Saline breast implants

Saline breast implants can look and feel quite natural, especially when place under the pectoral muscle. If you are very thin and have little breast tissue, you may be more likely to develop visible rippling or wrinkling. Silicone implants have less likelihood of rippling and may be a reasonable option in a thin patient, who has less tissue to "hide" the implant. In general, silicone implants feel more natural however they often times look similar to saline. Safety should be a concern with silicone implants, which have been FDA approved for widespread cosmetic use since 2006.

Bottom line is saline and silicone implants LOOK quite similar, however silicone implants FEEL more natural.

Breast implants can be placed in the submuscular or subglandular plane.

A natural contour and feel is dependent on the following breast principles:

• Symmetry of the breasts
• Position of the nipple areola
• Shape of the native breast prior to implantation
• Contour of the breast prior to implantation
• Quality of the skin
• Amount of breast parenchyma
• Density of breast parenchyma
• Technique of implantation
• Saline or silicone implants

Saline implants can feel very natural depending on the quality of the skin, size of the implant relative to the breast, location of the implant, and density of breast parenchyma.

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To echo the comments by the other plastic surgeons, whether or not an implant looks natural I think largely depends on the size as it relates to your body type - ie, selecting an implant that is too big for your breast skin envelope and body type will look un-natural whether it's saline or silicone. Having said that, the silicone implant will always feel more natural and will have less visible and palpable rippling. The issue of going under the muscle is important for many reasons, the primary one being to decrease your risk of encapsulation - not necessarily feeling more natural. What many people don't realize is that the pec muscle only covers the upper two-thirds of the implant, so there is a good chance you would feel part of the implant shell on the underside of your breast (this will depend on how much native breast tissue you have). Having said all this, both implant types are very safe and have been well studied in clinical trials. Since the FDA re-approved the silicone implants in 2006, I have primarily been performing silicone implants in my patients and furthermore, many of my former patients will saline are opting to exchange to silicone. In the end, go with what you are more comfortable with.