Saline breast implants VS Silicone breast implants

The Past

The Food and Drug Administration's, FDAs approval of silicone breast implants offers new choices for some women considering breast enhancement or breast augmentation surgery. In 1992 the FDA banned the widely used silicone breast implants from use in the United States. Even though Silicone breast implants were not available in the United States they were still considered safe and the best choice for breast augmentation in Europe and other countries in the world. During the FDAs moratorium on Silicone Breast Implants the only breast implants were available to women wanting breast augmentation surgery were filled with saline (salt water).

Making changes

Now after many years of scrutinizing silicone breast implants and many manufacturing adjustments the FDA supports the safety of silicone gel filled breast implants for use in breast augmentation surgery.
This is good news for patients considering breast augmentation surgery. If you are considering cosmetic surgery to enlarge your breasts you may now have a choice between saline-filled and silicone gel-filled breast implants. Take your time and weigh out your options. Breast implant selection is a personal decision.

The Present

Silicone gel - filled breast implants

Silicone breast implants are available to women of any age for breast reconstruction or women 22 years of age and older for breast augmentation. This includes primary surgery to put breast implants into place and also revision surgery to correct or improve prior implant placement.

Why the age restriction on silicone gel-filled implants for breast augmentation? One reason is because a woman's breast tissue continues to develop into her early 20s. But the age restriction is a bit arbitrary especially since women can make so many other important decisions like driving at age 16, voting at age 18, enrolling in the military at age 18,choosing to smoke at age 18,choosing to drink alcohol at age 21 to name a few. According to FDA officials, they selected an age at which they felt women could make a fully informed decision about getting breast implants.

Saline - filled breast implants

Saline breast implants are available for women of any age for breast reconstruction. However, like silicone breast implants, saline breast implants also have an age restriction. For strictly cosmetic breast enhancement you have to be at least age 18, to get saline breast implants for breast augmentation.

Saline implants VS Silicone implants

Its whats inside that counts

The major difference between the two major breast implants is what is inside them. Saline breast implants is filled with different material than Silicone breast implants. The Saline filled breast implants consist of an empty silicone outer shell that's filled with saline at the time of breast implant surgery. Silicone gel breast implants also consist of a silicone outer shell, but they're filled with a cohesive silicone gel rather than sterile salt water.

Silicone gel has a thick, gummy consistency that according to Dr. Corbin closely feels like natural breast tissue. Saline isn't compressible and gives a firmer feeling breast.

Many patients and plastic surgeons claim that silicone breast implants look and feel more like natural breast tissue. Saline breast implants have been known for potentially feeling firm or unnatural. Some of this may be due in part to the surgeons experience, the pocket that is created to hold the breast implants and how much the plastic surgeon overfills the saline implant with saline. The Breast Expert, Dr. Corbin achieves soft and natural feeling breasts using saline implants because he unusually does not overfill the breast implant more than 50 ccs over the standard recommended fill. Generally, the saline implant is like a water balloon and there is only so much liquid it can hold before it starts to look and feel firm.

The Future

With so many great breast implant choices women can confidently select a breast implant that they are comfortable putting in their bodies. Many manufacturing advances have been made over the years to improve breast implants. There are studies tracking long term affects of breast implants that are designed to continue to improve our options for beautiful, natural looking and feeling safe breast implants.

Do you have questions regarding surgery? Ask A Patient@TheBreastExpert.com One of our many happy patients will answer you from their personal experience.