Breast augmentation is a term for a type of surgery which is used either to enlarge or otherwise improve the shape of your breasts. This breast augmentation procedure is typically sought by women who are for some reason or another not currently satisfied with the shape or the size of their breasts.

 

There are two types of breast implants which are most commonly used today. The first is the saline filled implant, and the second is a silicone gel implant. Saline filled implants have been the more popular of the two choices for around fifteen years now, but the silicone gel implant is being recommended to many more women now. Usage of the silicone gel implant was restricted in 1992 by the Food and Drug Administration or FDA, but they were finally approved for women aged twenty-two and older as of November of 2006. The FDA originally believed that these silicone gel implants could pose health risks including connective tissue diseases and auto-immune disorders, but medical studies of this implant type have not supported those concerns.

 

Saline Breast Implants

 

Saline filled breast implants have been the more common of the two types of implants for many years now. They are constructed from a semi-permeable elastomer silicone shell that is tough and sturdy with a single valve located on the anterior surface. The saline implants come both in a smooth surface and a textured one, and both in round shapes and contoured ones. The contoured shapes are typically referred to as teardrop, bio-dimensional or anatomical shapes.

 

Most saline breast implants are filled at the time of the surgery, as there is not a pre-filled saline implant that has passed inspection with FDA approval yet. These saline implants are safe, as if the implant should ever rupture, the body is actually cable of absorbing the harmless saline solution which is the same solution which is used in IVs.

 

Silicone Breast Implants

 

Silicone gel breast implants have an outer shell which is similar in some ways to the saline filled implants. It is made of a solid and touch silicone material, however rather than being filled with saline it is filled with silicone gel. The surface can either be smooth or textured in a silicone gel implant, but the smooth surfaced implants require smaller incisions and have less incidences relating to wrinkling or scarring of the skin. Inserting a silicone gel implant involves making an incision either under the breast or just above it, or even through an incision placed in the armpit which is slightly more difficult but leaves less of an obvious scar behind.

 

Silicone gel breast implants have a nasty habit of leaking through their shells. Rupturing can be caused by trauma, force or even age. A ruptured implant has to be repaired or removed using additional surgeries.

 

It is a serious matter to decide whether or not to undergo breast augmentation surgery, so discuss it thoroughly before you make any concrete decisions. You should talk at length about your needs and expectations with your physician long before you decide whether or not to go through with the surgery.