Kinds Of Implants Used In Breast Augmentation

Saline implants, silicone gel implants, first, second, third, fourth and fifth generation implants are the more common implants used in breast augmentation operations.

Saline-filled breast implants, first constructed in France in 1964, introduced by Arion were surgically laid via minor incisions. Current saline devices are fabricated with thicker, room temperature vulcanized (RTV) shells than earlier generations of devices. These shells are constituted of a silicone elastomer and the implants are filled up with salt water (saline) after the implant is laid in the body.

Plastic surgeons first developed the first silicone breast prosthesis with the Dow Corning Corporation in 1961. The first woman was implanted in 1962. Silicone implants are generally described in terms of five generations which segregate common characteristics of manufacturing techniques.

First generation or the Original Cronin-Gerow Implant was first produced in 1963. The Cronin-Gerow implants were created of a tear drop shaped silicone rubber envelope (or sac), filled with a thick, viscous silicone gel with a Dacron patch (to cut back rotation of the implant) on the posterior shell. In response to surgeons’ requests for softer and more vivid implants, breast implants were redesigned in the 1970s with flimsier, less cohesive gel and leaner shells.

Third & fourth generation implants, from the mid 1980s, represented sequential advances in manufacturing principles with elastomer-coated shells to diminish gel bleed, and are filled with thicker, more cohesive gel. The increased cohesion of the gel filler decreased potential leakage of the gel compared to earlier devices and the more significant shell improved durability as compared to 2nd generation implants.

Fifth generation a.k.a. “gummy bear” or solid, high-cohesive, form-stable implants is in preliminary stages in the United States but these implants have been widely used since the mid 1990s in other countries. The semi-solid gel in these types of implants largely extinguishes the possibility of silicone migration.