Breast Implants

Breast Implants

In the early 1980’s breast implants began gaining popularity, but they have been on the market since the early 1960’s. They were invented by plastic surgeons Cronin and Gerow. Dow Corning began manufacturing them commercially in 1962. Today over two million women have undergone breast augmentation surgery. There are many negative consequences that may arise from the surgery, and there is always the risk of infection or rupture. When beginning my research on the subject I assumed there would be a plethora of information. I was shocked to find out that there wasn’t. Silicone breast implants have been around for 40 years and there have been very few studies on their consequences, and possible effects on a woman’s body. The Food and Drug Administration has never approved the use of silicone implants. It is a surprising fact, because silicone implants are still being used today, but only by women who agree to be in a study of their safety. The politics surrounding breast augmentation are sketchy for lack of a better word. They have been promoted as being safe, yet their safety has never been fully questioned. While looking online, I found a variety of websites on the subject. There were many websites from the plastic surgery industry promoting breast implants as being safe. Then there were the websites like http://www.siliconeholocaust.org, this was by far the most disturbing site I have ever seen. There were dozens of pictures of real women who had their lives ruined by breast implants. If these, and other women had the little information that is available on the subject, they may have opted not to have the surgery because of the unnecessary consequences they now suffer.

Every woman has her own reasons behind her decision to get breast implants. Some women have undergone mastectomies, and get breast implants in order to feel “normal” again. According to the National Women’s Health Network (http://www.womenshealthnetwork.org) women who have lumpectomies have the same survival rate of women who have mastectomies as a result of breast cancer. They concluded that up to 40 percent of women who were diagnosed with breast cancer underwent unnecessary mastectomies. These mastectomies, whether necessary or not may lead to women to undergo breast augmentation surgery.

Other women have always felt that their breasts were too small, and out of proportion to their bodies. There are also the women who have average to large sized breasts to begin with, but for some reason feel the need to enhance her natural form. Body image plays a large role in whether a woman decides to undergo breast augmentation surgery. Women view themselves, and judge themselves by what they see on television, movies, and in magazines. The way the media portrays women is not natural. Models and actresses are, on the most part, thin and have seemingly flawless bodies. A young impressionable girl may feel the need to look like this herself; therefore she will grow up thinking she has to be perfect and she is not good enough. Girls as young as 11 are now contemplating plastic surgery. Breast implants are being put into the bodies of 15 year olds. A fifteen year old girl does not have the mental capacity to make a life altering decision like this. This shows us that there is a problem with the way children are being raised in today’s society. Any child under the age of 18 needs parental consent to have surgery, and I doubt that a 15 year old girl has the money saved up to be able to afford breast implants. This means that parents are footing the bill, and putting their daughter’s lives in the hands of plastic surgeons. They do this all in the name of beauty. Because the average breast implant lasts only 7-12 years by the time a young woman is 22 she may be having her second breast augmentation surgery.

The number of breast augmentation surgeries doubled in 2000, to 203,310 from 1997. This number does not include the 82,975 women who underwent the surgery for reconstruction after mastectomy. This does not mean that there has been a dramatic increase in the number of women getting breast implants. Many of those surgeries were women either replacing aging or ruptured implants, or removing them. The bottom line is that all implants will rupture and will have to be replaced at some point. The longer a woman has her implants, the higher the risk of rupture. Over a woman’s lifetime she will have to undergo several surgeries, and that means increased scar tissue and the always present danger of infection. Not to mention the financial costs, and pain a woman will suffer with each additional surgery.

With so many women electing to undergo breast augmentation surgery, it is alarming that there have been very few studies with any conclusive results regarding any type of breast implant. Only in 1991 did the FDA