Transitioning from Textured Implants in the BIA-ALCL Era

M. Bradley Calobrace, MD

August 24, 2020

On this The Aesthetic Society Round Table, board certified plastic surgeons and breast augmentation experts Dr. Brad Calobrace of Louisville, Kentucky, Dr. Pat McGuire of St. Louis, Missouri, Dr. Louis Strock of Fort Worth, and Dr. Steven Sigalove of Scottsdale, Arizona discuss how they transitioned from using textured implants in the BIA-ALCL era.

BIA-ALCL, or Breast-Implant Associated Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma, is an extremely rare cancer that occurs in patients with breast implants. To date, all cases of BIA-ALCL have occurred in patients who had textured implants, a specific type of implant whose surface is textured rather than smooth. Clearly, there is something about the textured surface of these implants that can generate BIA-ALCL, and thus surgeons who once utilized them are transitioning to non-textured devices.

For many breast surgeons this is rather unfortunate, as textured implants for a long time provided a better technology that allowed for specialized results. Many breast cases involving deformations benefited mightily from a textured implant, as did reconstruction cases following mastectomy. Due to this success, surgeons began to use them routinely, and now have to transition away as the risk of BIA-ALCL to their patients, although low, is still too much. Plastic surgeons are, after all, physicians; patient safety is always paramount.

Hear more from former textured implant specialists and how they’ve successfully transitioned to better, safer options on the latest The Aesthetic Society Round Table.