Plastic Surgery
Abdominoplasty
Augmentation Mammaplasty
Blepharoplasty
Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Breast Implants
Breast Reconstruction
Breast Reduction
Chemical Peel
Facial Feminization Surgery
Foreskin Restoration
Lipectomy
Mastopexy
Otoplasty
Rhinoplasty
Rhytidectomy
Sex Reassignment

Augmentation Mammaplasty

A breast implant is a prosthesis used in cosmetic surgery to enhance the size and shape of one's breasts or to reconstruct the breast (for example, after a mastectomy). There are three types of breast implants:

* Saline-filled which have an external silicone shell and are filled with sterile saline liquid. These implants are currently the only ones available in the United States.

* Silicone gel-filled which have an external silicone shell and are filled with silicone gel. They are not currently available for implant in the United States, but future regulation may change this. In the 60 countries outside the United States where silicone implants remain available, they are used in approximately 90% of implant operations. The FDA is conducting clinical trials of a new type of silicone gel implant filled with a new type of silicone called "cohesive silicone gel" that are believed to have decreased incidences of leakage.

* String implant, a third, much less common type of implant. This implant uses a polypropylene material as an implant. String implants are unique in that they cause the breast to perpetually expand after surgery, and are preferred by those women who choose to have the largest breasts possible. They are not currently available for implant in the United States, but future regulation may change this.