Dr Andrew Hayduke

BREAST IMPLANT BASICS – SHAPES AND FILLER MATERIAL Breast implants themselves are made up of two parts. The first part is similar to the outside of balloon and is called the breast implant outer shell . All breast implant outer shells are made of a silicone rubber-like polymer. Inside this outer shell is the actual filler material . The filler materials of FDA approved breast implants in the USA are either saline (salt-water) or silicone gel. The thickness of the filler material ranges from an outright liquid (salt-water) to varying thicknesses of a silicone gel. Silicone gel can range from a liquidy (maple syrup like) thickness to the extreme thickness of a gummy bear candy (which is a semi-solid material). From a chemistry standpoint, silicone gels can be produced of varying viscosity (thicknesses) by progressively increasing the length of the polymer chains within the silicone gel or the degree of cross-linking between the polymer chains within the silicone gel. Nowadays the

Anyone considering breast implants (breast augmentation) and doing internet Google research (Googling it) will undoubtedly come across at least one plastic surgeon who is advertising “Gummy Bear” breast implants or “anatomical” teardrop shaped breast implants. I constantly see this type of advertising both in my Palm Springs (Rancho Mirage) and Beverly Hills office locations. You might see aggressive marketing claims that make “Gummy Bear” or “anatomical” teardrop shaped breast implants seem like an amazing new invention (even though they have been around for a very long time). Round breast implants are now even being marketed with thicker (firmer) “high-strength cohesive” silicone gel, that claims to make round breast implants more “form stable”. I will try to dispel some myths and outline actual facts regarding the so-called “gummy bear” anatomical teardrop shaped breast implants and the newer “high-strength cohesive” (form stable) round breast implants.