Breast Implant

Choosing The Right Type Of Breast Implant
By Julie Bricklin

Breast Implant

Never in history has there been a greater choice of breast implants for women and in some cases, men. The world has come a long way from paraffin wax and glass balls, which were put into women’s bodies in the earlier part of the last century. In the 1960’s, women had silicon injected into their breast cavities, and then a silicon-filled breast implant was generally used. When health issues, infections and even deaths arose from these, the government banned most of these types of implants.

Now, there’s a wide array of much safer implants to choose from, and the choice a breast surgery candidate makes depends largely on their needs and desires, rather than what the implant maker would rather sell.

A consumer can now choose a silicone-filled implant again, after years of only being able to use saline. In recent decades, silicone-filled implants could rupture, slowly leaking the substance into the bloodstream and ultimately causing painful swelling and scar tissue all over the body. Now, there are implants available which have silicone made into a gel, so in the event that the implant does rupture, the silicone will not run all over the body but would stay within the broken implant. Additionally, these implants have texture put on them, much like that of an orange peel, to prevent a “scar tissue capsule” which can form around the implant and eventually rupture it.

Many people would question why a consumer would choose silicone in the first place, if there were the potential for problems. Many people think silicone has a much more natural feel to them, like real breast tissue. This is a good choice for people who have little of their own natural breast tissue. And, as noted above, there are now several models available, which have been approved by the FDA.

So why consider saline-filled implants as well? Simply, they are much easier to insert. Because they can be squashed and stretched when putting into the chest cavity, a doctor can make an incision in any one of four places. For example, he or she can insert the implants through the areolas of the breast, the armpit, even the belly button. The feeling of the saline implant differs for different people, but the majority of saline implant patients are just as satisfied with the feeling of them as silicone consumers are with theirs.

Saline implants also give one the option of postoperative expansion. The surgeon can put a dime-sized port in each implant, near each incision. He or she then gradually fills a bit more volume in over time until the patient reaches her cup or volume goal. This allows skin and muscle tissue to slowly expand, too.

Shapes of implants: the type the patient chooses with the advice of his or her doctor really depends on his or her body type, bone structure, expectations of cup size and preference of silhouette.

Round implants are just that, though not quite ball shaped. They look pretty much the same from every viewpoint both pre and post operation.

Anatomical implants used to be used primarily for reconstruction purposes, but are now used for cosmetic breast augmentation as well. When looking at it from the front, the anatomical implant appears oval in shape, and if looking at it from the side, it looks like it has more volume at the bottom - a little bit conical.

Also, there is the high profile implant, which gives more fullness at the top of the breast. These implants are narrow at the base (the part that sits against your chest) and they have a mound that protrudes out. Regular or traditional implants have a large base and do not project outwards.