The more cohesive silicone gel is, the thicker and firmer it becomes. Silicone gel comes in a range of firmness, and the highly cohesive breast implants are believed to be just firm enough to resist forming creases and folds, yet soft enough to feel like a natural breast. Unfortunately, many surgeons are using the term cohesive to describe the “regular” round FDA approved silicone gel implants. To be precise, they are correct; all silicone gel is cohesive to some degree. But the term cohesive has always meant form stability, and when patients ask for cohesive gel, it is because they want an implant that possesses resilience and shape retention.
The form stable highly cohesive gels, “Gummy Bears” that are presently availablein the United States are always shaped devices, they are presently not available in the United States in a round “version”. The intended advantage to a shaped device is that it offers the surgeon more options in selecting an implant that can fit your individual body shape and size, as well as the quality of your breast tissue. Studies of the form stable highly cohesive gel implants have been ongoing in Europe and the United States since 1993. presently remain investigational devices until they are FDA approved in the United States. Patients need to enroll in an FDA approved clinical trial with an approved investigator to qualify for these silicone breast implants.
