What Are the Pros and Cons to Textured Vs. Smooth Implants?

Shaped implants are Silicone. In my practice, about 15-20% of the patients are good candidates for silicone #shapedimplants.

Breastaugmentation procedures have continued to improve and techniques have evolvedand implants have advanced. At this timethere is a wide range of implants from which patients have to choose from fortheir breast implant. One of the choicesis whether the implant is textured or smooth. The answer depends on several factors and cannot be made alone withoutconsidering the entire procedure.

One, shapedimplants should always be textured. Thetexturing is used to keep the implant in the exact position and orientation inwhich your plastic surgeon placed the implant. The shaped implants a designed to give patients a very natural shape andslope, but to accomplish this they have to keep their orientation. Thetexturing helps accomplish this task.

Second, if theimplant is placed above the muscle texturing is beneficial in decreasing thechance that a significant amount of scar tissue will form around theimplant. The benefit of texturing whenthe implant is placed below the muscle is has not been proven and this tends tobe up to plastic surgeon preference.

The benefit ofsmooth implants is that they can typically be placed through a smaller incisionthan textured implants. They also tendto have a little softer feel after the augmentation as the implant will have alittle movement in the pocket giving it a natural appearance and feel.

In the end theyare both great implants depending on your particular situation both implantshave their place in breast implants surgery.

Please discussyour breast implant surgery with your board certified plastic surgeon who canhelp guide you and help you achieve your aesthetic goals.

Every implant has its own set of pros and cons and there is
no perfect implant. However, generally I tend to use mostly textured anatomical
implants because I feel these have the most advantages and the least
disadvantages. Advantages are texturing over smooth implants including more
stable position to the implant, which is less likely to shift over time, lower
risk of capsular contracture and the elimination of the need to do breast
massage every day after surgery. The shell of textured implants can be slightly
thicker and are slightly more palpable through the skin in thinner patients.
However, when using a formed stable anatomical implant such as Sientra’s
classic anatomical implant, the implant still has a very soft and natural feel
and can create an excellent shape in thinner patients. Smooth round implants
will feel slightly softer and have a thinner shell, however they are more
likely to shift out of position over time because they are not adherent to the
tissues and do not have a coefficient of friction that prevents them from
sliding around in the pocket. With regards to size options, the range of sizes
depends on the implant brand, but in general there would be size options with
almost any implant between 322 and 440 cc. Some implants jump by increments of
20-25 cc while other styles and brands jump by 50 cc at a time. I am not aware
of any implants that increases in the 300-400 cc range by that amount, so I do
believe you would have other options in between. Best of luck with this
surgery!