Jul 10
5
What’s the Difference Between Smooth and Textured Implants?
I was reading the other day about saline breast implants, and I had never known that there were two different types of silicone shells (yes, although saline implants are filled with harmless saline, their shells are still made of silicone because of it’s durability and dependability, it’s the silicone gel filling that cause the major health concerns). These two different types of outer shells for saline implants are smooth and textured. It is exactly what it sounds like.
One has a smooth surface, while the other one has a rougher, textured surface, sort of like you might see on other plastic surfaces, like for instance I have a plastic cutting board that has a smooth side and then also has a textured side for better traction.
While better traction might be a reality outside the body with textured plastic, it actually is supposed to cause a slightly higher risk of deflation or rupturing of the implant when a textured shell is used rather than a smooth shell, which I thought was interesting since I thought the opposite would be true. Then again, sometimes the seemingly most intuitive isn’t always the answer!
Here’s the reason that textured implants may be superior in another way to smooth though. It’s the whole traction thing I talked about. While rough surfaces on implant shells may increase the rupturing risk, they actually DECREASE the risk of implant migration. That’s right, these rougher surfaces help to keep the implant in the right place both during and after the operation so the implant won’t turn, flip or slip down or up in the cavity where it is supposed to be.
You may have heard some horror stories about implant migration, and it probably isn’t a fun thing since it can make the breasts look lopsided or asymetrical if it is severe enough, and can result in the implant needing to be replaced or repositioned, which means another surgery. However, the risk is higher with deflation with these as well, so it’s wise to talk to your doctor about the different implant alternatives as well before you make your choice about what to go with.
Textured surfaced implants also increase the risk of rippling or wrinkling of the implant as well, and they can be more difficult to replace than the smooth type, so this is another consideration to add to the pile when you are making this critical decision.
