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Breast prostheses

Hundreds of thousands of women annually undergo mastectomy surgery. A woman suffers severe physiological and psychological trauma following such surgery. Restoration to a pre-surgery appearance and feel is critical in overcoming both feelings of physical imbalance and the severe emotional shock at the apparent loss of part of their femininity. Restorative options include reconstructive surgery or breast forms. Breast forms are prostheses worn externally to simulate the natural contours and weight of a breast. Generally the forms are symmetrical for use on either side of the body (e.g., tri-corner, teardrop or heart shape) or are asymmetrical for side specific use (e.g., curved teardrop or extended triangle). Breast prostheses are necessary for women who have undergone radical mastectomies. The typical prosthesis is formed of a gelatinous and pliable material within a flexible skin material that resembles a woman's breast. There are several types of breast prostheses currently available. For example, typical types of breast prosthesis forms having triangular shapes, teardrop shapes and asymmetrical shapes. The type of shape that is used is usually determined by the type of surgery that was performed. A breast prosthesis worn after a mastectomy is made of a material simulating the glandular structure in a human female breast. The prosthesis may be characterized as having gelatinous physical behavioral characteristics. The typical breast prosthesis includes a silicone outer shell filled with a silicone based gel. The development and use of such implants generally began with the surgical injection of silicone gel under the skin to fill out wrinkles and to enlarge the breast.

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