When he was talking post op about the silicone, I interjected and said, what do you mean silicone? I was supposed to have saline. He said, really? Hey, its on me. But you will really like the silicone. It seemed like on my visits prior to surgery, I reminded him that I was having saline. I had saline 7 years ago and decided to go smaller and insisted I stay with saline. He said not a problem. Now what do I do?
Answer: One would expect A replacement to saline and no cost is a silicone gel implant was mistakenly placed. If you got a good result from silicone gel I would suggest you accept it. Aesthetically silicone gel implants are better than saline and are equally safe. Nevertheless if you indeed want saline I would expect your plastic surgeon to replace the implants free of charge to you.
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Answer: One would expect A replacement to saline and no cost is a silicone gel implant was mistakenly placed. If you got a good result from silicone gel I would suggest you accept it. Aesthetically silicone gel implants are better than saline and are equally safe. Nevertheless if you indeed want saline I would expect your plastic surgeon to replace the implants free of charge to you.
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July 29, 2014
Answer: Wanted saline, got silicone It is certainly your right as a patient to get the implant that you chose. There are many reasons you may prefer saline, even of there is no price difference. The most obvious is ease of detection and correction of a deflation -- if your saline implant fails, you will typically notice overnight, and the exchange may take 30 minutes, tops. If you have silicone, on the other hand, a rupture is more difficult to diagnose, and will typically only become apparent if a capsular contracture develops. This requires a more extensive operation to correct. Given this, it is inaccurate to state that silicone is as safe as saline. It isn't. Silicone may offer different advantages in naturalness of feel and appearance that would lead a patient to chose it, but that is despite its drawbacks. My practice is 95% silicone, and I am a fan of both standard and highly-cohesive implants. For some patients, however, saline is the preferred implant. It is, quite simply, up to the patient.In short, it sounds like a mistake was made by the surgeon and you got the wrong implants. It shouldn't happen, but it can. Trying to convince you after the fact that what you got is better anyways is unfair at best. If you prefer to have your implants exchanged for saline, you should have that option.
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July 29, 2014
Answer: Wanted saline, got silicone It is certainly your right as a patient to get the implant that you chose. There are many reasons you may prefer saline, even of there is no price difference. The most obvious is ease of detection and correction of a deflation -- if your saline implant fails, you will typically notice overnight, and the exchange may take 30 minutes, tops. If you have silicone, on the other hand, a rupture is more difficult to diagnose, and will typically only become apparent if a capsular contracture develops. This requires a more extensive operation to correct. Given this, it is inaccurate to state that silicone is as safe as saline. It isn't. Silicone may offer different advantages in naturalness of feel and appearance that would lead a patient to chose it, but that is despite its drawbacks. My practice is 95% silicone, and I am a fan of both standard and highly-cohesive implants. For some patients, however, saline is the preferred implant. It is, quite simply, up to the patient.In short, it sounds like a mistake was made by the surgeon and you got the wrong implants. It shouldn't happen, but it can. Trying to convince you after the fact that what you got is better anyways is unfair at best. If you prefer to have your implants exchanged for saline, you should have that option.
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July 28, 2014
Answer: Implants Dear Aztamara, If it turns out that you received silicone implants instead of saline as consented then a mistake was made. However, in my opinion, no damage done. Silicone implants are absolutely safe and no less safe than saline. Additionally, they are superior implants on all counts. The only advantage of saline implants is that they are less costly. It appears that it was an honest mistake from which you benefited from.Ary Krau MD FACS
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July 28, 2014
Answer: Implants Dear Aztamara, If it turns out that you received silicone implants instead of saline as consented then a mistake was made. However, in my opinion, no damage done. Silicone implants are absolutely safe and no less safe than saline. Additionally, they are superior implants on all counts. The only advantage of saline implants is that they are less costly. It appears that it was an honest mistake from which you benefited from.Ary Krau MD FACS
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July 28, 2014
Answer: Saline or Silicone There are several ways to determine EXACTLY which type of implant you have: 1) Take a look at the operative note 2) You may have been given a card listing the serial number and style of the implants. This will give you a definitive answer on what type of implant you have. Its possible your surgeon may not remember specifically which implant she/he placed in every single patient, but this information should be readily available in your records.
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July 28, 2014
Answer: Saline or Silicone There are several ways to determine EXACTLY which type of implant you have: 1) Take a look at the operative note 2) You may have been given a card listing the serial number and style of the implants. This will give you a definitive answer on what type of implant you have. Its possible your surgeon may not remember specifically which implant she/he placed in every single patient, but this information should be readily available in your records.
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Answer: You got silicone implants even though you wanted saline implants I would get a copy of the operative note from your procedure, as well as the implant sheet (often this is a separate sheet filled out by the nurse during the surgery), and the implant information (stickers, card, or sheet) that you got from your surgeon, and then review those with the surgeon and double-check exactly which implant you received.Then, if you did not get the implants you had agreed to before the surgery, you have a choice. You can keep the ones you have, or if you are concerned about the silicone implants, you can get them replaced with the implants you had agreed to.If you do want them replaced with the ones you wanted, and which you had already paid for, I imagine that most surgeons, had they made an oversight and used the wrong implants, would replace them with the ones you want without any cost to you. But be sure you have taken your time to do your research, and you are certain you want to proceed, before changing them.Good luck with whatever you decide!
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Answer: You got silicone implants even though you wanted saline implants I would get a copy of the operative note from your procedure, as well as the implant sheet (often this is a separate sheet filled out by the nurse during the surgery), and the implant information (stickers, card, or sheet) that you got from your surgeon, and then review those with the surgeon and double-check exactly which implant you received.Then, if you did not get the implants you had agreed to before the surgery, you have a choice. You can keep the ones you have, or if you are concerned about the silicone implants, you can get them replaced with the implants you had agreed to.If you do want them replaced with the ones you wanted, and which you had already paid for, I imagine that most surgeons, had they made an oversight and used the wrong implants, would replace them with the ones you want without any cost to you. But be sure you have taken your time to do your research, and you are certain you want to proceed, before changing them.Good luck with whatever you decide!
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