Most breast implants will allow for additional saline to be added (or removed) after surgery. This is a simple office procedure, and can be done under local anesthetic. The price for this varies from surgeon to surgeon, so you will need to ask your doctor what his/her fee is. However, the Mentor High Profile saline breast implants, Mentor Spectrum Expandable, and Mentor Becker Expandable breast implants cannot have saline added or removed once the fill port is taken out.

Seed implants (Brachytherapy) is a relatively noninvasive radiation treatment relative to surgery. One of the disadvantages with seed implants is that if the cancer is not destroyed (the seeds didn't work), then surgery is no longer an option. For me personally, I did not want to take that risk so I elected for surgery.

Saline breast implants require a smaller incision for placement and they are less expensive than the silicone breast implants. If the saline implant ruptures your breast will appear deflated and your body will absorb the saline.

Saline implants are filled with a “Normal Saline” solution which is basically sterilized water with added sodium chloride (salt). Should the implant rupture or leak, this saline solution, just like water, would be absorbed completely by your body. Silicone implants are filled with a silicone gel and are currently utilized only under guidelines set by the FDA as part of a long term study of their safety.

The recent FDA approval of silicone gel implants gives women more implant options than ever. Many patients report silicone gel implants feel more like natural breasts and many physicians prefer them for that same reason. Saline implants are time-tested and have advantages as well. Click to breast implant options or to recent articles to read more. And, don't forget that Dr. Stevens or Dr. Stoker will give you plenty of information in your consultation and assist you in making the right choice.

If silicone implants get back on the market, the vast majority of surgeons will use them over saline. Studies have demonstrated their safety profile, and the feel of silicone implants, in most patients, is simply more natural than with saline. Silicone implants are the most common implant used outside of the United States.

Overall silicone implants are softer and feel more natural than saline implants. In addition, silicone implants are much more expensive than their saline counterparts.

No, many women will continue to feel more comfortable with saline implants over silicone. Saline implants have been used almost exclusively over the past 14 years and have done very well. They remain a good option. This is especially true for women who have a fair amount of natural breast tissue. In these women the difference in feel becomes much less significant. Silicone implant approval simply means that women have a choice.

The new cohesive gel silicone implants are generally thought to feel more natural than saline filled implants. There is clear scientific evidence that silicone is safe to use. However I will discuss the pros and cons of all the implants with you and the final choice is yours.

It can be effective, but carefully question your surgeon regarding his/her surgical plan. Do as much research as possible. The more incisions that are placed during implant surgery, particularly below the nipple, and on the inferior breast, the greater the chances of complications. I would be very wary of this type of "combined" surgery, particularly with a vertical or infra-mammary incision. Most breast surgeons do not agree, avoid these implants, and have had many problems with them.

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The women who benefit the most from the improved feel and decreased rippling of silicone implants are women with little natural breast tissue. These women do not have much tissue to cover the implant, therefore, the feel of the implant becomes very important.

Saline water has a relatively high concentration of dissolved salts. Salt is not just "salt" as we know it - sodium chloride (NaCl) - but can be dissolved calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+) sulfate (S042-), bicarbonate (HC03-) and Boron (B).

It is in the nature of saline inflatable 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.

We have found that many implant victims that have chronic illness even after removal of their implants usually have chronic infections, such as Mycoplasma, Chlamydia, and various other chronic bacterial and viral (such as Herpes Viruses, etc.) infections. Once these infections are identified, patients can be treated. Your partial responses to ozone therapy support the notion that anaerobic infections may be involved in your illness. If you are interested, please consult our website, www.immed.

Although the majority of women are happy with their results whether they choose saline or silicone gel implants, there are some differences in the results. Saline implants have the advantage of placement through somewhat smaller incisions and more varied locations. They are also filled at the time of surgery and the size can, therefore, be "fine tuned" intra-operatively. This can be particularly helpful if there is breast asymmetry.

The Institute of Medicine, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, recently concluded that women with silicone breast implants are no more likely than the rest of the population to develop serious illnesses. The report said that new studies have led to, among others, the following conclusions: There is no evidence suggesting silicone used for breast implants is toxic to humans. There is no established link between implants and a unique disease syndrome.

Currently, most surgeons are using saline implants. For more information on the availability of silicone implants, the advantages and disadvantages of each, and risks associated with each, please refer to the section entitled "Saline Versus Silicone Implants", which can be found in the "Implant Reconstruction" section.

There is no "ideal" time. Simply, it is when the woman wants to have it done. Indications to exchange include the desire to have a more natural feel and if there is significant rippling with the current saline implant.