The Pros And Cons Associated With Each Type Of Breast Implant Device

Aug 18
07:39

2011

Jonathan Castrie

Jonathan Castrie

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Before you decide which type of implant you'll have for your breast augmentation surgery, it's important that you know all the facts associated with each device. Each implant device has its known pros and cons; do you know enough about each of the currently approved implant devices to make an informed, educated decision about the type of implant you'll get for your surgery?

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It's important that a woman consider all of the pros and cons associated with each type of breast implant before she chooses one for her breast augmentation surgery. The U.S. currently has three types of implants available - do you know which type is the ideal choice for your surgery?

The silicone gel breast implant has been available to American women for the longest period of time. It was first made available to U.S. citizens in the early sixties. From 1992 to 2006,The Pros And Cons Associated With Each Type Of Breast Implant Device Articles the FDA banned the implant due to negative press and associated health problems resulting from implant rupture and leakage. The FDA's fourteen year clinical study resulted in a much stronger breast implant that is much more resistant to implant rupture and leakage.

The silicone implant has one primary benefit that makes it much more popular than the saline implant. That benefit is the general belief that the implant feels much more like real breast tissue when it's squeezed. It's also believed that the liquid silicone moves much in the same manner as real breast tissue. Those facts were certainly true ten or twenty years ago. However, the new saline implant designs have closed the gap between the 'feel' difference between the two types of implants.

Silicone devices have several drawbacks. Most notably, if they rupture and leak liquid silicone into a woman's body there is a high probability that she will experience adverse health conditions as a result. Additionally, silicone devices are more expensive than saline and they require larger surgical incisions in order to insert them into the breast pocket which could ultimately result in larger surgical scars.

Saline devices were the direct result of early controversies associated with the silicone devices. The saline implant is the ultimate choice when it comes to long term health risks because its liquid filler is a saltwater solution that is very similar to the fluids already found in the human body. Thus, the saline device poses almost zero risk to the body if the implant ruptures and leaks its filler.

The primary drawback to the saline device is the accepted rumor that the saline device feels like a water balloon in the hand. However, the more recent designs of saline devices have dramatically improved their feel in the hand. One of the benefits associated with the saline device is that since it is empty when inserted into the body, the surgeon only needs to make a tiny incision in order to insert the device into the breast pocket. Saline devices pose the least risk of all the implants for surgical scarring.

The latest implant device to become available for American women is the cohesive gel device. This device is also referred to as the Gummy Bear implant because its feel and consistency is very similar to the Gummy Bear candy. The cohesive device is currently undergoing FDA clinical trials so it is not readily available for use in the U.S. The only way an American can have this implant for her breast augmentation surgery is to join the FDA's clinical trial. If accepted for the trial, she'll get her implants and her surgery at a fraction of the retail cost.

Cohesive implants have many benefits: they are highly resistant to capsular contracture, they cannot leak their filler if ruptured, and it's believed they will outlast the traditional 10 year time frame that has been established for replacement. The drawbacks to this new implant are as follows: they aren't yet approved by the FDA, they require larger than normal incisions, and they are only available in an anatomical shape which can be unappealing for some women.

It's important that you take careful consideration in the known pros and cons associated with each type of implant device before you make your final decision between the three. To learn more about the latest news associated with each type of device, you should schedule an initial consultation with a board certified breast augmentation surgeon. You should only base your health related decisions on information directly received from a licensed physician in your state.