Cons to IDEAL implant? To good to be true..?

At this point the IDEAL implant has been working great for patients that choose it. The longterm viability of the company is certainly less guaranteed than Allergan or Mentor, but at the rate these implants have been gaining market share that should not be an issue. The reason that your PS prefers traditional saline is because there is one port rather than 2, so they can be filled a bit faster and therefore the profit margin is a bit higher on regular saline. IDEAL implants also have a bit of a learning curve for sizing them as they are measured slightly different than other implants. On the patient side, the only downside is that they don't feel quite as soft as silicone, however they are MUCH softer and more breast-like than traditional saline. Hope that helps! 

Good day! The Ideal Implant™ was recently FDA approved and is now being offered at our facility, Pacific Center for Plastic Surgery Newport Beach. Some women are not comfortable having silicone implants in their body and that was one of the reasons why the Ideal Implant was created. This implant gives a more natural feeling than traditional saline implants on the market. The unique structure of the Ideal Implant allows for a similar look and feel as silicone with the safety of saline. Find a board-certified plastic surgeon that has already performed procedure with this implant and discuss realistic goals and expectations. #RealSelf100

 

The Ideal implant was approved by the FDA in November of 2014, but has only had limited availability until recently.  Initially only the 120 plastic surgeons who were investors in the company had access. They are now starting to release it to more board certified plastic surgeons.  It has a profile similar to a high profile implant.  I would say that it is much more natural in feel than a saline implant, but still not quite as soft and natural as a silicone gel implant.  So my patients that want the most natural feel are still choosing silicone.  The most common implant used in the country is a round smooth silicone gel implant.  And the FDA has shown silicone to be safe and effective.  The FDA recommends in their labeling instructions that you get an MRI 3 years after surgery and every 2 years thereafter to check for a rupture. One analysis in 2014 in the Archives of Plastic Surgery found that

silent ruptures occurred in 9-12 percent of cases eight years after implantation. In a silent rupture, the outer shell of the implant can rupture, but the cohesive gel stays inside the scar


Answer questions

tissue capsule that has formed around the implant. SO there may be no visible or palable change in the

breast- the rupture is silent. Is it harmful-

no

- in the short run not much is seen. Over years the silicone

can cause some irritation of the local capsule and thickening. But if we

know the implant is ruptured we generally like to replace it. 

So saline implants have the advantage of being easy to tell if they have leaked.  The saline is absorbed and the shell goes flat.  The American Society for Aesthetic plastic surgery, in 2014, reported that 20% of breast augmentations used saline implants.  But they do not feel as natural-some patients describe them as being like a water balloon, and they are prone to palpable and visible rippling and wrinkles. A recent survey of 300 patients by Allergan showed that 52% of patients were fearful of silent ruptures, with 45% being concerned that despite the science and FDA saying silicone gel is safe and effective it is still a foreign substance, and 34% of patients having a fear of silicone all together. 

So the Ideal structure saline implant will be a good option for some patients that like the idea of a more natural feel than saline with the advantages of being easier to detect a rupture.  The Ideal implant has two chambers and if one leaks it will lose volume that is harmlessly absorbed by the body.  If I had to predict I would guess that the majority of patients will still use silicone gel implants prioritizing the natural feel, but an increasing number of ideal structured implants will be used in patients that are concerned about silent rupture but didn’t like the feel of the traditional saline implant.

 

It is a small company, and warranty concerns are valid- but I would be surprised if they are not purchased by one of the larger main implant companies in the future.