1. What is an implant made of?

Implants are made of a silicone shell. They can be filled with either saline or a silicone gel.


2. Is having silicone in the body safe?

Yes, silicone is safe for the body. In fact, you are exposed to it frequently throughout your daily life.


3. What are the pros and cons of saline fill vs silicone gel fill?

Silicone implants generally feel better, show less rippling and wrinkles, and over time, create less tissue stretching. The cons of silicone implants are that they are more expensive, follow-up MRI s are recommended which can get expensive as well, it' s harder to tell if you have a leak. If you have a leak, additional surgery is required, and usually silicone implants require a bigger incision. Saline implants are cheaper, adjustable, which is nice for women with asymmetries, have no need for follow-up scans (MRI s), and make it easier to tell if there is a leak because the saline is absorbed by your body, so you can tell almost immediately. However, the cons to saline implants are that they don' t feel as natural, show rippling and wrinkles more noticeably, and that over-filling can void the implant warranty and cause other unwanted characteristics such as excessive roundness and firming.

Silicone implants do not really make people ill. Most of the lawsuits filed initially were because of way Dow Corning collected faulty data and lied, not because of the silicone.


4. Can salt-water filled implants harden like the silicone-filled ones?

The implants themselves don' t actually harden. Anytime a foreign object is placed into the body, it automatically forms scar tissue around the object. In some cases, the scar tissue can tighten, squeezes the implant which is known as capsular contracture. This can happen with saline or silicone implants but the risk is slightly higher with silicone.


5. How long do implants last?

There is no expiration date on implants. It used to be said that implants should be replaced every 10 years. However, with the new development of implants, many patients can have them much longer before they have to replace them.