FAQs: Breast Implants Rippling – Breast Augmentation

Rippling - Is visible wrinkling a problem with saline breast implants?

It is in the nature of saline inflatable breast implants to have wrinkling of the shell. This is because the shell needs to be thick and strong enough to last as long as possible, and because the saline (salt water) fill shifts with changes in body position. The rippling is most objectionable when it is visible at the top of the breast. For that reason, placing implants beneath the large pectoral muscle can be particularly advantageous with saline implants. The thickness of the muscle obscures whatever wrinkling there might be, in the same way that a thick carpet will hide uneven floor boards.

The other thing that the surgeon can do to minimize wrinkling is to always fill the implant more than the minimum specified by the manufacture, while not exceeding the maximum – in other words, filling to a “happy medium.”

Finally, for some women who are really not suitable candidates for saline implants, the FDA does permit the use of silicone gel implants. While this is not frequently the case, silicone gel implants are a viable solution to the rippling problem in appropriate cases.

Click here pictures of rippling & breast augmentation revision surgery.

Information for this FAQ contributed by David M. Metzner, M.D.