Joshua H. Levine is the president and CEO of Mentor Corp, Santa Barbara, Calif. Levine began his career with Mentor in 1996 as vice president of sales of aesthetic products and has advanced through positions of increasing responsibility in the aesthetic business franchise, including vice president of sales and marketing of domestic products and vice president of sales and marketing of global products. In 2002, Levine was named senior vice president of global sales and marketing and an executive officer of the company. In 2003, he was promoted to his current position. Levine has more than 22 years’ experience in the health care industry and holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Arizona, Tucson.

Please describe the unique features of the Memory Gel™ breast implant.

All implants are made in the United States and adhere to strict manufacturing standards. They have gone through rigorous, multilevel testing and feature a compliant shell for ease of placement and a multilayered shell that minimizes silicone gel bleed. The implants are available with a lifetime replacement policy.

How is the silicone gel used in the Memory Gel implant different from other gel formulations?

Mentor’s proprietary silicone gel holds together uniformly, while retaining the natural “feel” that resembles breast tissue.

Describe the Memory Gel implants available in the United States.

Memory Gel implants contain a proprietary cohesive polymer, not a liquid or semiliquid. Mentor’s FDA-approved round MemoryGel implants are offered in three profiles, featuring smooth or Slitex textured shells for optimizing aesthetic outcomes. The Moderate Profile features a wide base and a low profile. The Moderate Plus Profile features an aggressive fill, a moderate base, and a higher profile. The High Profile features a narrower base and a high projection.

Successful procedures strike a unique balance between selecting an implant most appropriate to body type and addressing patient expectations. By offering diversity in size, profile, and texture, Mentor provides to surgeons more options to achieve the best fit and optimize aesthetic outcomes.

Please describe Mentor’s program for monitoring the safety of silicone gel implants per FDA requirements.

A condition of Mentor’s approval was the undertaking of a postapproval study. The MemoryGel postapproval study will include approximately 43,000 women and will evaluate their health over 10 years through annual questionnaires and three physician visits. Mentor will spend the next 90 days working with physicians to prepare them for participation in the study. As part of its long-standing commitment to science and to provide ongoing further postapproval data on these products, we are asking all of our physicians to participate in this study. We are very excited to be able to offer options to women considering breast reconstruction or augmentation. We encourage women to research and discuss with their physicians all of the options available to make an informed decision. We encourage readers to visit www.memorygel.com.