 Breast Augmentation with Silicone Gel Implants is one of the procedures that the New York Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Leonard Grossman has been performing none-stop, under the FDA Guidelines, despite the fact that a moratorium was placed on this procedure in 1991 for the great majority of Plastic Surgeons in the US.
Dr. Grossman was one of the select few Plastic Surgeons in the United States, who was allowed to proceed with research and development of the New Silicone Breast Implants.
As you may have gathered, Dr. Grossman has amassed more experience with Silicone Gel Breast Augmentation than many plastic surgeons combined.
Since 1995, Dr. Grossman has performed over 5,000 breast procedures with complication rates well below the national average. Much success is due to the approach and techniques that are unique to Dr. Grossman’s treatment.
When treated by Dr. Grossman, patients can frequently go out for dinner the same day as her surgery, go to work the next day and be able to start working out in the gym in about 5 days.
What is Silicone Gel filled implant? Today’s breast implants are made from a solid, yet thin silicone outer shell, which can be filled with just about anything, but under the FDA guidelines these implants can be filled with Saline (physiologic solution of salt water, just like the IV fluids) or some form of silicone in a gel form.
The New Silicone Gel is considered to have memory, because even when cut, the implant does not lose shape or volume, i.e. the whole implants will stay intact even when it is torn.
The Cohesive, Form Stable Silicone Breast Implants are now available in Europe (will become available in the USA in the near future) and can be useful for a certain group of patients; however, because they are naturally much firmer, Dr. Grossman does not favor them, since they do not feel like a natural breast should.
Silicone Gel Implants come in two main forms: smooth and textured surface. There are different indications for each, but the smooth surface implants provide better results for the majority of patients and are less palpable when the breast is being touched.
What are the advantages and why should some one chose the silicone breast implant over the saline implant?
1. Even when ruptured, the silicone implant does not deflate and the shape of the breast is maintained.
2. In a person who tolerates the silicone well and their body creates minimal foreign body reaction, their breast will feel very soft and natural with little to suggest of a breast augmentation.
3. A person who is going to have the breast incisions made anyhow, as in a breast lift or post-cancer breast reconstruction. This person may as well give this implant a chance and hope for a great outcome.
What are the disadvantages of the silicone breast implants as compared to saline implant?
1. Because all the gel implants are prefilled, they are naturally much larger than the empty saline implants, therefore silicone breast implant requires a much larger incision for placement.
2. Because of its large size, the silicone implant cannot be placed scarlessly, i.e. transumbilically (through the belly button, umbilicus or navel).
3. Because there is natural, minimal extravasations of the gel material through the outer shell, some patients are at an increased risk for Capsular Contracture Formation (scar tissue around the implants that make the breast feel very hard and sometimes painful and even deformed).
4. The patients with silicone gel implants must undergo MRI evaluation of the breast every three years to determine if there is a break in the implant, since most leaks and tears in the gel implants cannot be detected on physical examination. The MRI of this type may not be covered by health insurance and can be quite expensive.
5. Some patients with gel implants will form Inflammatory Granulomas of the breast tissue (tumor like masses that are benign, yet need to be surgically explored t rule out cancer.
6. Because the incision for the gel implant is usually made on the breast, the size of the implant is significantly limited. If too large an implants is placed, the wound on the breast will be under too much tension to heal well or can even open all together to expose the implant.
7. The cost of silicone gel implant is significantly greater than saline (approximately 4 times more expensive), making the overall surgical price higher.
How is the surgery performed?
After you have met with Dr. Grossman, had your preoperative consultation and decided on the size of the implant, you will come to our Joint Commission Accredited Ambulatory Surgical Facility, where the doctor will mark you for surgery. The staff nurse will take vitals and make sure everything is set for the smooth “flight”. In the operating room, you will be placed on a warm operating table and be covered with a nice, warm blanket as well. An intravenous will be started and after you fall gently asleep, Dr. Grossman will infiltrate the operative site with local anesthesia. This will in turn make your procedure more comfortable and practically painless after everything is finished. ,p>
The surgical time is approximately 30 to 60 minutes, with the majority of the implants being placed under the muscle.
Throughout the whole procedure you will be pain and anxiety free, breathing on your own and without a tube in your throat.
When you wake up, you will most likely be smiling and very happy after you look in the mirror, which will be brought in front of you. With our wonderful anesthesia, you will not be cold or nauseous. In fact you will be wide awake in just minutes and some 5 minutes later we will give you a cup of tea to quench your thirst. You will recover in the same room where your surgery had been performed and your family will be able to stay at your side. Some 20 or 30 minutes later you should be able to leave the room and go home.
The next day Dr. Grossman will see you and all the dressings will come off. You will be allowed to take regular showers and resume your near normal life style. Most patients are allowed to wear regular bras within one to seven days after surgery.
You will see Dr. Grossman a few more times after your surgery, after which you will only come in for your yearly follow up exams.
To schedule your consultation with Dr. Grossman please call 212-585-2133
Leonard Grossman, M.D.
159 East 74th Street
Suite 1-M
NY, NY 10021
Tel. 212-585-2133
or
Leonard Grossman, M.D.
3039 Emmons Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11235
Tel. 718-934-5500
Silicone Gel Implants |
