There are two manufacturers responsible for the majority of implant sales in the United States - Mentor and Inamed (formerly McGhan). Surgeons have preferences over which company's implants they use - trust your surgeon on company choice.
Regarding the implants themselves, all FDA-approved implants are filled with sterile saline - water that contains biological concentrations of salt. If the implant ruptures, the harmless saline will be resorbed by your body. Pictured: saline breast implant.
Patients undergoing reconstructive surgery may be candidates for receiving the current version of the original (or regular) silicone gel implants - the very implants that were the subject of the short-lived 1992 FDA imposed moratorium. These silicone gel implants may also be available to women undergoing revisions of previous breast augmentations, or women undergoing breast augmentation surgery with breast lift surgery. They remain unavailable to all patients not described by the categories mentioned.
There is a new implant type filled with a cohesive silicone gel that is currently undergoing clinical trials in the United States. If the implant envelope ruptures, the gel has a decreased incidence of leaking into the surrounding tissues when compared with the original (or regular) silicone implants. The consistency of the gel is often likened to gummy bears. Interested in cohesive gel implants? Mentor, Inamed and Silimed manufacture these new implants. Ask your surgeon if he or she participates in one of these studies. Pictured: Cohesive gel implant cut to show no leakage.
Regardless of whether you choose a saline or silicone implant, you will also have choices regarding the "feel" and the shape. There are pros and cons with all options.
