Year after year, breast augmentation surgery remains one of the most popular aesthetic procedures in the world as it can profoundly change how you both look and feel in your skin. Creating proper proportion in your torso by increasing your breast volume with an implant may make your waist look smaller, your abdomen appear flatter and your buttocks seem more lifted. Breast implants come in either saline or silicone as well as a myriad of different sizes, shapes and projections. The key to a successful result is choosing the right implant for your desired outcome, anatomy and lifestyle. This is why it is so important to a see a skilled breast surgeon with years of experience.
Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Sean Doherty, has made breast surgery a cornerstone of his practice. He places hundreds of breast implants every year in his Boston area patients. This expertise means that he has a deep understanding of the pros and cons of each different breast implant so he can confidently advise you, during your consultation, on the ideal choices for your unique anatomy and needs.
Breast Augmentation with Silicone Gel Consultation
Some patients feel that they don’t need to schedule an in-person consultation anymore. Maybe you’ve done your research on line so you know exactly which implant you would like. While the internet is a wonderful education tool for patients, it is important to keep in mind that it is not discerning. Any aesthetic procedure must be individualized to your unique anatomy. So, what worked for your sister, best friend or favorite influencer may not be right for your body. For this reason, it is critical to schedule an in-person breast augmentation consultation.
During your meeting, Dr. Doherty will listen closely to what bothers you about your chest contour. He will ask about your medical history, family history, and the look that you are hoping to achieve. The latter is critical. Patients can often get hung up on cup size. However, this is never a good indicator of volume as bra sizes vary between manufacturer. Dr. Doherty’s goal is to provide you with a range of breast implants that will safely deliver on your goals. He typically chooses saline gel breast implants as he feels that they look and feel the most natural. However, some patients want or are a better candidate for saline.
Silicone vs. Saline Breast Implants
One of the first decisions that any breast augmentation patient needs to make is the type of fill you want in your implant:
- Silicone
- Saline
There are pros and cons to each. As mentioned, Dr. Doherty typically places silicone gel breast implants as they tend to look and feel more natural. However, some patients do not like the idea of a foreign substance in the body. Saline is naturally occurring, but these implants can be more palpable in some patients. All implants, however, have a silicone shell that surrounds the fill.
The main benefit of saline is that if it ruptures, you will know immediately as your breast will deflate. With silicone, the only way to tell if there is a leak is with an MRI. That is why it is called a silent rupture. It’s important to keep in mind that while all implants have a very low rupture rate, this rate is actually slightly higher with a saline implant than a silicone implant. The FDA also recommends that all patients with silicone gel implants have an MRI 5 years after their implants are placed, and then every 2-3 years after that in order to monitor for silent ruptures.
Silicone Gel Breast Implants Are Safe
Over the last two decades, the safety of silicone implants has gotten a lot of media attention. For a while, they were even taken off the market only to then be proven, through numerous medical studies, to be safe. Today’s silicone gel breast implants are even safer and more studied than those in the past. The outside shell is stronger so it is less likely to develop a rip or tear, and the fill has a thicker consistency so even if an unlikely leak does occur, your body is not going to be “flooded” with silicone. Also, modern outside shells are known to be less reactive than in the past. Patients tolerate this much better.
Dr. Doherty takes patient safety very seriously. He will spend considerable time with you during your consultation going over all of the risk factors and is always available to answer any of your questions or concerns in detail so that you can make an informed decision about whether or not a breast augmentation is right for you.
Silicone Gel Breast Implant Options
There are 3 manufacturers of silicone implants:
- Mentor
- Allergan
- Sientra
They each have slight differences. All silicone implants come in a variety of different sizes. This refers to the volume of fill in a specific implant and is measured in cc’s. Breast implants can be round or shaped, smooth or textured. Dr. Doherty almost always uses a round, smooth implant. Breast implants also come in a range of projections which is how far the implant sticks out from your chest wall. Finding the right implant for your anatomy and goals is about creating the perfect recipe from all these factors. This is why you want to see a breast expert like Dr. Doherty.
To find out more about a breast augmentation with silicone gel breast implants, or any other surgical or non-surgical procedure with Dr. Sean Doherty at his Boston or Brookline office, contact us today or call (617) 450.0070 to schedule a consultation.
FAQs about Silicone Gel Breast
You don’t. That is my job. Breast patients have a tendency to over focus on size. I think this is due to the fact that most women have a fantasy bra size in their mind. But cup size and breast implant volume are completely different. My goal is to create an appropriate amount of volume in your breasts so that your torso is in harmony. When your breasts are the right size for your unique frame, it creates proportion with your hips, waist and buttocks. And when your body is in proportion, you will look and feel taller, slimmer and more vital.
No. BII is a real though still not fully understood set of symptoms that some patients feel are potentially due to their breast implants. Our aesthetic societies are currently conducting deep research in order to understand what causes BII, and who may be at risk for developing it. Although there are still more unanswered questions than answered, one thing that we do know is that BII can develop in patients with either silicone or saline implants. I see BII as a rare allergic-type reaction to the outer lining of the breast implant.
The safety of silicone gel implants has been proven in multiple medical studies. Having said that, breast augmentation is a surgical procedure. And any type of surgery carries risks. This is one of the many reasons why you want to see a Board-Certified plastic surgeon with a lot of breast surgery experience as you know he or she has the training and artistic eye to deliver a safe, exemplary result.
Exchanging one implant for another is not always complicated, but it is also never as easy as changing a tire. If your breast skin and tissues are in good shape, and you are not changing the size of your implant, I can most likely go in through your original incision and do a simple swap. But if you have gained or lost weight, had children or gone through menopause since your original implants were placed, there is a good chance that your skin and tissues have stretched. This means that you may need a breast lift in addition to your new implant. Without assessing you in person, it is impossible to say for certain.