Both are approved by the FDA but which is better? Each has a unique benefits and advantages. Each has a unique potential liabilities and disadvantages. Neither is perfect. But both have their good points. After having a physical examination, reveal consultation and a comprehensive review of all various pro's and con's with your plastic surgeon, an educated choice may be made. But there really isn't any wrong answer or better implant - the implant that represents the most effective overall choice for you is the best one. Let's have a look at a number of the key points you need to be considering in your choice making process.

The saline (physiological salt water) which is used to fill saline breast implants comes directly from an IV saline bag. Instead of starting your circulatory system though an IV, the saline goes through the sterile tubing right into the implant. Nobody does research on the safety of sterile IV saline; millions of people receive IV saline every day throughout the world. When it is safe enough to go straight into your veins, does it stand to reason so it will be just as safe to fill a breast implant with? This really is an absolutely 100% safe fluid that will be completely identical to one's natural body fluid. The silicone gel inside silicone implants has been studied exhaustively. The FDA concluded that approval as a secure and effective device was warranted, granting such status in 2006. But studies continue to be ongoing and further longterm evaluation and research mandated by the FDA remains pending. So silicone safety information is not quite the "slam dunk" it's for saline. Please see our associated article, "Are Silicone Implants Safe?" to learn more with this subject.

As per FDA stipulations, patients should be age 22 or older for silicone gel implants. There is no age stipulation for saline implants.When ordered for you and your procedure by your plastic surgeon's office, silicone implants are roughly double the expense of saline implants.

Rippling is really a phenomenon which occurs very commonly with saline implants but is very uncommon with silicone implants. Rippling is characterized by small longitudinal ridges, just like the ripples on a pool, that could be felt along the underside or the outer side of the breast where in actuality the tissues are often their thinnest. In extreme cases, the ripples might even be visible. However, a lot of the time when rippling does occur it is of a really minimal nature. Patients with very low body fat, a small body frame, thin skin and/or stretch-marks on the breasts, and minimal breast tissue are in higher risk for significant rippling. But rippling can occur in anyone. Picking a silicone implant lowers this risk substantially.

For patients looking for better symmetry because of any degree of size difference between sms marketing sides, the fine tuning adjustability which can be best realized only with saline implants is an essential asset. Silicone implants are not adjustable.The inframammary (under the breast) crease incision is probably the most commonly used and preferred incision by most plastic surgeons. The natural shadow and crease under the breast will additionally hide the typically thin, hard to see final scar quite well. This incision can be used for either form of implant. The incision size is normally about one inch or less for saline implants, which are inserted empty, then filled and adjusted once properly situated in the pocket which was made for them. The incision must be made bigger (about two inches) to permit the insertion of the pre-filled, fixed total level of the silicone implant.

Saline implants have a ~ 1% - 2% each year leak rate; silicone implants have somewhat lower rate with a less than a 1% annually leak rate. The risk for leak/rupture with both kinds of implants generally increases with age the implant. Leak/rupture rates are also higher for implants utilized in revision or reconstruction procedures.