Are MRIs needed for silicone implants?

[BabyDoll89]

Hi everyone,
Sorry I havent posted much lately but I wanted to wait until I had my consultation, which was yesterday. Overall I am happy w/ my doctor, he and the staff were very professional and answered a lot of my questions. But now I wanted to ask you guys a question. I have noticed a lot of women here in their posts saying they prefer silicone to saline. I at first wanted saline because I heard how women w/ silicone implants need to have MRIs every few years. I cant have MRIs because I am hard of hearing and have a cochlear implant. But my doctor says an MRI is not needed, that his other patients have not had them. He also prefers working with silicone. I was wondering if any of you w/ silicone had to have an MRI and if I should go with saline instead. At my consult I liked the feel of the silicone better, plus it is less likely to ripple like the saline can.
By the way I plan on getting 400cc's (Mentor, smooth, round) and a breast lift as well, which should bring me from a smaller C to a D.
Bye, Vera

[doxie]

Hi, i have silicone and my plastic surgeon never said anything about having to get an MRI in the future.

[iluvmydog66]

If you get silicone implants now - since the FDA lift in November, your plastic surgeon is required by LAW to recommend you get an MRI as stipulated in the Mentor brochure. The FDA recommends an MRI after 3 years and then one every 2 thereafter. If your plastic surgeon does not mention this or says you do not have to, I believe he is liable to prosecution. Doctors can not contradict FDA guidelines. NOW whether or not the MRIs are really necessary is a whole other subject.

Additional info here:
http://www.mentor4me.com/pdf/approved/Augmentation.pdf

[workoutgirl]

Originally Posted by BabyDoll89

Hi everyone,
Sorry I havent posted much lately but I wanted to wait until I had my consultation, which was yesterday. Overall I am happy w/ my doctor, he and the staff were very professional and answered a lot of my questions. But now I wanted to ask you guys a question. I have noticed a lot of women here in their posts saying they prefer silicone to saline. I at first wanted saline because I heard how women w/ silicone implants need to have MRIs every few years. I cant have MRIs because I am hard of hearing and have a cochlear implant. But my doctor says an MRI is not needed, that his other patients have not had them. He also prefers working with silicone. I was wondering if any of you w/ silicone had to have an MRI and if I should go with saline instead. At my consult I liked the feel of the silicone better, plus it is less likely to ripple like the saline can.
By the way I plan on getting 400cc's (Mentor, smooth, round) and a breast lift as well, which should bring me from a smaller C to a D.
Bye, Vera

I guess it depends on the doctor and also your preference. All the plastic surgeon's I consulted with agreed that it would be a good idea and probably recommened by OB's that you get one done every 3 or so years. It would not be covered by insurance. HTH and good luck with your decision!! I am getting salines mostly b/c I can't afford silicone but this also made me feel a lot better about my decision even though like you, I thought the silicone felt better.

[paticake]

I have saline mod+. I bet the recommendations is required now that the ban by the FDA has been lifted. So, if you got silicon implants [U]beforethe ban was lifted, your plastic surgeon probably didn't need to recommend the MRI's.

I like my saline. I got my ba in Oct. like a month before the ban was lifted. I like the shape that saline gives my breasts. I think my plastic surgeon said that saline implants push outward more than silicon.

[elizabethmc]

My plastic surgeon told me that MRI's would be needed with the silicones - sorry

[Victory]

My plastic surgeon recommended MRIs with silicone, told me how often I should do them, though he also pointed out that the final call was mine. As a Mentor MemoryGel study participant, MRIs are requested by Mentor for their research purposes, but are not required. I was told they are not required because even as a study participant, they can't FORCE you to do anything with your body that you do not want to do. MRIs are expensive, and no insurance company is going to cover them under these circumstances. Chances are, the MRIs will only prove what Mentor and other silicone manufacturers have been tyring to say all along, in that, the silicones do NOT cause problems. They've been using silicone in Europe for years and years with no problems. No reason to think American women should be any different. The FDA is just extremely cautious - perhaps overly, but that's a whole other topic!

[iluvmydog66]

[QUOTE=paticake;66070
I like my saline. I got my ba in Oct. like a month before the ban was lifted. I like the shape that saline gives my breasts. I think my plastic surgeon said that saline implants push outward more than silicon.[/QUOTE]


My plastic surgeon said same thing- saline gives more project and lift. Makes sense because silicone is more like breast tissue where saline is firmer. Saline can rupture more then silicone, silicone has a slightly higher incidence of CC (at this point, studies only 3 yrs old for cohesives in the USA), silicone requires larger incision, saline wrinkle and ripple more. Silicone require MRIs as they can silent rupture and they still are unsure if when they do, minor amounts of silicone will get into your body and if that is 'safe' or not.

It is a very very hard decision!

[BabyDoll89]

Hi,
These are the main reasons why my surgeon thought silicone would be best for me: He said on a slender person like me, saline tends to ripple too much. Also, he used silicones before the FDA ban was lifted because he was involved in an FDA study, and he has been working w/ silicones for the past 14 years. That is probably why said I did not need the MRIs. He also said possible leaks or ruptures can be detected by mammograms or CAT scans, which I am allowed to have because they are not magnetic. I know he has lots of experience, and he came reccomended to me. It is a really hard decision to make. I am still leaning toward silicone, but I will have to give it more thought.

Vera

[iluvmydog66]

Hi Vera -

Mind me asking what your stats are? I guess if a plastic surgeon uses more silicone he will be more apt to see favorable results - just like with my plastic surgeon who is still using way more saline, and sees many favorable results as well.

I am super thin on top - and very narrow and ribby, yet my plastic surgeon says he sees women with my body type all the time who are thrilled with their salines.

It is so hard to know what is the right choice!

[Slinky]

My plastic surgeon told me that I would have to sign an agreement to have an MRI, at my own expense, every 3 years in order to go with silicone. I was planning on salines anyway, so it didn't affect me, but had I been considering silicone, I most likely would have re-thought my decision.

[iluvmydog66]

Hi Slinky - -

It is reassuring for me to read that someone else had a plastic surgeon that also was very frank and upfront about the necessity of the MRI. Are you concerned about the higher incidence of rippling and rupture with salines? I am a 36A and dont have a lot of skin/tissue on my upper body. My plastic surgeon has assured me that he has worked on a lot of women with similiar bodies to my own - I think that I am probably one of the more typical women he sees - who have lived their entire lives being very small breasted and have just gotten to a point in their lives where they are ready to go for it.

It is something i have always wanted. I am not involved with anyone right now and am doing this for me and me alone - but am also hoping it will give me that boost and self esteem with my body that I think I need.

Guess life is full of risks and i do worry that I may not be happy - - but I am remaining positive, despite my pre BA jitters!

We should keep in touch as you are only one week before me.

Beth

[BabyDoll89]

Hi Beth,

Here are my stats: I am 5'3" and about 112 pounds. Right now I wear a 34 (smaller) C. I am small and thin, with broader shoulders but kind of ribby. I have noticed there are many other women who are about my size who have salines, and it does not seem to be a problem for them. Like I said before, my plastic surgeon definitely favors silicone, probably because he has a lot of experience with it. I think a lot of times, a plastic surgeon will want his or her patients to get whatever the plastic surgeon prefers working with. You are right, it is a very hard choice! Another reason why I may want to have salines is they are less expensive than silicones - I will discuss this with him soon because it is driving me crazy.

Vera