Breast Implant Facts

There are two types of breast implants: saline and silicone gel implants. Both implants have a silicone outer shell, saline implants are filled with sterile salty water whereas silicone implants are filled with silicone gel.

Saline implants look and feel less natural than silicone implants and will show ripples especially in slim patients with thin breast tissue. Saline implants also have a high risk of leaking.

Silicone implants look and feel more natural and are available in different degrees of stiffness or cohesiveness. The less cohesive ones are soft and tend to flow more easily with the body. This type of implant is desirable and the most used in breast enhancement surgery.

Size of Breast implants

The size of breast implants is individual to patients. The surgeon measures the width of the rib cage and skin elasticity to determine the possible implants sizes that can be safely used with minimal risks.

Placement of breast implants: Over muscle or under muscle

Placement of breast implants depends on the amount of breast tissue present. Subglandular plane means placement of the breast implant under the breast tissue but over the pectoralis muscle. This plane is suitable for patients with sufficient breast tissue but require a natural enhancement.

Submuscular plane and dual plane means implant placement under the muscle or partly under it.

During the consultation, the surgeon will assess the best plane for breast implant placement for optimal results.

Revisional surgery & Capsular contracture

Additional breast surgery is required over time as the breast shape and size alters after having children and ageing in general.

Capsular contracture refers to the formation of tight scarring around the implant. Capsule or scar formation is a natural healing process, which leads to the implant being encased in a barrier of scar tissue that helps keep it in place. However, in some patients the scar tissue can becomes hard and tighten around the implant causing pain in the breast and alteration of breast shape. Revisional surgery entails release and removal of this scarring and replacement of implant.

Mammography

It is important that the mammography facility is aware of the presence of breast implants. The standard mammogram views are not sufficient to image the breast tissue through the breast implants. Additional implant displacement views are performed to allow better imaging of the breasts.