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Breast implants: Saline vs. silicone
Considering breast implants? Read a Mayo Clinic specialist's answers to common questions about saline-filled and silicone gel-filled implants.
By Mayo Clinic staff
If you're considering breast implants, you may wonder how to choose between saline-filled and silicone gel-filled implants. Here Molly Walsh, D.O., a plastic surgeon at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., explains the options.
What's the difference between saline and silicone breast implants?
Saline and silicone breast implants both have an outer silicone shell. The implants differ in material and consistency, however.
- Saline breast implants. Saline implants are filled with saline, usually at the time of surgery. Saline implants have been criticized for feeling hard or unnatural, but improved surgical techniques — such as placing the implant behind the chest muscle and slightly overfilling it — have lessened these complaints. Saline breast implants are available to women age 18 and older for breast augmentation, or women of any age for breast reconstruction.
- Silicone breast implants. Silicone implants are pre-filled with silicone gel — a thick, sticky fluid that closely mimics the feel of human fat. Some women feel that silicone breast implants look and feel more like natural breast tissue. Silicone breast implants are available to women age 22 and older for breast augmentation, or women of any age for breast reconstruction.
What are the risks of breast implants?
Saline and silicone breast implants pose similar risks, including:
- Breast pain
- Potentially permanent changes in nipple or breast sensation
- Infection
- Scar tissue that distorts the shape of the breast implant
- Implant leakage or rupture
- Need for additional breast surgery
What happens if an implant ruptures?
If a saline breast implant ruptures, the implant will deflate — causing the affected breast to change in size and shape. The leaking saline solution will be absorbed by your body without posing any health risks, but you'll probably need surgery to remove the silicone shell. A new implant can likely be inserted at the same time.
If a silicone breast implant ruptures, you may not notice right away — or ever. There's no evidence that leaking silicone gel causes serious, long-term health problems — such as breast cancer or connective tissue diseases — but a ruptured silicone breast implant may eventually cause breast pain or changes in the contour or shape of the breast. If this happens, you'll need surgery to remove the ruptured implant. A new implant can likely be inserted at the same time.
The Food and Drug Administration recommends monitoring silicone breast implants with routine MRI scans every two years, starting three years after the initial implant surgery. If an MRI scan detects an implant rupture but you don't experience any signs or symptoms, it may be up to you to weigh the risks and benefits of keeping the implant or having it removed.
Next page(1 of 2)
- Breast implants questions and answers. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/ImplantsandProsthetics/BreastImplants/ucm063719.htm. Accessed Sept. 24, 2009.
- Important facts about breast augmentation risks and complications. American Society of Plastic Surgeons. http://www.plasticsurgery.org/Patients_and_Consumers/Procedures/Cosmetic_Procedures/Breast_Augmentation.html. Accessed Sept. 24, 2009.
- Breast augmentation costs. American Society of Plastic Surgeons. http://www.plasticsurgery.org/Patients_and_Consumers/Procedures/Cosmetic_Procedures/Breast_Augmentation.html. Accessed Sept. 24, 2009.
- McCarthy CM, et al. Silicone breast implants and magnetic resonance imaging screening for rupture: Do U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommendations reflect an evidence-based practice approach to patient care? Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. 2008;121:1127.
- McLaughlin JK, et al. The safety of silicone gel-filled implants. Annals of Plastic Surgery. 2007;59:569.
- Reece EM, et al. Primary breast augmentation today: A survey of current breast augmentation practice patterns. Aesthetic Surgery Quarterly. 2009;29:116.
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