I just found out I’m pregnant. All I can think about is how my implants from breast augmentation surgery will handle the changes to my body. Can you tell me anything about this?

Congrats on the pregnancy! It’s fantastic news!

You’ll be happy to know that your breast implants will not be affected by your pregnancy. The only thing that will be affected is your actual body.

Pregnancy does involve a massive change to your body. It will need to adapt to a human being growing inside of you, which means that the size of your belly will increase dramatically and your breasts will also most likely grow as well as they prepare to produce milk. Your hormones can affect the size and shape of your breasts, possibly producing positive or negative changes.

Many women experience positive permanent changes in the shape and size of their breasts. Unfortunately, many others experience negative permanent changes which include droopiness and a decrease in size. However, there is no way of telling what will happen to your breasts right now. You’ll just have to wait and see – so embrace your pregnancy and deal with the changes after you’ve given birth and finished breastfeeding (if you plan to). At that time, you can see whether your breasts are still pleasing in appearance to you, or if they need further augmentation and/or a lift.

The study tracked 24,558 women with breast implants over a period of 15 years. All of the women, from Quebec and Ontario, received breast implants between 1974 and 1989. The presence of implants had no bearing on the survival rates of women who were diagnosed with breast cancer.

However, the study found that the presence of implants did make examinations that detect breast cancer more difficult, perhaps due to the materials that are used to construct implants and how they interfere with positioning during testing. 13.2% of the tumours in the women with breast cancer were found at an advanced stage, while the rate was only 5.5% in women without implants. (So it’s always good practice to let your technician or doctor know that you have them before they begin the exam. That way, they can make necessary adjustments to methods.)

More research has been deemed necessary by the scientists who conducted the study.

Carranza was working at a dental office last year when a man came into the office and shot her and her co-worker with a semiautomatic assault rifle. Her co-worker, the wife of the gunman, was killed. Carranza was shot in the chest at point blank range and survived. (Although her D-cup size implant didn’t. It deflated.) Her cosmetic surgeon believes that if the implant had not been there, she may not have survived the bullet, fragments of which were very near her heart and vital organs. This theory is supported by an LAPD firearms instructor.

But don’t go out and get breast implants just because of this incident. Carranza may have just been lucky, since a hospital spokesperson said that the physician who treated her, “was not aware of the breast implant having any impact or whether or not it saved her life.”

This story sounds like another one four years ago about a woman whose breast implants saved her from a Hezbollah rocket attack attack in Israel. Shrapnel pierced her chest and her implants stopped it from affecting her vital organs.

Could this be a bonus for breast implants? No! Remember: breast implants aren’t life saving devices!

In the history of breast implants, designers have always attempted to mimic the qualities of natural breast tissue, particularly regarding the feeling of it. Spongey materials, such as polyether foam, were used. Although they provided that natural pliability associated with breast tissue, they proved unsuccessful when capsular contraction followed by deflation occurred far too frequently within a year of surgery. Then silicone breast implants came along.

The first silicone breast implant was designed by two American plastic surgeons, Dr. Cronin and Dr. Gerow, and the Dow Corning Corporation in 1961. The inspiration? A plastic blood transfusion bag that Dr. Cronin examined on a trip to a blood bank. The bag’s flexibility and pliability, when full of blood, was similar to a natural breast.

With this realization, the two doctors redesigned the bag from silicone, creating what would become the implant shell. To fill it, they designed a substance of varying consistencies (also silicone). Unfortunately, despite testing, their new first generation breast implant design still resulted in capsular contraction.

An improvement to the design was made about a decade later. The shell was coated with polyurethane. The cases of capsular contraction developing following surgery became almost nonexistent as a result.

One common reason why breast implants need to be replaced is because they’ve ruptured. Ruptured saline filled implants do not usually pose a serious health risk and may be replaced without problem. The same is true for silicone filled implants if the rupture is detected early and addressed by surgically removing it However, if a ruptured silicone implant remains undetected, the long it remains undetected, the higher the risk of complications arising. These complications include the following:

the formation of lumps in the area of the implant or chest
the formation of inflamed and painful scar tissue, altering the contour of the breast
a burning sensation, that can be accompanied by swelling and numbness

For this reason, it is up to women with silicone breast implants to schedule routine examinations that check not only for cancer, but also for ruptures.

Most women who undergo reconstructive breast surgery do so to remove and reconstruct breasts that have been affected by cancer. A masectomy is performed to remove the affected tissue, then the surgeon may decide to do the following:

One-Stage Immediate Breast Reconstruction
After the mastectomy is performed, a breast implant is immediately inserted into the chest. For this reason, it is called “one-stage” (everything is done at one time).

Two-Stage/Delayed Breast Reconstruction
After affected breast tissue is removed, a tissue expander is inserted. A tissue expander is a shell constructed from silicone and placed under the tissue. It is filled with a sterile saline solution over a few months to allow skin and muscle to gradually stretch. Designed for women with little natural tissue, it allows the area to adapt to an implant. Once it is safe to do so, the tissue expander is removed (or remains in place if it designed to serve as an implant as well) and replaced with a breast implant.

Two-Stage Breast Reconstruction may also be performed if the woman is still undergoing therapy for cancer.

One primary cause of capsular contracture is believed to be related to harmful bacteria forming biofilms inside the breast pocket, where the breast implant is located. Clinical trials conducted on animals showed that wrapping a breast implant with AIGISRx, a biodegradable antibiotic-impregnated sleeve, prior to placing it inside the body effectively treated all bacteria commonly linked with breast implant surgery – even more so than standard irrigation procedures. The product remains effective for about a month following surgery and it biodegrades safely within 3 months.

The breast implant may be placed completely inside the AIGISRx sleeve or placed on top if the implant is textured. The sleeve is a tyrosine-based polymer that has tetracycline- and rifamycin-derivative antibiotics.

Dr. William P. Adams Jr., a professor of plastic surgery at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, leads the research and is currently seeking approval for AIGISRx from the FDA.

“We hope to make big progress with breast implant capsular contracture. This new technology will provide patients and surgeons with far better bacteria and biofilm coverage, and all one needs to do is simply place the product in the pocket and it is taken care of.”

But saline breast implants do feature some traits that are better.

1. Saline implants are usually filled after they’re placed inside the breasts. This means that the incision is usually smaller, making the resulting scar smaller, too. Plus, incision placement can be discreetly placed in the armpit (which is where Beyonce is rumored to have hers).

2. Too big or too small? No problem. A minor adjustment in size may be made after surgery. The implant is simply filled or drained to the desired size.

3. A major concern with breast implants is the risk of rupture. While silicone cannot be absorbed safely by the body, saline can. This is one of the key benefits.

4. And when it does rupture, you’ll be able to notice it right away. This is considered a good thing, since you can deal with the problem asap. Silicone implants need to be monitored annually with an MRI to ensure they haven’t ruptured.

5. Saline is cheaper. We’re talking about the chance to save about a grand. Although money shouldn’t be a prime concern when thinking about undergoing breast augmentation, it is still something to consider.

There once was a number of materials used to create breast implants. The majority are no longer available, since they were proven to be directly linked to the creation of serious health problems in the user. A few of the materials, whether pre-shaped or in its pure form directly injected into the breast, include the following:

parrafin
plastic foam
silicone
glass balls
rubber

Can you believe the materials people, at the time, thought would be okay to use inside the body? It was truly unfortunate for the women who suffered as a result. A plethora of complications resulted, many that adversely impacted long term health. Some women also died.

Fortunately, today’s implants have been thoroughly researched and tested to ensure their safety and efficaciousness – and even then, their usage is closely monitored by physicians and their governing bodies, as well as the manufacturer of the device.

Breast implants manufactured by Poly Implant Prothese (PIP), a French subsidiary of Heritage Worldwide, Inc., have been recalled after the health regulatory agency in France (AFSSAPS) found that PIP was using an unauthorised silicone gel rather than the one that was reported as being used. Although all implants are not lifetime devices, the risk of rupture for PIP implants is double that of others.

Because all silicone cohesive gel implants have a softer consistency that remains in tact, ruptures tend to go unnoticed for a longer period of time than saline filled implants. Doctors recommend women with PIP implants get an ultrasound to check for ruptures.

Silicone breast implants have been widely available in Australia since 2000. PIP implants are still circulating and are distributed by Medical Vision Australia. However, a few doctors did not use them because of their increased risk of rupture.

In Canada, there are a number of implant manufacturers but only two reign at the top: Mentor and Allergan. If you undergo breast augmentation in Toronto and get a silicone or saline implant, chances are, they’ll have been manufactured by one of the two.