Comparing the different types of breast implants at St. Louis Cosmetic Surgery is an important part of the breast augmentation planning process for women from Missouri; Decatur and Champaign, Illinois; Terre Haute, Indiana; and surrounding communities. While the choices are more varied now than ever before, our surgeons can help by streamlining the process and explaining how each decision may affect the outcome of a breast enhancement surgery.
Getting breast augmentation surgery is a highly personal decision, and the board-certified and board-eligible surgeons at our practice in metro St. Louis, MO, can help you select the breast implants that match your cosmetic goals. [consultation]Request a consultation[/consultation] online to meet personally with one of our surgeons or call our office at [phone] to schedule a consultation.
Your Choices
Each of the factors involved in choosing breast implants has an impact on the results of your [link pid=61]breast augmentation surgery[/link], including both the look and feel of your breasts. That’s why it’s important to select a surgeon who understands how each option will affect your customized procedure, which also includes [link pid=61]surgical options[/link]. When choosing breast implants, our patients from Belleville and O’Fallon, Illinois, and throughout Missouri have many options when it comes to size, material, shape, texture, and profile.
Implant Size
You know you want bigger breasts, but just how big? It may be the most personal decision involved with breast augmentation, and it depends on your cosmetic goals. When discussing breast implant sizes, it’s important to know that bra cup sizes are not the same thing. They can be useful to describe your goals, but implants are measured in cubic centimeters (usually called cc). Our surgeons will recommend a breast implant size based on physical factors that include your existing breast tissue, your body’s frame, and your desired breast size.
You can try on different “sizers” in our office, which are essentially like padded bras that you put on under a shirt to see how you might look with different options. We also encourage you to bring in photos or review our photo gallery to find examples of breasts you like the look of so we can discuss them together.
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Implant Material
The material of your breast implants is another important but sometimes difficult decision. Breast implants are filled with either a liquid saline solution or a silicone gel. Silicone gel implants may be either a more fluid consistency or a highly cohesive substance that is firmer and holds its shape even when cut. Our patients who choose silicone gel implants say that they feel more like natural breast tissue. Saline implants, on the other hand, often require shorter scars because they are inserted empty and filled once they are in the body. Silicone implants are often a good choice for women with little existing breast tissue because they are less prone to rippling, but women with more existing tissue can be good candidates for either material.
Both saline and silicone gel implants are approved by the FDA and are extremely safe, and both have their own pros and cons. Our surgeons have experience with both materials and can recommend a good choice for you.
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Shape, Texture & Profile
There are a few more factors that must be decided regarding breast implants that will further customize your results:
- Shape: Implants are either round or contoured in a shape resembling a teardrop (sometimes called anatomically shaped). A round implant provides more fullness in the upper part of the breasts and more cleavage than contoured implants, which are larger at the bottom and more closely mimic a real breast shape.
- Texture: Saline and silicone gel implants can be either smooth or textured. When an implant’s surface is textured, the body’s natural tissue grows around it and grips onto it better, so the implant won’t move around. Teardrop-shaped implants are textured to help prevent them from rotating.
- Profile: This refers to the projection of your implants from your chest, or how far they stick out from your body. Profile options are usually low, moderate, moderate plus, or high. Our experienced surgeons can recommend the best implant profile to match your body’s frame.
Because of their vast experience, our doctors all have developed a trained aesthetic eye. This helps them guide you in recommending options that they believe suit your body and your goals. We also let our breast augmentation patients get an idea of how different options could look using [link pid=305]computer imaging[/link], so you can feel confident in all your decisions.