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  • How Pig Skin Is Being in Breast Implant Procedures
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Strattice is an exciting, new development we're using currently in revisional breast surgery for the following indications. When women experience malposition of the breast implant, where the implant has settled down low or out towards the side or there is absolutely no gap between the breasts, women get slightly disconcerted because side boob is no good. They want front boob, and they want them up high and tight.

So Strattice is an acellular cadaveric dermal matrix which can be incorporated as a hammock to support the breast implant and to create a more pleasing aesthetic outcome.

Strattice is, very plainly spoken, a biological product which is derived from cadaveric porcine matrix, which is basically dead pig skin. It's very carefully processed so that any of the outside layer of the skin, which makes it uniquely a foreign species to human beings, is removed, and it is then maintained, in a terminally cleaned position so that it can be incorporated into the breast flap and it is attached to the free edge of the chest muscle and thus clads the implant entirely and supports it.

It's an interesting concept as to why we use porcine versus human biological tissue. When we do wish to use a support, we will use human cadaveric tissue, because the assumption there is we want a breast to droop, become soft and perhaps more like a mature breast. In the cosmetic arena, we don't want them to flop. We want them to be up high and tight for as long as possible, and so the characteristics of the porcine, or the pig, tissue lends themselves to greater support and longevity of the results.

In terms of exercises which can reduce pain after Strattice, I think the way we do it in our anesthesia is extremely preemptive because we tend to put a lot of local anesthetic in before we even touch the patient, so the patient's tolerance of pain is not as high. The anesthesiologist will use special types of non-narcotic medications, which are long lasting and therefore allow them to be able to transition back to a normal diet before having to take other the pain medications, which will make them very uncomfortable.

Strictly speaking massage is not requested or desirable after this type of construction because we do not want to have the native breast flap slide around under the underpinnings.

How Pig Skin Is Being in Breast Implant Procedures

Dr. Lavinia Chong explains Strattice. Get ready for the craziest, grossest, and coolest thing you'll hear all day!