Breast Implant Fill (Silicone and Saline)

1. Breast Implant Fill - Saline or silicone?

As of November 17, 2006, women in the U.S. aged 22 and over have the option of choosing both saline and silicone gel filled breast implants. The 1st breast implants were filled with silicone gel. As breast implants evolved, saline (salt water) became an accepted alternative fill to silicone, although silicone can look and feel more like a real breast. Whether filled with silicone gel or salt water, the shell of both types of breast implants is made of a firmer, silicone elastomer.

Background

In 1992, after decades of widespread availability of silicone gel-filled breast implants, FDA Commissioner David Kessler decided that the safety of silicone breast implants had not been established and had silicone breast implants removed from the market. For 15 years, silicone gel-filled breast implants were available only to breast reconstruction patients and patients undergoing breast revision surgery. In order to receive silicone, women had to enrolled in clinical trials mandated by the FDA. The ban on silicone breast implants was lifted on November 17, 2006.

Note: Soy filled implants are no longer available. The risk of infection on rupture from this substance was too high. Some claimed they also smelled bad!

Move onto picking a breast implant size . . .