All breast implants have risks. The most common is when the breast gets hard and painful, known as capsular contracture. Many women with implants have that problem after a few years, but it appears to be more common with silicone gel breast implants than saline implants.
Implant surgery usually costs between $5,000-8,000, including the implants and one follow-up visit. Silicone gel breast implants cost about $1,000 more than saline implants.
However, there are a lot of extra expenses that you need to be aware of.
For example, saline implants and silicone implants both have a high complication rate, and almost half the women will need additional surgery to fix implant problems within 3-4 years. Some problems are cosmetic and some problems are more serious, such as infections, allergic reactions, or auto-immune reactions. That additional surgery often costs $5,000 or more. That is why we suggest that women considering breast implants make sure they have at least $5,000 in their savings that they will save and not spend until they need it for their next implant surgery.
All breast implants will eventually break, but when saline implants rupture it is obvious (they deflate quickly) and when silicone gel breast implants break, there are often no symptoms at first. Having no symptoms might seem like an advantage, but it is actually dangerous because silicone can leak out of the tear in the implant, and get to parts of the body where surgeons can’t remove it. Leaking silicone can cause pain and allergic or auto-immune reactions. When it is removed, the breast may be deformed.
Because of concerns about leaking silicone, the FDA recommends having breast MRIs regularly to detect ruptures that have no symptoms. When silicone breast implants were first approved, the FDA recommended that all women undergo a breast MRI 3 years after getting breast implants, and every other year after that. However, because of the expense and the reluctance of plastic surgeons to encourage MRIs for silent ruptures, very few women followed the FDA’s advice. As of October 2020, FDA now recommends an MRI 5-6 years after the initial surgery and every 2-3 years after that. Unfortunately, breast MRIs cost about $2,000 each, sometimes more. That may seem very expensive, but it is the only accurate way to know if your implants are broken or leaking. If they are leaking, it is important to have them removed immediately.
Given the expense and the risks, why would any woman get silicone gel breast implants? There is one advantage: they feel more like a real breast. Saline implants may not feel as warm as the rest of the body in cold weather (A figure skater told us they were painfully cold!). And, women with saline implants sometimes say that they sometimes make swooshing water noises. Most plastic surgeons prefer silicone gel implants because they tend to look and feel more natural. However, many women tell us that does not make up for the added risks and added costs.
It is important to know that all breast implants – saline or silicone – can cause serious health problems. They can even cause a type of cancer of the immune system, known as anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL).
The bottom line: all breast implants will eventually break or cause other complications that will require additional surgery. Some complications can be very serious. But some breast implants are safer than others, and since silicone gel breast implants are more likely to leak unnoticed as they get older, we believe that saline implants are safer.