The decision to have breast augmentation is such a personal one. Women looking for a fuller profile may seek implant surgery because they want better body proportions. Women who have lost weight or have breastfed may want to return to the perky breasts that they used to have.  Once a woman has decided to have breast augmentation surgery, her consultation with Dr. Khalifeh at either his Chevy Chase or Frederick, Maryland location will enable her to make other decisions about the surgery.  One of the first decisions is the type of implant she wants.  There are currently two options for implants: saline or silicone.

The saline implants may be round or teardrop shaped (anatomical). They may be smooth or textured and can vary in the amount of saline they hold.  Saline implants are a good option for women under the age of 22; silicone implants are not available to younger women.  Both saline and silicone implants have silicone shells that can rupture and can leak. With saline implants, the saline solution will seep out over the next few days making the leakage obvious.  This solution will be absorbed harmlessly by the body. If the silicone implant shell ruptures, it may go unnoticed until the regularly scheduled MRI is done.  The silicone gel may remain in the surrounding tissues and there may be no noticeable difference.  It is easier to repair a saline-filled implant than to replace a silicone implant. Saline implants are less expensive than silicone implants,  resulting in surgical costs often $1,200 less than with the silicone implants. Saline implants are also a good option for women who do not want the long-term monitoring needed with silicone implants.  After breast augmentation surgery with silicone implants, the first MRI must be done after three years. After that, an MRI must be done every other year. 

There are even more advantages to saline implants. Because it can be rolled up and inserted into the breast, a smaller incision site is made for small- to medium-sized saline implants. The incision may be transaxillary (in the armpit), periareolar (around the nipple), inframammary (in the crease where breast meets the chest wall) or TUBA (in the navel).The implant contains a valve so that once it is filled with sterile saline solution, the fill tube is removed and the valve closes, preventing leakage.  Saline-filled implants can also be adjusted during the surgery.  During surgery, Dr. Khalifeh can adjust the implant size, nearly drop by drop, to get the closest match between the two breasts.  Silicone implants come in 25 cc size intervals, and any size differential between the implants must be ordered ahead of time.   Some saline implants are expandable so that the size of the breast may be altered after surgery. In this case, the fill tube is left in place and a fill port is added to the tube.  Once the implant has been filled to the desired size, the port and fill tube are removed.  In the complication department, saline implants carry a lower rate of capsular contracture.

Saline implants were once thought to be hard or unnatural feeling, but now that they can be placed under the chest muscle, this is no longer a complaint. Still, when doing a comparison, silicone implants feel more like a woman’s breast tissue than saline-filled implants, which have been compared to feeling like a water balloon.  These differences in feel between the two types of implants only become an issue if the woman has less natural breast tissue or if she is opting for a very large implant. It is also more of an issue with the subglandular (over the muscle) placement of the implant.

Call to schedule a consultation with Dr. Khalifeh about saline or silicone breast augmentation surgery at (301) 244-0148.