They can also provide information on affordable Medicare supplemental insurance, long-term care coverage and prescription drug assistance. Appointments may be made by calling 339-5151. The Hospital's Cosmetic Surgery Center, under the medical direction of board-certified plastic surgeon Ralph P. Pennino, M.D. , is one of 30 sites across the country to test the Trilucent breast implant as part of a clinical study approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The primary benefit of this new implant is that it permits greater visibility of detail when a woman has a mammogram, Dr. Pennino said. The implant is a textured, silicone rubber shell filled with purified soybean oil.
Soybean oil is similar in composition to human fat.
Where other implants may produce shadows when x-rays are taken, the Trilucent implant appears to be more radiolucent, making mammograms clearer and easier to read. In addition, the back wall of the Trilucent implant contains a microchip encoded with an identification number unique to each implant. This chip, no larger than a grain of rice, emits a brief radio wave which is read with a small hand-held device we place next to the breast, Pennino explained. It will allow us to track the implants from the time they are manufactured and throughout their use, providing valuable data for the study and beyond. Two patients have already had the implant surgery at Rochester General and other candidates are undergoing the pre-study evaluation process.