Silicone Gel Implants Or Cohesive Gel Implants – Which Is The Better Choice?

Depending on which website you visit, you will read a variety of pros and cons regarding both cohesive gel implants and traditional silicone gel implants. Which is the better choice for your breast augmentation surgery? That answer to that question lies in your own desires and preferences. Both types of implant offer advantages and disadvantages. It's entirely up to you which you prefer.

Silicone gel implants and saline implants were the only two implants available for American women for many years. That has since changed. There is now a new implant on the scene, it is called the Cohesive Gel Implant. While this new implant has been in use for almost twenty years elsewhere in the world, it has only recently entered the U.S. market and is currently undergoing the FDA's clinical trial. If you were to consider cohesive implants as an option for your breast augmentation surgery, you will need to speak with a licensed, board certified plastic surgeon who is participating in the FDA's clinical trial.

Cohesive Gel Implants bear the nickname Gummy Bear Breast Implants. This is because their texture and feel closely resemble the very popular candy named Gummy Bears.

There are quite a few differences between the traditional silicone gel implant and the new cohesive gel implant. The most notable is their filler: traditional silicone implants use a liquid gel while the new cohesive implant uses a solid mass of gel. A silicone gel implant, when ruptured, will leak silicone into the body – this has been the subject of extreme scrutiny and testing for many, many years. While there is no definitive evidence that suggests silicone gel is harmful to the body, there isn't substantial evidence to claim that it's entirely risk free either. Cohesive gel implants, on the other hand, use a solid mass of silicone gel as their filler. The solid mass does not leak if stabbed or sliced or ruptured in any manner. This is because there is no liquid – it can't leak, even if you try to make it leak.

When a silicone gel implant ruptures, it is virtually impossible to detect without the aid of an MRI. The FDA recommends that any woman with breast implants have a bi-annual MRI performed. Few women consider the added cost of an MRI every two years when they think about purchasing breast implants. Cohesive gel implants are garnering the reputation as being immune to rupture. Of course, this is preliminary and without scientific backing, but early evidence from around the world suggests that these implants are impervious to rupture and leakage.

Perhaps the greatest difference between cohesive gel implants and silicone implants is the simple fact that silicone gel implants are FDA approved for unrestricted use, and cohesive gel implants are not. This makes it difficult for an American woman to freely choose between the two. While a woman can opt to have cohesive implants, it is not easily accomplished. She will need to seek a breast augmentation surgeon who is participating in the FDA's clinical trial. While it is certainly difficult to get accepted into the trial, it is not impossible. And, as a perk to joining, participants are usually reimbursed the cost of the augmentation surgery. Speak directly with an FDA approved surgeon to learn more.