If you're considering breast augmentation surgery, the saline breast implant is your best choice when it comes to safety concerns. Not only that, but they are less expensive than silicone gel implants.
If you're considering breast augmentation, you will need to perform considerable research into the currently approved breast implants on the market. There are three types of implants currently available in the U.S. for breast augmentation surgery. They are: saline breast implants, silicone gel implants, and the newest implant to hit the United States: the cohesive gel implant. The saline implant and the traditional silicone gel implant are similar in many ways other than their filler. The cohesive gel implant is a unique implant that has very distinctive characteristics that sets it apart from the saline and traditional silicone gel implant. This article will discuss the saline breast implant.
The saline implant is arguably the safest breast implant currently available. They have earned this distinction for a variety of reasons.
Perhaps the most significant difference between silicone gel and saline breast implants is their filler. Silicone implants use silicone gel and saline implants use a saltwater saline solution. The saline solution found in saline implants is made from salt and water; basically, it's saltwater. If a saline implant ruptures and leaks saline solution into the body, it is relatively harmless to your health. Your body will absorb the solution and pass it via urination within a few days. Silicone gel implants, on the other hand, leak silicone gel into your body, and silicone gel that is leaked into the blood stream is known to cause any number of negative health conditions as a result.
A ruptured implant is the greatest fear for a woman with breast implants. As mentioned above, the saline breast implant poses very little risk to a woman's health should a rupture occur. Additionally, if a saline implant ruptures and leaks, it will typically deflate within 48 hours. Because saline implants deflate rather quickly, it makes them easy to detect - a woman will notice that one of her breasts is smaller than the other and then she can call her breast augmentation surgeon for an emergency consultation. A leaking silicone gel implant is much harder to detect - they can leak for years before the deflated implant becomes visibly noticeable.
The primary reason saline implants are considered the safest in the world is because they use the aforementioned saline solution as their filler. Outside of the filler and the deflation characteristics of a saline implant, they are also less likely to cause significant scarring. Saline implant are usually filled with saline after they are placed into the breast pocket. This allows for a very small incision. Silicone gel implants, because they filled with gel prior to surgery, require much larger incisions and the scarring from surgery is usually much larger.
Saline breast implants are also less expensive than silicone gel. Most people believe the cost difference is for two reasons: saline solution is much easier to produce than silicone gel, and saline breast implants did not go through extreme scrutiny for many years by the FDA.
The only real negative aspect of saline breast implants is their feel in the hand. Men and women agree that silicone gel implants emulate a real breast far better than the saline breast implant. While this was certainly true of older models of saline implants, the newer designs are much better at replicating the real feel of breast tissue. If you were to squeeze a modern saline breast implant and then squeeze a modern silicone gel implant, it would be difficult for you to tell them apart.
Although saline implants are considered the safest implant in the world, they are not nearly as popular as silicone gel implants. To find out why, you should consult with a licensed surgeon in your area. You should try to find a board certified plastic surgeon who specializes in breast augmentation surgeries. He or she will have the most current information available of the currently approved FDA breast implant devices.
