Rippling & Contour Irregularities

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There is a chance of rippling (indentations from the implant resembling the edges of a blow-up pool toy, or a scallop) being apparent, especially when one has no breast tissue and chooses to go OVER the muscle. Even when there is significant tissue, it is possible that the implant can shift and make an indentation which shows and can be felt through the skin.

Many woman who do prefer silicone gel-filled implants choose to get them -- even changing from saline to silicone filled - to correct their wrinkling problems. This is an option that many women feel has corrected their rippling problems.

The Mentor 3000 Series (High Profile Implants) have less wrinkling, increased projection and need less volume to reach the same size as a standard implant in patients with less lateral breast mass, so you may want to ask about this implant. They are narrower at the base and are ideal for smaller diameter ribcages.

Also some women choose to go completely under (full submuscular) with the help of the serratus muscles and rectus abdominus fascia as well as the pectoralis major to help cover the implants.

There is also the use of AlloDerm to correct contour irregularities such as is mentioned in this article:

"AlloDerm To Correct Breast Implant Rippling & Contour Problems"

Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (May 13, 2000) -- Breast implant rippling and loss of external tissue support caused by severe capsular contracture (breast firmness) are among the problems that can be successfully treated using the acellular dermal graft AlloDerm, according to a study presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) in Lake Buena Vista.

AlloDerm, manufactured by LifeCell Inc., is the protein framework of human donor skin from which the epidermis and all of the cells in the dermis have been removed. When used to replace the original lost or damaged dermis, AlloDerm becomes part of the patient's own tissue.

In this study, six augmentation patients and nine breast reconstruction patients who had insufficient soft tissue coverage or support of their implants underwent a procedure in which a thick sheet of AlloDerm was sutured to the chest muscle. The Alloderm was draped internally to replace absent breast tissue and provide a full, round contour.

"Lack of tissue support can give the implanted breast an 'orange in a sock' appearance," says plastic surgeon Diane Irvine Duncan, MD, who presented the study.

"Noticeable rippling also can occur in both augmentation patients with little breast tissue or reconstruction patients with thin mastectomy flaps. Using the AlloDerm sheets, plastic surgeons can correct all these problems without having to perform more extensive surgery to transfer muscle or graft the patient's own tissue from a donor site."

The study concluded that the results at three and 15 months following the procedure were excellent, and there were no complications. "The AlloDerm procedure achieved dramatic contour improvement in all cases," says Dr. Duncan.

Capsular contracture and implant rippling are among the most common problems associated with breast implant surgery. In 1999, breast augmentation was the second most popular cosmetic surgical procedure, according to ASAPS national statistics. A study of breast augmentation presented at the ASAPS meeting showed a patient satisfaction rate of greater than 95 percent.

[beachy]

Thanks for all that information. Do you have any pictures of these irregularities? Are they even visible to the naked eye?

[Jamie]

They are definitely visible. I watch a lot of plastic surgery shows and do a lot of internet surfing on the subject. It is VERY obvious.

[SageMother]

Thing is, I have seen those implants that go under the muschle and they are always "off"....too high or too far apart!

I thought that the edges of the implante showed through because there wasn't enoguh fatty tissue available to make it look better. I have see the problem mostly on thin ladies who wanted something too large for the amount of lfesh and fat available.

[Tag]

Yeah, its more obvious in thin women, who have less flesh. I guess the fatter women dont get those problems as much.