Breast Implant Types
Your complete guide and quick links to everything you want to know about the types of Breast Implants we use in Sydney!
Breast Implants come in a wide variety of brands and types in terms of inner filler material, shapes, surfaces and size. The benefit of having so many different implant characteristics is that we can customise your surgery with an implant that will deliver an appearance you should absolutely love!
Implant Fill: Silicone vs Saline
All Breast Implants consist of an outer casing (called the ‘shell’ or ‘wall’) plus an inner filler material which is either saline or silicone.
Silicone and saline implants have different characteristics as set out in the following table:
| Saline Implants | Silicone Implants | |
|---|---|---|
| Filler Material | Saline (Salt Water) | Cohesive Silicone Gel |
| “Feel” of the Implants to Touch | Less natural (more of a ‘waterbed’ feel) | More natural because they feel more like breast tissue. |
| Consequences of Wall Rupture | Saline Implants simply deflate and breast volume is lost. The saline is absorbed by the body without any harmful effects. | Cohesive Gel has a shape-retaining memory, so breast volume is not lost. The leaked Silicone could migrate to regional lymph glands but as silicone is an inert material this is not considered injurious to health. |
| Chances of Spontaneous Deflation | Possible | None |
| Silicone Gel “Bleed” through the Shell & Risk of Silicone Granuloma | None | Possible |
| Chances of Surface Wrinkling/Rippling | Greater | Less |
Implant Shapes: Round vs Teardrop
Round Breast Implants:
- Deliver more upper breast fullness.
- Are sometimes the preferred shape to restore lost upper breast volume after breast-feeding or weight loss.
- Can be inserted through any incision location.
- Being perfectly round, implant rotation cannot produce any deformity of breast shape.
Teardrop Breast Implants:
- Provide more fullness in the lower half that tapers off towards the top.
- On profile, they deliver a more natural straight-line drape of skin from collar-bone down to nipple.
- Can only be inserted through an incision under the breast.
Implant Surfaces: Smooth vs Textured
Key features of the individual surface types are as follows:
Smooth Implant Surfaces:
- To date, no Australian cases of BIA-ALCL have been reported in women who have only Smooth Implants.
- Reported to have less chance of Rippling/Wrinkling than Textured Implants.
- May have a slightly higher risk Capsular Contracture than Textured Implants.
- Teardrop Implants are not made with Smooth Surfaces because of the risk of implant rotation producing a shape deformity.
Textured Implant Surfaces:
- Textured Surfaces are reported to have a lower risk of Capsular Contracture than Smooth Implants.
- Textured surfaces, however, are reported to have a higher risk of Rippling/Wrinkling than Smooth Implants.
- Teardrop Implants are made only with Textured Surfaces to reduce the risk of implant rotation and resulting shape deformity.
Implant Size
The final choice as to the size of the implant should be entirely yours. By all means, listen to your surgeon’s opinion but always choose the size that YOU feel gives you the ‘look’ you want and not what you think others may like.
Based on many chest and breast measurements, your surgeon will hand you various implants that suit your measurements, and have you insert them one at a time into a crop top to compare in a mirror. We believe this is a far more reliable way than 3-D Simulation Technology to choose the shape and size of implants.
Watch Our ‘Breast Augmentation’ Animation Video
Breast Implants 'Before & After'
Round Silicone Breast Implants
Available in either Smooth or Textured Implant Surfaces
Preferred by those wanting a fuller upper breast ‘look’ or those with significant loss of upper breast volume after pregnancy or major weight loss.
Teardrop Silicone Breast Implants
For breasts that look natural in shape and not ‘stuck-on’!
An implant shape to deliver a natural, straight-line drape of skin from collarbone to nipple instead of a ‘stuck-on look’ that can occur with some Round Implants
Asian Breast Augmentation
Special considerations are essential in Asian Breast Augmentation!
For optimal results, special considerations in terms of implant type, shape, size and surgical technique are essential in Asian Breast Augmentation.
Trans-Axillary Breast Augmentation
Avoids a tell-tale scar anywhere on, or under, the breasts!
The ‘Armpit Approach’ involves inserting an implant through a small incision in a skin crease of the armpit – thus avoiding a scar anywhere on, or under, the breast.
Dual Plane Breast Augmentation
To correct early sagging at the same time!
Our preferred implant placement when there is only mild sagging but not enough to warrant the more invasive ‘lift’ surgery techniques.