Saline vs. Silicone, Size and Shape: All About Breast Implants and Breast Implant Sizing

Breast Implants USA
By choosing a surgeon at Breast Implants USA, you have already made an important decision by selecting a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon. Determining the type and size of your Breast Implants is also an important step, and you want to make an informed decision.

First, some basics. Any decision you make concerning your health should be done in partnership with a qualified medical professional. Information on any website alone - even Breast Implants USA - is not enough to make a fully informed decision. Discuss all Breast Augmentation possibilities with your surgeon. To send a message to a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, go to Ask an Expert and fill out the information. A surgeon will contact you shortly.

Breast Implants and Breast Augmentation

In short, implants come in a variety of materials and shapes. Saline Breast Implants have some advantages. They can be inserted in a deflated state and then filled once in place, meaning smaller scars and the possibility of insertion through navel in the TUBA procedure, or Trans Umbilical Breast Augmentation.

Saline implants come either smooth or textured and in a two basic styles, round and anatomic. These features are all discussed at length if you follow the links in this text.

Silicone breast implants are also approved by the FDA and have their relative advantages as well, with many women expressing a preference. It is important to note, though, that neither type of implant is universally considered preferable for all patient. Only you and your surgeon can decide what is best for you, and entering that conversation with an open mind is most likely to lead to a satisfactory result. While messages in the press may lead you to believe that one is empirically superior to the other, it truly is an individual decision.

Breast Implants are inserted during a procedure called Breast Augmentation surgery.

Breast augmentation surgery enhances the shape and size of a woman's breasts, using breast implants. Women choose to have breast augmentation surgery to enhance the contours of their body, to correct loss of breast volume following pregnancy, to make their breasts symmetrical, and for other reasons. With breast augmentation surgery, a woman's bust line can be increased by one or more cup sizes. - Dr. Mary Gingrass and Dr. Melinda Haws, Plastic Surgery Center of Nashville

Determining Which Type of Implant is Best for You

There is no perfect way to determine on your own whether Saline or Silicone, Round or Anatomic, or Smooth or Textured implants are best for you, nor can you determine on your own the best incision for your particular case. These decisions can only be made between you and your Board Certified Plastic Surgeon. To find a surgeon, either visit our Plastic Surgeon Locator or Ask a Breast Augmentation Expert your questions and a surgeon will get back to you promptly.

Determining Your Implant Size

When it comes to determining what size implant you should get, there are many resources which suggest home-made, do-it-yourself approaches ranging from comparing yourself to celebrities, using balloons, filling pantyhose with rice, and many others.

Many women have used these and other approaches to determine the best size. In the end, the best way to decide is to ask your surgeon. Your surgeon will be able to walk you through various methods of "trying out" different sizes to give you an idea of how you will look.

Remember to ask questions. Chances are your surgeon (or prospective surgeon) has been asked the same questions many times before and will be more than happy to help.

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Breast Implants USA features articles from our own writers, our sponsoring Board Certified Plastic Surgeons and other sources with something to say about any aspect of Breast Augmentation and Plastic Surgery.

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