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New Silicone Breast Implant Available from Sientra My experience is that both Mentor (made by J&J) and Natrelle implants (made by Allergan) are excellent implants with ethical back up from their parent companies. That is all that has been available in the USA until now. Starting in 2012, patients will have another option for silicone breast implants from another solid company. Silimed. Competition is always great for patients. Patients can choose an implant from Sientra (Silimed) a world leader in breast implant (and other silicone implants). Prospective breast augmentation patients should now be aware that the FDA has approved a new silicone gel-filled breast implant made by Sientra, Inc. Being FDA approved means it is a safe product equal to the standard for Natrelle and Mentor. The Biggest Difference which was just announced by Sientra at the American Aesthetic Meeting in Vancouver May 2012, is that they will only be sold to Board Eligible or Board Certified Plastic Surgery.This is not true for Allergan or Mentor who sell their products to anyone, whether trained or not. This is a great safety factor for patients. The implants will be available for women at least 22 years old seeking augmentation surgery, and women of any age seeking breast reconstruction surgery. Silicone gel-filled breast implants are medical devices implanted under the breast tissue or under the chest muscle for breast augmentation or reconstruction. These implants have a silicone outer shell that is filled with silicone gel. They come in different sizes and have either smooth or textured shells. This approval introduces a third company into the U.S. breast implant market, which previously consisted only of Allergan and Mentor. The deputy director for for science at the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Dr. William Maisel, commented that although silicone gel-filled breast implants have demonstrated consistent safety, “It’s important to remember that breast implants are not lifetime devices. Women should fully understand risks associated with breast implants before considering augmentation or reconstruction surgery, and recognize that long-term monitoring is essential.” The approval of these new implants follows a 3-year study involving clinical trials of the implants on 1,788 women. As a condition of the approval, Sientra will carry out five- and ten-year studies into the long-term health effects of their implants. Source: FDA – FDA approves new silicone gel-filled breast implant
A Sientra breast implant is the name of the breast implant manufacturer. It is the most common implant that I use because I feel it provides the most shape stable product on the market. It incorporates the 5th generation silicone fill that provides a truly amazing feel and shape.
The Sientra Corporation Silimed-brand breast implant is anFDA-approved silicone gel implant that is more cohesive and slightly firmerthan traditional silicone implants. The increased cohesiveness and firmness ofSientra's HSC and HSC+ implants earned them and others like them the nickname "gummybear" implants, and they tend reduce the risk of rippling, gel leakage,and capsular contracture when compared to less cohesive and softer implants.
Sientra is the US distributor for implants made by Silimed in Brazil. I have used them since 2004. Their quality in every way is at least as good as Allergan and Mentor. They are distinguished by making the only round implant available in the US that is filled with a highly cohesive gel, thereby making it the most ripple resistant and form stable round on the market. That is not the perfect implant for all occasions, but that implant is of immense desirability in many situations, and neither Allergan nor Mentor make such an implant.
A large variety of breast implants are currently availablefor breast augmentation in the United States. These implants come in a multitude of styles, shapes and sizes.In addition, they may be filled with either salineor several different types of silicone.Each type of implant offers advantages and disadvantages.For this reason, the choice of implant needsto be tailored to the patients’ specific needs.Thereare currently three companies that manufacture breast implants in the UnitedStates.These include Mentor, Allerganand recently Sientra.Each of thesecompanies offer a variety of implants.In 2012Sientra introduced a form stable cohesive gel implant.Although approved by the FDA in 2012, thisimplant has been in use in Europe for over thirty years.These implants are available in smoothtexturized, round and contoured styles.Theoretically,they offer several advantages over standard silicone gel implants includinglower rupture rates, less capsular contractures, less silicone bleed and lessrippling.Their main disadvantagesappear to be their firmness and their expense.Theseimplants increase the number of options that are available to prospectivebreast augmentation patients.It’simportant to understand that only board certified plastic surgeons can use thistype of implant.For this reason, it’simportant to consult a board certified plastic surgeon if you’re consideringSientra breast implants.This surgeonshould be able to discuss implant options and help you decide which implant isbest for you.
Thank you for your question. Sientra is a brand of Silicone Gel implants that, along with Mentor and Allergan, are FDA approved for use in the United States. Sientra is the ONLY brand of implants that requires an implanting surgeon be certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgeons.
