Last March, I discussed a long awaited silicone gel breast implant, The 410 by Allergan – commonly called the “gummy bear implant”. Since then, I have had a chance to use the implant for many breast cancer reconstructions and have been very happy with the improvement over round, softer implants for this application. The implant has been very helpful for patients with loss of volume to their upper pole and with thin coverage. The implant fills the upper pole and is less liquid so it does not ripple.
Most breast augmentation patients like the more augmented shape of a standard round gel implant and have adequate soft tissue coverage to hide most implant rippling. The 410 can be used in those augmentation patients who want a relatively smaller and more natural looking augmentation, but I have had no takers. The new implant also costs double the standard silicone implant, which is a significant disincentive.
See the Case of the Month for two reconstructions using the “gummy bear” implant.
Mark D. Wigod, MD, FACS, providing cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery to Boise, Meridian, Treasure Valley and Southeastern Idaho.
