Proud Supporter of
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 The
Facts about Breast Augmentation
What will it cost–in terms of your health and your wallet?
THE TODAY SHOW March 27
Ample cleavage is all the rage these days, as we saw at the
Academy Awards. Some women come by it
naturally, but for those who don't, there is the option of
cosmetic surgery. It's a procedure
that more than 130,000 women underwent last year, but how safe are
implants? On NBC's "Today" show, Dr. Judith Reichman discusses the
health implications of breast augmentation. Read some of her
thoughts below.
SINCE 1992, there has been a 300 percent increase in the number of
breast augmentations each year, yet, as Dr. Reichman says, few
cosmetic surgeries have come under such recent medical,
commercial, and legal scrutiny.
WHAT ARE THE MAJOR TYPES OF BREAST IMPLANTS AND HOW DO THEY
DIFFER?
There are two different breast implants:
Silicone (gel) implant – Before they were banned in 1992, this was
the type of implant that many women preferred because it gave a
natural, softer look. It was the implant of choice until reports
of a possible link to autoimmune diseases, as well as other
medical problems, were suspected to occur, especially if the
implant leaked.
Although silicone implants have been banned for cosmetic use, they
can be used under certain circumstances such as if a woman has had
a failed saline implant or has experienced complications from a
saline implant.
Silicone gel implants are allowed to be used for breast
reconstruction or implant replacement. They are also approved for
treatment of severe sagging, as long as a "lift" is done at the
same time.
Saline implant–Of the 130,000 women who had breast augmentation
last year, most of those implants were saline. Saline implants
contain physiologic salt water encased in a silicone shell. The
shell is considered safe and its components don't leak into a
woman's body.
WHAT DOES BREAST AUGMENTATION COST?
Each implant can range in price from $600 to $1,300, not including
operating room fees, anesthesiologist fees, etc. A fee of $3,500
for the procedure is on the low end–$5,000 is more likely. But in
Los Angeles, it costs from $8,000 to $10,000, and in New York, the
surgeon's fee is $4,417–not including all of the other fees–which
can make it somewhere around $8,000.
HOW LONG IS RECOVERY?
The patient will spend the first three days at home, participating
in no activities. This is a critical time because hemorrhaging can
occur, and the implant can also slip.
During the next two weeks, the patient can gradually increase
activity.
In general, if the implant is inserted under the muscle, it can
take about six weeks to fully recover.
AT WHAT AGE ARE WOMEN HAVING THEIR BREASTS AUGMENTED?
Sixty percent of women are aged 19-34. Thirty-five percent are
aged 35-50.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE REASONS THAT WOMEN CHOOSE TO HAVE BREAST
AUGMENTATION?
Older women may find that their breasts have deflated and drooped
from childbearing and breast-feeding. Their self-esteem suffers
and they are unhappy. They want to look better in their clothes.
It is a major issue for these women to decide to augment their
breasts, and they take a while to decide to do it.
For younger women, it is often a case of asymmetry, which makes
them extremely self-conscious. They don't want to get undressed in
public; they have problems finding bras; and they don't want to be
in relationships because of embarrassment. They have a damaged
self-image. Other young women never fully developed and they have
extremely small breasts. Others want the "Academy Award"
effect–they want to emulate others they see who they think have
perfect bodies and look great in clothes. Perhaps they have worked
out and done everything they can do on their own, and still don't
have the breast size they are happy with.
Very few women do it to
please a male figure in their lives. When we say that, we are
under-valuing a woman's concerns.
Approximately 1,500 girls under the age of 18 received implants
last year. Parental consent is mandatory. Dr. Reichman says that
unless there exists a major deformity, she does not recommend
letting minors do this because it is a procedure that will affect
the rest of their lives as they will have to deal with long-term
follow-up care.WHAT ARE THE GENERAL HEALTH RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH
BREAST IMPLANTS?
Breast implants were in use before 1976, when the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) began requiring approval of all implanted
medical devices, so no information was required to keep the
implants on the market. (They were "grandfathered.")
In 1992, however, there were so many complaints about silicone
implants that the FDA chief at the time, Dr. David Kessler, pulled
them off of the market.
Since silicone implants were the majority of all implants at that
time, they naturally received the majority of complaints. (Now, a
woman must sign a consent saying that she will participate in a
research project–if she gets silicone implants.)
Saline implants were protected against this ban. It was felt that
since saline can't hurt the body if it leaks, that potential harm
was not there.
The chief concern is that rupture, leakage, or even the presence
of intact silicone implants in the body, puts women at increased
risk of autoimmune disorders.
Advertisement Symptoms that have been suggested to be associated
with an autoimmune reaction include joint pain and swelling, skin
tightness, redness, or swelling, swelling of hands and feet,
headaches, rash, swollen glands, muscle weakness, fatigue, general
achiness, increased vulnerability to colds and flu, hair loss,
memory problems, irritable bowel syndrome and nausea and vomiting.
Many of the well-publicized reports linking silicone implants with
health problems were anecdotal and involved a small number of
women. This evidence, however, was enough to support a major
lawsuit against one implant company, Dow Corning, which settled
for a sum of $4.4 billion. But even as this suit was under way,
major studies found no association or only an insignificant link
between silicone implants and these autoimmune like responses.
Some researchers have suggested that there may be a small group of
women with genetic factors that make them susceptible to a
syndrome resulting from exposure to silicone. The problem is that
this constellation of symptoms occurs in just one percent of the
general population, so even if the risk is doubled, it's still a
fairly rare condition–one that would only show up in studies of
tens of thousands of women.
In the March 16, 2001 issue of the New England Journal of
Medicine, a new study, "found no evidence of an association
between breast implants in general, or silicone-gel-filled breast
implants specifically, and any of the individual connective-tissue
diseases, all definite connective-tissue diseases combined, or
other autoimmune or rheumatic conditions. "From this they
concluded, "From a public health perspective, breast implants
appear to have minimal effect on the number of women in whom
connective-tissue diseases develop, and the elimination of
implants would not be likely to reduce the incidence of
connective-tissue diseases." |
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ARE SALINE
IMPLANTS SAFE? |
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We recommend the use of surgery only as a last
resort, because of the possible hazards involved with such procedures.
We recommend first trying
Breast Enhancement Pills
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