All About Gummies

samiam

That is great news, I am so happy for you.

Ladies - hello!  I have been lurking and have a question about the gummies.  I know that with traditional silicone they say you have to have MRIs to make sure they are not leaking (or something like that).  Do you have to have them with the gummies (since they can be cut in half and stay solid/dont "leak")?  I will ask my PS of course but was wondering if anyone here has any info on that.  I am currently expanding (had a uni MX in December) but will be exchanged to a gummie.

Thanks!

Lilah

LIL!!!!!!

Hi:

No MRI with the gummies

Merrile: The come in far more sizes than the regular gels, i can't locate the web sit with the sizing chart anymore.

Bumping for sweetie....

wow i didn't realise they was a difference between the gummi and a softer cohesive gel implant!

Im still being expanded but me and my PS decided before hand that a tear drop shaped implant would be best for me as i have a bony chest area (my weight seems to be from the waist down) so these would lay more naturally.

I know he said they would be cohesive silicone gel implants and i assumed that thet would be what you gals in the US call gummies! Seems that may not be so!

I live in England and i am HOPING that we use the softer anatomical shaped implant that someone mentioned was being trialed in Europe. I will be sure to ask my PS when we get round to dicussing shapes and sizes,to see if they are softer ones or ones which the US call the 'gummi'.

I also didn't realise that anatomical ones can turn in their pocket?? That's kinda scary! My natural breasts pre-op were inly a 36AA so were very firm with no jiggle anyway so the firmness may not bother me,but if i can get jiggle,i WANT jiggle! lol

Good to get so much info that i can go 'armed' with next time i get a fill~thank you

Hi Sweetie2040,

So it looks like im getting the 'hard' gummi then =( Well it HAS to be softer than these expanders! The firmness of the expanders isn't so much of a problem~i've got used to it a bit.Its just the discomfort of them.If the gummies turn out to be firm but no discomfort then i will settle for that. Im pretty sure my PS said (pre surgery) that we had to decide on the final implant type BEFORE surgery,as it would make a difference as to the type of expander they put in to stretch me. I will double check and i'll try and remember to ask if there's any chance it can move about or displace once its in there.

Yeah i've never had nice big,soft boobs anyway so you can't miss what you've never had,as they say! lol Im just happy i have bigger ones already! These feel like they are pushing up under my armpits now as they are getting bigger.Im very aware that they are there and when i massage the scars,i can feel the ports below very much!

I'll try and write down my question for my PS but if he's running behind schedule,i'll just ask the most important ones for now,as i'll get chance to ask more before exchange.

Kay

Hi Sweetie

not sure when my exchange will be yet but im hoping for septenber.Depends when the fills finish i guess. I'm feeling a little better about the gummies now.Some of the horror stories on here are scary!! I am looking fwd to the day when i can go and feel all the implants and look at what will be making up my new rack! lol also looking fwd to wearing clothes ive never been able to wear before,ie,strapless, low front etc. Will be nice.

Yes i will def let you know if i find anything out this thursday but if my PS is running late i'll leave it til another time. Hopefully my daughter will video this fill again as my app is 4pm and she finishes school at 3.20 so i will rush and pick her up en route!

m-star

interesting, I didn't know they came in three types. Are you sure they are all still gummies? I thought there was only one gummie and the other types are a different silcone. I'll ask my PS when I see him. Keep me posted on how you do.

M-star,

I think here in the US we are limited to the use of cohesive gel implants as they are still under study and not actually fully FDA approved. Right now limited Dr's can use them and can only use the tear drop shape and what I believe to be the harder one. The thing that puzzles me is I think the harder one is the cohesive gel one, and the other's are just a different, possibly improved silicone style. The point of the cohesive is that it is firm so it cannot leak like the old style. It is supposed to be more safe. I guess I will have to research more. I won't be ready for my implants for at least 4-5 months. Don't worry you will feel normal, it will just be a new normal and you may be surprised that you will find yourself quite happy with the outcome after all!

Here's something that might help: the implant that we in America call the "gummy" is, quite specifically, the Allergan 410 cohesive silicone gel implant.  It is, as I understand it, somewhat firmer than the Mentor cohesive gel which is NOT referred to as a "gummy" but also can be cut in half.  I have the "gummy" and believe me when I say that though firm it is NOTHING like a TE.  It is soft.  It is squishy-ish   It sits in the right place on my chest.  It is actually the same basic firmness as my natural remaining breast.  I've always had firm breasts though, so for me it is fine.  One advantage of the gummy is it's tear drop shape (I'm not sure the other types of cohesive gels come teardrop shaped).  Anyway, I am liking it!

Your mileage may vary.

I have been through the entire process of PBM, expanders and then traditional silicone implants.  The bad new is that they look horrible and after going through all that!

I am thin at 5'3" and 104lbs and my implants are a mass of ripples!  My PS says the implants, that have been in for less than a year, need to be changed out to the gummy bear type because of my thin tissue.

Yikes!  I don't even want to get nipples done if I need to have my implants changed.  Where do you even find someone who does the gummy bear implants

Julie

Sweetie -- well I just had surgery a week ago so it's WAY too soon for me to know whether I can sleep on my stomach   That said, I can say: the implant is not tight at all, not loose either; it stays where it is.  I think regular silicone implants (esp the smooth ones) move around more.  It does feel like a part of me!  Ironically, because my other breast is really swollen from the reduction surgery (I'm a uni) it feels more like a part of me than my real breast LOL.  It DOES have a distinct fold but there's not much of a droop (if that's the right word).  Certainly the breast is full/round but there is NOT a big bump at the top... but a natural slope... which is a direct result of the gummy's teardrop shape.  This I like because it nicely matches the natural slope of my remaining breast.  My reduction breast is quite swollen ATM so the jury is still out as to how well they match.  If you want fullness... you might want to consider the Mentor memory gel cohesive gels... which are much softer (I hear) than the gummy (aka the Allergan 410) but which come in a much larger size (as much as 800 cc's whereas the gummy pretty much tops out at around 685 ccs) which will afford you more fullness (depending of course on your size the 685 may be full enough however).  The other thing about the Mentors, as I understand it, is they also can be cut in half and form two halves (like the gummy).  I don't know much about them but it's a thought.

Geysermom -- sorry to hear about the ripples... I think that's an issue for thin women regardless of the implant; and can also be an issue for heavier women as well (but seems to be less of a problem?)  I think it mainly depends on the thickness of your skin.  I have no ripples at all so far... but the gummy seems to not move at all so that may be why.  So far I don't mind that.

Hey all!  I am getting the mentor moderate plus cohesive gel implants and I asked my PS Monday about the difference between them and the "gummies".  The cohesive gel is still cohesive enough to not leak.  If cut in half it does maintain its form and if squeezed it will protrude then suck back in.  They are not so cohesive though that they keep a definate tear drop shape.  The true gummies are still in trial only in certain places with certain docs in America although they have been used in Europe.  My PS personally (and each one is different for sure) prefers the cohesive gels to the gummies.  He thinks they are too firm and alot of women have trouble with that after.  He also thinks the round is preferable to women who have PBM because there is no tissue left to cushion the firmness or the teardrop shape.  If they turn at all it is noticable.  That being said, you can probably find a thousand different opinions on each. The teardrop shape does allow a much more sloping upper area, but for me if I am going to do this....I want to be full when I am done.  I have always been small chested and sloping (is that a word??) and I dont necessarily want pole dancer boobs but would like to fill out the top part of my bras.  So for me the Cohesive gel mentors seems like the right way to go.  I'll post afterward how they turn out!

The 410 (the gummy) definitely seems subtle in it's slope, though for me that is best since I'm matching my remaining breast (I'm a uni).  It also comes textured so it adheres to the skin (though I can't say it FEELS like something is stuck or anything like that... it's just how I understand the difference between smooth and textured)... the adherence helps with the issue of movement.  The implant literally can't move out of place once the skin and the implant have adhered.  Smooth implants do not adhere. 

LOL Kay -- as I understand it (and god knows I'm not an expert so you should really only take your doctor's final word for this) the textured adheres and because it adheres it reduces the chance of capsular contraction.  I think your perception isn't wrong, however.  As this adherence supposedly prevents the formation of scar tissue around the implant or in reaction to the implant, which is what leads to capsular contraction.  The formation of scar tissue is a different thing from skin adhering to implant.  At least that is how I understand it.  Short version: smooth moves... textured tends to stay in place.  With teardrops, where you really DON'T want movement (because they have a specific shape meant to sit in the pocket in a specific position), the tendency is for textured.