Common Types of Breast Implants

The need to have full breasts may make it necessary for many people to seek aesthetic surgical procedures. The essence of such procedures is that breast implants are inserted into the breast tissues. This makes the breasts to have a form that is much fuller in terms of the desired shape and size. There are many types of implants; their classification is based on the type of substance used in them. Also, the choice of implants depends on several factors. These include costs, safety and personal preferences. Below is a brief description of commonly used types of breast implants.

In general, there are two broad types of implants: those made of silicone and saline. Each of these types of implants has related pros and cons. In addition, there is the oil filled type of breast implants. This type is common in European countries only, since its use in the United States is yet to be approved by the Federal Drug Agency.

Silicone implants are by far popular in terms of usage. They are made up of silicone shells that are filled up with plastic silicone gel. Their great advantage is that they give a much more realistic feel to users than the other types of breast implants. However, cases of infections and related complications arising from leakages of dangerous compounds through the casing of silicone breast implants led to their temporary ban. Currently, these types of implants are still in common use after extensive studies showed using them is not as risky as it was once thought to be.

Saline implants were developed in order to offer increased safety to users. They are made up of silicone rubber shells but filled with saline water instead of silicone gel, as is the case in silicone breast implants. Since the saline solution used in this type of implants is generally non - toxic in the event of leakages, saline implants are generally seen as being a safer alternative to the silicone ones. This is in terms of safety of use and long term effects on the body.

Oil – filled breast implants are made up of silicone shells that are filled up with a special type of oil. This is still less toxic as compared to silicone gel that is contained in the original silicone implants. However, its use is still limited to other countries.

All these types of breast implants have different advantages and disadvantages. For instance, it has been argued that all types have the potential of producing harmful effects to one’s body in the event of a leakage. This is so because of the fact that all the three types of implants are made up of a silicone rubber shell that contains other harmful compounds used in creating silicone material. This means that regardless of the material used to fill them up, all types of breast implants may be harmful in the event of an accident during or after the procedure. Also, health and other complications which arise in some individuals long after the procedure are not related to one type of implant but are rather associated with any type of the implants.