February 26, 2015 | 2 minute read
One of the early decisions that a breast augmentation patient must make is saline versus silicone implants. Silicone implants are going to give a patient a more natural result, both with appearance and feel than saline implants. Silicone implants are going to be less likely to result in rippling, which is a deformity seen on the edge of the implant resulting from the implant folding slightly on itself. However, if a patient has a moderate amount of breast tissue (c-cup or larger prior to augmentation), then the implant material is less important as she will have a more natural result regardless of her choice. 95% of the breast augmentations that I do are with silicone breast implants.
Saline breast implants are less expensive than silicone implants, but won’t give as natural a result in smaller breasted women. Also the warranty is better with silicone implants than saline implants. If a saline implant ruptures, then the breast will rapidly deflate as the body absorbs the saline. If a silicone implant ruptures, then the breast will likely get hard and distorted, but will not deflate. The treatment for both silicone or saline implant rupture is to remove the scar tissue around the implant, remove the implant material, and place a new implant.
