Breast Augmentation With Saline and Silicone Implants

Considering breast implants? Learn about the differences and similarities between saline and silicone implants and how to determine which one is right for you.

The breast augmentation procedure was the most popular procedure in 2011- with over 307,000 procedures performed- according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Over the past eleven years, from 2000 to 2011, the number of breast augmentation procedures performed on Americans rose by 45%, and is showing signs of a continual, steady increase this year.

Breast augmentation, and plastic surgery in general, has typically gotten a bad rap in the past, carrying somewhat of a social stigma. However, these days, plastic surgery is accepted, and in some cases, even encouraged, by American society as a whole. There are so many reality shows on television these days glamorizing plastic surgery and the people who receive them; there are also many celebrities and public figures who proudly admit that certain enviable parts of their body were made possible by plastic surgery procedures.

Lucky for you, you live during an age where breast implants in Los Angeles will cause more envy than social rejection; including non-invasive cosmetic surgery procedures, there was a total of 13,828,726 cosmetic surgery procedures performed on Americans. In other words, this means that a little over 4% of the American population had some type of cosmetic surgery procedure during the year 2011.

In light of this rising social acceptance of plastic surgery, there is no better time to consider getting a breast augmentation. When it comes to breast augmentations, there are two types of implants that can be used to give you fuller, bigger, more voluptuous breasts: the saline implant and the silicone implant.

Both types of implants have a silicone shell but the saline implant is filled with a sterile salt water solution known as saline and the silicone implant, like its name implies, is filled with a silicone-based gel. The silicone implant comes pre-filled, set to a specific size where as the saline implant isn't completely filled with saline until the implants have been inserted into the breasts, allowing the Los Angeles plastic surgeon to adjust the size of the implants during the procedure as necessary.

In the past, it was a commonly held belief that silicone implants looked and felt more like actual breast tissue than saline implants. However, silicone implants were also known to have more potential risks and complications, leaving women who wanted a breast augmentation to decide between a risk to their health and a risk to their physical appearance.

Thankfully, these days, modern technology has engineered saline implants to look and feel virtually indistinguishable from silicone implants and silicone implants are now no more dangerous than saline implants. The decision, then, between saline and silicone implants is a matter of the patient's personal choice. However, if you are under the age of 22, you are limited to saline implants for your breast augmentation as silicone implants have been approved by the FDA for people who are 22 years of age or older.