In my earlier article I shared the statistics of the ASPS 2014 for the most common plastic/ aesthetic surgery procedures. Breast Augmentation was ranked on number 1.
To enlarge or correct a lack of volume or an asymmetry of the breast, one needs to insert breast implants. The vast majorities of implants consists of a silicone shell and are filled with silicone gel. Although there are still the saline filled ones in the market, they are not been used that often anymore.
In terms of shape one has to distinguish between the anatomical and round shape. The anatomical shape imitates the shape of a natural breast with more volume in the lower part and less in the upper, whereas the round implant is shaped like a dome. I will not go any deeper in the science of shape and dimension of the base, the gel cohesiveness and shell texture in this article.
My focus today is on the difference between round and anatomical implants. It is an interesting fact that depending on the region of the world you live in the ratio between anatomical and round implants used in breast augmentation differs immensely.
For instance, in Europe much more anatomical implants are used, than in USA or the Middle East. The reason for this may be, that European women prefer a more natural look of the breast, thus preferring the anatomical implants, whereas in the USA and Middle East tendency is more towards a fuller upper pole by using round implants.
Another reason is that surgeons prefer round implants because they think using anatomical ones is more complicated and bears the risk of implant rotation.
From my personal experience in using routinely both anatomical and round implants, I can firmly say, that using anatomical implants is as safe and practical as round ones. Only the breast condition of the patient should dictate which implant to choose. I still see too many slim patients with round implants resulting in a fake or “done” looks, whereas they would have been served much better with the anatomical ones. I am confident that over time and with constant education of the health professionals we will see less and less of this artificial looking breasts.