The Centre, P.C. - Plastic Surgery Blog

Breast Implant Surfaces: Smooth, Textured, and "Furry"? - Thursday, March 13, 2008

The Australian equivalent of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), known as the Therapeutic Goods Administration, has approved a new variety of breast implant. They're being called "super-furry Brazilians" by Australian cosmetic surgeons because they look and feel furry. The implants are coated in a layer of polyurethane foam, and have been in use in Brazil since the 1960s and in Europe for many years. The implants have been shown to significantly reduce the risk of capsular contracture, which affects as many as 25 % of women who have breast augmentation surgery, according to manufacturer statistics. In capsular contracture, the pocket of scar tissue, or capsule, surrounding the breast implant suddenly shrinks, squeezing the implant and making the breasts rock-hard and very painful. The foam reduces the risk of contracture by realigning the collagen of the capsule from an end-to-end arrangement to a circular pattern, making it more difficult for the fibers to slide over one another and begin contraction.

It is unknown when, or if, the new implants will be approved for use in the United States, but, in the meantime, there are many ways to reduce your risk of capsular contracture, which you can discuss during your initial consultation.