What Are Breast Implants

Breast implants are prosthetics that are put inside a woman’s breast. They are meant to alter the size, feel, and form of the breasts. Breast implants are used for two purposes.

1.  Reconstructive Purposes

This mainly happens when the breasts are severely injured. Incase of an accident and the victim loses all or parts of his or her breasts, implants are used to make their chests fuller. In the case of breast cancer, mastectomy is usually the most preferred way to prevent the spread of cancerous cells to the rest of the body. Mastectomy leaves a person’s chest really disfigured. To reconstruct this, breast implants are used.

2.  Cosmetic Purposes   

Most breast implant procedures are done for cosmetic purposes. This is done mainly to improve the appearance of the breasts. Breast implants vary in size. Hence, an individual’s choice depends on the size of breasts they want.
There are three types of breast implant prosthetics categorized according to the type of filter material they have.

A.   Saline Breast Implants

They are made of a silicon semi elastic bag filled with saline solution. Saline solution is a concentration of salty water. Majority of the women who have undergone breast augmentation prefer saline implants to other implants.

B.   Silicone Breast Implants

They are also made from a silicon semi elastic bag. However, they are filled with silicon gel. They are preferred second to the saline breast implants.

C.   Breast Implants with Alternative Composition

They were mostly made of polypropylene strings filled with solutions such as oily solutions. They are rarely in the market nowadays. This is because many women consider them outdated.
All breast implants are surgically inserted. There are five surgical insertions, they include;

a.  Inframammary Surgical Incision

It is the most preferred surgical incision when using silicon gel implants. Its incision is made along the imflamammary gland. It may leave highly visible scars after the implanting.

b. Periareolar Surgical Incision

Here a broader type of incision is made along the areola. It is not advisable to use this surgical incision with silicon gel implants.

c.   Transaxilarry Surgical Incision

This involves making cuts along the armpits. From those cuts the implants are inserted into the breasts. This leaves no scars visible on the breasts.

d. Transumbilical Surgical Incision

It is a less common procedure. The incision is made along the navel. It is mostly used with silica gel implants.
The surgical incisions above are some of the most commonly used for breast implants. Women with breast implants can breast feed. However, some difficulties may occur. These difficulties may occur if the doctor damages the glands responsible for milk production.
Breast implants also have some negative effects to the human health. One of them is platinum toxicity. For the manufacture of silicon gel, platinum metal is required. This platinum leaks to the surrounding breast tissue and may have a very negative effect on human health.