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Will My Breast Implants Feel Real or Fake?
There are many reasons that women seek breast implants, including to build self-esteem, enhance body image and boost sexual confidence. However, if you’re considering breast augmentation for any reason, it’s normal to be concerned about your results. Despite our best efforts, breast implants will always feel different than natural breast tissue. There are some things to keep in mind, though, when wondering about your new breasts. Here’s what to know about how breast implants feel and which type is best for you.
Factors That Determine If Breast Implants Feel Real or Fake
Nowadays, plastic surgeons use the most advanced breast implants available on the market. Even so, the “realness” of your implants can actually depend on a variety of factors outside of the implant itself. These factors include:
Placement
Implants can be placed over or under the chest muscles. Under-the-muscle implantation tends to feel more natural because there’s more natural tissue between the implant and the breast.
Implant Size
Larger implants can skew the implant/tissue ratio and increase the likelihood of an unnatural feel. This can be especially noticeable in petite women who have less natural breast tissue.
Initial Breast Tissue
Natural breast tissue covers the implants better and improves the feel of the implants through padding. Having less natural breast tissue can make the implant more noticeable.
Implant Texture
Textured implants have more grip on the interior breast pocket, but this means they don’t move freely and can noticeably stay in place. Smooth implants move freely like natural flesh. Dr. Fichadia only works with smooth implants.
Your board-certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Hetal Fichadia, can help you determine which factors are most important to you and ensure you make an informed decision about your results.
Which Type of Breast Implant Feels More Real?
There is no “best” type of implant, since each one comes with benefits that can match with each patient’s goals. However, there can be a noticeable difference between the two types of implants. For this reason, your plastic surgeon can guide you through the selection process based on your intended results.
Saline Breast Implants
Saline implants can feel more firm, an aspect that can make them feel less real. The reason is that saline implants are “balloons” plastic surgeons feel with sterile saline. Water is more difficult to compress and is less squishy, especially when the implant shell is stiff. Plastic surgeons usually fill saline implants more to make them firm. The way to make them feel less firm is by under-filling the saline implant shell. The shell allows easier water displacement, and it will feel squishier when compressed. However, an underfilled saline implant can look and feel “fake” because it has many folds and ripples.
Silicone Breast Implants
Silicone gel has varying levels of viscosity that in turn contributes to its firmness. Silicone contains molecule chains and cross-linking, and their length determines the firmness of the material. “Gummy bear” implants are more cohesive, firmer, and better at maintaining shape though, these are textured silicone implants, which Dr. Fichadia does not use due to their association with BIA-ALCL. Softer gels (as in traditional silicone implants) are best when you want to achieve a softer, more compressible feel. The softer gel fill prevents a “too firm” feel that makes many women worry about breast augmentation.
Schedule a Consultation
There are many options for achieving your ideal feel with breast augmentation. Take a look at Dr. Fichadia’s before and after gallery to see real results. Dr. Fichadia is a double-board certified plastic surgeon located in Portland, OR. To create a customized surgical plan and explore your implant options, we invite you to contact our office by calling or filling out our online form.
Dr. Fichadia is a double board-certified, comprehensively trained plastic and reconstructive surgeon. She completed general surgical training at St Elizabeth’s Medical Center, an affiliate of Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, MA, and subsequently completed a highly competitive plastic surgery program at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, OR. She has presented research from her time in Boston and Portland at national and international surgical meetings such as Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons and annual meeting of American Society of Plastic Surgery.
