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Saline Breast Implant Rippling Options?

asked 3 years ago by sprydo12 in austin tx
Latest answer by Steven Wallach, MD
Question viewed 4,953 times
Tags: saline implants

My wife has had saline implants for about 8 years and they have ripples. The implants were placed above the muscle. She was 5'9" and about 150-165lbs from the time of the implants to about a year ago.

Her implants always had a slight bubble or air pocket feels but hardly noticeable. She was a B cup and enlarged to a 36D. Over the last year she has been working out heavily and is now around 120lbs. The rippling is more obvious now.

My question is this....could the implants be attached to the muscle, skin, etc and now that her breasts hang slightly with her loss of weight it causes the ripples to show through more? With a slight push upward the ripples disappear....so could they be attached by scar tissue and that’s the problem? If so what are options? Thx, Shawn.

12 answers to Saline Breast Implant Rippling Options?

Rippling was probably always there, but now you can see it

Hello Shawn, One of the inevitable consequences of thin tissues is being able to see the rippling of breast implants. If they were placed above the muscle, there is not that additional layer to mask some of the rippling. Switching to high profile implants, whether saline or silicone, is a possibility. In general, the higher the profile, the less the ripple effect. Trying to replace them at least partially under the muscle can also help, but it is always easier to do this the first time... more

Francisco Canales, MD
Santa Rosa Plastic Surgeon

Rippling of implants

Rippling of implants is more apparent when they are over the muscle especially on a thin patient without alot of breast tissue. She may be better off with implants under the muscle.

Steven Wallach, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Using silicone implants would decrease rippling

Saline implants have a tendency to ripple over time and this can be especially noticeable when the implants are placed above the muscle. In an explant-reimplant procedure, I would remove the saline implants and replace them with silicone implants under the muscle. This however can be difficult in someone who works out a lot. Be sure to discuss these concerns with your plastic surgeon. Dr. Cuber

Shain A. Cuber, MD
Marlboro Plastic Surgeon

Silicone implant under the muscle

The tissues in the upper breast pole became thinner exposing the implant more. The answer is to switch to a gel implant under the muscle. This will give her the best option.

Hisham Seify, MD, PhD
Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon

This is straightforward

This was the reason that most of us now do submuscular or subpectoral augmentation. Without even seeing her it sounds like she doesn't have enough breast tissue to cover the ripples that can occur with saline implants. So it sounds like she needs: 1. removal of the saline implants 2. placement of silicone implants fully under the muscle or subpectoral 3. a small mastopexy or breast lift. See several board certified plastic surgeons before you decide on your surgeon.

Christopher L. Hess, MD
Fairfax Plastic Surgeon

You are correct

You are correct, there is likely scar tissue attached to the implant and the skin. She likely needs to switch to under the muscle implants and with a slightly larger size if she has loose skin. Alternative, she would need a breast lift (mastopexy) at the same time. Also, she may want to consider switching to silicone which has a much more nature feel.

David Shafer, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

Exchange for silicone under the muscle

Hi there- As discussed by my colleagues, the rippling your wife is experiencing is in part due to her trim body composition and superficial implant location. The fact that her implants are saline is a large part of the explanation though- it is my opinion that saline implants should never be place above the chest muscle because even women with much thicker tissues will almost always develop rippling. I would consider placement of silicone implants, which in itself will almost always... more

Armando Soto, MD
Orlando Plastic Surgeon

www.DrArmandoSoto.com

Ripples always occur with breast implants - it is just whether you see them or not

All breast implants ripple because the implants fold on themselves. Under-filled saline implants ripple most, and gel-filled ripple less. If you use saline implants, especially in a thin woman with small breasts, they need to be behind the muscle. If the implants are placed behind the breast, which is a great location, then they need to be gel-filled. Even when gel filled implants are used behind the breast or even behind the muscle, there can be ripples depending on the fatty tissue and... more

Carl W. "Rick" Lentz III, MD
Daytona Beach Plastic Surgeon

There is more rippling now because there is less fat covering the implants.

Hi! It sounds like your wife needs a revision. I would recommend Mentor round smooth walled moderate Plus profile or high profile implants. She should NOT have so called moderate profile implants, because these are really low profile and they are underfilled and can also cause rippling. She may also need a capsulectomy (removing the internal lining around the implants), because this lining sometimes retains a "memory" of the ripples. And she may well also need a breast lift at the same time... more

George J. Beraka, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

All saline implants have some rippling

All saline implants will have some degree of wrinkling and rippling but this becomes more obvious as the body fat goes down and the tissues thin over the implant. This is even more visible if the implants were "textured" surface and the body healed directly to them. The best fix for this is to switch to a smooth walled silicone gel implant. This will make it much better.

Richard P. Rand, MD, FACS
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

Weight loss makes rippling more pronounced

The weight loss your wife has had makes the rippling of the implant more noticeable as there is less tissue coverage over the implant - specially with an implant that is above the muscle. When you push up on the implant you basically squeeze the saline into a smaller area (sounds like she has saling implants)as well and therefore make the rippling disappear. The implant is not attached to the muscle. The simple answer is that she has lost weight, and has saline implants that were placed... more

Bahram Ghaderi, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Rippling inevitable

All saline and silicone gel implants are rippled when inserted into the breast.The question is how to camouflage this or how to minimize its appearance. If the implants are filled more than their recommended volume, you can "blow" out the ripples, but the physics of this means the implants will be firm. You can hide the implants under breast tissue thus you need a fair amount of volume to do this and also keep the dimensions of the implant within the dimensions of the natural... more