Which Implant is the Ideal Implant For Your Breast Augmentation Surgery?

Women living in the United States can currently choose from three different types of breast implants: saline, silicone gel, and cohesive gel. Do you know how they differ? Do you know which implant would be ideal for your needs?

Women everywhere are purchasing breast augmentation surgery so they can have a fuller, firmer bust. Older women want the perky breast appearance of a younger woman in her prime, and younger woman may be seeking the balance and perfection nature didn't grant them. In reality, they are all seeking the same thing: a sexier, more feminine allure.

In the United States, saline breast implants have been used the longest. The reason is that the FDA took the silicone gel implant off the market in 1992 was because of health and safety issues. For the fourteen years during that ban, consumers only had one choice for their breast augmentation surgery: saline breast implants.

To date, the saline implant has been considered the safest implant currently available. The saltwater solution filling the shell is safe to the human body. If a rupture or leak occurs with a saline implant, the body will just absorb the saline and pass it out in the urine.

A saline implant requires only a small incision during the surgery (resulting in a smaller scar) because the saline is not added until after the surgeon positions the implant inside the breast. The only downside to saline implants is that they do not feel or move like real breast tissue. While everyone agrees that saline implants are considered safer than silicone gel, they also agree they don't imitate real breast tissue as well as silicone implants.

The FDA banned silicone gel implants for a fourteen year span, during which they were studied and tested inexhaustibly. In 2006, the FDA finally approved them for unrestricted use in breast augmentation surgery. However, many people still wonder if they are truly safe.

The major drawback against silicone gel implants is when they rupture or leak: unlike a saline implant that immediately deflates, a silicone gel leakage is so difficult to detect that even a surgeon often can't spot it. The only way to verify a silicone gel leak is by undergoing an MRI scan which is why the FDA strongly recommends women with silicone implants to have an MRI every two years. Unfortunately, MRIs are very costly and very rarely are they covered by health insurance. Why? Because breast implants are usually considered cosmetic surgery.

The newcomer to the breast implant market is called the cohesive gel implant, commonly referred to as the gummy bear implant because of their overall texture. This implant is not filled with a liquid ' they are a solid mass of cohesive gel. Cut one in half and you will have two pieces of solid gel without any leakage. One downside to this type of implant is they are manufactured to their final size, therefore requiring a larger incision (leaving a larger scar) at the time of surgery.

The primary drawback to cohesive gel implants is the simple fact that the FDA has not yet approved them for unrestricted use. While the rest of the world has been using these implants for almost twenty years, the FDA feels they need more study.

If you are adamant that you want cohesive gel implants, it is possible to get them in the United States. You will have to locate a plastic surgeon that specializes in breast augmentation and has been approved by the FDA for the cohesive gel clinical trials.

Are you interested in learning more about the types of breast implants currently available? You need to schedule an initial consultation with a board-certified plastic surgeon specializing in breast augmentation. He will know the latest advances in technology and implant design. Call one today and schedule an initial consultation.

Visit these pages: recovering from breast surgery, silicone implants, and gummy bear implants.

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