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Gortex Vs Silicone Elastomer Silastic Nose Implants?

I need to know what kind of implants that is good for the augmentation of the nose? Gortex or silicone elastomer silastic? Is it true that this 2 implants cause cancer? What brand of nose silicone do you recommend?

Asked 24 months ago by scaryone in ca

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Best nasal implant is not silicone or gortex, but your own tissue.

In more than 30 years of primary and revision rhinoplasty, I have always been able to get all the tissue I need from the patients own body. Thus I don't worry about infection or extrusion later. This tissue is incorporated into your body and lasts forever.

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Toby Mayer, MD

Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

Silicone implant preferred

Silicone by far is the best synthetic augmentation material for use in the nose and is tolerated quite well. The important aspect of the implant is its size. Very large implants do not do well since they put too much pressure on the skin, which can then undergo necrosis, breakdown and become infected. A small-to-medium sized implant will be well tolerated in the nose for many, many years. Gore-Tex typically gets seeded with bacteria or gets infected inside wall pores and is a disaster to... more

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William Portuese, MD

Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon

You could consider a Non-Surgical Rhinoplasty to add height to the bridge of your nose.

Rhinoplasty Surgery is a reliable method of augmenting your nasal bridge. Some surgeons recommend using cartilage grafts (septum, ear, or rib). There has been excellent published results with irradiated cadaver rib-cartilage. I was trained to augment the nasal bridge during Rhinoplasty Surgery with GoreTex (ePTFE). It's easy to work with, and complications like extrusion occur less than 5%. Gore no longer makes this product, but Surgiform makes ePTFE implants for the nasal bridge. The... more

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Eric M. Joseph, MD

West Orange Facial Plastic Surgeon

Gortex Better Than Silicon for Nose

Gortex is better integrated with tissues and less likely to be extruded from the nose as opposed to the Silicon. The best option is to use your own nasal septal cartilage, ear cartilage and rib cartilage. If none of these options are available or possible then Gortex can be used. Regards

Tanveer Janjua, MD

Bedminster Facial Plastic Surgeon

Nasal Implant Material

As Dr. Mayer aptly put it, the best nasal implant is your own tissue; most Surgeons would agree that Septal cartilage is the building block of choice. However, ear (conchal) cartilage works well in the right circumstance. If multiple revision situations where neither septal or conchal cartilage is available, rib cartilage is a great option. However, harvesting of rib cartilage carries with it more substantial donor site morbidity. Gortex and Silicone implants carry with them the... more

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Stephen Prendiville, MD

Fort Myers Facial Plastic Surgeon

Implants to the nose

I have never been a big fan of placing any implants into the nose unless absolutely necessary. There are real risks of infection and extrusion of either Gortex or Silicone. What there is not however, is the risk of cancer. I would absolutely see an experienced rhinoplasty surgeon and they will be happy to suggest several ways of using your own tissue in order to augment your nose.

Philip S. Schoenfeld, MD

Chevy Chase Facial Plastic Surgeon

Nose implants

Neither cause cancer. I would recommend that an "allograft" like you are talking about is a last resort. You would alway be better with your own material (septal cartilage, rib, or ear).

Scott E. Kasden, MD

Dallas Plastic Surgeon

ASAPS ASPS

The best nose implant is your own tissue

There are many implant materials which are helpful in rhinoplasty such as Gortex, solid silicone, and polyethelene. All can provide structure and shape to the nose. They all to a certain extent have some drawbacks in that over time the skin can thin, and the implants can become infected or extrude, even after many years. If surgeons were to have a 'best' implant I feel that natural tissue such as cartilage from the septum in the nose, ear, or rib would win the favor. The natural tissue... more

Peter E. Johnson, MD

Des Plaines Plastic Surgeon

ASAPS ASPS

The BEST Nasal Implants are...

The BEST nasal implants come from YOUR body. Depending on the source they will be incorporated by your blood vessels and become part of your nose. All other implants are a compromise and a gamble on how long it would take the body to either push them out (extrusion) or for them to become infected. Softer implants like Gore-Tex take longer to be extruded than stiffer ones like silastic / silicone implants. While it is true that Type V and VI skin (Asian, African etc) have thicker skin that... more

Peter A. Aldea, MD

Memphis Plastic Surgeon

ASPS

Silicone and Gortex nasal implants

I agree with Dr. Jackson in stating that I am not aware of any study that has shown any correlation with alloplastic nasal implants and cancer.

Otto Joseph Placik, MD

Chicago Plastic Surgeon

ASAPS ASPS

We would recommend your own cartilage for nasal implants

Dear Scaryone ;), I know that many people are led to believe that silicone and Goretex are good alternatives for nasal bridge augmentation. However, the gold standard is still to use your own cartilage. While silicone and goretex can be safe, long term they can often cause problems like infection or extrusion. Depending on the level of augmentation you require, we normally would use your septal cartilage +/ - ear cartilage. I'd encourage you to look around and visit a few ebsites and... more

Peyman Solieman, MD

Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

Nasal implants do not cause cancer. Period.

Fortunately, it is categorically false that silastic or Gore-Tex implants cause cancer. They simply don't. The biggest issue with non-living nasal implants is infection or delayed extrusion (where the body rejects the implant). Gore-Tex seems to suffer less extrusion than silastic, but I'd estimate that about 1 in 10 patients with Gore-Tex will experience extrusion or infection at some point...more common with "stacked" grafts where several layers of material are used. For unclear... more

David C. Pearson, MD

Jacksonville Facial Plastic Surgeon

Implant to use in the nose

I would suggest that you do not have any implants used in your nose. While there isn't any evidence of either silicone or Goretex implants causing cancer, there is a lot of evidence that they can cause problems. The nose does not tolerate foreign materials well and eventually will react to them. This can cause color changes in the overlying skin, inflammation and induration and, ultimately, extrusion of the implant in many cases. In my opinion, only autologous tissue should be used for... more

Andres Gantous, MD

Toronto Facial Plastic Surgeon

Nasal implants and Rhinoplasty

The choice of implant material is dependent upon your surgeon's preferences and your anatomy. Some of us prefer to use the patient's own cartilage or bone rather than implants, whereas others are comfortable with both Gortex and silicone. These implants do not cause cancer. The brands are not significantly different, and again the one used is generally based upon surgeon preference. Best wishes.