Silicone or Saline Implants-How to choose?

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Created on Friday, 20 January 2012 00:00

So you have decided to have Breast Augmentation. Now your choices are to have Silicone gel Implants or Normal Saline Implants. There are differences between the two that may help you make a decision.

Silicone gel Implants have a more natural feel, especially in a thin patient with out much breast tissue to cover the Implant. They have a lifetime warranty that covers anesthesia, Implant replacement and the Operating Room costs. There has not been any definitive research that relates silicone implants to systemic disease. They are slightly more expensive than Saline Implants.

Normal Saline Implants are less expensive than Silicone Implants. A smaller incision is used as they are filled after they are placed in the body. It is also easier to detect a deflation and safe for your body to absorb the saline. They are easier to replace if a deflation should occur.

I will talk about sizing and proflies in the next blog. Your decision to have Breast Augmentation is personal one. Your girlfriends size and type many not be right for you. Height, weight, pre-surgery cup size are a few things to consider.

After viewing the website for Liposonix and watching the segment on Dr. Oz today it appears to be a reasonable treatment to remove limited fat in the abdominal and flank areas. It's major limitation is the limited amount of fat it can treat and the expense incurred.

For the same or less cost, liposuction offers much more flexibility in the amount of fat removed and number of areas it can treat. Liposuction is a minimally invasive procedure with hidden incisions and short recovery times. Most patients are back to work doing normal activity in a few days. In the right hands liposuction offers dramatic improvement in body contouring.

Choosing an Implant

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Created on Wednesday, 25 January 2012 10:51

We discussed saline or silicone implants in the last blog. Let's continue with your options for size and profiles. For the most part you will discuss with your doctor your wishes for cup size and he/she will look at your body dimensions and rib cage appearance. Implants come in many sizes as well as profiles. Profiles are the width, height, and projection as they sit on the chest wall. Consideration is made for your body size in regards to how much enlargement can be done in proportion to your chest size. Remember that this is a commitment that will last a lifetime as you age and grow older.

Implants can make up for some imperfections in the breast appearance. A slightly larger inplant can raise the nipple some, and a high profile implant can project the nipple out. A wider implant can help with more cleavage and over filling a saline implant can give upper breast fullness. There are limits to the size of implant that can be used to achieve optimal healing and long term results. Placing too large or too wide of an implant can cause problems with circulation leading to fat necrosis, bottoming out or extrusion.

Thermage is a technique for non-surgical skin tightening which uses a monopolar radio frequency wave for heating the inner skin. This machine is designed not to burn the outer skin but cause significant contraction of the inner skin. New collegen is produced over a period of 3-6 months which results in further tightening. Improvement can be seen in the next 6 months. Some have seen noticable tightening immediately. It can be repeated after 6 months but typically is not needed more than every year or two to maintain tightening. Cellulite can be improved by using deep heating body tips. There is NO DOWN TIME from normal activities except for relaxing medication during the treatment.

Other techniques require multiple visits and repeated therapy to accomplish similar results. The final cost with these repeat treatments can be considerably costly than Thermage. Contact us for a full pre-treatment consultation.

Have you heard of the Brilliant Distinction rewards program? Earn points worth cash toward your next procedure for Botox, Juvederm and Latisse from Allergan. It adds up fast. Call our office to set up your rewards program today at 757-547-2115.