Breast Implants – “Gummy Bear” and Silicone Gel

Most Internet videos showing the so-called “Gummy Bear” breast implants feature a cosmetic surgeon cutting open a Gummy Bear implant.
Watch a plastic surgeon cut a Gummy Bear implant in half.
Why all the slicing and dicing?
Leakage of any breast implant is the basic concern. If a saline implant leaks, only harmless salt water is released into the body. (But the breast goes flat!)
The silicone implant now approved for use is known as “form stable silicone gel” If that implant springs a leak, small amounts of the gel escapes into the body. While the silicone gel is very thick — like honey — and leaks much slower than saline, another wrinkle presents itself: the leakage is not obvious.
Virtually all plastic surgeons ask that women receiving form stable silicone implants have periodic X-rays or mammograms to check on implant integrity. Patients don’t immediately notice or feel anything related to the leak, like a breast suddenly collapsing.
The latest generation of silicone implants – the Gummy Bear — bumps things up a notch. Even if that implant is cut in half, the silicone stays put and does not run.
The downside about Gummy Bears: you can only have them implanted in a few centers as part of the FDA approval process. The Gummy Bear is still being tested and not yet cleared for general use in the United States.
If you want to make sure you are asking about the real McCoy, use the whole tongue-twisting technical term for Gummy Bears – “semi-solid, high-cohesive, form stable implants.”
(Read the FDA page that lists the manufacturers of Gummy Bear breast implants.)
During testing, some cosmetic plastic surgeons question the Gummy Bear implants results.
Commenting on RealSelf.com, Tarick K. Smaili, a board-certified Beverly Hills plastic surgeon (and California Surgical Institute’s founder and medical director,) is among their numbers.
“The Gummy Bear implant will fall less naturally in the surgical pocket of the breast, similar to issues found with the tear drop implants,” writes Dr. Smaili.
Other plastic surgeons have noted that a larger incision is required for Gummy Bears and that some implant patients think their breasts are too firm after healing.
If you would like to read more about silicone breast implants, visit Love Your Look