Future directions in breast implant surgery

Breast implant surgery will remain a major component of the practice of plastic surgery. The future may hold promise for the introduction of new implants for the augmentation of the breast and for reconstruction. The constant demand and pressure placed on the manufacturers to keep developing new fillers are proof that satisfaction with saline implants is lacking. Today, however, the saline implant may be believed to be the safest breast implant available for clinical application. The demand necessitates that implants be used for enhancement of a woman's self image and for reconstruction. The smooth-surface implants are considered more popular and safer for patients, perhaps because it has been well documented that the shell may have been the cause of the problem. However, the constancy in holding on using and reapplying the same principles of a faulty shell may not be as scientific an endeavor as we have done in the past, and to keep placing different fillers in the faulty shell. Perhaps the lamination process used in manufacturing, the air in the shell, or wear and tear produces mechanical weakening of the shell that eventually will lead to loss of integrity of the silicone-shell breast implant. The global community is looking to plastic surgeons for a solution. The applications and the demand for breast implants are global in nature. Meanwhile, as clinicians are waiting for a new implantable breast device, they will continue to use what is available and advise patients that the implantation of a breast prosthesis is not a life-long endeavor. There is a need, however, for the implants to be maintained by the process of exchange every 8 to 10 years. Breast reaugmentation is to be performed as a standard because plastic surgeons will be waiting for further clarifications from the regulators or the scientific community. The goal is to produce a good outcome and maintain safety for the patients with a high standard of care.