How Are Under Muscle Saline Breast Implants Different from Silicone?

Thank you for your question. There is very little difference between the look and feel of a properly filled saline implant under the muscle and a silicone implant under the muscle. I do 90% saline breast augmentations and have to look at the patients chart to be sure what they have when they return for follow up years later. With the amount of breast tissue you have, they both would work very well. Since you are only 19, you should look for a surgeon who specializes in saline implants to insure the best result. Good luck.

Both silicone breast implants and saline breast implants have pros and cons. With you only being 19 and having a fair amount of natural breast tissue, you'll almost certainly get a great result with either silicone or saline implants. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration restricts placement of silicone gel implants in women under the age of 22 years for cosmetic breast augmentation, making saline implants your only real option until then.
If you do decide to wait until you're 22 year old to have surgery, there are some things you should know. Breast implants filled with silicone gel look and feel more like natural breast tissue. Also, particularly in thin patients, silicone breast implants tend to have fewer problems with visible rippling than saline breast implants.
Some bad things about silicone breast implants; breast implants filled with silicone are more expensive. Silicone breast implants are approximately twice the cost of saline breast implants, which is factored into the price of surgery. Also, a breast implant rupture is easy to detect when the implant is filled with saline; the breast tends to deflate rapidly, in the span of a few days. A silicone breast implant ruptures is much more subtle to detect. For that reason, the Food and Drug Administration recommends an MRI to monitor for rupture, the first one 3 years after surgery, and then every 2 years thereafter. This test is expensive and most likely will not be covered by third-party insurers. Lastly, capsular contracture rates, or pathologic scarring around the implant, traditionally were much higher with the older generation of silicone breast implants. This does not seem to be the case with the newer generation of silicone breast implants used, which is largely attributable to a thicker implant shell and thicker, more viscous silicone gel within the implant.
So, what’s better? You'll likely get great results with either silicone or saline, but will be hard-pressed to find a surgeon to put in silicone implants until you're age is 22 years or older.
Hope this helps. Best of luck.

The muscle provides coverage of the breast implant superiorly and medially. Inferiorly and laterally the only coverage is the patients breast tissue and the skin. So yes over time you wil be able to tell the difference between the feel of saline and silicone breast implants. At the beginning you will likely not be able to tell the difference but once everything settles in you will be able to see there is a difference even if placed under the muscle.
Having said that, you are out of the age range for silicone implants unless you have a congenital deformity of your breasts. If not then at this point I would not worry about silicone as it is not an option for you anyways.
Good luck.

The silicone implants are unfortunately restricted until age 22. However, there are some differences between silicone and saline implants.
With saline implants you have more control over the volume you put into the implant. Saline implants have a range of volume and I think it is better to fill them to the maximal allowable volume. If there are differences in size between you breasts you can make up the difference with saline implants. With silicone implants, the volume cannot be changed.
Silicone implants also require a large incision whereas saline implants can be placed with a very small incision. Silicone implants do feel more natural and some surgeons feel like there is a low change of visible wrippling of the implant.
In your case, you have plenty of breast to work with which would minimize any difference betweent the feel of the implants. Also, putting the implants under the muscle would give you even more coverage, making saline a very good option for you.

As Dr. Rand has discussed there are some slight differences to the feel and look of saline particularly in certain postions. However, silicones are restricted for use in women 22 years and older. So this really is not a viable option for you.