Why not saline

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miricle
miricle Member Posts: 7
edited June 2014 in Managing Side Effects of Breast Cancer and Its Treatment

Why do surgeons not offer saline for reconstruction after mastectomy's? Why was there so much hype with women who's implants ruptured when they had silicone gel implants and the harm it caused them, e.g; paralyzing them. Is saline too expensive???

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  • Lesleyanne67
    Lesleyanne67 Member Posts: 225
    edited June 2009

    Miricle

    I actually had implants put in before I had breast cancer, had saline under the chest muscle for 10 years.  I think the primary reason to NOT use saline after astectomy is that you do not have much if any of your own breast tissue left.  Saline can pull and is heavy, moves a lot and basically can look like water balloons on your chest where the silicone looks and loves in a more natural way....

    I am not a plastic surgeon but that is what I think.

     Lesley 

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited June 2009

    In the US, most plastic surgeons offer patients the choice of silicone or saline implants.  The silicone implants tend to give more natural feeling results, so some surgeons may prefer them to get better patient satisfaction.  The silicone implants used now are very different than the ones used years ago that some women felt caused issues. It might ease your mind to accompany your mother to her next appointment and speak with her surgeon. 

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  • lvtwoqlt
    lvtwoqlt Member Posts: 6,162
    edited June 2009

    My PS actually used the teardrop saline for my reconstruction since the teardrop silicone were still in trials when I went through my reconstruction in 2007. He feels that the teardrop shape fills in the upper quadrant of the chest to give a more realistic shape. I will go back and see him for my yearly visit next month and will find out if he knows when the teardrop silicone will become available for him to use. I am happy with my saline implants.

    Sheila

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