The Keller Funnel™
Silicone gel implants are a lot like really tough water balloons. Up until now, surgeons needed to poke the pre-filled breast implants by hand through small incision sites, potentially bruising surrounding tissue and weakening the implant shell. The Keller Funnel™ is a soft, cone-shaped, sterile device made of nylon. The Funnel allows Dr. Ereso to use a no-touch delivery technique, which is believed to reduce capsular contracture, a painful complication associated with breast augmentation procedures. The Funnel has a special interior coating that creates a super slick surface. Once the Funnel tip is placed through the incision, Dr. Ereso quickly propels the implant gently into place with minimal force, bypassing the implant’s contact with the skin.
The Funnel was introduced to surgeons in 2009, shortly after silicone gels were FDA-approved and re-entered the U.S. market. Designed by a plastic surgeon, The Keller Funnel™ improves the delivery of silicone gel implants during breast augmentation procedures. Now, Dr. Ereso can give you the aesthetic advantages of silicone gel implants, combined with a gentler surgical approach. Benefits of using the Keller Funnel™ include:
- Shorter incision lengths
- Improved comfort and faster healing
- No touch technique
- More choices for incision placement
- Reduced force on the implant and incision
- Reduced risk of contamination and infection
The Keller Funnel™ allows Dr. Ereso to make smaller incisions, similar to those used in saline implant procedures.
Women and their surgeons have increasingly selected silicone gels for their natural look and feel, and today, according to the annual report provided by the American Society of Plastic Surgery, more silicone gels procedures are performed than saline.
According to a recent survey conducted among surgeons with experience using the Funnel:
- 91% reported that use of the Funnel reduces incision lengths
- 92% of physicians using the Funnel believe use of the Funnel reduces force on the implant shell
- 43% feel that incisions heal better with the use of the Funnel, and believe patients appear less swollen and bruised
- 75% reported using the device reduced the risk of infection
- Nearly 70% believed it lessened patient bruising and may reduce the incidence of capsular contracture, a painful complication associated with breast augmentation procedures
Other benefits attractive to both Dr. Ereso and patients like you include a reduced force of the implant shell which may prevent a rupture of the implant and the ability for Dr. Ereso to use a no-touch technique during the procedure which can lessen the chance of contamination.
