Q: What are the pros and cons of Strattice?

Pros Covering the surface of a breast implant, Strattice mesh can create a smoother, perkier, more natural-looking and feeling breast. It can make revision surgery less complicated, with a shorter recovery time. The mesh helps minimize future complications related to implant movement or capsular contracture. Cons It's possible to have an adverse reaction to the mesh's porcine-derived material. The use of pig tissue can be ethically problematic for vegetarians and vegans, too. Strattice must be surgically implanted—and as with any surgery, there is a risk of wound infection or other adverse events, such as fluid buildup (also known as seroma), which might require removal of the mesh.

Question 1

What is Strattice?

Accepted Answer

Strattice Reconstructive Tissue Matrix is a surgical mesh used by plastic surgeons to reinforce weakened soft tissue during breast augmentation and implantation, breast reconstruction, and other surgical procedures.

Sometimes referred to as an “internal bra," the mesh helps surgeons address common challenges related to breast implants. It's especially useful for patients with recurring capsular contracture (when a hard capsule of scar tissue forms around the implant), as well as those who are at high risk of developing the condition. Strattice can also help prevent or repair poor implant positioning, wrinkling, rippling, adhesion, and/or symmastia (a condition in which implants touch in the middle of the chest, creating a “uniboob” effect).

Strattice mesh is also used to correct abdominal wall defects, in procedures like hernia repair. Used as a hernia mesh, it's better able to help with fascial closure (keeping the facia that covers the muscles together) than sutures alone.

Mesh repair may also reduce hernia recurrence in patients. For abdominal wall reconstruction or reinforcement, your surgeon can use different types of the surgical mesh, depending on whether you have incisional hernias or need a ventral hernia repair.

Strattice is made by LifeCell corporation, a subsidiary of Allergan located in Branchburg, New Jersey.

Question 2

What are the pros and cons of Strattice?

Accepted Answer

Pros

Covering the surface of a breast implant, Strattice mesh can create a smoother, perkier, more natural-looking and feeling breast.
It can make revision surgery less complicated, with a shorter recovery time.
The mesh helps minimize future complications related to implant movement or capsular contracture.

Cons

It's possible to have an adverse reaction to the mesh's porcine-derived material. The use of pig tissue can be ethically problematic for vegetarians and vegans, too.
Strattice must be surgically implanted—and as with any surgery, there is a risk of wound infection or other adverse events, such as fluid buildup (also known as seroma), which might require removal of the mesh.

Question 3

How much does Strattice cost?

Accepted Answer

The total price you’ll pay will include the cost of the surgery that involves Strattice mesh, which will depend on your surgeon's level of experience, where the procedure is performed, the type of anesthesia used, and the complexity of the procedure.

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Question 4

What is Strattice mesh made of?

Accepted Answer

What is Strattice mesh made of?

The medical device is derived from porcine dermis (pig skin) but processed to be biocompatible in humans. “Strattice is a very biocompatible material and, over time, becomes incorporated as living tissue, like a living internal bra. It is especially helpful for secondary [breast surgery] revisions, where it may provide a unifying solution to compound problems. I have used [Strattice] in several dozen cases and have not seen any problems with rejection,” says Dr. Richard Baxter, a plastic surgeon in Mountlake Terrace, Washington.

It's less likely to erode than synthetic mesh or lead to complications like fistulas, although each type has pros and cons.

Question 5

How long does Strattice mesh last?

Accepted Answer

Theoretically, Strattice could last forever, because over time, the biologic mesh products gets incorporated into your own tissue via a process called tissue regeneration.

Dr. Baxter explains the longevity of the supportive tissue grafts called acellular dermal matrices (ADMs) such as Strattice and a similar type of surgical mesh, AlloDerm: “Because ADMs like Strattice and AlloDerm transform into living tissue, they should last a very long time. I published a 12-year follow-up case a couple of years ago in which the Alloderm had the same thickness and strength as when I first implanted it in 2000.”

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Genevieve Monsma

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