Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Adjustable Breast Augmentation Circumvents "Implantee Remorse"
Filed under: Plastic Surgery
Returning a TV because you don't like the quality is one thing, but it's a little bit harder to return a pair of breast implants. All too often in both breast reconstruction and breast augmentation (over 300,000 of which are performed per year) the patient is unsatisfied with the size or shape of their implant. So why not let the patient come in for a little "adjustment"?
Adjustable implants have been gaining traction of late. The implant consists of a "port" that is left exposed after the implant is inserted (usually subcutaneously) under general anesthesia. Then the surgeon takes the patient in front of a mirror and inflates the implant to the desired size, and can adjust the implant over a period of weeks. Supposedly this can be used with skin stretching techniques to make a more natural "hourglass" shape.
The technology isn't mindblowing, but a little more flexibility in a procedure is always appreciated by both patient and surgeon. It's too bad that this type of implant is only available for saline implants, because silicone has a much more natural feel... or so we've heard.
Read the abstract for a study on the implants here...
UPDATE: Product page: Spectrum® Postoperatively Adjustable Breast Implants
(1)
examples: <b>Bold</b> <i>Italic</i>
