Mentor Worldwide LLC is an American company that supplies surgical aesthetics products to

plastic surgeon Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty involving the restoration, reconstruction or alteration of the human body. It can be divided into two main categories: reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery. Reconstructive surgery includes craniof ...

s. The company is based in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Co ...

. It produces one of two silicone gel

breast implants A breast implant is a prosthesis used to change the size, shape, and contour of a person's breast. In reconstructive plastic surgery, breast implants can be placed to restore a natural looking breast following a mastectomy, to correct congenita ...

. Titled MemoryGel, the product was approved by the

U.S. Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...

(FDA) on November 17, 2006. The other FDA-approved products are developed by competitors

Allergan Allergan plc is an American, Irish-domiciled pharmaceutical company that acquires, develops, manufactures and markets brand name drugs and medical devices in the areas of medical aesthetics, eye care, central nervous system, and gastroenterology. ...

and Sientra. Mentor also produces a range of lipoplasty equipment for liposuction procedures as well as a

Niacin Niacin, also known as nicotinic acid, is an organic compound and a form of vitamin B3, an essential human nutrient. It can be manufactured by plants and animals from the amino acid tryptophan. Niacin is obtained in the diet from a variet ...

-based skincare product line called NIA 24.

History

Mentor Corporation was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1969 by Christopher Conway, Eugene Glover, and Thomas Hauser. Mentor went public in 1970 and its first product line consisted of electronic laboratory instruments for the detection and measurement of the electrical activity of nerve cells and neural systems. Special urethral catheters for the treatment of urinary retention were introduced in 1975. After acquiring the Heyer-Schulte division of American Hospital Supply in 1984. Heyer Schulte manufactured implantable products. In 1985, Mentor moved its headquarters to Santa Barbara, California. On Jan 23, 2009, Mentor was acquired by Johnson & Johnson, and is a stand-alone business unit reporting through Ethicon, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company and provider of suture, mesh, hemostats, and other products for surgical procedures. Johnson & Johnson company markets its breast implant products in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

with the name MentorConfidence.

Notes and references

* “US FDA/CDRH: Breast Implants - Silicone Gel Implant Approvals (2006)” FDA https://www.fda.gov/cdrh/breastimplants/siliconegel.html * “Mentor Corporation Official Web Site” Mentor Corporation http://www.mentorcorp.com/ * "Mentor Confidence" Indian official domain https://web.archive.org/web/20120319160528/http://www.mentorconfidence.com/

External links

* {{Johnson & Johnson Medical technology companies of the United States Manufacturing companies based in California Multinational companies headquartered in the United States Companies based in Santa Barbara, California Health care companies based in California Manufacturing companies established in 1969 1969 establishments in Minnesota Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange 2009 mergers and acquisitions Johnson & Johnson subsidiaries