I had a breast job done several years ago and had 375cc of saline implants put in and now I went to 450cc of silicone. I think the dr. Just lifted my breast to make them equal and did not put in the silicone implants and left the saline ones in. How can I tell if I still have saline implants or if he really put the silicone ones in? FYI, my breast are the same size they were!
Hello Michelle,
In some cases a clinical exam from a trained surgeon can be useful, but an MRI would be very useful to determine the type of implant. You can ask for the implant card of your implant from the surgeon. That will also indicate the type, size etc. of the implanted implants. The operative record and the nursing records will also indicate what type of implants were used.
Dear michelle,
I concur with other posts on this thread. To determine if you have silicone or saline implants placed, you can have a plastic surgeon examine them, and/ or review the operative reports and your implant registration card. An MRI will definitively be able to tell the difference between saline and silicone. Good luck!
Hi Michelle. Yes, there are ways. A mammogram can see the valve used for saline implants. Although, I wouldn't recommend it, a CT scan or MRI would also show what kind of implant you have. None of these tests will show you what size you have. I'd recommend the following: call your doctor's office and ask for your operative report (they have to provide you a copy if you request it), check on this website if your surgeon is a member of ASPS (it's unlikely they would be if he truly didn't do what you asked) and consider a mammogram. Another consideration is to be evaluated by a surgeon who is a member of this society and go from there. Good luck.
I completely agree with Dr. Ver Halen and Dr. Kusuma on ways to determine if your implants are saline or silicone. However, I would also be absolutely shocked if he/she were to be so dishonest as to lie about the implant type they used. Milliliter to milliliter saline and silicone are not the same. It takes a larger silicone implant to equal a saline implant because of the way the implants are filled or in other words, a 450ml saline implant is larger than a 450ml silicone implant. Furthermore, when a lift is included breasts typically lose a little size because of the skin that is removed with a lift. In short, there were a lot of changes made to your breasts and unfortunately, you may not have what you expected. This is far more likely than the surgeon being dishonest about the implant they used. Surgeons have very little to gain by being dishonest (a few hundred dollars) and their reputation to lose if/when it is discovered they have poor integrity. Good luck!
What a concerning suspicion! I am sorry you feel this way. The best bet is to read the operative notes, confront your plastic surgeon, and, if necessary, obtain an MRI. My instinct is that your surgeon was not dishonest. After a lift, a 75cc increase in volume may not generate a noticeable difference. Generally, the naked eye cannot discern volume discrepancies less than 50cc.
Dear Michelle,
It's best to discuss your concerns candidly with your surgeon in order to be reassured and to ask for the implant ID card for your personal records. It is typically very difficult to perceive a size enhancement with implants that are similar in volume. Hopefully you will not need to resort to additional imaging to settle your concerns and your surgeon will restore your trust and provide the reassurance you are seeking.
Warm regards,
Dr. Pedy Ganchi
Village Plastic Surgery
Like many of my colleagues have already said, you can ask your surgeon for your operative report and implant registration card.
The simplest solution would be to ask your surgeon. Good luck
If you went to a board certified plastic surgeon in this country I would be shocked if they did not change the implant. With that said, an experienced surgeon could tell the difference or an MRI. However, I would request a copy of the operation report from the surgery center. The serial numbers should be recorded. You could also contact the implant manufacturer and see if those implants are registered to you. Also go from 375 to 450 is actually not a big change especially if significant amounts of skin were removed during the lift.
Best of Luck, Dr. Boschert
If your surgeon is an ABPS certified surgeon, it is highly unlikely that such fraud occurred. The combination of a relatively small increase in volume (exactly 20%), and switching to a device that is less filled to its shell capacity (saline implants are typically very overfilled, making them ball shaped), the net is effect is a very small change. You should have gotten implant tags with serial numbers, etc.