What are the advantages of polyurethane implants?

Why did we use polyurethane foam-covered breast implants?

Polyurethane foam-covered breast implants offered two theoretical advantages:

  • seemed to reduce the rate of capsular contracture or hulling
  • they seemed to avoid the risk of anatomical breast implant rotation

Why?

The human body reacts to a foreign body with phagocytosis, i.e. it eats it, eliminates it or, if the foreign body is too large, forms a tissue capsule around it.

In the case of breast augmentation with implants, this encapsulation followed by capsular contracture can lead to fibrosis. According to Baker's classification, there are 4 categories: Baker I, II, III and IV.

In the case of category III or IV contractures, it is essential to remove the contracted capsule and replace the implant.

This is exactly the problem we want to avoid. The implant must retain its shape, elasticity and flexibility.

To avoid this fibrosis, polyurethane foam had its advantages. The tissue around the implant could actively penetrate the micro-ventilated foam, thus interrupting the linear structure of the collagen fibers. It's not the implant itself but the foam structures that are encysted, so that contracture of the soft-tissue fibers doesn't lead to hardening and deformation of the implant.

Depending on the study, polyurethane breast implants showed capsular contracture rates of 0 to 3%, compared with rates ranging from 3 to 50% for other surfaces.

2 laboratories supplied this type of prosthesis: Silimed in Brazil and Polytech Health in Germany.

From 2010 to 2018, we worked almost exclusively with the Polytech Health laboratory.

However, a proven excess risk of large-cell anaplastic lymphoma with textured implants has prompted us since 2018 to use only round, smooth implants.

Have a question? Please contact us.

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The firm

Docteur Yaël Berdah and Docteur Marc-David Benjoar
Plastic surgeons in Paris France

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