What is the difference between silicone gel-filled and saline implants?
Like many implantable medical devices, the outer shell of both silicone and saline breast implants is made of solid silicone. The difference between the two types of breast implants has to do with the material inside this shell. While saline implants are filled with salt water, similar to contacts solution, silicone implants are filled with a semi-solid, gel form of silicone. The possibility of this gel “bleeding” out of the implant was the major factor in silicone implants being pulled from the market in the early 1990’s. This will be discussed further in the Risks Section below.
