Deciding what breast implant to select can be difficult, especially when you know that this material will become a part of your body for many years to come. It is always best to make an informed choice.

Saline Implants

If saline implants are used, your physician will inflate a silicone rubber shell to the volume that you desire. These implants are filled with sterile saline solution. Most implants have a small valve that the surgeon closes up once the implants are placed.

Two forms of saline implants are readily accessible to patients. One is called a fixed volume implant. A fixed volume implant is has all of the saline in it when it is implanted. The other implant type can have its volume adjusted. This means that this adjustable implant can be filled intraoperatively, and its contents can even be adjusted after surgery.

Silicone Implants

Silicone implants are made up of a silicone rubber shell that contains a fixed silicone gel amount. A patch is over the top of each implant’s manufacturing port.

Silicone implants are made with either smooth or textured surfaces; their profiles, shapes, volume, thickness and amount of shell lumens also differ. Most silicone gel-filled implants are unable to increase or decrease in volume.

Back in the early 1990's, many thought that silicone breast implants brought about connective tissue diseases in some patients. After the evidence underwent a complete examination for the Association of Silicon Breast Implants, the Institute of Medicine stated that "no definitive evidence linking breast implants to cancer, neurological diseases, neurological problems or other systemic diseases" is present.

Advantages of Each Implant Type

Deciding on an implant type can even be a bit subjective. A few surgeons believe that silicone implants feel and look more natural than saline implants because silicone gel is closer in texture to human tissue. Saline implants have some other key benefits. If a silicone implant ruptures, doctors have a hard time locating these ruptured areas. But if saline implants rupture, the implant immediately deflates. Deceptively, if silicone implants rupture, no change appears in the breast—even as silicone is leaking into tissue. It is also important to note that silicone implant replacement is more expensive than repairs to a leaky saline implant. In addition, silicone implants deflate at a higher rate.