Plastic surgeons use implants to improve and enhance patients’ contours and to provide a harmonious balance to patients’ features to help them feel better about the way they look. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the different types of implants currently on the market.

Shippert Medical Technologies
Shippert Medical Technologies offers a variety of implants. The silicone nasal (pictured), chin, and malar implants are available in all standard sizes, are sterile, and may be trimmed. Contoured carving blocks for creating custom implants are nonsterile and are offered in clear, opaque, and flesh-tone colors; there are five softness options, including very soft, soft, medium, firm, and very firm.

For nonsurgical closure of septal perforations, Shippert offers a nasal septal button made from sterile, medical-grade silicone. It contains a trimmable two-part button with a central post and two flanged leaves for easy insertion. The nasal-airway splint, also made from medical-grade silicone, provides septal support and an integral airway to allow breathing after an aesthetic procedure. It is easy to insert and remove. The hole in its anterior tip allows easy suturing. The bivalve nasal splint, made from a medical-grade fluoroplastic, features a slit to allow insertion and removal, and prepunched holes for easy suturing. It is available in four sizes.
For additional information, contact Shippert Medical Technologies, 6248 S Troy Circle, Unit A, Centennial, CO 80111; (800) 888-8663; www.shippertmedical.com.


Implantech Associates
The Conform Terino Malar Shell® by Implantech Associates augments the zygoma to create a higher cheekbone arch for a youthful and balanced look. Its patented flexible grid pattern allows the implant to adapt to underlying bone and tissue.
For additional information, contact Implantech Associates Inc, 6025 Nicolle St, Suite B, Ventura, CA 93003; (800) 733-0833; www.implantech.com.

AART
AART Inc offers a complete line of body contouring and facial implants, including our gluteal implants with four styles, each with multiple sizes. All implants are matched to the tissue that they are augmenting or replacing. Our gluteal implants are Ultra-Soft™ allowing for smaller incisions, easier insertion, and less trauma.

AART also offers state-of-the-art educational support, including instructional laboratories and videos. All of AART’s implants are manufactured using implant grade silicone polymers and cutting edge technology. As always, custom implants are available within two weeks.
For additional information, contact AART Inc, 3545 Airway Dr, Suite 106, Reno, NV 89511; (866) 853-6800; www.artinc.net.


Porex Surgical Products
Porex Surgical Products offers an interactive Web site with e-viewCT, which enables a patient’s CT scan data to be converted to a customized virtual 3-D implant design. The program allows the surgeon to transmit the patient’s CT scan data electronically via a secure file-transfer protocol and view it online with a 3-D skull model and implant template using a downloadable prescription form with an individual password-protected Web site address.
For additional information, contact Porex Surgical Products, 15 Dart Rd, Newnan, GA 30265-1017; (800) 521-7321; www.porexsurgical.com.

Mentor Corp
Mentor’s Moderate Plus Profile saline-filled breast implant can be used in both breast-augmentation and breast-reconstruction surgeries. The implant is available in 20 sizes with a wide range of fill volumes.
For additional information, contact Mentor Corp, 201 Mentor Dr, Santa Barbara, CA 93111; (805) 879-6000; www.mentorcorp.com.

Allied Biomedical
Allied Biomedical has added ContourFlex™ gluteal implants to the company’s body-contouring implant line. The implants, available in two shapes, are made from soft, natural-feeling, solid silicone. Their flexibility and softness enable them to be rolled into a smaller size, allowing shorter incisions. The implants’ hand-smoothed edges allow them to fit more naturally—with subfascial and intramuscular placements.
For additional information, contact Allied Biomedical, 6025 Nicolle St, Suite C, Ventura, CA 93003; (800) 276-1322; www.alliedbiomedical.com.

Spectrum Designs Medical
Spectrum Designs Medical offers soft solid silicone implants to reshape and restore patient symmetry and aesthetics. Specialty Implants enhance and reconstruct the shape of the calf, gluteal, and pectoralis muscles. Sizing patterns are available. The company also offers an instructional video of male subpectoral augmentation that features Gregory Mueller, MD, of Beverly Hills, Calif, and a buttock-augmentation instructional video that features Douglas M. Senderoff, MD, FACS, of New York City.
For more information, contact Spectrum Designs Medical, 6387-B Rose Lane, Carpinteria, CA 93013; (800) 239-6399; www.spectrumdesignsmedical.com.

Invotec International
For soft and flexible chin implants, turn to Invotec International. The implants feature tapered edges that provide a natural appearance, and they can be trimmed easily for custom fitting. Their opaque white color eliminates transilumination.
For additional information, contact Invotec International, 6833 Phillips Industrial Blvd, Jacksonville, FL 32256; (800) 998-8580; www.invotec.net.

Ocean Breeze Surgical
Advanta PTFE facial implants by Atrium Medical Corp feature an open-porosity core integrated with a medium-porosity outer layer. Advanta is a soft, less palpable implant with an authentic look and feel. A natural healing response is achievable through the implant’s biointegration and neovascularization.
For additional information, contact Ocean Breeze Surgical, 71 Broadway, Amherst, NH 03031; 888-673-7788.

INAMED
INAMED offers saline implants in a variety of textures that allow plastic surgeons to select the breast implant that precisely matches each patient’s body type and expectations for surgery. The Style 68 Smooth Round Saline Matrix offers three unique projections with the same base diameter and the industry’s lowest 7-year deflation rates. The BIOCELL® Surface Texture Round and Shaped saline implants allow mild tissue adherence for a secure implantation. The company also offers education programs, such as INAMED Academy, which provide surgeons the knowledge they need to deliver the finest surgical results possible.
For additional information, contact INAMED Aesthetics, 5540 Ekwill St, Santa Barbara, CA 93111; (800) 624-4261; www.allerganandinamed.com.