Best Silicone Breast Implant Brands

Breast implants are a popular cosmetic surgery procedure. They are implanted in different parts of the breast and help you with different areas of enhancement. Whether it’s for small breasts, large breasts, or the need for breast reconstruction, you can find the right one to fit your needs here.

No matter what brand of breast implants a woman chooses, she needs to know their pros and cons so she can choose the treatment most appropriate for her body. The factors that influence the decision are associated with where a person lives, how much experience the surgeon has, whether they have any medical conditions and what type of undergarments they currently wear. In this guide, we review the aspects of Best Silicone Breast Implant Brands, fda approved breast implant manufacturers, what brands of breast implants have been recalled, and What is the highest quality breast implant?

Best Silicone Breast Implant Brands

Breast augmentation is an extremely common procedure, and silicone implants are the most popular type of breast enhancement. There’s a lot to consider when choosing your implant brand, including the size of the breast implant and other cosmetic factors like color and shape. To help you make sense of this overwhelming process, we’ve outlined some important information about some of our favorite silicone breast implant brands:

Mentor

Mentor is a brand of breast implants that has been around since the 1950s. Their website includes information about the sizes and styles of their breast implants, as well as information about what size implant to choose based on your measurements and body type. There’s also an FAQ section, where you can find answers to questions such as:

• How long do Mentor breast implants last?
• What is silicone-filled versus saline-filled?
• What are some common problems with Mentor Breast Implants?

Sientra

• Sientra is the only FDA approved silicone implant made in the USA.
• Sientra is the only company to offer a lifetime warranty on their implants.
• Sientra is the only company to have received the Gold Seal of Approval from the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Allergan – Natrelle

• Allergan is a large company with many brands, including Natrelle.
• Natrelle is a high quality implant made by Allergan, the same company that makes Restylane and Juvederm.
• The Natrelle silicone breast implants are FDA approved and made from 100% silicone gel (the same material used to make contact lenses). They can be implanted in different sizes and shapes depending on your needs, including round or tear drop shaped implants as well as moderate profile implants that have a lower profile than standard implants available at most surgeons’ offices today.

Implants are not all the same.

These days, breast implants come in a variety of forms. There are different types of silicone, saline, and gel options available; each type has its own pros and cons. In addition to these materials, you also have different sizes to choose from—and that’s not even counting the different shapes!

While it may seem intimidating at first, don’t worry: we’ve compiled all the information you need about how you can find the best breast implant for your body type and lifestyle preferences.

fda approved breast implant manufacturers

Currently, there are only two U.S. based companies who manufacture breast implantsfor use in the United States: Allergan (formerly McGhan and then Inamed), Mentor (now owned by Johnson & Johnson). Sientra is a U.S. based company that purchased the license to market Brazilian made Silimed implants in the United States. Sientra (Silimed) implants were recently approved by the FDA to sell implants in the United States in 2012. All are quality devices. The differences between the first two are minimal. I have used both with satisfaction. Currently, I am using the Allergan implants. It is my understanding that Allergan licenses their intrashield barrier technology to Mentor. That barrier is what controls the amount of gel diffusion/bleed through the shell wall. What Mentor didn’t do is place that barrier on their patch (see below). If you have any bias about which brand implant to use, and you find a surgeon you like but he/she uses the other brand of implants, I would not let that sway you in the decision to use that surgeon; use the implant that he/she is most comfortable with and don’t worry about who manufactured it, you will do equally well with either one. As of this writing (September 2014), I have no experience with Sientra’s devices.

All breast implants start off by either dipping a mold (called a mandrel) into silicone or spraying the mandrel with silicone. Either way, you end up with a silicone envelope with a small (about one inch) hole in it. If the implant is destined to be a saline implant, that hole is sealed with a silicone patch with a valve built into it. This valve is used to fill the implant at surgery, as all saline implants are sold deflated. If the implant is destined to be a silicone gel filled implant, the hole is patched with a round silicone patch. Next, using a special needle, the patch is punctured and a predetermined amount of silicone gel is inserted into the silicone envelope and the needle removed. The implant is either left with its smooth surface, or if a textured surface is desired, a special thin sheet of textured silicone is then bonded to the implant, giving it its textured (fuzzy) surface. The implant is then sealed into a plastic peel-pack and inserted into a box and shrink-wrapped, then sterilized prior to sale.

what brands of breast implants have been recalled

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today took significant action to protect women from breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) by requesting that Allergan, the manufacturer of a specific type of textured implant, recall specific models of its textured breast implants from the U.S. market due to the risk of BIA-ALCL. Following the agency’s request, Allergan has notified the FDA that it is moving forward with a worldwide recall of their BIOCELL textured breast implant products, including: Natrelle Saline-Filled breast implants, Natrelle Silicone-Filled breast implants, Natrelle Inspira Silicone-Filled breast implants, and Natrelle 410 Highly Cohesive Anatomically Shaped Silicone-Filled breast implants. The recall also includes tissue expanders used by patients prior to breast augmentation or reconstruction, including Natrelle 133 Plus Tissue Expander and Natrelle 133 Tissue Expander with Suture Tabs. The recall helps ensure that unused products are removed from suppliers and doctors’ offices. The agency also issued a safety communication today for patients with breast implants, patients considering breast implants and their health care professionals outlining the known risks and what steps patients should consider when monitoring for symptoms of BIA-ALCL, including swelling and pain in their breasts. The safety communication also lists information about all models and style numbers included in the recall.

“Although the overall incidence of BIA-ALCL appears to be relatively low, once the evidence indicated that a specific manufacturer’s product appeared to be directly linked to significant patient harm, including death, the FDA took action to alert the firm to new evidence indicating a recall is warranted to protect women’s health,” said FDA Principal Deputy Commissioner Amy Abernethy, M.D., Ph.D. “The FDA has been diligently monitoring this issue since we first identified the possible association between breast implants and ALCL in 2011 and, at that time, communicated to patients and providers that there is a risk for women with breast implants, more frequently occurring in women with textured implants, for developing this disease. Since that time, we have worked to increase awareness and encourage reporting of all cases to the FDA so that we could continue to monitor this potential safety signal. As this issue and the science have continued to develop, we have been monitoring the reports in databases, including external patient registries, and in scientific literature. Based on new data, our team concluded that action is necessary at this time to protect the public health. We will continue to monitor the incidence of BIA-ALCL across other textured and smooth breast implants and tissue expanders as well as other devices intended for use in the breast. If action is needed in the future, we will not hesitate to do what is necessary to protect patients.”

In a table updated today on the agency’s BIA-ALCL webpage, the FDA provides the new total of 573 unique cases globally of BIA-ALCL and 33 patient deaths, which reflect a significant increase in known cases of BIA-ALCL since the agency’s last update earlier this year —an increase of 116 new unique cases and 24 deaths. Specifically, of the 573 unique cases of BIA-ALCL, 481 are attributed to Allergan implants. Of the 33 patient deaths the FDA is reporting today, 12 of the 13 patients for which the manufacturer of the implant is known, are confirmed to have an Allergan breast implant at the time of their BIA-ALCL diagnosis. These cases include new data reported to the agency since the public advisory committee meeting in March. Based on the currently available information, including the newly submitted data, our analysis demonstrates that the risk of BIA-ALCL with Allergan BIOCELL textured implants is approximately six times the risk of BIA-ALCL with textured implants from other manufacturers marketing in the U.S.

The table on the FDA’s website summarizes the cases, along with a breakdown of important information such as breast implant surface texture, patient’s age at diagnosis, time from last implant to diagnosis, and other details to give patients and health care professionals the most complete information possible about the known factors impacting these unique cases and deaths. The FDA is continuing to evaluate these additional case reports and will make this information available on its database of adverse event reports within the next few weeks.

The FDA has taken multiple steps to better understand the safety and risks of breast implants and to help strengthen the evidence generated to help inform its regulatory actions in this area, including sharing updates with the public (as recently as February 2019 and via a public advisory committee meeting in March) and encouraging patients and health care professionals to report adverse events to the agency. This voluntary recall is a direct result of the agency’s comprehensive efforts to improve the quality of data collected and analyzed, and the FDA’s ongoing work to evaluate all available safety information. “We understand that today’s news may be alarming to some patients with breast implants. In the safety communication issued today, we’re providing actionable information for individuals with specific breast implants and their health care professionals. The FDA does not recommend removal for patients without symptoms due to potential risks, but we provide helpful information for patients and providers to consider when discussing next steps,” said Jeff Shuren, M.D., J.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. “Moving forward, we are committed to continuing to share updates with patients about this issue. We will continually evaluate any new information and may, as a result, take action regarding other breast implants, if warranted. In addition, we are continuing our assessment to determine whether the risk of developing BIA-ALCL is limited to specific models of textured, or all textured breast implants. We continue to advise women and health care professionals that the use of breast implants is associated with a risk of developing BIA-ALCL and that the risk is greater with textured implants.”

Textured breast implants overall are less common in the U.S. compared to other countries and specifically, macro-textured implants (the type of textured implant that Allergan manufactures) represent less than 5% of all breast implants sold in the U.S. Although this type of textured breast implant may represent a small proportion of the U.S. market, the continued availability of Allergan BIOCELL textured breast implants pose a public health risk to patients. Today’s action by the FDA is similar to other actions initiated by France, Canada and Australia, where the use of textured implants is much higher, sometimes as high as 80% of their market share. These countries have also initiated or taken actions to prompt the recall or removal of certain textured breast implants (including certain breast implants sold by Allergan) from the market.

In addition to the voluntary recall announced today, the FDA is initiating other actions to ensure that all women who consider breast implants have the information they need to have thoughtful and balanced discussions with their health care professional on the benefits and risks of breast implants based on clear information reflecting the most current understanding of their safety. For example, as previously discussed, the agency is considering recommendations for changes to the labeling of breast implants, which could include a boxed warning and a patient decision checklist to help women consider the benefits and risks of breast implants.

The FDA will continue to focus on gathering available evidence to help inform future regulatory actions and assure that women and health care professionals are informed of the risk of BIA-ALCL as they consider breast implants. To this end, the agency has requested that all breast implant manufacturers provide quarterly trending analyses of adverse events, including BIA-ALCL, and require reporting individual events in the adverse event database for devices and in existing registries. The FDA will continue to analyze all available information regarding risks associated with breast implants, routinely update the BIA-ALCL analysis published on our website and take additional actions when and where necessary.

The FDA is committed to protecting the health of women and providing as much information as possible to ensure they and their health care professionals know the benefits and risks of these devices, and that women have the most complete information available to make these important decisions about their health care.

What is the highest quality breast implant?

There are two main types of breast implant shapes to choose from: Round and Teardrop. Round breast implants are the most common and come in a range of projections, ranging from low to high.

1. Round breast implants are full at the top, making them a popular choice for women looking to correct sagging.

2. Teardrop breast implants are fuller at the bottom than at the top, giving the breasts a natural shape. Women who want a very natural look and feel typically choose teardrop breast implants over round implants. Fullness isn’t lost, it’s simply concentrated at the bottom of the breasts. For women with loose breast skin, the “form stability” of shaped implants actually promotes more upper breast fullness than similar sized round implants which settle to the bottom of the breast skin envelope in standing position.

In our office, you’ll see and feel all available breast implant shapes, brands, and styles. We discuss advantages and disadvantages of each type of implant so you’ll be able to select which is best for you.

Best Brands for Breast Implants

Dr. Steve Laverson uses FDA-approved breast implants for patient safety and optimal results. In the United States, there are four brands of breast implants available for breast augmentation, breast lift with augmentation, and breast augmentation revision. All four brands offer safe, durable, high-quality devices. Similarities between implant brands are greater than their differences.

We’ll Help You Determine Which Brand Will Work Best for You

Don’t worry if you don’t know exactly what type of breast implants you want. That’s what we’re here for. We’ll guide you through the discovery process to determine which breast implants will help you look and feel great in whatever you wear.

Contact Feel Beautiful Plastic Surgery in San Diego today at (858) 295-1592 to book your free consultation.

Dr. Laverson is truly gifted! He knew EXACTLY what I was asking for and he delivered those results flawlessly. I am so happy with my new breasts. He was very attentive and professional. I knew I was in good hands! It was a huge surgery for me and now that I’m in recovery, he still checks on me and is closely monitoring my progress. He is a perfectionist and his work shows for it! 🙂 I would recommend anyone interested in breast augmentation to go talk to Dr. Laverson. You won’t be disappointed!!