Breast Implant Material

As the second most popular cosmetic surgical technique in the plastic surgery industry, breast augmentation surgery is one of the most in demand plastic surgery treatments available. While many critics of plastic surgery argue that breast augmentation surgery is a frivolous treatment that needlessly exposes hundreds of thousands of people to the Dangers of Plastic Surgery, breast augmentation has always been one of the most popular celebrity plastic surgery treatments ever. Starlets like Pamela Anderson and Anna Nicole Smith partially owe their careers to their breast implants and breast augmentation surgery continues to be one of the most demanded cosmetic surgery treatments out there. Many people criticize breast augmentation surgery for preying on the insecurities of women throughout the world.

 

While a large number of breast augmentation surgery patients undergo the treatment because they feel their breasts are too small, there are a number of valid reasons why women undergo breast augmentation surgery. One popular reason cited by some breast augmentation surgery patients is a desire to regain breast volume that they lost from weight loss or pregnancy. In other cases, breast augmentation surgery is being performed as part of a reconstructive surgery for women that have had their breasts damaged by either a serious accident or a traumatic disease like breast cancer. Although there are many individuals that are afraid to undergo breast augmentation surgery based on their fears of being a living example of bad plastic surgery or awful plastic surgery, the reality is that breast augmentation surgery is typically safe and successful.

 

The best way to ensure that you won’t live the nightmarish scenario of plastic surgery gone wrong is by taking the time to find a board certified plastic surgeon that is qualified in performing breast augmentation surgery. By doing this you will drastically reduce the potential of complications occurring during your breast augmentation surgery. However, just because it is popular doesn’t mean that there aren’t a lot of issues that you need to resolve before undergoing breast augmentation surgery. One of the biggest issues that you have to resolve is determining the type of breast implant material that you want for your breast implants that will be inserted into your breasts during breast augmentation surgery. For the most part, the most popular type of breast implant material is saline that is used for saline breast implants. However, there are many individuals that prefer silicone breast implants, as silicone was the material that was most commonly used in breast implants for some time. We will examine the saline versus silicone debate and examine the benefits and negatives to both types of breast implant material.

When breast augmentation first became popular, the breast implant material that was used was silicone. Silicone implants were so commonly used that it was often referenced as silicone breasts and their development a big reason why breast augmentation became so popular. A member of the silicon family, an element that can be found within the earth’s crust, silicone was first used in breast implants in 1962. Pioneered by the plastic surgeons Cronin and Gerow, silicone breast implants were first available for commercial use in 1962. Typically in breast augmentation, the breast implants that are used contain a shell that is made of silicone with a material that fills up the breast shell. This filler material helps dictate the size and shape of the breast implant and silicone was predominantly used as breast implant filler material up to 1992. That was the year that the Federal and Drug Administration (FDA) essentially outlawed the availability of silicone breast implants due to concerns of safety. Under the FDA’s logic, the silicone gel material that is used as the filler for breast implants were a hazard waiting to happen. Apparently, there were a number of safety concerns regarding silicone’s impact on a person’s body. In instances where silicone breast implants became ruptured, the silicone gel could bleed and then circulate to other parts of the body causing a number of diseases. While the FDA were unable to obtain conclusive evidence that linked silicone gel bleeding to these diseases, they were also unable to obtain enough evidence to refute these claims. For that reason, the FDA ruled in 1992 that silicone breast implants would only be available in certain cases. Since this ruling, the most common type of breast implant material has been saline. Saline breast implants use a silicone breast shell that is filled with saline solution. Unlike silicone breast implants that when ruptured causes silicone gel to flow through a person’s body and can potentially cause immunological disorders, cancer, neurological disorders, capsular contracture, and connective tissue disease, if a silicone breast implant were to rupture the saline gel wouldn’t cause any of these problems. This is because saline is a salt-water solution that doesn’t cause any trouble if it were to circulate through a person’s bloodstream, as the makeup of silicone gel is similar to the fluids that run through a person’s body. While saline breast implants are safe, there are many people that want the FDA to overturn their ruling so that silicone breast implants could become obtainable again. The primary reason for this is because of the effectiveness of silicone as a breast implant material. Silicone breast implants tend to replicate the natural size, shape and feel of breasts, which is what make them so desired.

 

However, saline breast implants aren’t exactly terrible. Their ability to vary in types of shell surface, shell thickness, expandable implants, profile shape and volume ensure that breast augmentation patients are able to match their desired breast implant when obtaining saline breast implants. For people that remain adamant about obtaining silicone breast implants rather than saline breast implants, the only way to get silicone breast implants is if you fall under these categories: • Mastectomy patients that are currently undergoing reconstructive surgery. • Patients that are undergoing revision surgery to fix complications from their saline implants. • Patients that are currently undergoing joint breast lift surgery and breast augmentation surgery. • Individuals that are undergoing surgery to fix a chest wall deformity. • Breast cancer patients that have lost one of their breasts due to the disease. • Patients that are undergoing breast augmentation surgery to fix severe asymmetries of their breasts.