Saline Breast Implants: Their Benefits and Drawbacks

At the plastic surgery practice of Dr. Lloyd Van Wyck, we believe that you deserve to have the opportunity to fulfill your vision of what your best self should be. Dr. Van Wyck and his team strive to empower all of our patients to achieve their aesthetic goals by offering a comprehensive range of cosmetic procedures that can be customized to exacting degrees. No procedure is more customizable than breast augmentation, which allows the patient a great deal of control over the final results, beginning with their choice of breast implants.

Although silicone gel breast implants have long been a popular choice among our patients for their realistic feel and appearance, saline breast implants offer unique benefits of their own. Dr. Van Wyck discusses saline breast implants in detail during consultations at his Ottawa, ON plastic surgery practice so that patients can make educated, informed decisions as to which type of breast implant they wish to have placed during breast augmentation surgery.

Are saline breast implants the right choice for you? To find out, we invite you to schedule your initial consultation with Dr. Lloyd Van Wyck today.

What Are Saline Breast Implants?

Both saline and silicone gel breast implants have an outer shell made of silicone. In the case of saline implants, this silicone shell is placed through an incision made in one of several possible locations and then filled with a sterile saline solution. Dr. Van Wyck can control the amount of solution that is placed in each implant to ensure the most symmetrical breast augmentation results possible.

What Are the Benefits of Saline Breast Implants?

Because saline implants do not come pre-filled, unlike silicone gel implants, they can be placed through smaller incisions. Indeed, they can easily be placed using such techniques as the transaxillary, or underarm, incision technique or even the transumbilical, or “belly button,” technique. These techniques produce no scars on the breast whatsoever. While some silicone gel implants can be placed via an underarm incision, the transumbilical technique is strictly limited to saline breast implants.

It is also far easier to tell when saline breast implants rupture, as the saline solution will rapidly leak out and safely be absorbed into the body, leaving a deflated shell in its wake. It can be weeks or months before a silicone gel implant rupture becomes apparent.

Finally, it should be noted that saline breast implants are less expensive than their silicone gel counterparts, though cost should not be the primary consideration when comparing implant types. It’s always best to base your decision on what you feel will provide the most satisfactory results in your case, regardless of cost. Two years after surgery, you won’t be thinking about the cost of your implants, but you will still very much be living with the results of your surgery.

What Are the Drawbacks of Saline Breast Implants?

Saline implants tend not to look or feel as natural as silicone gel implants. They produce breasts that are rounder in shape, although some women strive for that look. They are also heavier than silicone gel implants and therefore more likely to shift downward over time. Patients who are already beginning to experience some degree of ptosis - the clinical term for drooping - may not want to consider saline breast implants.

Learn More about Saline Breast Implants

To learn more about saline breast implants, please contact our plastic surgery centre today.