It is not at all uncommon for women to be unhappy with the size and shape of their breasts. Breast enlargement (known technically as Breast Augmentation Mammoplasty) involves inserting an artificial implant into the breast in order to increase the breast size and to produce an amount of breast lift where necessary. Breast Enlargement is by far the most popular plastic surgery procedure requested by women.

Why Have Breast Augmentation Surgery?

Whatever you might have heard to the contrary, other than by breast surgery, there is no other method of increasing breast size evenly, safely and permanently.

The only accepted technique for increasing breast size is to insert an implant into a space created behind your own breast. It is the size of this space (based on your own physical structure), along with your own wishes, which determines the size of implant used.

About The New Generation of Silicone Implants

Breast implants have come a long way since their original inception. Modern implants are extremely safe, and you’ll be surprised at how incredibly strong they are. At many consultations, you will be able to see, feel and even try on recommended implants during initial consultation.

What Kind Of Material Is Silicone?

Silicones are artificial molecules that are regularly used in manufacturing many beauty products, often for the skin or hair. They are also employed in food packaging and a wide variety of medical equipment, including implants. Thus they find their way into our lives frequently. For example, every day

we absorb silicone through our skin
Silicone is absorbed via the food we eat
It is found in many baby foods
We may even inject it directly into our blood stream

Breast implants are available in a large range of sizes, usually expressed as a volume. For example, 60ml would be a very small implant; whereas 500ml would be a very large implant. The great majority of women have implants in the range of 200ml to 300ml.

Implants also come in two basic shapes, either perfectly round or tear-drop shaped. Some surgeons prefer one form over the other, whilst others will use different types depending on the patient’s own characteristics. By and large, both give excellent results.

Silicone Gel – The Material of Choice

Implants in cohesive silicone gel are by far the most popular type of implant, both with patients and surgeons alike. The silicone is in the form of a very thick and cohesive gel. The exterior of most contemporary implants comprises a textured silicone shell.

These implants have a very long history of reliability, with literally hundreds of thousands of women world-wide having had them in place for many years with no problems whatsoever. In addition, they are generally considered to be the most natural feeling implant. In recent years, more than 85% of all breast implants inserted in the UK have been silicone, 97% of which had textured shells.

Solid Cohesive Silicone Gel

In this type of silicone implant, the gel is almost solid in feel and the outer shell is always textured. This extra firmness allows the implant to be manufactured with a ‘tear-drop’ shape. This design also means that a much firmer feel to the breast is produced, thus many believe that the result is more natural looking.

So having taken a look at breast augmentation from the technical side of things, it is quite possible that this has raised several questions in your mind. You should not hesitate to pose these to your chosen surgeon, who I am sure will provide you with a complete and detailed answer.