Micro-Implants For Breast Augmentation
Saturday January 3, 2009
A Los Angeles-based plastic surgeon has received a patent on a new type of breast implants. Called "micro" implants, they are about the size of a raisin, and instead of one implant per breast, a patient would receive hundreds of these tiny implants.
Research so far has indicated that the majority of women considering breast augmentation would prefer these micro implants to the traditional implants. The purported benefits are smaller incisions, shorter and easier recovery, and a more natural look and feel (at about the same cost to the patient as current methods).
The micro implants are made of a similar silicone material as is currently used in breast enlargement surgery, and are intended to compress together and remain anchored inside the optimal area of the breast. Another potential benefit: a quick outpatient appointment after surgery can allow additional micro-implants to be placed in olrder to further increase the breast size. Increasing size is the number one reason today for breast augmentation revision surgeries, which involve removing the old implant and restructuring scar tissue in a much more complex and invasive procedure.
Don't get too excited yet, ladies. The micro implants are still in the testing phase, and there has as of yet been no application made for FDA-approval. There is no long-term data showing the safety and effectiveness of these devices, and it could be years before they are ready to come to market.
Make me wonder, though---Does this new test mean that a "raisin test" could one day replace the rice test method of choosing an implant size for breast augmentation?
Research so far has indicated that the majority of women considering breast augmentation would prefer these micro implants to the traditional implants. The purported benefits are smaller incisions, shorter and easier recovery, and a more natural look and feel (at about the same cost to the patient as current methods).
The micro implants are made of a similar silicone material as is currently used in breast enlargement surgery, and are intended to compress together and remain anchored inside the optimal area of the breast. Another potential benefit: a quick outpatient appointment after surgery can allow additional micro-implants to be placed in olrder to further increase the breast size. Increasing size is the number one reason today for breast augmentation revision surgeries, which involve removing the old implant and restructuring scar tissue in a much more complex and invasive procedure.
Don't get too excited yet, ladies. The micro implants are still in the testing phase, and there has as of yet been no application made for FDA-approval. There is no long-term data showing the safety and effectiveness of these devices, and it could be years before they are ready to come to market.
Make me wonder, though---Does this new test mean that a "raisin test" could one day replace the rice test method of choosing an implant size for breast augmentation?
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