The Ideal Implant, plastic surgery’s first and only structured saline breast implant, debuted in 2006, promising to resist folding, wrinkling, sloshing, and collapsing when upright—common drawbacks of traditional saline implants.
On May 30, 2023, Ideal Implant Incorporated announced that it had ceased operations and was liquidating, citing an inability “to generate sufficient income from sales or to secure the capital investment necessary to maintain financial viability of the company.”
The company’s sudden closure left patients without a valid warranty on their implants. Ideal’s previous protection plan provided a free replacement if the implant ever deflated and a free replacement in cases of capsular contracture arising within 10 years of surgery.
Like other saline implants, the Ideal was filled with saltwater and housed in an outer shell made of silicone. What set it apart, however, was its internal structure: a series of inner shells (a.k.a. baffle shells), nested within one another, encasing two separate chambers, or lumens.
This patented structure—once considered a major advancement in breast implant technology—claimed to not only reduce folding and wrinkling but to lend the device a more natural look and feel, while controlling the movement of saline to mitigate uncomfortable sloshing (what docs refer to as the “water-hammer effect”).Â
As with other saline implants, if an Ideal Implant ruptured, its saltwater filler would be harmlessly absorbed by the body and some deflation would be immediately visible. But typically only one chamber would spring a leak, so the breast wouldn’t flatten entirely.Â
Oftentimes, when silicone gel implants rip or break, they maintain their shape, creating “silent ruptures” that are undetectable to the naked eye; that’s why the FDA mandates routine ultrasound or MRI scans of silicone implants. The Ideal Implant aimed to skirt both of these issues, providing more peace of mind to breast augmentation patients.
