Breast Implants

Board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Wayne Yamahata personalizes breast augmentation procedures by offering a variety of breast implant choices to patients from Sacramento, Granite Bay, Roseville, Folsom, and surrounding areas. During your consultation, he will go over each choice with you, explain the advantages and disadvantages, and determine the unique combination that is right for your natural anatomy, lifestyle, and aesthetic goals.

Real Patients, Beautiful Results

Photos showing actual patients offer the best testament to Dr. Yamahata’s talent and artistic eye. Please visit our photo gallery showing other breast augmentation patients.

*Your results may vary.

Should I get silicone or saline implants?

Saline and silicone breast implants have their own advantages and drawbacks (see comparison table), which Dr. Yamahata will review with you at your consultation.

SILICONE & SALINE BREAST IMPLANT COMPARISON

Consideration	Silicone	Saline
How is the implant filled?	Implants come pre-filled	Implants start out empty and are filled once they’ve been placed in the body
Is the size adjustable?	No	Yes, with limitations
What are the age restrictions?	Silicone implants are approved for women 22 and older	Saline implants are approved for women 18 and older
What are the unique benefits?	More natural look and feel	In the unlikely event of a rupture, saline is harmlessly absorbed by the body

• Silicone

• How is the implant filled?
• Implants come pre-filled
• Is the size adjustable?
• No
• What are the age restrictions?
• Silicone implants are approved for women 22 and older
• What are the unique benefits?
• More natural look and feel

• Saline

• How is the implant filled?
• Implants start out empty and are filled once they’ve been placed in the body
• Is the size adjustable?
• Yes, with limitations
• What are the age restrictions?
• Saline implants are approved for women 18 and older
• What are the unique benefits?
• In the unlikely event of a rupture, saline is harmlessly absorbed by the body

Dr. Yamahata offers only FDA-approved saline and cohesive silicone breast implants for his breast augmentation and breast augmentation revision patients.

Breast Implant Shape

Breast implants are available in 2 shapes, round and teardrop (also called contoured or anatomical). Teardrop implants follow a natural, sloped breast shape with more fullness at the bottom. They must be inserted with skill and precision because they can appear skewed if not placed correctly. Round implants, the most popular choice, offer the following benefits:

• Increase fullness of the upper portion of the breast
• Shift naturally with the patient’s body movements
• Enhance cleavage by filling out the sides and tops of the breasts
• Cannot become misshapen if the implant rotates

Breast Implant Texture

The outer covering of both saline and silicone breast implants, called the shell, is made of strong, elastic silicone. The surface of the shell can be smooth or textured. All contoured implants have a textured shell to prevent them from being displaced or turning, which can distort the shape of the breast. If you choose round implants, you will have the option of either textured or smooth shells. A smooth shell will feel and move more naturally.

Breast Implant Profile

Breast implants are available in several profiles to accommodate the width of your frame and breasts. Profile options include low, moderate, and high, and specify how far the implant will push the breast tissue out from the chest wall. Low-profile implants tend to be wider; high-profile implants tend to be narrower. For example, 350 cc implants of different profiles may have the same volume, but the wider, low-profile implant will not push the breast tissue out as far from the chest wall as the narrower, high-profile implant.

Alternatives to Breast Implants

Women who want a natural alternative to breast implants may be good candidates for breast augmentation with fat transfer. This procedure involves removing fat with liposuction from areas it’s not wanted, such as the hips or thighs, purifying it, and injecting it into the breasts. The size increase is typically subtle, but the results are long-lasting. Learn more in this blog post.

Your Custom Breast Enhancement Procedure

By offering a range of products and surgical techniques, Dr. Yamahata gives patients the chance to take full advantage of all the options available for breast augmentation. He combines multiple factors – your aesthetic desires, your body’s frame, the existing size of your breasts, and your skin tone, among others – so that he can customize your procedure to get results that look natural. Having so many choices can sometimes be overwhelming for patients, but Dr. Yamahata takes his time during your consultation to ensure you understand all of the options.

Breast Implant FAQ

Which breast implant size should I ask for in order to get my desired cup size?

Cup sizes are not regulated or exact and can vary quite a bit between bra manufacturers. It’s impossible to assign an implant size to a particular cup size. Instead, during your consultation, you and Dr. Yamahata talk at length about your desired results, including the size you have in mind. You’ll browse before-and-after photos and work together to choose an implant size that suits your body and delivers the results you want.

Will I need to replace my implants in the future?

Although breast implants are designed to be durable, they will usually not last a lifetime. There is no true consensus about how long implants last — probably because there are several factors involved — but most patients can count on implants lasting between 10 and 15 years.

What are the risks associated with breast implants?

Although breast augmentation is exceedingly safe, it’s still surgery, and, as such, it carries certain risks with it. When performed on an appropriate candidate, the risks of breast augmentation surgery are minimal. However, infection, blood clots, and other surgical complications not exclusive to breast augmentation are possible. During your consultation, Dr. Yamahata discusses your unique risk profile to ensure you make an informed decision.

My breasts sag. Can implants help?

It depends on the severity of the sagging. Implants alone aren’t typically enough to create a measurable improvement in breasts that sag significantly. In fact, adding implants without performing a breast lift can actually make sagging worse in many cases. If you’re bothered by both the position and the volume of your breasts, a combined breast lift and augmentation is likely to give you the results you want.

Is it safe to have breast implants if I want to breastfeed in the future?

Yes. Any type of implant, whether it’s saline or silicone, is safe for breastfeeding mothers and nursing babies alike. The presence of implants will not affect the quality or quantity of the milk you produce, and surgery doesn’t typically affect your ability to breastfeed, either.

Your Next Step

If you’re interested in meeting with Dr. Yamahata at his Granite Bay or Sacramento office to discuss breast augmentation, request a consultation online, or call his office in Sacramento at (916) 929-1833 or Granite Bay at (916) 773-5559.