What are my options for breast implants?

Breast augmentation is one of the most common plastic surgery procedures with high patient satisfaction rates. If you decide to undergo breast augmentation surgery, you have many decisions to make, including working with your surgeon on the breast implant type and size for your ideal contours. Read on to learn more about the different breast implants and what goes into making the decision for the right one for you.

Saline breast implants

Saline implants are made of a silicone outer shell and is filled with sterile sale water once it is in place in the breast implant pocket. Patients like this implant because it requires smaller incisions through which the implants are inserted, and the surgeon can make adjustments to size when filling up the implant with the saline solution during surgery.

Another reason why patients like saline implants is because if they rupture or have a leak, the saline will be naturally absorbed and expelled by the body, and you will be able to tell immediately that you have a compromised implant because it loses its shape.

Saline breast implants give patients a uniform shape, feel and firmness that they enjoy. These implants are FDA-approved for use in women ages 18 years and older.

Silicone breast implants

Silicone implants are by far the most popular implant because patients say they feel much more like natural breasts than saline implants. That’s because these implants are filled with a silicone gel. If the implant ruptures or leaks, however, it may not be known as the implant won’t collapse or lose its shape. The gel could remain in the implant shell or leak into the breast implant pocket. Regular breast imaging will be necessary to make sure the implant doesn’t have any leaks or hasn’t ruptured.

Silicone breast implants are a certain shape before they are inserted into the breast pocket, so it cannot be changed during surgery. Silicone breast implants are FDA-approved for breast augmentation in women ages 22 years and older.

If you are interested in learning more about breast augmentation surgery and implant types, call our office at (585) 922-5840 for a consultation.