Silicone Gel Breast Implants

Specialist in silicone gel breast implants, breast augmentation, and breast implant exchange for Northern Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, & Washington DC

If you are searching for silicone gel breast implants in Northern Virginia, Maryland or Washington,DC, plastic surgeon, Dr. Michael J. Brown is an excellent choice to have this procedure from. His patients come from Loudoun, Fairfax, Reston, Herndon, Leesburg, Dulles, Ashburn, Middleburg, Great Falls, Potomac Falls, Alexandria, Vienna, Falls Church, Chevy Chase, Bethesda, Potomac, Richmond,Washington, DC to name a few areas.

Learn about the history of silicone gel breast implants.

Silicone gel breast implants are filled with silicone gel which is softer, more natural feeling and the edges of the breast implant have a softer feel than saline filled breast implants.  Rippling is less likely to occur with silicone gel breast implants than in women with saline breast implants.  Silicone gel has compostion has changed over the years and is thicker than saline, so it does not move the same way saline does. Saline is salt water that is physiologic for the body.

Silicone gel breast implant construction

Silicon is a naturally occurring element found in sand, quartz, and rock.  Silicon is the second most abundant element on earth, next to oxygen.  When silicon is mixed with oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon, it becomes silicone.  Silicone can be made in a variety of forms.  Middle molecular weight silicones form gels and high molecular weight silicones form elastomers and rubbers. Silicone is found in many other types of implants, such as facial implants, artificial joints, drainage systems, pacemakers, and venous catheters for chemotherapy.  

There are currently three types of silicone-gel breast implants available.  The first type of silicone-gel breast implant is the single pocket breast implant that is pre-filled; this is the most frequently used by plastic surgeons.  The second type of silicone-gel breast implant is the double pocket implant with one inner pocket pre-filled with a fixed amount of silicone gel and then a second pocket that is filled during breast augmentation surgery with saline through a valve.  The third type of silicone-gel breast implant is a double pocket breast implant with an outer pocket pre-filled with a fixed amount of gel and a second inner pocket filled during breast augmentation surgery with saline.

The number of layers in the breast implant shell has no actual bearing on the integrity of the breast implant. The key factor is the chemical make-up of the breast implant shell wall. The number of shell layers is irrelevant, what does matter is the strength of the material and optimal total thickness of the shell.

Silicone gel breast implants are filled with a fixed amount of silicone gel.   This means a longer incision (5 cm) is required to place the breast implant. This is in contrast to saline breast implants which are empty (hence smaller) prior to their insertion. As such, saline implants may be placed through a shorter incision (3 cm).

Cohesive Silicone Gel Breast Implants

Today’s silicone gel breast implants are cohesive polymers, not liquids. This means that the gel filler acts as a solid unit rather than a liquid. The gel holds together uniformly, while retaining the natural "give" that resembles actual breast tissue.

Cohesive is a term being used today to describe the nature of the fill compared to the more liquid fill that may have been used in silicone implants in the early 1970s. This is not new technology; cohesive is the word that is currently being used to describe the consistency of the gel.

Safety of Silicone Gel Breast Implants

Silicone Breast Implants

In 2000, the Institute of Medicine released a report that examined the scientific text on silicone gel breast implants. The Institute of Medicine did not find any connection between silicone gel breast implants and systemic disease.  They concluded that the principal safety concerns for silicone gel breast implants are local in nature and include:

1) Capsular contracture or tightening of scar tissue around the breast implant

2) Breast implant rupture

3) Infections associated with breast implants, which are not common.  

While breast implants have improved over time, safety concerns linked with complications continue to be researched.  The Breast Implant Consumer Handbook was released by the FDA in 2004.  The handbook includes the most current information about breast implants to aid consumers in making an informed decision about silicone gel breast implants.

A comprehensive report was released by The American Society of Plastic Surgery and the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, that plastic surgeons may use when covering the risks and potential complications of breast implant surgery.  The report is titled “Information for Women – Silicone Breast Implant Surgery.”

Studies on Silicone Gel Breast Implants

National Cancer Institute

The National Cancer Institute completed a study of women who received silicone gel breast implants for cosmetic reasons prior to 1989.  This study found no significant raise in breast cancer occurrence or mortality.

Institute of Medicine

The National Academy Institute of Medicine issued a report stating: "In an overall consideration of the epidemiological evidence, the committee noted that because there are more than 1.5 million adult women of all ages in the United States with silicone gel breast implants, some of these women would be expected to develop connective tissue diseases, cancer, neurological diseases or other systemic complaints or conditions. Evidence suggests that such diseases or conditions are no more common in women with silicone gel breast implants than in women without breast implants." The full text of the publication by the Institute of Medicine is titled, "Information for Women about the Safety of Silicone Breast Implants.”

National Institute of Health

The National Institutes of Health released a report, in May of 2003, on the long-term health effects of breast implants.  The report stated that there was not sufficient evidence to support any relationship between silicone gel breast implants and connective tissue disorders. There is another report citing that The National Cancer Institute found that women with silicone gel breast implants showed a small decrease in the risk for breast cancer. 

Clinical Trials for Silicone Gel Breast Implants

Starting in 1992, women received silicone gel breast implants if they met specific requirements and agreed to become part of a clinical trial.  Two major medical device companies have been conducting these long-term clinical trials to prove that silicone gel breast implants are safe and effective.

Mentor

Mentor has done a safety evaluation of both saline breast implants and silicone gel breast implants.  They have also supported other leading academic institutions in conducting tests.  The largest of these studies is a clinical study of more than 70,000 women with silicone gel breast implants.  The study was established in 1992, in cooperation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Mentor continues to follow up on all women who receive silicone gel breast implants and track all breast implant devices.

Inamed Aesthetics (Allergan)

Inamed (Allergan) has been conducting several clinical trials on silicone gel breast implants.  Two studies which are closed to patient accrual are the following:

• The core gel clinical study of Inamed's Silicone Gel-Filled Breast Implants.  Over 10 years, 940 patients will be followed. 
• The core clinical study of Inamed's Style 410 Cohesive Silicone Gel-Filled Breast Implants.  Over 10 years, 940 patients will be followed. 

Mayo Clinic Study

Years after the FDA had issued a ban on silicone gel breast implants; the first reliable epidemiological study to on connective tissue disease and silicone gel breast implants was published in June 16, 1994.  The study was a retrospective population-based group study that compared the risks of a variety of connective tissue diseases and disorders in women with and without silicone gel breast implants.  

Morning stiffness was the only symptom that was significantly increased, among the various signs or symptoms examined. The study concluded that there was no association between silicone gel breast implants and the connective tissue diseases and disorders studied.

If you are searching for silicone gel breast augmentation in Northern Virginia, Maryland or Washington,DC, plastic surgeon, Dr. Michael J. Brown is an excellent choice to have this procedure from. His patients come from Loudoun, Fairfax, Reston, Herndon, Leesburg, Dulles, Ashburn, Middleburg, Great Falls, Potomac Falls, Alexandria, Vienna, Falls Church, Chevy Chase, Bethesda, Potomac, Richmond,Washington, DC to name a few areas

Read more about silicone gel breast implants and to learn about the history of silicone gel breast implants.

To learn more about breast augmentation surgery, click to review more of an overview of breast augmentation. To learn about breast anatomy and breast implant positioning you may want to start here.

To see the steps of breast augmentation using 3-D illustrations, visit the breast implant surgery page. For more information click on the icon above or to see the actual breast augmentation surgery be performed on a live person, visit one of Dr. Brown's breast specific web sites.

Prior to any surgical procedure, it is imperative that you have read and understand the consent forms required for a plastic surgical procedure.

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