Body-contouring surgery has become more and more popular, and more publicized as well. We spoke with Ed Leicht, general manager of Allied Biomedical in Ventura, Calif, about the use of body-contouring implants as one of the choices available to the surgeon.
Leicht has more than 20 years of experience in the design, manufacturing, and marketing of a variety of medical devices for neurosurgery, cardiac surgery, and general surgery. He has been focused exclusively on the design of silicone implants for more than 12 years, working with the thought leaders in aesthetic and reconstructive surgery to bring new devices to market.
What are Allied Biomedical’s core markets?
Body-contouring implants and scar-management products.
What are body-contouring implants?
The implants shape portions of a body in a manner similar to breast implants. Unlike breast implants, though, body-contouring implants are 100% soft, solid, silicone elastomer—not silicone shells filled with saline or silicone gel.
The most common body-contouring implants are used for gluteal, pectoral, and calf augmentation, although you can find implants used for biceps and triceps augmentation as well.
Why have gluteal, pectoral, and calf implants become popular?
Jennifer Lopez and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Is that your final answer?
Yes! Seriously, Jennifer Lopez has helped establish the notion that a more curvaceous body for women is the most desirable. A gluteal implant can provide the fullness and projection to help the surgeon create this look for his patients.
As for men, Arnold Schwarzenegger brought new awareness to fitness, and now the “bodybuilder look” is now in the mainstream as an ideal image for men. An increasing number of men are considering augmentation of the pectoral and calf regions to help obtain this image for themselves. In plain language, implants are not just for breasts anymore.
Men and women are working out more and taking all the right nutritional steps, but they may not have the genetic makeup to obtain the body contour they desire. Body-contouring implants offer men a way to have more muscular-looking bodies, and offer women a more curvaceous appearance.
As these types of surgeries increase, we are also seeing the need for an increased range of scar-management products.
Are you saying that body-contouring procedures increase the number of scars or types of scarring?
No, not at all. The point I was trying to make is that, as patients become increasingly aware of their desired physical shape, they may decide that surgery is a good way to attain that shape.
Our scar-management product line, Cimeosil™, is offered through the same surgeons that perform the augmentation procedures, and patients can learn about the effectiveness of this product for managing old and new scars. Accordingly, we offer Cimeosil products in shapes and sizes more appropriate to these types of procedures.
Scar management has grown in the retail market. How does Cimeosil differ from off-the-shelf brands?
Cimeosil has been on the market for well over 10 years, and it receives constant and consistent referrals from all surgical fields. Unlike most products on the drugstore shelf, Cimeosil is 100% medical-grade silicone. It causes no allergic reactions because it contains no additives, and it produces no odor whatsoever. Cimeosil has been shown effective in published, peer-reviewed clinical studies on scar reduction.
In my opinion, products that are recommended and approved by physicians and surgeons speak for themselves, as do the results that patients see on their own scarring. PSP
