Breast Implants: Saline or Silicone?
Austin-Weston Center for Cosmetic Surgery | Feb 10, 2011 | Comments 0
In the beginning, there was silicone – well, back at least in 1962 when the first breast implants were introduced.
They had a shell made of silicone and the material inside was silicone gel. They were kind of flimsy things, built to leak in fact, yet made millions of people happy.
Saline implants became popular in the early ‘90’s when silicone implants came under a cloud of FDA suspicion.
Do silicone implants cause problems?
Well, the data didn’t exist to answer that question so silicone breast implants were pulled from the market in 1992 while the data regarding their safety were collected.
We participated in that data collection and in 2006, silicone breast implants were found to be safe and allowed back on the market.
So we now have a choice: silicone or saline breast implants.
Here’s how I think about it. Silicone usually delivers a more “natural” look and feel. If you desire a relatively large implant compared to the amount of breast tissue you have to start with, you will probably be happier with silicone. Probably, but not necessarily.
Some women, if augmented with silicone, would wake up every morning thinking to them selves “Oh God, I have silicone in me,” and not be able to get that thought out of their heads. Clearly, that person should go with saline.
There are some other downsides to silicone – larger scar, bi-annual MRI’s, etc., but these are relatively minor downsides compared to the usually more natural result.
What about a woman in her ‘30’s who has a good amount of breast tissue and now has some drooping after breast-feeding?
That woman may need just a small implant to give the sense of a lift and could go with either saline or silicone – she should get a great result either way.
Saline or silicone breast implants?
There are some general guidelines we follow, but if you’re thinking about breast augmentation, the best thing to do is come in for a consult so that we can be specific about how either type of implant would look for you.
Visit www.austin-weston.com/breast/ for more information or call 703-893-6168 to schedule your complimentary plastic surgery consultation and to learn more about breast enhancement such as breast augmentation, breast implants, breast reduction and other procedures available to Northern Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC area residents.
Writers: George Weston M.D., Robert Sigal, M.D., Byron Poindexter, M.D.
Popularity: 3% [?]
Filed Under: Breast
