HOW TO KNOW WHICH BREAST IMPLANT IS BEST FOR YOUR RECONSTRUCTION: SHAPE, SIZE, SILICONE, SALINE
Did you know you can choose not only what brand of implant you want, but also the actual implant itself?!
You should always consult with your surgical team - as they are your best resource when making medical decisions - but i think that it is so empowering and important for us breasties to know what our options are and to even know that we have options when it comes to our breast implants! Thank you to Mentor for partnering with me on this helpful article!
IMPLANTS ARE LIKE APPLES
When thinking about implant options, I like to think of it kind of like apples… there are so many different types of apples.. red, green, fuji, honeycrisp… and different people have different preferences when it comes to which apples they like best. I personally prefer honeycrisp - and the only reason i know that is because I have tried the other kinds.
Similarly, there are many different types of implants - round, teardrop, gel, saline, smooth, textured - and you deserve to know the different implant options out there so you can decide which one is best for you!
SO LET’S START WITH THE SCIENCE OF BREAST IMPLANTS:
A silicone breast implant is made up of three components:
shell
gel
fill
These three components all contribute to the overall look and feel of the implant.
Mentor’s advanced research and development team has studied these components extensively and has a deep understanding of how they function on their own as well as how they influence each other to create the overall look and feel of an implant.
They have also studied how they “perform” once implanted!
For example, there is amazing benchtop testing that is designed to replicate conditions that would occur once the implants are placed in our bodies - such as lateral and vertical compression testing to give you confidence in your choice of implants! What this means is the testing empowers people like you and me to do things like go snowboarding, go surfing, exercise, and just resume to everyday lift after our surgeries.
After my mastectomy one of the things that really set me back from fully healing emotionally was being afraid of my body. Once I learned that our implants are tested and durable and meant to withstand the impacts of everyday life I felt much more comfortable getting back into my everyday routine and learning how to embrace my new body and feel like me again!
THIS BRINGS ME TO MANUFACTURING!
Each product undergoes a stringent inspection* and rigorous testing to ensure quality and performance. They carefully monitor their implants through clinical studies, registries, and post- market surveillance studies. They are constantly evaluating the materials they use in the implants and make sure that they are updating their manufacturing based on the latest research and feedback!
When it comes to their smooth implants - Mentor uses a robotic technology at their Texas based manufacturing facility. This technology optimizes shell to shell uniformity - meaning their process of making implant shells is really consistent so you get an exceptional shell every single time!
Basically every single thing they do is with us - their patient - in mind!
FDA APPROVAL
Something I love about Mentor is that all of the implants sold in the us are made here in the US and are FDA approved! *There are only three brands of implants that are FDA approved in the United States (Mentor, Sientra, and Allergan)
Always be sure when deciding what brand of implant you are getting, you ask to make sure it is one that is FDA approved!
SILICONE VS SALINE
Mentor has two different types of breast implants: silicone “gel” and saline implants. The silicone implants that are most commonly used are their round gel implants — known as their MENTOR® MemoryGel® Breast Implants. They also have SILTEX Breast Implants which are a microtextured* surface implant and shaped gel implants.
The saline implants they offer are either the MENTOR® Saline Breast Implants or the MENTOR® SPECTRUM® Adjustable Saline Breast Implants.
For the round silicone implants Mentor has two types:
MENTOR® MemoryGel® Xtra Breast Implants
MENTOR® MemoryGel® Breast Implants
The difference between the two is that MENTOR® MemoryGel® Xtra* Breast Implants have increased projection, fullness, and firmness. This is achieved through a precision fill* — more on that later!
I will most likely be choosing these implants for my revision surgery! i love how firm they are but that they also feel really real and squishy!
SO LET’S BREAK DOWN THIS GEL!
The memory gel that Mentor manufactures is a cohesive gel designed to hold together to look and feel like real breast tissue! The innovative shell is designed to feel real while still delivering a sturdy and desired shape - this helps maintain shape and helps limit rippling!*
An interesting fact! Most of us breasties want our implants to feel soft and squishy.*
But - the softer an implant is , the more difficult it is for our surgeons to work with and to give us the shape we want. So finding a happy medium is great for patients and surgeons!
Mentor has done extensive research and according to their team - compared to another brand of implants - their shells are shown to be 35% thinner and 30% stronger!
Why does this matter? The combination of thickness and strength is important when it comes to ensuring the implants feel as real as possible.
MENTOR® MemoryGel® Breast Implants implants are pre-filled with a “gummy” gel which holds together really nicely! This silicone gel acts more like a solid than a liquid, which helps keep the shape and helps create a more natural look and feel.* Like I said before - this really helps a lot when it comes to desired shape and leads to less rippling.*
LET’S TALK ABOUT HOW THESE IMPLANTS FEEL
Mentor focuses on dynamic fill ratios to deliver varying degrees of firmness and projection.
breastie hot tip: not all surgeons will offer you the option to actually feel the implants or even make the decision of which implant you are going to get - some choose for you. if you want to feel the implant ahead of time and help make the decision of how firm you want them - make sure to ask your surgeon versus wait for them to offer this to you. if a surgeon doesn't give you this option and it is important to you, perhaps try to get a second opinion.
PROFILE
SO when thinking of implants, it is helpful to think about them based on their dimensions:
BASE WIDTH : THIS IS DETERMINED BY YOUR BODY TYPE AND BUILD
PROJECTION : HOW FAR THE IMPLANT EXTENDS OUT FROM YOUR CHEST
VOLUME : MEASURED BY THE CC’S AKA CUBIC CENTIMETERS
The relationship between projection and base width is best known as our implant profile!
Your surgeon will determine the base width for your implant based on your body and the flexibility in options or varying dimensions of projection and volume that determine which implant will best suit your desired aesthetic outcome!
MENTOR® MemoryGel® Breast Implants has four profiles — each that have the same benefit.
MENTOR® MemoryGel® Xtra Breast Implant has three profiles so a total of 7 profiles across 2 implant types.
The profiles of the implants differ is based off of their dimensions - height, width and projection - so MENTOR® MemoryGel® Xtra High Profile Breast Implants has more projection than MENTOR® MemoryGel® Xtra Mod+ Breast Implants but that is because it has more projection per smaller base width - not because it is a different type of implant.
Essentially, the profile allows you to find the size implant that will help you get the aesthetic outcome you are hoping for.
The factors that influence which profile of implant you are going to get are based on the volume of tissue removed during your mastectomy, and or your tumor location, the incision location, your personal body dimensions, and your desired aesthetic outcome.
It’s not as simple as …. “choose this if that..” which is why our surgeons often order a few different implant ranges and options and make the official final decision during surgery!
FUN FACT: Many surgeons actually sit you up during surgery to test out the implants and to see which size looks best. I know it’s kinda freaky to think about… but if you think about it, you can’t exactly tell what the implants will look like or how they will sit on your chest if you are laying down!! so it makes sense - even if its kinda freaky to think about!
Another major factor is the thickness of the skin flaps remaining after a mastectomy or reconstruction surgery! There are times that MENTOR® MemoryGel® Xtra Breast Implant is better for you because it is firmer and can better resist rippling and maintain a better projection under a thinner prepec flap! This is usually more important if your surgery is being done under the muscle (utm) and is less important if you are having over the muscle (otm)!
SO LET’S ACTUALLY COMPARE THE MENTOR® MemoryShape® Breast Implants VS MENTOR® MemoryGel® Breast Implants
MENTOR® MemoryGel® Breast Implants are prefilled with cohesive gummy gel and they are round smooth implants.
The MENTOR® MemoryShape® Breast Implants are contoured “tear drop” shape implants which provide more projection n the lower portion of the breast or lower breast pole and a more natural contour shape.
These are made with a SILTEX(R) microtexture - which is Mentor’s very own texturing process that is created through imprints.
You can watch my implant brand comparison video to learn more about micro- vs macro texturing and the imprinting process.
I personally stay away from textured implants all together and stick with round implants which is why I am probably going pick the MENTOR® MemoryGel® Xtra Breast Implants for my upcoming revision surgery!
I KNOW THIS WAS A LOT OF INFORMATION, SO IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO DROP THEM BELOW!
THANKS AGAIN TO MENTOR FOR HELPING ME CREATE THIS VIDEO - I HOPE THIS WAS HELPFUL FOR YOU AND EMPOWERS YOU TO FEEL CONFIDENT WHEN MAKING THESE MAJOR DECISIONS!!