A recent poll conducted by ImplantInfo.com revealed that more than half of the nearly 800 women questioned were willing to wait for the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve "gummy bear" implants.

Gummy bear breast implants, also known as cohesive gel, highly cohesive gel or form-stable gel silicone breast implants, are already approved for use in Europe and Canada. However, they are not yet approved for general use in the United States. The website reports that manufacturers are running clinical trials to prove the safety and efficacy of the implants and the data is promising.

"[These implants] are longer-lasting and maintain a more attractive and predictable shape," one plastic surgeon in the clinical trial explained in a press release. "The gel they're made of is less liquid-like and more solid-like than even today's other cohesive silicone gel implants."

Other benefits associated with this type of implant include their ability to resist gravity, more infrequent hardening of scar tissue and the fact that they're unlikely to leak. On the negative side, the cost associated with them is higher, they require larger incisions and they may have a firmer texture than other types of implants.

The current FDA approved silicone implants have also come a long way, the plastic surgeon explains, “Today’s silicone gel breast implants are far more cohesive, less likely to leak and less likely to spread than the more ‘liquid’ implants of the ‘70s and ‘80s – the type of silicone that gave breast implants a bad name.”

According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), although the so-called gummy bear implants are not FDA-approved, there are other types of cohesive gel implants that are widely available for use.
Those who want to undergo breast augmentation surgery should consult with a licensed, board-certified plastic surgeon to discuss their options and determine what type of implant will help them achieve their desired outcome. Statistics from ASAPS show that breast augmentation surgery is the second most popular procedure in 2011