Gone are the days when it was possible to easily discern whether or not a woman has had a breast augmentation. Advances in technology have led to better, more natural looking results. Today, medical experts continue to advance this procedure and new trends in breast augmentation are emerging all the time. Let’s have a look at some of the latest advances.
The No-Touch Technique with the Keller Funnel™
The Keller Funnel™ is a single-use medical device that is designed to make the insertion of cohesive gel silicone breast implants easier. The funnel has an internal coating that becomes very slippery when wet. It can be used for textured or smooth implant surfaces.
The implant is passed from the sterile container it comes in, directly into the Keller Funnel™, and then slides through it into the space created inside the breast. In this way, the implant never touches the surgeon’s gloved hands, nor the skin of the patient’s breast. This is known as the “No Touch Technique”.
The Keller Funnel is believed to reduce the risk of capsular contracture (hardening), one of the most problematic complications of breast augmentation (although the risk of capsular contracture is already extremely low for our patients—only 1%, which is exponentially lower than the current average of 10%-25%!).
Fat Transfer Breast Augmentation
One of the latest trends in breast augmentation does not use implants at all, but rather uses a woman’s own body fat to increase the size of her breasts.
Using liposuction, the surgeon will take fat from another part of her body and inject it into her breasts. This is appealing to many women as it does not leave the same kind of scars that implants do and since it uses the woman’s own tissue, her breasts will also feel more natural. Another advantage will be that if she gains weight, she will gain in her chest size as well.
This type of breast augmentation surgery is more expensive than traditionally implants and it is not possible to achieve the same size gains as it is with implants making it more suitable for women who only wish to have a very mild increase.
It should also be noted that the woman’s body will metabolize approximately 50% of the fat within six months after surgery, however the 50% that remains should stay in her breasts permanently.
Other innovations
As the cosmetic surgery industry is constantly evolving, there will continue to be more developments and new trends in breast augmentation. In the future we may expect to see implants that are made specifically for the right and left side of the body and developers are also working on saline implants that have multiple small sacks clustered together instead of one large sack.
Whether these developing innovations come to be widely used in the industry remains to be seen however if one thing is certain, it is that technology will continue to improve making breast augmentation more accessible for more women.
If you are considering breast augmentation surgery, it is strongly recommended that you only work with a highly skilled surgeon who keeps up to date with the latest technologies and can advise you on the best course of action for your particular circumstances. Dr. Jerome Edelstein of Edelstein Cosmetic in Toronto is one such surgeon who has helped many patients achieve their desired results. Contact him today for a consultation.
