya bean oil-filled (Trilucent™) breast implants or titanium coated breast implants but these are not available in the UK and in fact the Medicine and Health Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) advised women who already had Soya bean oil-filled (Trilucent™) implants to have them removed.
Silicone breast implant
Silicones are a family of chemical compounds and made of silicon, a natural element found in sand, rock and quartz, which becomes silicone when mixed with oxygen, hydrogen and carbon. Silicone breast implants can be filled with a firm, jelly-like silicone or a softer fluid silicone. The firm silicone keeps its shape even if the implant tears inside the body and reduces the risk of the silicone entering the bloodstream. One advantage of the silicone breast implant lies in the fact that soft silicone is less likely to wrinkle and feels more natural.
Saline breast implant
Saline breast implantsare filled with a sterile salt-water solution, which can be pre-filled or filled through a valve during implant surgery. As the solution is similar in consistency to natural body fluids, it can be absorbed safely into the body if the implant ruptures. A potential saline breast implant complication lies in the fact that some women find that saline breast implants decrease in volume over time and are more likely to deflate. Saline breast implants are also more prone to wrinkling and can feel or appear less natural than silicone.
Reconstructive breast implants
A quite different type of breast implant is often used in breast reconstruction surgery. The surgeon may decide to use a tissue expander, a silicone outer shell which is inserted under the chest tissue and gradually inflated with injections of saline (sterile salt-water solution). Once the expander has stretched the skin and muscle enough to create plenty of healthy new tissue, it is replaced with a permanent implant. Women who have had a single or double mastectomy may choose to have immediate or delayed breast reconstruction. Immediate reconstruction involves breast implant surgery at the same time as the mastectomy is performed. Some women prefer this as it can help them to recover more quickly on a psychological level. However, there are often increased risks of infection and other complications such as deflation and the operation and recovery times may be considerably longer.
Delayed breast reconstruction is carried out some time after the mastectomy and is advisable if the patient is still undergoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Another option after mastectomy is to have reconstructive surgery without the use of breast implants. This type of breast reconstruction is called Tissue Transfer Surgery and involves using tissue, skin and muscle from another part of the body to mould a new breast
“How much do breast implants cost?”
In the UK, breast enlargement implant surgery costs between £3,400 and £5,000 depending on where the operation takes place. Manufacturers say that breast implants should last ten or more years.
Potential problems with breast augmentation
The most frequent complication occurring after breast surgery with breast implants is capsular contracture. The organism considers every implant (independently from its content) as a foreign body and creates a capsule of connective tissue around it. Usually, this capsule is too thin to be felt.
With some patients, this capsule contracts and the breast will feel tight or even hard. This contracture – which may also happen years after surgery – can be painful to the patient, is aesthetically inacceptable and has to be corrected surgically in most cases. In this surgery, the “scarred” capsule is removed and a new implant inserted.
Why do micropolyurethane-coated implants have such a high compatibility?
The speciality of micropolyurethane-coated implants is their singular coating which differs from other implant types. It is a 2mm thick foam which is vulcanized to the surface of the implant. The sponge-like structure permits the tissue to grow into it, which leads to a reduced occurrence of capsular contracture. This is due to the fact that the connective tissue fibres can no longer contract around the implant, painful capsular contracture is avoided. The fibre ingrowth also prevents the implant from rotating or dislocating.
If you are choosing an implant for breast augmentation, these implants come with the lowest complication rates of any implant available today. In some studies the capsular contraction rate as 0.2-0.5%. This compares favourably with the 5 – 7% associated with textured implants and 10+ % in smooth implants.
Gateway Aesthetics are proud to be able to offer the micropolyurethane implants to our patients who wish to undertake this type of surgery. We are so confident in our surgery and implants we are able to warranty our procedures for an indefinite period.
What do patients who had had these implants say?
More and more women having breast reconstruction decide deliberately in favour of micropolyurethane-coated implants: “After extensive research, I found my only choice were micropolyurethane-coated implants. I wanted to keep the risk for capsular contracture and re-operation as low as possible right from the beginning,” describes Erika Rusterholz her course of action. After having had cancer surgery in 2004, she decided to have breast reconstruction with micropolyurethane-coated implants at the beginning of this year. “Apart from their high compatibility, these implants have another advantage for me: they are absolutely natural to the touch and I do not feel like harbouring a foreign body within mine,” says Mrs. Rusterholz.
This shows that low complication rates and high medical compatibility do not exclude an attractive aesthetic result. Heike Warnecke from Nordhorn is also thrilled by the cosmetic and “sensitive” result after having had breast reconstruction with micropolyurethane-coated implants in 2003: “I do not have any problems with the implants and have been absolutely happy with the cosmetic result ever since. I recommend to all those concerned to consult an experienced physician regarding the choice of the appropriate implant early prior to breast reconstruction. This way, unnecessary complications are avoided right from the start,” says Mrs. Warnecke.
