Is It Normal to Feel the Valve of Breast Implants?

Question

I got me breast augmentation approx. a year ago and from the day after the surgery to today I have had issues with the valve moving around making it look(at times) like I have 4 nipples. Is this normal?

Otto Joseph Placik, MD · Answer

Yes, it is true. In thin patients, particularly with larger implants,  the breast implant valve can be palpable

Earl Stephenson, Jr., MD, DDS, MBA · Answer

I am going to assume that you had extremely thin tissue (ie little to no breast tissue) before your augmentation and that you had the implants placed above the muscle.  So if the implants are above the muscle then they need to be placed beneath the muscle to provide an extra layer over the implant .

	Dr. ES

Steven Wallach, MD · Answer

It is farily normal to feel the valve of a saline implant underneth the nipple areola complex. This is especially common in thin women.

Peter A. Aldea, MD · Answer

The modern saline implant valve complex is rather flat and non-projecting and located at the topmost portion of the implant. As a result, they are very rarely felt and only in some women with almost no breast tissue in whom the implants were placed  over the muscle.
A better option in such patients are silicone gel implants which are lighter, ripple less and which have no valves. 

Dr. Aldea

John Whitt, MD (retired) · Answer

It is not unusual for a saline implant placed above the muscle in a thin woman to have a palpable implant valve.  If this is your situation, your options include moving the implant to a submuscular location and changing to a silicone implant which has no valve.

Is It Normal to Feel the Valve of Breast Implants?

Answers (5)

Answer: Palpable Saline Breast Implants Valves

Answer: Palpable Saline Breast Implants Valves

Answer: Palpable Breast Implant Valve

Answer: Palpable Breast Implant Valve

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Everything you need to know about Breast Implants

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Is It Normal to Feel the Valve of Breast Implants?

Answers (5)

Answer: Palpable Saline Breast Implants Valves

Answer: Palpable Saline Breast Implants Valves

Answer: Palpable Breast Implant Valve

Answer: Palpable Breast Implant Valve

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Recommended reading

Everything you need to know about Breast Implants

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.