Breast Implant or Surgery: The methods and devices used

A breast implant/ surgery is a cosmetic surgery or technique that improves and corrects the size, shape, external appearance and texture of a woman’s breasts. Breast implants are majorly used for addressing congenital anomalies, chest wall or breast deformities and also for cosmetic or aesthetic breast augmentation.

Generally, there are two types of devices that are mostly used in a breast implant/ surgery and are classified on the basis of the materials used in the manufacture. In a breast implant device either a kind of saline solution or silicone gel is used as filler that crystallizes the shape of these implant devices. These devices are also known as the tissue expander device and are actually temporary breast prosthesis. Its actual purpose is to give shape and structure to an implant pocket so that later the permanent breast implant can be placed in that pocket or space.

Initially, saline implants were usually filled with saline solution or concentration of salt and water. However, nowadays the saline breast implants are made of a silicone elastomer. These implants allow breast augmentation with minimal usage of surgical techniques. This involves insertion or incisions that are comparatively shorter and smaller than the ones that are left by the silicone gel implants. Thus it saves the person undergoing the surgery from the trouble of after surgery or incision-scars. The saline implants also give better results as regards the breast-size. It provides a smoother curve or outline and shape, and also gives a rational and realistic texture to the breasts. However, it can also lead to certain cosmetic problems like undulation and the crumpling up of the breast skin. Lower breast pole stretch can be noticed within a short time-span, and the implant may become prominent and evident to the eye and to the touch.

There are five generations of silicone breast implants. Each implant generation is defined by the shell and device manufacturing techniques. The contemporary generation professes the usage of silicone-gel breast implants that are made of a kind of semi-solid gel. It is preferable as it eliminates or lowers the chances of filler leakage, device-shell rupture and does not allow the filler to move outside the implant-pocket. It is a medically safer and technically more efficient method of breast implant/ surgery.