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Options for Rippling and Firmness from Saline Implants?

asked 2 years ago by Tabatha9999 in St, Louis
Latest answer by Otto Joseph Placik, MD
Question viewed 1,086 times
Tags: breasts, saline implants, under muscle

I have under the muscle saline smooth implants that ripple and are too firm. Before this I had silicone implants above the muscle that ruptured. They were rock hard and made me very ill. I would like to get rid of the rippling and firmness. Vitamin E did not help and I think that a 3rd surgery would do the same. Are there any real solutions to this? What about Dipulse? Thank you.

17 answers to Options for Rippling and Firmness from Saline Implants?

Options for Rippling and Firmness from Saline Implants?

Some of the reasons for visible rippling in an implant: 1. thin skin and minimal breast tissue with visibility of normal folds 2. moderate profile saline implants are more likely to ripple than high profile saline 3. saline are more likely to ripple than silicone implants 4. over the muscle placement are more likely ot have visible rippling than under the muscle 5. weight loss may make rippling more noticeable 6. involutional breast atrophy after nursing may make rippling... more

Otto Joseph Placik, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Rippling is inevitable but can be lessened

Rippling of the implants is much more noticeable with saline than with silicone. This is because the saline implant is basically a bag filled with water and is compressed by external forces of healing. In order to minimize the rippling, plastic surgeons will overfill an implant a certain amount. Silicone implants, because the gel is so thick, don't ripple as much. If the rippling is significant this is a concern to the patient, more tissue will need to be brought in to cover the implant.... more

Joseph M. Perlman, MD
Houston Plastic Surgeon

doctorperlman.com

Treating capsular contracture

Rippling is quite common with saline implants especially near your breast fold or between the breasts. Typically, most surgeons would recommend silicone implants but you have not tolerated those very well. Some surgeons have used an asthma medication in a form that is not FDA approved to treat the condition of capsular contracture, or scar tissue, to soften the breasts. Perhaps visit with your surgeon and see if that is an option.

Pramit Malhotra, MD
Ann Arbor Plastic Surgeon

Options to treat scarring and rippling around breast implants

It appears as though your options are limited. Treating rippling and scarring (capsular contracture) around breast implants is difficult with non-surgical options. If you do decide to have surgery to treat the problems, talk with your plastic surgeon about placing Alloderm or some other dermal allograft over the implant to help prevent visible rippling. Good luck! (eat some Imo's pizza for me...I'm from St. Louis and I miss it!)

Jeffrey E. Schreiber, MD
Baltimore Plastic Surgeon

www.BaltimorePlasticSurgery.com

Solutions for rippling, wrinkling and firmness

I concur with the other opinions that there isn't currently a single "magic bullet" to prevent rippling and wrinkling. Even some of my breast cancer patients who have silicone implants, Alloderm and Strattice slings, will have some wrinkling in certain positions. It certainly is a great opition, however the price of these dermal grafts is a major deterrent. It's just not practical to advise a woman to gain weight, hoping that additional fat will camouflage the area, which lies... more

Lavinia Chong, MD
Orange County Plastic Surgeon

Correcting rippling saline implants

You have a difficult situation certainly. You are probably thin and the minimal tissue over your saline implants doesn't hide the rippling despite an overfill (hardness). Really, the only real options you have are either to accept the situation and leave it alone, change back to the new silicone gels under the muscle, use Alloderm to line the pocket, or gain a few pounds. Good luck!

Richard P. Rand, MD, FACS
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

Saline implants that ripple and are firm

Saline implants may ripple. Traditional silicone implants ripple less. The Allergan 410(gummy-bear) implants don't ripple. They are currently an FDA investigational device. In patients with thicker tissues rippling may not be noticed. If saline implants are "over-filled" they can feel firm and still have palpable or visible "scalloping" due to the over filling. The only way to absolutely be certain you won't have future implant related issues is to take them out and... more

John E. Gross, MD
Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon

Options for rippling and firmness from Saline implants?

Dear Tabatha9999, Sorry to hear about your predicament. Unfortunately, there is no ONE way that will predictably solve it. As regards Diapulse. We have no scientific proof that it will solve the situation not that it will worsen it. You MAY want to try it knowing that we do NOT know either way if it works. http://www.healingtherapies.info/diapulse.htm "I have under the muscle saline smooth implants that ripple and are too firm" - unfortunately ALL implants ripple to some extent... more

Peter A. Aldea, MD
Memphis Plastic Surgeon

Rippling with saline implants

If you currently have rippling from saline implants, it sounds like you need the scar tissue removed (capsulectomy) and the implants converted to silicone; which have a very low incidence of rippling. You previously developed capsular contracture with your implants that were place in front of the muscle (subglandular) therefore it is possible this can occur again. Vitamin E can help, and also Singulair, which is an anti-inflammatory medication used for asthma but has been shown to help... more

William Bruno, MD
Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon

Dealing with firm, hard breast implants

Dear Tabatha, Although you are reluctant to undergo additional surgery, it's almost certainly what you need to improve the appearance and feel of your breasts. The hardness you report may be the result of overfilled saline implants or could be capsular contracture, which is a build-up of thickened scar capsule around your current implants. Treatment would consist of removing your current implants and the entire capsule surrounding the implant. The rippling can likely be improved by... more

Sam Jejurikar, MD
Dallas Plastic Surgeon

Breast Implant Rippling

Sorry to hear about your issues. Changing out your implants for silicone would be the first step. If the overlying tissues are very thin, then placing acellular dermis like alloderm or stratice would be a good option in addition to silicone. Good luck.

Farbod Esmailian, MD
Orange County Plastic Surgeon

Saline implants and rippling.

Hi! 1) Your best bet may be somewhat smaller cohesive silicone gel breast implants. 2) The risk of leaking is less than 1% per year. 3) I know that it is very hard to convince women who have had problems like yours, but there is absolutely no scientific evidence that silicone makes people sick. 4) You might take a look at the breast augmentation page on my web site.

George J. Beraka, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Rippling of implants

Rippling from saline implants is to be expected in patients that are very thin. You may be better off with silicone implants and perhaps alloderm added as an additional layer of coverage for your implants.

Steven Wallach, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Rippling from Saline implants

Rippling from saline implants is expected. It can become more noticeable if someone is very thin or the implant is very large. Having smooth implants placed under the muscle is the standard for minimizing the rippling of saline implants. The firmness comes from also having too large of an implant or capsular contracture. There is no good solution for recurrent capsular contracture. You can discuss with your surgeon to have the implant replaced again with the newer gel implants that are more... more

Bahram Ghaderi, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Implants are imperfect

Saline implant will always ripple unless they are "over-filled" in which case they will be firm. The solution to visible rippling is to hide the implant as much as possible. This means perhaps choosing a size that is smaller than what you will want. The rippling is the price you ahve to pay for your size. If you choose an implant that is maximally covered by your soft tissues, your rippling will be minimized.

Robin T.W. Yuan, MD
Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon

Silicone gel implants placed behind the Breast will give you best chance of soft breast

While you had ruptured silicone breast implants in the past the new cohesive gel implants are much less likely to break or leak or become hard. It is always best to put new implants in a new pocket so I would suggest under the breast. If rippling is a problem again then fat grafting over the areas of thin breast tissue is a possibility.