Breast Implants: All You Need to Know
Almost every woman wishes to resize, reshape and enhance her breast size lost after weight reduction, pregnancy or trauma to the chest. With the use of modern technology, everyone can have fuller breasts! Breast implants are there to fulfill your desire for attractive and firmer breasts.
Breast augmentation surgery with implants seems to be gaining popularity with regard to women wanting to correct or improve the size of their very small breasts, which can hurt their confidence and self esteem.
Despite the hefty price tag, breast enlargement surgery remains one of the most popular cosmetic procedures to be carried out in the United States. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) estimates that of the 13.8 million cosmetic procedures in the US in 2011, a whopping 307,000 were breast implants.
What is a Breast Implant?
A breast implant is a medical prosthesis that is fitted under the breast tissue or under the chest muscle to increase breast size (augmentation) or to rebuild (reconstruction) the breast following mastectomy or to correct a congenital defect.
Types
There are two main types of breast implants: saline-filled and silicone gel-filled. Both types are made of a rubbery silicone outer shell and filler. Implants vary in size, shell thickness, and shape (contour).
The saline implant has an outer shell made of a silicone elastomer which is filled with sterile saline (salt and water) solution. Saline implants cost less.
The silicone implant also has an elastomer silicone shell but it comes filled with viscous plastic gel (silicone). This type of implant is considered more natural to the touch.
Another type of implant to improve boobs is the alternative composition implant that uses miscellaneous fillers, such as soy oil, polypropylene string, whatnot, etc. No composite breast implant is FDA approved.
Shape
Implants come in two basic shapes: Round and Anatomical (sometimes called Teardrop, Contoured or Shaped implants).
Round Implants
When it comes to breast augmentation, round-shaped implant is the most common as it is generally suitable for the majority of patients and has a more natural appearance than its counterpart.
Benefit: Round implants give women the most lift, fullness and cleavage. They can also enhance the forward projection of the breasts. If this implant flips or turns in its pocket, it will remain symmetrical and the shape of the breasts does not distort.
Drawbacks: Some women think they produce a more ‘fake’ or ‘augmented’ look than teardrop implants.
Anatomical implants
Anatomical implants are shaped like a teardrop- having more volume at the bottom than the top. They appear more oval shape when viewed from the front and create a sloped shape when fitted over the chest muscles.
Benefits: Teardrop implants produce a shape that more closely mimics a woman’s natural breast shape.
Drawbacks: If anatomical implants flip in the pocket, there is a risk that they may distort the shape of the breast. This kind of implant costs more than rounded implants.
Surface
Breast implants come with either smooth our textured shell surfaces, with the former feeling like the outside of a balloon or a smooth plastic cover and the latter somewhat like fine sandpaper.
Smooth implants have thinner shells and they move freely within the breast pocket. The smooth outer shell makes them softer than textured implants. These implants are said to last longer than textured implants and have a lower chance of rippling than their textured counterpart. The smooth type costs less than the textured type.
Textured breast implants were designed to keep the implant from moving around within the breast pocket. Its slight roughness keeps the tissue around the implant in their initial positions. The texture type implants are mostly found in teardrop shaped implants, where it keeps them aligned properly within the breast tissue.