Lake
Buena Vista, Fla. (May 13, 2000) — Patients
with textured implants are more than five
times as likely to be bothered by wrinkling
and palpability as those patients with smooth
breast implants, according to a paper presented
at the Annual Meeting of the American Society
for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) in
Lake Buena Vista. Despite these problems,
overall patient satisfaction after breast
augmentation remains extremely high, at
over 95%.

In a study analyzing 154 consecutive patients
undergoing primary breast augmentation by
a single plastic surgeon, V. Leroy Young,
MD, overall satisfaction scores were fairly
similar for the textured and smooth implants,
but those patients who were not completely
satisfied had significant differences: The
textured group rated palpability (22%),
wrinkling (15%), and capsular contracture
or breast firmness (2.2%) as factors. With
smooth implants, altered sensation (7.4%),
palpability (3.7%), wrinkling (2.8%), capsular
contracture (0.9%), and asymmetry (.9%),
were the reasons patients were not perfectly
satisfied. Mean follow-up for textured implants
was 62 weeks and for smooth implants 19
weeks. There were no cases of implant deflation
or infection requiring reoperation in either
group.

While the patient base of this study was
relatively small (154 cases), Dr. Young
says, "It seems to indicate that smooth
implants may be superior to textured implants
for aesthetic appearance with no increased
risk of capsular contracture, infection
or deflation."

Patient satisfaction is primarily based
on the creation of a breast that looks and
feels natural, has normal sensation, and
is free from complications. A recent study,
with a minimum follow-up of ten years, shows
nearly 96 percent of women with saline-filled
breast implants who were surveyed would
make the same choice again. The University
of Minnesota (UM) multi-center retrospective
study, designed in consultation with the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA), included
450 patients (most for augmentation). Ninety-three
percent (93%) reported they were "satisfied"
or "very satisfied" with their
breast implants. Co-authors: C.B. Boswell,
MD, V. Leroy Young, MD of St. Louis, MO.