Plastic surgeons and medical scientists realized years ago that in a select group of patients, breast tissue and anatomy became too weak over time to properly hold breasts and breast implants up on the chest. When doing a breast lift or breast augmentation, some patients just don’t have the elasticity and strength they used to have. This causes complications, mostly cosmetic, that can leave a lot of post-pregnancy moms upset about the appearance of their breasts and the limited options to fix it. Fortunately, science has caught up.
Scaffolds, hammocks, internal bra… these are the descriptions patients hear about new technologies that give a lift to breasts underneath the skin. One such device, Seri Scaffolding Strips, provides an internal bra with the use of a strip of woven silk. Dr. Shaun Parson of Scottsdale, Arizona describes the success he’s had using Seri to securely lift patient’s breasts.
By Shaun Parson, MD
and Adam McMillon
ThePlasticSurgeryChannel.com
Over the course of a few decades and pregnancies, a woman’s breast tissue can lose serious amounts of strength and elasticity, factors that are required to hold up breasts. When a breast augmentation with implants is performed, those implants need something strong to hold them up, otherwise they will not look as aesthetically pleasing as they should. In the same way, when a patient undergoes a breast lift, there needs to be enough strong tissue there to maintain the lift.
When a patient doesn’t have the strength in their tissue, then these new devices may be a great option. “One of the key things that’s happened in the past decade, and has even accelerated over the last year, is that we now have hammocks or slings to mold, hold and support the breasts,” says Parson.
Seri Scaffolding Strips
Many products have been developed to add strength to the breast tissue. Some are made from cadaver skin and some from artificial skin. These technologies stay inside the body and become part of it, something quite different from Seri. “One of the most amazing advancements is a replacement material called Seri. It’s a bioengineered, biodegradable material. It’s most unique because it’s not artificial skin, it’s just silk! It looks like a silk screen.
“One of the fundamental uses of Seri is to take a mom who, prior to kids, maybe had a breast augmentation and now, post kids, time and gravity have caught up. They’re not perky; they’re not where they used to be. Seri can act as an internal bra to lift their breast back up, or lift the breast implants back up. ”
Artificial material that goes away quickly
While a mesh of silk doesn’t sound like it would do well adapting to the inside of your body, Seri actually dissolves over a period of 1-2 years, and the body creates its own tissue to replace it during that time! “The most amazing thing is that you can take an artificial material, put it in, give the body support, and then it just goes away,” says Parson. “The body comes in and replaces it with its own tissue over the course of two years. It’s reduced our need for drains and has the same strength and support as other options. It’s an incredible advance that has made our job as surgeons that much easier.”