Breast Implants

Implant Leakage
If saline breast implants leak after your breast augmentation, the substance that is leaking is merely salt water, which your body will absorb without issue. There have been no known health risks associated with saline breast implants. Dr. Shah and the staff at the Columbus Institute of Plastic Surgery will be happy to address any concerns you may have. Breast implants deflate when the saline solution leaks either through the valve or a break in the implant shell. Implant leaks can occur immediately or progressively over a period of days. The leakage is noticed by a change in the shape or decrease in the size of the implant. Deflated implants require additional surgery to remove and possibly replace the implant.

Capsular Contracture
The second possible issue is capsular contracture. When you have breast augmentation surgery, your body will make a shell around the breast implant. The scar tissue or capsule that normally forms around the implant may tighten and squeeze it, causing capsular contracture. Capsular contracture is more common following infection, hematoma, or seroma. It is also more common with sub-glandular placement of the breast implant in breast augmentation. Women that develop capsular contracture complain of firmness, discomfort, pain, and implant migration. This can often be significantly improved with additional surgery

Implant Leakage
Breast implants deflate when the silicone solution leaks either through the valve or a break in the implant shell. Silicone implant leaks generally occur more slowly than saline implants and can sometimes go unnoticed for quite some time. Like saline breast implants, this leakage can be noticed by a change in the shape or decrease in the size of the implant. However, silicone breast implant leaks are more likely to go unnoticed than saline leaks. An MRI can help determine if a silicone implant has ruptured. Deflated implants require additional surgery to remove and to possibly replace the implant.

Capsular Contracture
Capsular contracture is characterized by the presence of scar tissue that forms a capsule around an implant. This capsule squeezes the implant and can cause firmness, discomfort, pain, and implant migration. This problem can often be significantly improved with additional surgery.

For many years, silicone breast implants were the main type of breast implants used. In the late 1980's and early 1990's there was a lot of news about them on television. The concern was that they were possibly related to autoimmune or connective tissue diseases such as lupus, scleroderma, or rheumatoid arthritis. These concerns were raised because studies used a small sample of women with implants.

In 1991, the FDA suspended the use of silicone breast implants for breast augmentation to see if they cause any medical problems. After 15 years of study, the FDA has approved silicone breast implants for use in breast augmentation surgery and they are now provided at the Columbus Institute of Plastic Surgery.

Saline and silicone gel are the two main types of breast implants available at our practice. There are a number of different types of breast implants. They are distinguished by their shape and texture. Both silicone gel and saline implants offered at the Columbus Institute of Plastic Surgery can be either round, anatomically (tear dropped) shaped, smooth, or textured. The staff at the Columbus Institute of Plastic Surgery will help you analyze your options and decide which implants are best for you. There are many important issues to consider about both types of breast implants before proceeding with your breast augmentation.

There is no simple answer to which type of implant is best for you. If a saline breast implant leaks, it is just salt water that is easily absorbed by the body. When compared to silicone, it also has less of a chance of leaking or hardening. The main benefit of silicone is that it feels more like a normal breast and is less likely to cause rippling. However, silicone may rupture without you knowing it, and has a higher chance of hardening (capsular contracture). Dr. Shah will explain the different characteristics between silicone gel and saline breast implants, both of which are provided at the Columbus Institute of Plastic Surgery.

With their extensive experience, Dr. Shah has been able to accurately determine which types of breast implants serve his patients best. Although each patient's case is different and requires careful consideration, Dr. Shah has specific types of breast implants they have found to provide more exceptional results in most instances.

It sounds like common sense that if you want to enlarge your breasts, then you should use an implant that is shaped like a breast. Unfortunately, it is not that simple. Anatomical (teardrop-shaped) breast implants sound great for breast augmentation, but they have one major problem: they can turn upside down. This results in an upside-down appearing breast.

Round breast implants sound like they would give you an unnatural-looking breast, but it is Dr. Shah's opinion that they do not. That's because gravity pushes more of the saline or silicone to the bottom, making the breast look more natural. Also, round breast implants will always remain in the correct position.

Whether a patient opts for silicone gel or saline breast implants offered at our Columbus practice, Dr. Bivik Shah uses round-shaped breast implants for breast augmentation surgery to ensure the best results.

Textured breast implants were designed to decrease the likelihood of capsular contracture (hardening of the breast) after augmentation. However, after using textured implants for many years, most surgeons found that instances of capsular contracture had not decreased. For that reason, Dr. Shah prefers to use smooth breast implants in most cases.