Polyurethane breast implants have been much talked about for a relatively short time. However, many doubts and questions have arisen about them: are they better than silicone implants, do they have advantages, are they really a novelty?
It should be noted that polyurethane implants are cohesive silicone gel implants with a kind of smooth silicone shell, to which a spongy micro-polyurethane shell is attached.
Are polyurethane breast implants a novelty?
The first polyurethane-coated implants appeared in the mid-1960s in the United States, although they were discontinued in the 1990s due to a series of licensing problems.
The main novelty of these implants is the advanced technology in the union of the micropolyurethane foam part with the smooth silicone part together with the silicone filling, offering great safety. This type of implants is available in all types, including round and anatomical.
How does micropolyurethane work?
If the body’s reaction to implants with silicone shell is the formation of a membrane of a tissue of fibers around the implant (mainly collagen), the response in the case of polyurethane is the invasion of the shell by the polyurethane fibers, integrating and forming an integrated capsule inside the shell.
In fact, recent research indicates that these implants have an incidence of capsular contracture formation at least 15% less than textured implants eight years after placement. However, and despite talking about a significant percentage, nowadays the rate of capsular contracture is very low.
The passage of time causes the polyurethane coating to degrade and disappear little by little, although under the polyurethane foam there is a coating that remains stable and prevents the implant from becoming free.
Small amounts of degraded polyurethane may appear in the urine, and if this happens it will mean that the degradation is taking place slowly and steadily without any health risk.
What are the advantages of polyurethane implants?
Compared to other traditional implants, polyurethane implants offer the patient the following advantages:
- Lower rate of capsular contracture occurrence both in the medium and long term.
- Decreased incidence of displacements and rotations in the case of anatomical implants.
- Less periprosthetic seroma formation.
- Less visible crease formation.
What are the disadvantages of polyurethane implants?
- They require larger incisions for their placement, since due to their poor adherence, the tissues slide when they are placed.
- The surgeon must have extensive experience to place them.
- Their price is higher, given the difficulty to manufacture them.
- If it is necessary to reposition them days after the treatment it is complicated to do it, and if there is capsular contracture it would be complicated to be able to perform the capsulectomy.
- In very thin patients, the edges of the implants may be visible in the skin.
In summary, this is a type of implant that has a series of specific indications and cannot be applied in all cases, although in principle it would be the implant of choice in the case of resolving capsular contractures, recurrent seromas and patients with tissue laxity.
For more information about this type of breast implants, consult with a specialist in Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery.