Can See Major Rippling with Silicone Implants. Doctor Suggests over Filled Saline Exchange?

My chest wall is thin so I can see major ripples whenever I'm not standing perfectly errect. I also don't like how squishy the silicone implants feel. I liked the projection of the expanders. My doc suggests switching to overfilled saline implants and adding alloderm to the chest wall. He doesn't guarantee this will get rid of all ripples, but should significantly reduce them. Will this work? I thought waiting for cohesive gel might be better but he says they'll behave the same as I have now.

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overfilled rippling silicone implant

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3 Doctor Answers | Asked by sittingturtle

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Rippling options

There is no one best way to improve rippling. Alloderm or Strattice may help with thickening the layer between implant and skin. Fat injection may help. Overfilling a saline implant will work, but may make your chest feel very firm.

Steven Wallach, MD

12 reviews

Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Options to correct rippling from implants

Alloderm, which forms a sort of living internal bra, is very often a good start to concealing rippling from implants. A similar product called Strattice may add more coverage than Alloderm. By adding support as well as coverage, often ripples caused by traction can be improved. Rather than overfilled saline I would prefer to use a form-stable anatomic gel implant

Any implant will ripple, if the overlying skin envelope is thin

Sittingturtle: Sorry to hear of your predicament. By definition the mastectomy flaps are "thin", furthermore the act of tissue expansion, further thins it out. If you liked the projection of the tissue expanders and didn't mind their firmness than revision of the reconstructed breasts with addition of Alloderm = hammocks which are sutured to the free edge of the pectoralis (chest) muscle and chest wall as well as the substitution of high profile saline implants, whose "footprint"... more