Today’s Breast Implants

By Dr. Robert S. Patterson
M.D., F.R.C.S.C., F.A.C.S

In all my 20 years of experience, I cannot recall the number of times I’ve been asked “What’s the right implant for me?” As each woman’s goals are totally unique, there just isn’t any one simple answer. However, from that same experience, I can report that patient satisfaction is greatly enhanced by the number of choices available − with size, with shape and with profile. I can also confirm one very important choice that most women make.

Being intimately familiar with every type of breast augmentation procedure, I was one of the first five surgeons selected in Canada to work with cohesive gels. It is a technology that has come a long way since 2001. Today’s cohesive gel implants comprise a silicone shell, filled with cohesive silicone gel. Unlike earlier versions, called responsive gel implants, they feature a tighter molecular bonding that permits a significant addition to the choices available − the personal choice of breast firmness. Open one up and you discover a substance not unlike a gummy bear. It is this unique distinguishing characteristic that has made cohesive gel implants the number one choice of women worldwide.

With cohesion and choice being the pivotal factors in patient satisfaction, I became increasingly interested in finding the highest cohesion and greatest choice, so as to offer procedures producing the most pleasing results. It was a search that ended with the arrival of Allergan 410. Allergan 410 implants − or as they are more properly known, Natrelle™ Highly Cohesive Silicone-Filled Breast Implants (Style 410) − offer the highest level of cohesion and more than 140 different combinations of height, width, projection and firmness. It is a depth of choice that has now embraced every single goal for over 700 of my patients.

Today, despite the fact that they are certainly more expensive than ordinary breast implants, Allergan 410 implants are the most popular breast implants among all my patients and augmentations using them have become the most frequently performed procedure at my practice, The Hamilton Plastic Surgery Centre. There are many good reasons this is so.

From a surgeon’s point of view, Allergan 410 helps ensure the right breast implant for each and every individual patient precisely. At the preoperative planning stage, I can evaluate the patient’s body type and tissue characteristics to the minutest degree, knowing the perfect fit exists within all the choices available to achieve the best surgical result. Depending on the look the patient wishes to achieve, we can choose size, shape, style and texture to match her goals and body exactly.

Allergan 410 implants are made to last decades and are the closest thing yet to lifetime implants. They come totally free from safety concerns, a subject I cover later in some detail.

From a patient’s point of view, whether it’s the desire for more size, better proportion, improved symmetry or to return to the firmness enjoyed before pregnancy, Allergan 410 implants offer more choice and more pleasing results than any other implants I have worked with to date. I am not surprised that in a 10-year study to assess effectiveness and safety in breast augmentation and reconstruction − conducted three years after implantation − Allergan 410 implants achieved a patient satisfaction rating of 98%.

It has gradually become my professional opinion that for the woman seeking the natural look and feel of cohesive gel implants, Allergan 410 offers the greatest potential. The following pointers should help shed some light on all the dreams these implants make possible and how they can be fulfilled.

Size: Cup size is frequently the first thing patients wish to discuss. We start by measuring the width at the base of the breast. I then evaluate existing breast tissue to ensure sufficient skin for covering the desired cup size without excessive stretching. With all the choices Allergan 410 makes available, it is time well spent in meticulous planning that sees so many patients achieving their goals.

Shape: For women wanting to reshape their breasts, the greater cohesion of Allergan 410 allows the distribution of gel to be controlled within the shell of the implant for a smoother and more natural look. Allergan 410 implants provide greater shape retention and most closely mimic natural breasts.

Profile: Allergan 410 implants offer a choice of profiles (forward projection from the chest) from low through moderate, midrange and high (full). Some give the breast a more rounded appearance, while others create a gentle slope at the top and fullness in the lower breast. With their greater cohesion, Allergan 410 implants provide more lift for sagging breasts than either saline or regular gel.

Firmness: In addition to appearance, women can now choose how their breasts feel. Allergan 410 implants provide varying degrees of firmness with a unique range of cohesion from very soft to firm. Furthermore, the textured shells of Allergan 410 implants provide better adherence to natural breast tissue, with many patients telling me they feel just like a part of their body.

Safety: Health Canada approves Natrelle™ Silicone-Filled Breast Implants for both breast augmentation and breast reconstruction surgery… and there was never any truth to any ban. Yes, Health Canada called for a voluntary suspension until safety information could be reviewed. That review concluded with Health Canada’s approval based on preclinical testing, four years of data involving 715 women from Allergan’s Core Clinical Study, three years of data from Allergan’s Style 410 Study, and a European rupture prevalence study. The proven safety of Natrelle™ Silicone-Filled Breast Implants is further supported by extensive U.S. clinical studies, peer-reviewed literature and worldwide experience in more than 60 countries.