Everyone wants to know about silicone implants so I decided to talk about them this week. Silicone implants were the first mainstream implants for breasts available to the US market. They were used for years and for the most part, the results were good. Most were placed above the muscle through a variety of approaches. However, there were design flaws in the implants themselves that led to a number of suits and settlements that actually put a few manufacturers out of business. The suits claimed that a number of illnesses (cancers, fibromyalgias, lupus, and many other problems) were caused by the silicone. The fact is, the more liquid silicone in the old style implants leached out over time through the capsule. This silicone was picked up in the lymphatic system and traveled into lymph nodes and other areas of the body. Because of litigation and fear, the FDA removed the implants from the market in the early 90's. The FDA authorized several companies to perfect and study silicone implants at that time.
Improvements that were made were basically to the capsule holding the silicone and to the silicone itself. The silicone was heavily cross linked to create a jelly-like substance that likes to stick together. When a hole is poked into the implant, the silicone does not flow out like liquid. It takes a fair amount of pressure on the implant to extrude the silicone. The implant can actually be cut in half....the video I made below demonstrates this.
The benefits of silicone are somewhat subjective. First, they are perceived by some to feel "more natural". Second, they have a tendency to ripple less. A photo of rippling is below.
Although rippling can happen with silicone, it occurs less frequently. Silicone is a lower pressure implant and that is why. Because of this lower pressure, the upper pole is not quite as full as with saline and can look less like an implant.
The down side to silicone implants is expense. They do cost more...about $1200. The incidence of capsular contracture (when the capsule the body makes around the implant becomes tight and makes the implant feel hard) is higher...not a lot higher, but higher. Women under 22 years of age do not qualify for silicone because of FDA rules. If they do rupture, it can be difficult to detect and the FDA recommends periodic MRI of the breast for detection, however, even MRI is not that great.
Watch this video where I cut a new silicone gel implant in half. You can see the properties of the silicone.
I personally have no preference between silicone and saline. I do not like high profile saline implants because the look is not appealing. If someone wants implants under the breast instead of under the muscle, I recommend silicone. Otherwise I think they are interchangeable.
Hope this answers a few questions for you. Don't forget our specials on implants for this spring. We have great pricing that is hard to beat...call us at 918-786-7780 for details. We also have pricing on laser hair removal that I defy anyone to beat....$50 per treatment per area....wow!!
Talk next week!!