On a recent tour of Mentor Breast Implant manufacturing plant I learned that not all brands of breast implants are the same. At this breast implant industrialized facility they make both saline and silicone breast implants for breast augmentation as well as breast reconstruction. As touring the plant with other plastic surgeons from Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego we were shown the typical way that most breast implant companies make breast implants. In fact, they even had me make one of my own! In this process, the breast mold which is stuck onto a stick is dipped into liquid silicone and then brought out and twisted in order for the excess silicone to drip off the surface of the mold. It was just like making candy apple! Although this is the common way that US breast implant companies such as Mentor and Allergan (Inamed, McGhan) make their breast implant, the Mentor factory in Texas has now introduced an innovative way of making breast implants.
Instead of having the breast molds dipped into silicone, a robotics arm sprays silicone evenly over the entire surface of the breast mold. This gives the implant a more even and consistent thicknesses which can help reduce the rate of implant deflation. Silicone and saline implant shells are now both made in this way by Mentor (Johnson & Johnson) Corp., which is the only manufacturer who makes all its breast implants exclusively in the United States.
Mentor has also introduced more advanced ways of making “Textured” breast implants. Textured breast implants have a rough surface which reduces the rate of capsular contracture, or the hardening of breast implants. Unlike other manufactures, Mentor breast implant Corp. adds a layer of textured silicone sheet to the existing smooth breast implant in order to convert it to a textured breast implant. Other manufactures generally use an imprinting technique which can thin-out the breast implant in certain spots, therefore raising the risk of breast implant deflation or rupture.
As a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon that specializes in breast augmentation, augmentopexy, and revision breast implant surgery, my goal is to offer my patients the best breast implants that are FDA approved and available in the US. My tour of the Mentor breast implant manufacturing plant in Texas definitely exposed me to the fact that not all brands of breast implants are of the same quality.
