Breast Augmentation or enlargement
- Six Decisions to Make Before Breast Augmentation Surgery
- How is a breast augmentation done?
- Breast implant shape: the round and teardrop implant
- What Size Of Implant To Use
- Photographs of Breast Augmentation (A)
- Photographs of breast augmentation (B)
- Mondor's Disease After Breast Augmentation
- Breast milk in women who have breast implants
- Capsular Contracture After Breast Augmentation
- Deciding about the best incision to use for breast augmentation
- Cost
- Recovery
- FAQs about breast augmentation
- Health risk to the children of women with breast implants
- How much of a breast implant is covered by the pectoral muscle?
- Infection After Breast Augmentation
- Materials Used for Breast Enlargement
- Position of breast implants, above or below the pectoral muscle?
- Silicone Gel Implant Rupture
- Textured Implants For Breast Augmentation
- Video Presentation
- Breast Implants and Suicide Risk
- Breast Implant Key Events Timeline
- Return of silicone breast implants
Many materials have been used to enlarge the breast. Most have fallen into disuse and implants remain the method of choice for breast augmentation.
• The most common method is the use of implants. These have been used since the early 1960s. An early implant was made of silicone and introduced in 1964. Silicone gel implants are the "gold standard" by which other methods are judged. They feel more natural, and are less likely to ripple or wrinkle than saline implants. Although they have the problems of any implant such as capsular formation, the association with autoimmune illness has not been confirmed by long term studies.
Timeline of events for breast implants
The three main differences between saline implants and silicone gel implants are:
• gel implants feel more natural
• saline implants are more likely to leak from the valve
• saline implants have more wrinkling
Silicone gel implants are now freely available around the globe. They were available outside the United States for many years. New gel implants were re-introduced to the United States after extensive research in late 2006. These new implants are sometimes called a “gummy bear” implant. The manufacturer uses this term because the gel is solid and behaves like a “gummy bear” when cut. Dr. Hudson was involved in the pilot studies for the new memory gel implants. He has over a decade's experience with these implants.
More information about silicone gel breast implants from e-sthetics.
Both saline implants and gel implants can have a smooth or textured surface.
• Silicone and paraffin were injected directly into the breast. This method is no longer used because of the high risk of complications, such as granulomas, loss of skin and excess scar formation. Many women who had these injections developed very misshapen breasts.
• Injections of the patients own tissue such as fat, muscle, omentum, lipomas and skin-fat grafts have all been used to enlarge the breast. Unfortunately the results are unpredictable. Scarring and irregularity are a problem but more significant is the development of microcalcifications that make mammography less reliable.
• Various non-surgical methods such as breast creams and suction pumps have also been used. The results are unreliable. In the case of the pump, although some increase may be noticed its use is cumbersome and the long term effects unknown.
ASPS video about the return of breast implants (2006)
(opens in new window or page)
Alternative names: silicone, paraffin, fat graft, suction pump, breast cream, saline implant, gel implant, gummy bear, textured implant, smooth implant, augmentation mammoplasty, augmentation mammaplasty, breast enhancement, breast enlargement, breast augmentation, BAM.