If you are dissatisfied with your body image because of smaller or deflated breasts, you are not alone. Breast augmentation is the number one plastic surgical procedure performed in the United States that not only improves your silhouette but also boosts your self-esteem. Many women come to Dr. Wendel to gain a proportional figure or restore the breast volume they once had with the help of breast implants. Dr. Wendel is pleased to offer the most advanced types of implants available. “Gummy Bear” implants maintain the shape of a breast, feel soft and look more natural than other round, circular implants on the market. They are less likely than their counterparts to ripple, which may result in less buildup of scar tissue.
During your first consultation for breast augmentation surgery, Dr. Wendel will discuss the best options for your breast augmentation. He will discuss incision location for the surgery, such as making an incision under the armpit, under the crease of the breast, or around the nipple. Following your decision on an incision, Dr. Wendel will help you better understand your choices on what type of breast implant (silicone or saline) best benefits you.
Dr. Wendel offers several options for breast implants and he will help you choose the best type of implants for your body shape, budget, and aesthetic goals.
Mentor Breast Implants
Dr. Wendel is trained and certified in the use of Mentor’s MemoryShape® breast implants, manufactured in the United States.
Most recently, in June 2013 the FDA approved a new anatomically shaped gel breast implant called the Mentor MemoryShape implant. This makes it the third shaped silicone breast implant to gain FDA approval. Mentor MemoryShape breast implants may be used in primary breast augmentation in women at least 22 years old or in breast reconstruction and breast revisions. MemoryShape implants are manufactured by Mentor Corporation. Dr. Wendel is trained and certified in the use of Memoryshape implants. The medium height/moderate projection implant is the one style available in the United States at the present time.
Natrelle Breast Implants
Natrelle INSPIRA® Round Gel Breast Implants are FDA-approved and designed for minimal to maximum fullness, depending on your breast shape, body structure, and aesthetic goals. The Natrelle INSPIRA collection is the only one of its kind, featuring three types of gel implants: Responsive (gummy), SoftTouch (gummier), and Cohesive (gummiest). All INSPIRA gel implants are soft to the touch with varying levels of squishiness or cohesion.
In certain indications, Dr. Wendel also uses the Natrelle Style 410 anatomical breast implants.
Sientra Breast Implants
Sientra® introduced the new textured, anatomically shaped “Gummy Bear” breast implants, and Dr. Wendel was the first plastic surgeon in the state of Tennessee to use this specific type of breast implant.
The FDA approved the Sientra flagship portfolio of silicone breast implants March 9, 2012. This makes Sientra the first U.S. company to offer a full portfolio of FDA-cleared breast implants, including shaped and round implants with a broad selection of sizes, profiles, projections and implant surfaces. These implants are only available to Board-Eligible or Board-Certified Plastic Surgeons.*
If you want a pair of Gummy Bear Breast Implants that maintain the shape of a breast, feel soft and look more natural than other round, circular implants on the market, and are less likely than there counterparts to ripple and may result in less buildup of scar tissue, Dr. Wendel is pleased to offer the most advanced type of implants on the market. A company called Sientra makes these new implants. Sientra introduced the new textured, anatomically shaped implants, which are known by some laymen as “Gummy Bear” implants. They are also called tear drop breast implants.
The cost of these breast implants is slightly higher than traditional smooth round implants, but in the right patient give amazing results, looking like natural breast augmentation.
Learn more about Sientra high strength implants or Gummy Bear Breast Implants.
Before surgery, Dr. Wendel will discuss your incision options, such as below breast, along the edge of nipple or under your armpit. He will also discuss with you the type of implant, such as one that is filled with silicone or saline, anatomical or round implants.
The most popular incision for the “gummy bear” breast implant is made through an incision at the bottom of the breast, also known as an inframammary incision. Dr. Wendel will then place the implant under the breast or muscle. Dr. Wendel uses the Keller Funnel to gently place the implants.
Once the incision location and breast implant type are chosen, Dr. Wendel will perform the surgery using anesthesia in a fully accredited surgical facility. The surgery is expected to take one to two hours to complete. Once the implants are placed, the incisions are closed. Your breasts will be wrapped with gauze, and other bandages. You will also be asked to wear a support bra. Following the surgery, your breasts will appear fuller with an increased volume and a shapelier contour. Dr. Wendel will go over breast augmentation recovery instructions in order to minimize any discomfort.
*Dr. Wendel is a board-certified Plastic Surgeon, certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery. He has access to and uses implants and breast tissue expanders from these U.S. companies: Allergan, Ideal Implant, Mentor Corporation, and Sientra.
Dr. Wendel also performs male-to-female breast augmentation surgery using silicone gel or saline implants. This is a great option for patients who have developed breasts through hormone replacement therapy but would like them to be larger.
If you are a breast augmentation candidate interested in a faster recovery time, safer outcomes and shorter incision lengths, Dr. Wendel is proud to share that he uses a new, state of the art tool that can offer these benefits. The tool is called the Keller Funnel™2 and is a pouch-shaped nylon bag used to replace the rough and imprecise finger-push method used by so many doctors when inserting breast implants into your breasts.
The Keller Funnel™2 reduces the forces applied to the implant shell during breast augmentation which can prolong the life of your breast implants. Also, because this is a no skin contact, no touch technique there is decreased likelihood that skin contamination could cause an implant infection.
Dr. Wendel is a certified user of the Keller Funnel™2 because of the numerous advantages it can offer his patients, such as a shorter scar, less possibility of infection and a smaller risk for rupturing implants or implant damage.