Materials used to enlarge the breast
Many materials have been used to enlarge the breast. Most have fallen into disuse and implants remain the method of choice.
- • The most common method is the use of implants. These have been used since the early 1960s. The first implant was made of silicone and introduced in 1964. Silicone gel implants are the "gold standard" by which other methods are judged. They feel more natural and are less likely to ripple or wrinkle than saline implants. Although they have the problems of any implant such as capsular formation, the association with autoimmune illness has not been confirmed by long term studies.
The three main differences between saline implants and silicone gel implants are:
- • gel implants feel more natural
- • saline implants are more likely to leak from the valve
- • saline implants have more wrinkling
- Saline implants are freely available but in the United States gel implants are available in a research protocol only. People that may be candidates for the use of gel implants in the protocol include reconstruction after cancer, in association with skin tightening (mastopexy) and when there is a significant asymmetry of shape and size of the breast. Outside of the United States gel implants are more freely available.
• Silicone and paraffin were injected directly into the breast. This method is no longer used because of the high risk of complications, such as granulomas, loss of skin and excess scar formation. Many women who had these injections developed very misshapen breasts.
• Injections of the patients own tissue such as fat, muscle, omentum, lipomas and skin-fat grafts have all been used to enlarge the breast. Unfortunately the results are unpredictable. Scarring and irregularity are a problem but more significant is the development of microcalcifications that make mammography less reliable.
• Various non-surgical methods such as creams and suction pumps have also been used. The results are unreliable. In the case of the pump, although some increase may be noticed its use is cumbersome and the long term effects unknown.
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