Toronto Cosmetic Surgery

Returning a new couch or kitchen table because you don’t like the quality is one thing, but it’s a little bit harder to return a pair of breast implants. All too often in both breast reconstruction and breast augmentation (over 300,000 of which are performed per year) the patient is unsatisfied with the size or shape of their implant. So when I came across this story I was surprised and amazed at how far technology has come.

Adjustable implants have been gaining traction of late. The implant consists of a “port” that is left exposed after the implant is inserted (usually subcutaneously) under general anesthesia. Then the surgeon takes the patient in front of a mirror and inflates the implant to the desired size, and can adjust the implant over a period of weeks. Supposedly this can be used with skin stretching techniques to make a more natural “hourglass” shape.

The technology isn’t mindblowing, but a little more flexibility in a procedure is always appreciated by both patient and surgeon. It’s too bad that this type of implant is only available for saline implants, because silicone has a much more natural feel… or so we’ve heard.

News from Evera Medical, a Foster City, CA manufacturer of the facial saline-adjustable implant FulFil, is reporting that more than 670 of the devices have been implanted in the last two years with “no serious adverse events.” The company markets its implants under two names, with FulFil™ being an international product, which was issued the European CE Mark in April for “augmentation of facial soft tissue, including lip augmentation,” and in the US the device is called VeraFil™, and it was cleared by the FDA for “augmentation and reconstruction in and around the orbit of the eye,” according to Evera Medical.From FulFil implant is made up of a very thin compliant and porous membrane. This membrane is made of ePTFE, which is 50 microns in thickness and surrounds a silicone balloon that is filled with normal saline. The pores within the ePTFE membrane allow limited tissue incorporation without a fibrotic response often causing painful and rigid encapsulation of the implant. A patented ’slip plane’ technology allows full movement between the silicone balloon and the outer ePTFE layer, thereby contributing to discreet and limited tissue growth.

This novel technology is ideal for adding volume to the lips as flexibility and full animation of the mouth is maintained. Contrary to other implants made of thicker synthetic material, the lips remain full, soft and natural looking. Volume is added with normal saline to achieve the desired appearance.
Read the abstract study on the implants for additional information.