Advances in surface modifications of the silicone breast implant and impact on its biocompatibility and biointegration

Fatemeh Tavakoli Foroushani; Kevin Dzobo; Nonhlanhla P Khumalo; Vanessa Zamora Mora; Roberto de Mezerville; Ardeshir Bayat

doi:10.1186/s40824-022-00314-1

Advances in surface modifications of the silicone breast implant and impact on its biocompatibility and biointegration

Biomater Res. 2022 Dec 14;26(1):80. doi: 10.1186/s40824-022-00314-1.

Authors

Fatemeh Tavakoli Foroushani¹, Kevin Dzobo¹, Nonhlanhla P Khumalo¹, Vanessa Zamora Mora², Roberto de Mezerville², Ardeshir Bayat³

Affiliations

¹ Wound and Keloid Scarring Research Unit, Hair and Skin Research Laboratory, Division of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, The South African Medical Research Council, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
² Establishment Labs Holdings, Alajuela, Costa Rica.
³ Wound and Keloid Scarring Research Unit, Hair and Skin Research Laboratory, Division of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, The South African Medical Research Council, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. ardeshir.bayat@uct.ac.za.

Abstract

Silicone breast implants are commonly used for cosmetic and oncologic surgical indications owing to their inertness and being nontoxic. However, complications including capsular contracture and anaplastic large cell lymphoma have been associated with certain breast implant surfaces over time. Novel implant surfaces and modifications of existing ones can directly impact cell-surface interactions and enhance biocompatibility and integration. The extent of foreign body response induced by breast implants influence implant success and integration into the body. This review highlights recent advances in breast implant surface technologies including modifications of implant surface topography and chemistry and effects on protein adsorption, and cell adhesion. A comprehensive online literature search was performed for relevant articles using the following keywords silicone breast implants, foreign body response, cell adhesion, protein adsorption, and cell-surface interaction. Properties of silicone breast implants impacting cell-material interactions including surface roughness, wettability, and stiffness, are discussed. Recent studies highlighting both silicone implant surface activation strategies and modifications to enhance biocompatibility in order to prevent capsular contracture formation and development of anaplastic large cell lymphoma are presented. Overall, breast implant surface modifications are being extensively investigated in order to improve implant biocompatibility to cater for increased demand for both cosmetic and oncologic surgeries.

Keywords: Biocompatibility; Capsular contracture; Foreign body response; Silicone breast implants; Silicone surface modification.

Publication types

Review