Saline is the older of the two choices for breast implants and has its pros and cons as the choice for breast enlargement surgery. Saline, salt water, used to always feel hard or unnatural and look like a balloon but now with new surgical techniques such as placing the implant behind the chest muscle they look more natural and soft than they used to. These are the most frequently used implant in the United States. They come in a variety of shells that are filled with saline at the time of surgery. You can choose a size, shape, profile, texture, smoothness and volume that is right for you.

There are no pre-filled shells approved by the FDA at this time but there are sure to be some in the future. For a while these were the only type of implant available on the market because of confusion with the safety of the silicone gel implant. The size of saline implants ranges from 120cc to 960cc and the only approved manufacturers at this time are Allergan and Mentor Corp. Every implant comes with a valve that fits into the female receptor part. Most of the time the valve is located in the front of the breast implant. The saline implant requires a smaller incision that the silicone gel implant but there is a higher chance for a rippling effect to occur on the breast which is not as natural looking.

The two types of saline implant you will have to choose from are the fixed volume implant, in which the entire volume of saline is put in at the time of surgery, and the expandable volume implant, which allows for post operative adjustment. If you decide to choose the popular saline implant for your breast augmentation be sure to research and talk with your plastic surgeon about the pros and cons and which implant is right for your body type.