On January 3rd 2017 the FDA approved the Natrelle Inspira SoftTouch Silicone Breast Implant, adding to Allergan’s portfolio of breast implants. There are now three different Inspira breast implants available, each with different advantages and disadvantages.
The SoftTouch is another of the 5th Generation Silicone breast implants, often described as the “Gummy” breast implants. It falls in thickness in between the regular Inspira implant and the much thicker, Inspira Cohesive implant. It is softer, but not too soft. Like the Goldilocks story, this one in the middle feels “just right.”
The SoftTouch is a very nice breast implant. It certainly lives up to it’s name and is soft to the touch, however it also has a very nice level of cohesiveness to it and has a nice shape recoil when it is pressed on. Unlike 4th generation breast implants that give very little shape to the breast itself and rather take the shape of the preexisting breast, these newer 5th generation implants give better upper pole fullness and actively produce a rounder, fuller breast. There is less rippling with these implants and overall they are a nice improvement from even last year’s available options. Allergan’s Inspira Cohesive is an implant most designed for breast reconstruction and while it does an extremely good job in minimizing rippling it is also a little more firm to the touch, just like the Allergan 410 shaped implant. The SoftTouch is a great mixture of feel and cohesiveness.
I have had the opportunity to implant this SoftTouch into a several patients already. In fact, my Allergan representative tells me I was the first plastic surgeon in New Jersey to implant the Allergan SoftTouch breast implant since it was released and perhaps the first to use it in the country. I have embraced this implant as I find it to be a really nice improvement on what was previously available.
It is very important that patients asks their surgeon what type of silicone implant will be used for their particular surgery. There are advantages and disadvantages to all of the available implants on the market. 2017 is very different from 2016 as to what is available. Some surgeons only use one implant type or manufacturer and I believe that this is a big mistake. Mentor, Allergan, and Sientra all make great devices but they are not the same and one needs to know what they are getting. All available silicone breast implants in 2017 are gel implants but not all silicone gel implants are 5th generation nor are they all Gummy. Last year’s implants are simply no longer state of the art. Why don’t all surgeons use the newer implants? I can’t speak for why different docs do different things as I do not know their decision making process however I am sure it comes down to what they are used to using, what they are comfortable using, and in some cases cost. 4th generation implants cost less than the newer implants and I’m sure this is part of the equation.
Allergan has been churning out great new products. It is an exciting time and hopefully they will keep up the tremendous work! Not only do we have this new breast implant, but we also now have a new facial injectable filler called Vollure! I’ll describe this new injectable which I also recently started using in an upcoming post!
Thanks for reading, and remember before having any procedure, do your homework!