Breast implant ripples and wrinkling: How to reduce the risk

Two things matter when it comes to breast implant wrinkling or implant ripples: the consistency of the soft tissue cover and the implant material itself. I know that the issue of implants and visible rippling or wrinkling comes up in implant forums and I often hear it mentioned during consults. In this video presentation, I show both saline and silicone implants so you can see how the wrinkling can appear directly on the implant itself as it’s held up. While silicone is more gel-like, it is not immune to wrinkling. I also discuss the gummy bear implant, which has a very stiff silicone consistency and is recommended for patients with breast reconstruction who have very little soft tissue cover in place.

The soft tissue cover I’m referring to is the skin, fat, and muscle covering your chest wall. The thicker the skin and fat, the less visible wrinkles. Placing the implant under the muscle also helps lessen any visible wrinkles. The illustration of the chest wall helps me explain exactly what it means to have an implant placed “under the muscle” – where the incision is made and how the implant is slid partially underneath the muscle (or muscles). Using a simple mock-up drawing of an implant, I show you how thin skin tends to look with implant wrinkling, how thicker skin tends to look with implant wrinkling, and how muscle tends to look with implant wrinkling.

In general, when I do breast augmentations I’d rather place the implant under the muscle, with the technique I describe at length in the video, creating a muscle sling underneath that will tend to hold the implant and, at the same time, cover up any wrinkles. You can learn even more about what causes implant wrinkling and how to reduce risk and you can see our patients’ before and after augmentation photos to see examples of the results achieved with my breast aug techniques.