IDEAL IMPLANT

Pros

• Ideal Implants were FDA-approved and approved by Health Canada for over a decade, and their safety was backed by clinical trial data.
• They had a high patient satisfaction, with a 93% Worth It Rating from reviewers on RealSelf. 
• Dual chambers and internal baffle shells controlled the movement of the saline, giving Ideal implants a more natural feel and appearance than other types of saline implants.
• Since the Ideal implant was gradually filled after being placed (a boon when adjusting for asymmetry), it required a smaller incision than silicone gel implants.
• Compared with traditional saline implants, there was less risk of rippling with Ideal. 
• Due to its structured design, the Ideal implant offered more upper-pole fullness than other saline implants. Some surgeons found the firmer consistency allowed for added perkiness to the breast, compared to traditional saline implants.
• With zero risk of silent rupture, there was no need for expensive MRI scans (as there is with silicone gel implants). This gave patients peace of mind.
• The saline-filled Ideal implant had a lower rupture rate (3.7%) than that of silicone gel implants on the market, according to FDA clinical trial data.
• It reportedly had a lower risk of capsular contracture (a hard capsule of scar tissue), the number-one complication of silicone gel implants.
• Ideal Implants were not linked to BIA-ALCL, a rare type of cancer associated with textured implants.
• The shuttering of the company in 2023 had nothing to do with device safety (it was purely for financial reasons).

Cons

• Since the closure of the company, patients with Ideal implants no longer have a valid warranty on their devices and will have to pay out-of-pocket for future replacements/operations.
• The Ideal Implant was FDA-approved for breast augmentation only; it had never been studied or approved for reconstruction. This may have been a significant factor in the company’s worsening financial situation, given that a forecast of the breast implant market released in December 2022 blithely highlights “the increasing prevalence of breast cancer” as a key driver of market growth. (The same report also notes the growing popularity of silicone gel gummy bear implants.)
• Ideal was more expensive than conventional saline implants.
• Since the Ideal was a round implant (versus teardrop-shaped), it wasn’t the most natural-looking implant option for women with very little natural breast tissue.
• All breast implant surgery comes with potential risks, including capsular contracture and implant rupture.

• Average Cost:
• $8,474

• Range:
• $5,000 - $13,575

The price one paid depended on:

• the experience level of their plastic surgeon
• the practice location
• the type of anesthesia they had (with general anesthesia costing more)
• who administered it

There were subtle differences in how the Ideal Implant was filled and how it was placed.

“The Ideal Implant require[d] filling two chambers instead of a more traditional single-lumen saline implant,” says Dr. John Burns, a board-certified plastic surgeon in Dallas. “There [was] also a slightly different method of accounting for the volume, but the process [was] very simple to learn, and the actual breast augmentation [was] done just like a normal procedure.”

Ideal Implants were inserted through an incision in the fold below the breast. This incision was about 4 centimeters—slightly longer than a traditional saline implant, but smaller than the incision required to place a silicone gel implant.

Before the (empty) implant was inserted, the surgeon folded it, accordion-style, to remove any air from inside and allow it to easily pass through the small incision. 

Once the surgeon had placed the Ideal Implant in a pocket they’d created within the breast tissue, they filled both lumens with saline. 

The Ideal Implant could be placed either under or over the muscle, though saline implants typically go under the muscle for added coverage.

All breast implants come with potential risks and complications that include:

• General surgery risks such as anesthesia complications, infection, bleeding, and poor healing
• Capsular contracture
• Ruptures and leaks
• Rippling, wrinkling, creasing
• Breast implant illness (BII), a host of systemic symptoms some women link to their implants

Mammograms may be more difficult with breast implants in place. Be sure to notify the technologist that you have breast implants prior to the procedure.

See our complete guide to breast implant safety

Ideal’s smooth, structured breast implants were not associated with BIA-ALCL, a rare cancer that’s a risk specific to textured breast implants. They also had a lower-than-average risk of capsular contract and rupture/deflation. Additionally, the design was shown to minimize the rippling commonly seen with other saline devices.

In 2020, not long after changing device manufacturing plants, the makers of the Ideal Implant noticed an uptick in reported ruptures and voluntarily took their implants off the market for a short time to investigate. 

According to Newport Beach, California plastic surgeon Dr. Larry S. Nichter, “They found that the valve assembly varied by a fraction of a millimeter, which was the cause. This was corrected, and due to increased demand, they [were put] back on the market [in] November 2020.”