Short-term Safety of Augmentation Mammaplasty Using the BellaGel Implants in Korean Women

Jung Youp Sung; Jeong Pil Jeong; Dong Seung Moon; Min Soo Kim; Ho Chan Kim; Woo Sik Choi; Keun Yeong Song; Hye Jin Kim; Hyung Guhn Lim; Jae Hong Kim

doi:10.1097/GOX.0000000000002566

Short-term Safety of Augmentation Mammaplasty Using the BellaGel Implants in Korean Women

Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2019 Dec 24;7(12):e2566. doi: 10.1097/GOX.0000000000002566. eCollection 2019 Dec.

Authors

Jung Youp Sung¹, Jeong Pil Jeong², Dong Seung Moon³, Min Soo Kim⁴, Ho Chan Kim⁵, Woo Sik Choi⁶, Keun Yeong Song⁷, Hye Jin Kim⁴, Hyung Guhn Lim⁸, Jae Hong Kim⁹

Affiliations

¹ BBC Plastic Surgery Clinic, Changwon, South Korea.
² Samsungyubang Breast Clinic, Busan, South Korea.
³ Goeun Lift Cosmetic Surgical Clinic, Busan, South Korea.
⁴ Korean Society of Breast Implant Research, Seoul, South Korea.
⁵ Gangnam Picasso Clinic, Seoul, South Korea.
⁶ Lamar Clinic, Ulsan, South Korea.
⁷ Department of Breast Surgery, Gwangju Suwan Hospital, Gwangju, South Korea.
⁸ Department of Radiology, Gwangju Suwan Hospital, Gwangju, South Korea.
⁹ The W Clinic, Seoul, South Korea.

Abstract

Asian women are stereotypically characterized by a slim body, smaller breasts and areolae, and larger nipples when compared with White women. They would therefore be vulnerable to displacement of a breast implant if they receive larger implants. They are also prone to hypertrophic and prolonged hyperemic scars. Surgeons should therefore be aware of Asian women's breast anatomy, healing tendency, and preferences. We conducted this multicenter, retrospective study to assess the short-term safety of the BellaGel implants in Korean women.

Methods: We evaluated a total of 637 women (n = 637; 1,274 breasts) for incidences of postoperative complications and the cumulative Kaplan-Meier complication-free survival.

Results: Overall, there were 12 cases (1.9%) of postoperative complications; these include 6 cases (0.9%) of hematoma, 2 cases (0.3%) of infection, and 4 cases (0.6%) of seroma. Moreover, there was no significant difference in the cumulative complication-free survival at 120 weeks between the 4 types of the BellaGel implants (χ² = 2.289, P = 0.513).

Conclusion: In conclusion, we describe the short-term safety of augmentation mammaplasty using the BellaGel implants in Korean women. But further prospective, large-scale, multicenter studies with a long period of follow-up are warranted to establish our results.