A recent article appeared in the New York Times entitled ‘What A Difference A Day Makes’. This catchy title was actually referring to a type of non-invasive plastic surgery…temporary breast enlargement. With over 300,000 women a year in the U.S. having breast enhancement with implants, the concept of temporary breast augmentation initially seems a bit strange. How can one enlarge their breasts by using an implant if it is only temporary?
The ‘trick’ is that it is not done with implants but with injectable saline. Rather than surgery, a saline solution is injected into the breasts in the office which quickly and briefly expands them. Think of it as a saline implant without the surrounding containment bag. The saline solution fills the connective tissue spaces between the breast and fat cells and, as a result, pushes out the overlying breast mound. As saline is essentially salt water it is safely removed by being absorbed into the bloodstream by the next day.
What is the role of temporary saline breast augmentation? It is one way for women who think they want breast enhancement to ‘try out’ the procedure first and see if they like it. Many plastic surgeons would argue, appropriately so, that other non-invasive methods work just fine such as computer imaging and try on volumetric gel sizers. But an injectable augmentation allows one to wear it for a day and see how one likes it…an experience that no other method of breast augmentation sizing can offer. It would be easy to see that its use could extend to other very short-term needs such as social events and vacations as a breast pick me up.
A temporary injectable breast augmentation in the U.S. can only be done with saline. Injectable hyaluronic acid-based fillers that are used in the face can not really be used in the breast. Besides not being FDA-approved for breast use, the sheer volume of synthetic filler needed would make it economically impractical despite a much longer persistence of the injected material.
While injectable saline will make the beasts bigger, it should not be confused with what an actual implant may feel like. Injected saline creates a more diffuse feel to the breast while an implant feels different as its contents are constrained by the enveloping bag. An actual implant will also give the breast more projection and ‘push’ while injectable saline has less push and spreads out more.
Temporary injectable breast augmentation is not needed for many patients considering breast implants. But for a few women who want to have a 24 hour breast enhancement experience, injectable saline offer a safe approach to doing so.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana