Gone are the days when you only had 1 choice of breast implants! Manufacturers now provide a huge range of different implant shapes and sizes, and choosing the right one for you is a really important part of preparing for surgery.
Are all breast implants round?
Not any more! One of the most common types of implant we use nowadays is a teardrop implant. This is shaped like a normal breast- flatter at the top and fuller at the bottom. This gives a natural look when being used to reconstruct or enlarge breasts. If the implants are placed under muscle then the flatter part at the top causes less stretching of the muscle. Less stretching means less pain and less interference with activity.
What is the difference between a smooth and a textured implant?
When all implants were round, the surface was usually smooth- it didn’t matter if the implant spun around in your chest as there was no difference between the top and the bottom. However, teardrop implants have a ‘top’ and a ‘bottom’ so it is important that they don’t spin. The outside of a textured implant is rough so that the body tissue can hold it in place and prevent spinning.
What are breast implants made of?
Silicone gel is used to fill almost all breast implants nowadays. This is a cohesive gel which means that it sticks together, even if the shell of the implant gets damaged. Implants are made with different grades of ‘cohesiveness’ which affects how firm they will feel. Soft-touch implants are made with a natural feeling silicone gel that shifts inside the implant shell to become naturally shaped. It gives a normal-looking fullness at the base of the implant.
Because soft-touch implants are teardrop shaped whichever way round they are, they can be smooth and not textured.