Now that silicone breast implants have been back in clinical use for almost a decade (since 2006), they have rapidly become more commonly used than saline breast implants. Their more natural feel and the ability to last longer are amongst several important considerations for their favor over saline filled devices.
But the most compelling feature that silicone breast implants have which make them preferred is that they will never suffer spontaneous deflation. Saline implants are essentially bags filled with water which, should a small hole or tear develop in the bag, will allow its liquid contents to come out. Thus the implant will deflate and the overlying breast will become flatter.
Conversely, silicone can not suffer deflation because its contents are not a flowing liquid but a cohesive silicone gel. Silicone implants can fail and that is often called a rupture from a hole or tear in its lining. But the term ‘rupture’ should actually never be used because that is not what actually happens to a silicone breast implant when it fails.
The term rupture is defined and perceived as a forcible disruption or bursting effect. And that is not what happens to a silicone implant at all. Rather even a larger tear in the implant shell is only associated with an intermittent bulge of material when pressure is applied. (squeezed) When the pressure is removed, the gel material returns back into the confines of the implant shell. Even when a silicone implant is cut it off, it still keep its form.
Due to the highly cohesive nature of today’s silicone breast implants, its failure should no longer be termed a rupture. Rather it is better described as a shell disruption or loss of integrity. This indicates the more benign event and outcome that results from this eventual expected event for many women after years of implantation. Rupture suggests breast implant contents that are lost when the current gel cohesivity no longer permits that to happen.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana