Advice needed- opinions of saline vs. silicone- any advice is helpful

I am getting plastic surgery in 3 weeks and the surgeon I am seeing highly recommends silicone implants, this is the more popular and often used choice in his practice. I've done research on silicone AND saline, and the results seem equally risky. FOr women who have silicone implants, how is the experience so far? Is there pain or hardening, as the research say? Any success stories??