General Information About Breast Augmentation

Breast augmentation is a cosmetic surgical procedure that enhances the volume of the breasts with the placement of a breast implant.

Breast augmentation can also be called by the following names:

breast enlargement
mammoplasty enlargement
augmentation mammoplasty

It is called a boob job in layman's terms.

There are a number of reasons why a woman would want to undergo breast augmentation. Some reasons include a desire to improve the aesthetics of the body contour, to correct genetic or post-trauma deformities or to reconstruct the breast after a mastectomy.

Breast Implants

There are two primary types of breast implants currently used by physicians in North America.

Saline Filled
These prosthetics are comprised of a silicone elastomer shell containing sterile liquid saline.

Silicone Gel filled
These prosthetics are comprised of a silicone shell filled with viscous silicone gel. This gel is of a "gummy bear" consistency, and does not run like older silicone implants. As a result, if the implant were to rupture, the silicone would not ooze into the body.