Breast Augmentation - Cosmetic / Plastic Surgery

Stem Cells for Bigger Boobs?

2007-02-19T23:59:00.000-08:00

Get ready for this - scientists in Japan claim to be able to increase the size of women's breasts using fat and stem cells.

They basically take fat from your stomach or thigh, enrich it with stems cells, and then inject it into your breast. These stem cells act as "master" cells, which are capable of making new fat cells. Interesting.

They're hoping that this method will result in a softer, more natural-looking alternative to the artificial implants used today that are filled with salt water or silicone.

Mr. Yoshimura, a surgeon at the Tokyo University Medical School, injected over 40 patients, and he believed the stem cell and fat combination, which can increase a woman's cup size by two sizes, was a success, with no serious complications.

This month, German authorities approved the process, which means that the procedure is now legal throughout Europe, including Britain. The FDA is much slower than its European counterparts.

Of course, there are critics who think this procedure is a bad idea, and should be approached with extreme caution. It's possible that the fat injected into the breast might just look lumpy, and that the stem cells won't be able to grow to a regular implants size. Obviously more research needs to be done.

It's too bad that women should even feel like they need bigger boobs in the first place - but for women who are unhappy with their small breast size, it sounds like new options are on the horizon.

With ban over, silicone is back for implants and women want it

2007-02-05T08:30:00.000-08:00

FDA-approved models for breast augmentation are proving popular.
By Ann Wlazelek Of The Morning Call
Fourteen years after health scares prompted lawsuits and a government ban, silicone breast implants are making a noticeable comeback on the cosmetic surgery market.

Fears of leaks, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis dissipated in November when independent researchers found no link and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved newer models made with a thicker lining and spill-proof gel.
Since then, area plastic surgeons say more than a dozen patients have asked for silicone instead of salt-water-filled saline implants. And the nationwide demand for breast-enhancing surgery continues to grow.

''Some are asking for the new Gummy bear implants,'' said Lehigh Valley plastic surgeon John Altobelli, a longtime silicone advocate who said the consistency of the new implants resembles that of the confection.

''Yes, they are definitely asking,'' said Dr. Jaime Bastidas, who works at Easton Hospital in Wilson. ''It's not that saline [implants] are bad, but gel implants do have a more natural feel. For some women that's important: how they feel, not just how they look.''

One of those women is a 32-year-old nurse who works in Allentown and asked that her name be withheld for privacy. For her, fear wasn't a factor in choosing silicone.

''They feel more natural and they look better,'' she said. ''I'm not worried about the risks...Obviously they must have worked out the bugs or they wouldn't be back on the market.''

Altobelli, her surgeon, said he never doubted the safety of silicone implants, even in the 1980s and 1990s, when class-action suits were brought against Dow Corning, the leading manufacturer, and nine women had filed complaints against him.

''One by one all were dropped,'' he said of his suits. Not settled, he clarified, ''dropped.''

Dr. Ed Salgado, chief of plastic surgery at St. Luke's Hospital-Fountain Hill, said he was an early proponent of saline implants but also considers silicone safe, largely because the FDA had permitted their continued use in breast reconstruction.

''A healthy 40-year-old could not use them but some poor lady getting chemotherapy for breast cancer who doesn't know her future can,'' Salgado observed. ''It made me think it is defensible to use'' silicone implants.

It's too soon, three months after the ban was lifted, to say whether the demand for silicone nationwide will surpass saline again, says the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.

However, interest in breast enlargement surgery, a procedure called augmentation, has not waned in the eight years on record. Augmentation remained the second-most common cosmetic surgery procedure (after liposuction) last year, society data shows. And the number of augmentations ballooned 260 percent, from 101,176 in 1997 to 364,610 in 2005.

But now that options have been restored for women who want larger breasts, surgeons said there is more to consider than ''the feel'' when choosing silicone or saline.

First, a woman must be 22 or older — the age at which breasts have fully developed — to receive silicone implants in augmentation surgery. She also must agree to be followed in studies for up to 10 years. Those are the new FDA restrictions.

Even though several panels of experts, including the Institute of Medicine, found no evidence that silicone implants caused autoimmune or other major diseases, none of the studies predicted the rupture rate or long-term effects past 10 years.

''The extensive body of scientific evidence provides reasonable assurance of the benefits and risks of these devices,'' the FDA's approval statement said, based on the fact that diseases studied were no more common among women with implants than women without.

Silicone implants cost more, about $825 to $875, or twice as much as saline implants, surgeons note. That's important because most women pay the full price, which can run $7,000 or more for the operating room, surgeon, staff and equipment. Insurers don't consider breast enhancement a covered service.

Saline is less dense than the silicone gel, so the clear pouch it comes in can sometimes pucker or ripple in ways that don't look natural and can be seen under the skin.

To compensate, Dr. Edward Guarino said he slightly overinflates implants with saline. And to compensate for the body's tendency to build a scar-tissue capsule around saline implants, Guarino instructs his patients to massage their breasts starting the third day after surgery to prevent the condition.

What to Ask Before Breast Augmentation

2006-12-29T07:20:00.000-08:00

(Liz Bonis) -- Cosmetic surgery gift certificates were one of the hottest stocking stuffers this year and lots of people are heading in for procedures this week between Christmas and the New Year’s Day.

But, surgeons said that those considering breast enhancements should know a few things before “taking the plunge.”

Consumers can choose between a saline- or silicone-filled breast implants.

The Food and Drug Administration recently re-approved the use of silicone implants for breast augmentation or enhancement surgery, after a 14-year study found the implants did not cause cancer and arthritis.

The FDA said they are still not without risk, but those risks may be for either type of implant.

Surgeons suggest that consumers should still ask a couple of specific questions.

1. Ask about the right size implant for your body. A recent study published in the Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery found that in some women larger implants reduced nipple sensation.

2. Ask about the surgeon’s technique. There are differences in where the incision to insert the implant is made.

3. Ask about the short and long-term risks.

Cosmetic surgeon Dr. Mark Mandell-Brown said, ”All implants have potential risks, there's a risk of infection, a risk of asymmetry, a risk of ripple formation.”

Risks that may or may not be reduced with the use of silicone instead of saline. Breast augmentation usually costs about $5,000 and is not covered by most medical insurance plans and often, the implants eventually do need to be replaced.

Adjustable breast implants

2006-12-18T00:58:00.000-08:00

(National) December 12, 2006 - Breast implants are one of the most popular cosmetic surgery procedures, but some doctors admit many women are unhappy with the original size they chose. A new type of implant is changing that.

It's been about nine months since Tammy Windsor had her breast implant surgery and she couldn't be happier. For years, she was uncomfortable with her 36-A cup size.

"I decided to do it just to kind of enhance my appearance, to give me some curves 'cause I didn't have curves," said Tammy.

But like so many other women who get implants, Tammy decided she wanted a fuller size - after her surgery. The solution? Adjustable breast implants.

Dr. Thomas Jeneby says, "What the mentor brand has done is take the gel and kind of make it into a half and half implants, much like a peanut M&M, which the inside of the M&M is saline and the outside is gel."

Only one extra step is added during surgery to make the implants adjustable.

Dr. Jeneby says, "You place the port to the side of the incision in the same area of the incision so that you can retrieve the port later, at the time in the office through the same incision."

About three months after the surgery, adjustments can be made through the port. Doctor Jeneby simply adds extra saline to each implant. After six months, the port is permanently removed. Doctor Jeneby says the newer implants are a way to give control back to women to achieve their ideal size.

"Now you're filled out, you feel more curvaceous, you know, a little more flirty. And it's a lot of fun, it gives you a little more self-confidence."

Doctor Jeneby uses the mixed saline-silicone implants as part of a clinical trial. The implants are only about a hundred dollars more than traditional ones.

For more information on the the Spectrum® Postoperatively Adjustable breast implants, click here>>

For general information on breast augmentation:

Breast Augmentation
Breast augmentation is the surgical enlargement of one or both breasts. The procedure usually involves placement of an implant under the chest tissue.

A breast implant is a pouch with a silicone shell that is filled with some type of fluid. There are two main kinds. Saline implants, the most commonly used kind, are filled with a saline (salt water) solution. Generally, an incision is made into the chest and the implant is slipped into a pocket. Once in place, saline is injected into the implant through a tiny valve. Silicone implants are filled with a silicone gel-like substance. Recently, the FDA approved the use of two silicone gel-filled implants for breast augmentation and reconstruction.

Breast augmentation is the second most popular cosmetic surgery procedure. Last year, 364,610 breast augmentations were performed in the U.S. More than 50 percent of patients are 19 to 34 at the time of the surgery. Women 35 to 50 make up the second largest age group for the surgery.

There are several reasons a woman may choose to have a breast augmentation. A woman may want to enhance her natural breast size or shape. Sometimes the procedure is performed to correct changes in the volume and shape of the breasts after pregnancy. Breast augmentation may be performed on one breast to restore symmetry when one breast is larger than the other.
Size Satisfaction
Thomas Jeneby, M.D., a Plastic Surgeon with the Plastic and Cosmetic Center of South Texas, says some women who have breast augmentation decide they would have rather gone with a larger sized breast. Traditionally, the only way to correct the size was to remove the old implant and replace it with a larger one.

Now, women have another option. The adjustable breast implant allows doctors to increase the size of the implant (or, if preferred, make it smaller) after surgery. The Spectrum® Postoperatively Adjustable breast implant is composed of a silicone shell with saline filling. When the implant is placed, an attached fill tube, or port, is temporarily left in place under the skin.

Within three months of the surgery, the swelling has gone down and patients are able to see their new breast size. If the patient is not satisfied with the outcome, the size can be changed by adding or removing saline through the tube. Adjustments can be made up to six months after the surgery. Once the final adjustment is made, the fill tube is removed in an office procedure. A self-sealing valve closes and seals the implant.

The adjustable saline implants cost about $100 more than traditional implants and are recommended for almost any woman who wants to have a breast augmentation. Currently there is a clinical trial for an adjustable silicone breast implant. The center of this implant contains a saline solution surrounded by a silicone gel.

Will FDA ruling bring back 'Silicone City'?

2006-12-11T02:27:00.000-08:00

Interesting articles published in the Houston Chronicle

Say what you will about breast implants — and people have spoken volumes over the past three decades — they are as much a part of modern American culture as, well, Barbie, Marilyn Monroe, the Playmate of the Month and maybe even the Statue of Liberty, though we can only speculate on what the great lady is hiding beneath those robes.

Perhaps with that in mind, officials with the Food andDrug Administration have finally stepped away from the long battle over silicone, the main ingredient of the implant of choice, preferred by many women who say it looks and feels more like the real thing.

Lacking persuasive evidence that silicone is harmful to the human body, the FDA last month lifted a moratorium on silicone implants that dated to 1992, allowing it to be added without restriction to the cosmetic surgeon's arsenal. The ban was put in place after thousands of women complained that their implants had made them sick — an assertion that failed to find support in subsequent medical studies.

Some silicone opponents are decrying the decision, saying the agency didn't insist manufacturers prove the implants are safe.

Big news in Houston

The FDA's decision was big news not only to plastic surgeons, who hailed it as a triumph of science over hysteria, but to many women unhappy with what nature denied them. It was even bigger news in Houston, birthplace of the breast implant and home to more breast-enhancement operations per year than any city save Los Angeles.

Once dubbed "Silicone City" by Texas Monthly magazine, Houston has long embraced the notion of improving on nature. (See: the Astrodome.) If ambitious entrepreneurs could reinvent themselves here, why not modestly endowed women?

Save for a few years immediately after the ban, when news reports gave women considering artificial endowment pause, the demand for breast augmentation has steadily increased. Last year more than 290,000 women in the United States received implants to expand their bustline, and almost 60,000 more underwent breast reconstruction following mastectomies. That's up from 130,000 total in 1996.

"Something like 50 percent of American women are dissatisfied with the shape or size of their breasts," said Franklin Rose, a popular Houston plastic surgeon. "Some of it is cultural, but I believe some of it is innate. There is a certain attractiveness to the breast that goes back to antiquity. An attractive female form is mentioned in the Old Testament. I think many more would consider surgery than do if it were not cost-prohibitive for them."

The caricature of the implant seeker is a woman who wants to be noticed for the wrong reasons. Though Houston has its share of slender women who enjoy the attention an oversized chest may bring, the truth is that most who want enhancement want only to look closer to normal, Rose said.

More often than not, it's a young woman whose breasts never developed in proportion to the rest of her body. Other common patients are mothers who suffered breast-tissue loss after childbirth, women whose breasts did not develop equally or are oddly shaped and cancer patients.

"I just wanted to put my shirt on and have something there to fill my bra out," said 28-year-old Heidi Lancaster, who got her implants two years ago. "Every day when I put on my old clothes, they felt like new ones. I felt more confident. I achieved the look I personally wanted."

Lancaster's implants are filled with saline, which was true for most of the implants sold after 1992. Only a small number of surgeons were allowed to keep offering silicone implants, and then only if the woman was willing to participate in a long-term clinical trial.

Saline still cheaper

The widespread availability of silicone won't change that trend overnight. Saline implants remain significantly cheaper, about $900 instead of about $1,500. That makes a difference to some patients.

"The patients who are first getting breast augmentation are usually younger, and they are very price-sensitive," said Mark Schusterman, a longtime Houston plastic surgeon.

But the return of silicone is expected to spark escalating interest. Cosmetic surgeons across the country have already reported more calls from prospective patients and from those who had already scheduled surgery with saline. If price is taken out of the equation, silicone will win, especially as memories of the controversy around it fade.

"I wasn't happy with saline," said Stacy Thompkins, a Houston hairdresser who got implants about a dozen years ago and switched to silicone two years later. "They weren't as natural-looking or -feeling. I felt like I was carrying around melons on my chest. They were much harder and heavier."

Breast implants were first thought to be good for a lifetime. That's how they were promoted. In truth, they were rupturing in alarming numbers, which was the genesis for the hundreds of thousands of lawsuits that arose in the 1990s. Women feared the silicone that leaked into their bodies was leading to serious illness.

A spate of epidemiological studies could not link implants to any of the autoimmune disorders they were accused of causing. Though forced to acknowledge that the product they sold did not perform as intended, the implant manufacturers claimed a victory of sorts before walking away.

The billions of dollars they spent on settlements and legal costs drove most out of the implant business. For companies as large as 3M and Dow Corning, the small profits from implants were not worth the trouble.

The two smaller companies that persevered through the controversy, Mentor and Allergan (which acquired implant maker Inamed), set about redesigning the implant. The silicone mixture was made more viscous so that it would not migrate throughout the chest in the event of a rupture. The shell became thicker and much less likely to tear or split. The old implants were so thin that the silicone could "bleed" through them even if the shell was not compromised.

"It's like the difference between a car made 20 years ago and one today," Schusterman said. "The engineering leaps have been astronomical."

How well they perform will continue to be of interest to the FDA, which will monitor the products and is requiring the manufacturers to conduct follow-up studies. Implant recipients are advised to have MRIs to determine the integrity of the device, the first to be performed after three years, then every two years thereafter.

New guidelines

The new and improved implants will come with extensive caveats, including an explicit statement that they are not lifetime devices. Replacement is to be expected. That's good news for the manufacturers; they'll sell more implants, and many of the women who have saline now will "upgrade" to silicone when the time comes.

"When I decide to have them redone, I'm sure I will go with silicone," said Brandi Phillips, a 24-year-old administrative assistant who received implants two years ago. "If it were my choice, I would have picked silicone back then because it's the more natural look. It wasn't that easily available."

Phillips figures to wait about eight years before switching them out. She has no thoughts about going back to the way she was before.

"I'm a girl and in a bikini, if you don't fill up your top, it's kind of embarrassing," Phillips said. "I always knew I would get implants. Nobody told me to get them. It was what I wanted. It was a bit nerve-wracking when I was going through it, but then you see that you're perfectly normal, just a little bit tweaked. I'm 100 percent happy with them."

Manufacturers claim the breast implant is the most studied medical device in history, and if there was any association with illness it would have been discovered. Daniel Schultz, director of the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said the agency looked extensively at data for the past decade and determined that making silicone implants widely available is in the best interest of women.

'Simply unacceptable'

Many of the anti-silicone advocates remain skeptical. Sybil Goldrich, a longtime opponent and founder of the Command Trust Network support and advocacy group, called lifting the restrictions "simply unacceptable," saying the FDA decided to "approve now and collect safety data later." The National Women's Health Network said the agency failed to do its job because it did not demand the companies prove that implants are safe.

"They can't tell women how long these products last, when they will have to be replaced or what the effect on their health will be if the product fails," said Amy Allina, the group's program director. "Why did they do it? The best reason I can come up with is that they have been worn down and don't want to deal with the issue anymore."

Of that there is little doubt. The companies totaled a combined $464 million in implant sales last year. An expanded silicone line will boost that number. They were not going to give up because they know absolutely that the demand for the product will not go away.

"All I wanted was to be proportionate and look natural," Lancaster said. "I love my implants."

With Silicone Back, Breast Implants Will Enlarge Bottom Line

2006-12-11T02:20:00.000-08:00

BY GLORIA LAU

INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY

Posted 12/8/2006

Now that silicone breast implants are back on the U.S. market, the two remaining makers are expected to start raking in the profit.

On Nov. 17, nearly 15 years after the Food and Drug Administration asked companies to "voluntarily" stop marketing silicone implants, the agency again approved them for general use.

During the moratorium, only women needing reconstruction had access to silicone, while everyone else could get only saline implants. Now any woman over 22 can have silicone.

Many of the original firms that sold silicone implants are out of business. They lost billions in class-action lawsuits that alleged autoimmune diseases and cancer. The lawsuits also forced Dow Corning into bankruptcy.

All that survive are Mentor (MNT) of Santa Barbara, Calif., and Inamed, a unit of Botox maker Allergan (AGN) of Irvine, Calif. Both stand to enjoy strong profit in the next several years.

"Silicone implants should be more profitable with expected gross margins in the high 70% to low 80% ranges," said analyst Jayson Bedford, who follows Mentor for Raymond James. "That's better than the low 70% for saline."

Mentor and Inamed have had mild price wars in the past, but under former management teams. Industry watchers don't expect that again in the near term.

"Competition is at least a few years away in the silicone market," Bedford said. "Ultimately margins could come down, but with (increased) volume you'll see price stability."

Ronny Gal, who follows Allergan for Sanford C. Bernstein, says a pair of silicone implants will sell to doctors for about $1,750. That's about double the price of their saline counterparts. Women usually pay $6,000 to $10,000 for the surgery.

As part of the approval, the FDA is making the companies fund studies to monitor up to 40,000 women with the silicone implants for 10 years.

"These are not trivial costs," Gal said.

In Europe, where silicone implants stayed on the market, 90% of all implants are silicone.

"I don't see as complete a switch to silicone in the U.S., but I do think (silicone) will grow to about 65% of the market," Gal said. "It's due to residual concerns about the safety of silicone implants."

More risk-averse women have chosen saline because if it leaks into the body, it's just salt water. Saline, however, can harden or look wrinkly if underfilled.

Silicone is thought to look and feel more natural.

"Silicone also had shaping advantages, allowing you to better shape the breast the way you want it," said Dr. Anthony Griffin, who has practiced for 16 years and is board-certified in cosmetic and reconstructive surgery.

Fears Linger On

At his Beverly Hills, Calif., practice, he often hears women mention residual fears of silicone implants, he says.

"I see that every day when I consult with patients," Griffin said. "Since (silicone implants) were banned for so long, people still have a negative association with them — even though the studies show there's no risk of cancer or autoimmune diseases."

Griffin sees this changing with time and education. Most of his patients today are women in their 30s who've had children.

"Usually it's 'I breastfed and now they're all out of shape and I want them fixed and lifted,' " he said.

Consumer groups such as Ralph Nader's Public Citizen Health Research Group have objected to silicone implants since the 1980s, saying there isn't enough safety data.

But in June 1999, the Institute of Medicine, an independent federal research group, published a 400-page report that found no link between silicone implants and any major diseases. The study did cite risks of localized problems, such as leaking, hardening or developing scar tissue capsules.

An FDA report shortly afterward also pointed to leakage as a possible problem.

Mentor and Inamed make implants with thicker outer shells and barriers filled with thicker silicone gels. This, they say, will reduce ruptures. The FDA also is reviewing the companies' newer implants that use even thicker silicone gels.

Most analysts say the rivals' products are similar. "Largely interchangeable," Gal said.

Allergan and Mentor each control half the market. Last year, Allergan had breast implant sales of $231 million and Mentor had $217 million. Gal sees each of the companies bringing in about $240 million this year, about $370 million next year, and $500 million in 2008.

His estimates show the market more than doubling by 2008. Historically, the market has grown 8% to 10% a year.

"We'll see very little growth this year," Gal said. "Women held back from getting procedures, expecting silicone to become available. Now that (implants) are here, they'll likely get the procedures done. So 2007 will be a 'catch-up' year with 10% to 15% growth because of that."

He sees growth slowing to 12% in 2008 and 10% in 2009.

Silicone Implants available with local doctors

2006-12-05T08:48:00.000-08:00

An article in the Pensacola News Journal informs :

The wait is over. Women who want silicone breast implants can now have them -- thanks to the lifting of a 14-year ban by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The implants were taken off the market in 1992 after some women complained that they leaked silicone into their bodies and caused serious health problems. Several extensive studies have since been conducted in and outside the United States, and some doctors say claims the implants are harmful have not been proven.

"Essentially, they found through fairly exhaustive studies that the new generation silicone implants are safe for people," said Dr. Peter Butler, a plastic surgeon with Gulf Coast Plastic Surgery in Gulf Breeze. "The main factor is that leaking does not cause tissue problems —— simply put, we don't want silicone leaking into our systems."

Butler and his partner, Dr. Jocelyn Leveque, both certified plastic surgeons, have been involved in a four-year U.S. Department of Health and Human Services study, which began in 1997. The agency appointed the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences to conduct the study, which was underwritten by two California companies, Allergan Medical and Mentor Medical, manufacturers of the gel-based silicone implants.

Both doctors have enrolled some of their patients in the study, and each patient will be followed for at least 10 years.

"To date, Dr. Leveque has used silicone implants in 99 of her patients; I have used the implants in 73 cases in Pensacola," Butler said. Before then, Butler practiced in North Carolina. So far, he said none of their patients has experienced any problems.

When the implants were taken off the market, women were concerned that leaking silicon implants were causing a number of diseases. At the time, the doctors said, there was no research to disprove the claims. But new studies have found that the gel implants are much more cohesive and are safe for use.

This is good news for Jan Carlo, one of Butler's patients, who is also part of the study. Four months ago, Carlo, 50, was fitted with the implants following gastric bypass surgery. But not before doing some personal research.

"When you have surgery, you lose a lot of breast volume," said Carlo, a registered nurse. "I knew the silicone implants were more natural feeling and looking. I feel comfortable making the decision to have them."

Still, the FDA will continue to monitor the products and is requiring each company to conduct follow-up studies. Both companies are expected to track about 40,000 women for 10 years after they receive implants. The agency said package labeling should alert women who opt for the silicone implant to consider these factors as well:

· Breast implants are not lifetime devices, and a woman will likely need additional surgeries on her breast at least once over her lifetime.

· Many of the changes to a woman's breast following implementation are irreversible.

· Rupture of a silicone gel-filled breast implant is most often silent, which means that usually neither the woman nor her surgeon will know that her implants have ruptured.

· A woman will need regular screening MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) exams over her lifetime to determine if a rupture has occurred; a woman should have her first MRI three years after the initial implant surgery and every two years thereafter. The cost of MRI screening over a women's lifetime may exceed the cost of her initial surgery and may not be covered by medical insurance. And if the implant rupture is noted on an MRI, the implant should be removed and replaced, if needed.

"FDA has reviewed an extensive amount of data from clinical trials of women studied for up to four years, as well as a wealth of other information, to determine the benefits and risks of these products," said Dr. Daniel Schultz, FDA director, Center for Devices and Radiological Health. "The extensive body of scientific evidence provides reasonable assurance of the benefits and risks of these devices. This information is available in the product labeling and will enable women and their physicians to make informed decisions."

In Pensacola, Butler and Leveque plan to conduct a free seminar on Jan. 16 to discuss use of the gel-based silicone implants.

2006-11-28T01:45:00.000-08:00

Plastic surgery breast augmentation, Miami

Nowadays you can find a lot of places where you can have the breast augmentation. Miami is one of the biggest plastic surgery centers in the USA, so if you live there you're in the right place. But in order to be really satisfied with the surgery's result, you have to know a few things and answer to a few questions first.

What exactly do you need from the breast augmentation?

What do you want from the breast augmentation? Miami or not, plastic surgeons can be only as good as you let them. If you don't know exactly what you need, they won't be able to do that. It's not a problem when there are obvious or medical reasons to perform the surgery, but when you just want to look better, you need to know what exactly you would like to change. Especially when you don't live there, having breast augmentation in Miami only to find out that's not what you really wanted is not a very bright idea.

How to find the best doctor?

There are two things that can show how good the doctor is. The first one is openness. You must be able to see almost the whole clinic to check if it looks like it should. The second one is checking the “before/after” photos from surgeries that were similar to yours. Breast augmentation in Miami is so popular that there should be no problem in seeing at least dozen sets of the pictures. If they aren't available for any reason, think twice before deciding on surgery at this clinic. It is very probable that they (a) haven't got much experience or (b) the surgery results are not as good as they claim. Anyway, it means that you have to find another place to have your breast augmentation. Miami is a big city.

Good and bad sides of breast augmentation.

When you decide on the breast augmentation surgery, keep in mind that it is not a kind of magic, but a surgery. It means that your breasts will essentially remain the same - the only difference you may notice is that their size and shape are a little different. And even there you will not notice any drastic changes - the surgeons can do only as much as you body permits. So there is no chance to have Pamela Anderson's breast in one go.

500cc Breast augmentation ?

2006-11-28T01:43:00.000-08:00

Understanding Breast Implants
Many women say that they would like bigger breasts without really considering precisely what 'bigger' means to them. Even the ones who know exactly the look they aspire to - and have seen it modelled perfectly on their favorite celebrity - think in the terms that have been familiar to women since they bought their first training bra: cup size. But when it comes down to the nitty gritty of breast augmentation, surgeons generally use different terminology, and while the words '800cc breast augmentation' means something very specific to a plastic surgeon, the women that the things are going into are thinking, 'What on earth?'

Many women, when contemplating breast surgery, have a particular vision of what they would like to look like post operation, but achieving the desired look is not always straightforward. While women will think in terms of cup size, the implants that a surgeon will use to augment your breasts do not operate according to this kind of measurement. Implants are filled with liquid, usually saline or silicone gel, and so they are measured accordingly. It is estimated that each cup size you would like to increase is worth approximately 236cc, but unfortunately, this is not the exact science we might imagine it to be.

An 800cc breast augmentation, for example, will not result in the same look when implanted in different women. While an implant of that size will unquestionably result in a breast of significant size, there are many other factors that will contribute to the overall look of the augmentation. Apart from the different types of implant that are available, including shapes that can be round or teardrop shape, much of the final look will depend on the woman herself, and her original shape. For this reason, it is important to choose a breast implant based on cc measurements alone - the same implant can look vastly different when inserted into different women, depending on many factors including the patient's weight, the amount of original breast tissue present, and the shape of the patient's chest cavity. This is why it is immensely important to take seriously the opinion of your surgeon. He or she is a medical professional who, through experience, will be best qualified to indicate the implant most likely to achieve the look you want.

If you have a precise image of how you would like your breasts to look post surgery, it is best to provide your surgeon with visual aids, as words can create vastly different images for different people. Before your surgery, collect photos of breasts that look the way you would like to appear, so that your doctor can translate this into the material, shape and ccs that give you the breasts you've always wanted.

Types of Saline or Silicone Implants

2006-11-28T01:39:00.000-08:00

Saline or Silicone...how do I choose?

Three Types of Saline Implants

One type is a single lumen implant that is filled during the operation with a fixed volume of saline through a valve. There are no adjustments of the saline volume after the operation.

A second type is a single lumen implant that is filled during the operation with saline through a valve. This type of implant allows for adjustments of the saline volume after the operation.

A third type is a single lumen implant that is pre-filled by the manufacturer with a fixed volume of saline. There are no valves for filling during the operation or for adjustments of the saline volume after the operation.

Three Types of Silicone Gel-filled Implants

One type is a single lumen implant that is pre-filled by the manufacturer with a fixed volume of silicone gel.

A second type is a double lumen implant with (1) an inner lumen pre-filled by the manufacturer with a fixed volume of silicone gel and (2) an outer lumen that is filled during the operation with a fixed volume of saline through a valve.

A third type is a double lumen implant with (1) an outer lumen pre-filled by the manufacturer with a fixed volume of silicone gel and (2) an inner lumen that is filled during the operation with saline through a valve. This type of implant allows for adjustments of the saline volume after the operation.

FDA decision :A reversal on breast implants

2006-11-27T06:30:00.000-08:00

From the Chicago Post:

It took nearly 15 years, but last week, the Food and Drug Administration essentially admitted that it made a mistake when it outlawed silicone breast implants on grounds of safety, deciding to repeal the ban at last.

It's a good day for women who would like access to these devices for reconstructive or cosmetic purposes, and a good day for anyone who thinks individuals should be free to assess risks and make their own choices. But it comes a decade and a half too late for women who were deprived of a largely safe option because of fears that now turn out to be mostly groundless.

Back in the early 1990s, panic-mongers sounded alarms about all the horrors awaiting any woman getting silicone implants--cancer, connective tissue disorders, chronic fatigue and more. Even though more than a million women had them, and even though the great majority expressed satisfaction, the FDA under Commissioner David Kessler ordered them off the market. The only exception was for women getting them for reconstruction after cancer surgery, and then only in rigidly controlled, FDA-approved clinical trials. He acted against the unanimous recommendation of his agency's own expert panel.

Today, it's clear the panel was right and Kessler was wrong. A wealth of scientific research has confirmed what the weight of evidence indicated then. "In the past decade," the FDA said last week, "a number of independent studies have examined whether silicone gel-filled breast implants are associated with connective tissue disease or cancer. The studies, including a report by the Institute of Medicine, have concluded there is no convincing evidence that breast implants are associated with either of these diseases." It concludes that the devices are both "safe and effective."

The agency did stress that, like any invasive procedure, this one has risks. Some recipients suffer breast pain, hardening around the implant and ruptures. It says most women who get silicone can expect to need additional surgery at some point.

Those risks, however, were known in 1992. And if the past is any guide, many women will be more than happy to take their chances.

Since 1992, saline implants have dominated the market, but that will probably change, because silicone is said to look and feel more natural. Dr. Scott Spear, head of plastic surgery at Georgetown University and a consultant to Allergan, one of the manufacturers whose products were approved, told The Associated Press that the decision allows physicians "to work with what we have believed for a long time is a better technology and better device."

The important thing is that now women acting with ample information and the guidance of their doctors will be allowed to decide for themselves. That's a positive development. A shame it's such a tardy one.

FDA Says 'Yes' to Silicone Breasts

2006-11-17T23:15:00.000-08:00

Nov. 17, 2006 — After 14 years, silicone breast implants will once again be available to women in the United States.

The decision by the Food and Drug Administration makes silicone implants available to all breast reconstruction and revision patients, as well as women 22 years of age and older seeking cosmetic breast enhancement.

The Food and Drug Administration approved the silicone-gel implants made by Inamed Corp., now part of Allergan Inc., and Mentor Corp., the two California companies said.

FDA planned a teleconference later Friday to announce a new product approval.

The action opens the implants to much wider use by women seeking to reconstruct or augment their breasts. Since 1992, the silicone implants had been available only as part of research studies.

Silicone-gel breast implants first went on the market in 1962, before the FDA required proof that all medical devices be safe and effective. Thirty years later, they were banned amid misgivings about their safety.

At the time, there were worries about a possible connection to a variety of diseases, including cancer and lupus. Alarming cases of ruptures added to the concern.

Since then, most studies have failed to find a link between silicone breast implants and disease.

The rupture issue persists: The implants do not last a lifetime, and eventually they must be removed or replaced, according to the FDA. A 2000 Institute of Medicine report found rupture rates as high as 77 percent.

Women whose silicone implants ruptured have reported years of pain, swelling, numbness and other symptoms that they blame on the devices. Leaked silicone gel can migrate throughout the body and form lumps. Implants also can cause infection and form hard, painful scar tissue that can distort the shape of a breast.

Some researchers also worry that platinum used to manufacture the implants can seep into the body and cause harm. The FDA says there is no evidence of that.

Proponents say silicone-gel implants look and feel more natural than do those filled with saline, or salt water. Those implants are sold without restrictions.

"It's a hugely positive piece of news for plastic surgeons and for patients and for the company — all three — because it really allows us to turn a page and to work with what we have believed for a long time is a better technology and better device," said Dr. Scott Spear, head of plastic surgery at Georgetown University Hospital and an Allergan consultant.

Last year, the FDA told both companies their implants could be approved once they met additional, undisclosed conditions. For Inamed, the decision went against a panel of advisers who narrowly recommended that the company's implants not receive FDA approval. They cited concerns about the long-term durability of the implants. The same advisers endorsed Mentor's implants.

In October 2003, FDA advisers recommended allowing implants to be sold again. The agency then overruled the recommendation.

Breast implants have grown in popularity for augmentation, despite their litigious history. Last year, 291,000 women had their breasts surgically enlarged in the United States, a 37 percent increase since 2000, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

The popularity of implants for reconstructive surgery shrank over the same five-year period by 29 percent, to 58,000 procedures, according to Society statistics. Last year, 39,000 women had their implants removed.

Overall, the use of breast implants has grown hugely since 1992, when the FDA instituted its de facto ban on silicone-gel implants.

Just three years later, Dow Corning Corp., once the major manufacturer of silicone breast and other implants, faced 19,000 lawsuits, forcing it into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1995. The company emerged from Chapter 11 in 2004, after setting aside $2.35 billion to settle claims.

"This is by far the most defective medical device ever approved by the FDA," said Dr. Sidney Wolfe, of Public Citizen. In 1988, the consumer group petitioned the FDA to ban the implants.

Allergan Inc. shares rose $1.76 or 1.6 percent in trading that was almost double its average volume to close at $112.50 on the New York Stock Exchange. Mentor Corp. shares increased $1.47 or 3.19 percent in higher than average volume to close at $47.58 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Silicone Cleavage Bounces Back (Breast Augmentation)

2006-11-07T00:12:00.000-08:00

Breast Augmentation news from wired.com

Women in the United States may soon have open access once again to silicone breast implants, which were taken off the market in 1992 because of safety concerns.

Canadian regulators cleared the implants for sale and implantation in October. Silicone implant makers -- as well as many women who believe silicone implants look and feel more natural than alternatives such as saline bags -- expect the Food and Drug Administration will soon follow in Canada's footsteps.

"FDA is currently reviewing applications submitted by Inamed and Mentor for cohesive silicone gel breast implants," wrote Heidi Valetkevitch, a press officer at the FDA, in an e-mail. "Canada's decision to approve standard silicone gel breast implants manufactured by Inamed and Mentor is consistent with FDA's determination in 2005 that these devices are 'approvable,' pending resolution of certain issues."

Valetkevitch declined to elaborate on the pending issues.

In September 2005, the FDA issued a letter deeming "approvable" silicone implants sold by Allergan (which owns Inamed) and Mentor, and the companies have been waiting ever since for final clearance.

Over the past 14 years, only women who agreed to participate in a clinical trial, and all the monitoring and follow-up that requires, were eligible to receive silicone implants.

Many women (and men) believe that silicone implants feel more natural. At the Plastic Surgery conference in September in San Francisco, implant makers displayed their wares in the conference's exhibition hall. To this reporter, the saline implant felt like a water balloon. The silicone implants displayed in the exhibit hall felt like a gel -- a bit denser than hair gel.

To show the artificial breast's ability to remain intact when damaged, one implant was sliced open. The gel did not run out. It was sticky to touch but stayed in place.

"Because we've not been able to use silicone for the past 12 to 13 years, we've gotten pretty darn good with trying to mask that water-bag feel," said Dr. Roxanne Guy, president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Instead of putting saline implants directly under the skin, surgeons wedge it between muscle to give a more natural look and feel.

One implant recipient who asked to remain anonymous underwent this procedure in 1999 using Mentor's saline implants, and she is happy with the results. But she's also been closely following advancements in silicone implants.

"I would be interested in the new cohesive silicone implants," she said. "I have read that these are the best and most real-feeling. They will not 'bleed' if they rupture. The consistency is like a gummi bear."

Concern arose in the late '70s and early '80s about leaking silicone implants. Some women believed that leaking gel led to problems such as immune diseases that cause the body to attack its own cells. The FDA asked companies for safety data, but it didn't exist.

"It's like telling Nokia or Motorola they haven't proved cell phones don't cause brain cancer," said Pat Maxwell, a Nashville, Tennessee-based plastic surgeon and a clinical professor of surgery at Vanderbilt University. Maxwell helped invent the silicone breast implant marketed by Inamed, which was bought by Allergan for $3.21 billion in March.

Silicone implant makers were forced to take their products off the U.S. market except for treating mastectomy patients and some other special cases. The link with immune disease and other problems was never proven.

"Scientists performed studies to try to satisfy questions about systemic disease which I think have been answered quite well," Guy said.

In 1999, the Institute of Medicine published a report that found silicone breast implants don't cause cancer or rheumatoid arthritis. One study in 2001 found an increased risk of fibromyalgia was associated with silicone breast implants, but further studies failed to confirm the finding.

Maxwell noted that penis implants that have been used for decades are made of the same type of silicone as their breast counterparts.

In 2005, 340,000 American women had breast-implant surgery, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Most of them -- 85 percent -- received saline implants.

In other parts of the world like Europe and South America, silicone implants are used in the vast majority of procedures, and silicone is widely considered to be safe.

"American surgeons are 15 years behind the times. In Tasmania, of all places, they're shocked that American women don't have access to silicone gel implants," said Maxwell, who was on the Australian island to speak at a plastic surgery conference.

But some consumer interest groups are not convinced. Public Citizen, a nonprofit watchdog group focusing on health and safety, released a petition Thursday urging the FDA not to approve silicone implants. Women's organizations including the National Organization for Women are against approval, and several websites, including the Humantics Foundation and Silicone Holocaust, attest to the dangers of silicone implants.

Ilena Rose, who runs the Humantics Foundation, said she believes surgeons who deny that silicone breast implants cause health problems are simply motivated by money.

"If a plastic surgeon inserts just two pairs of implants a week ... that's over a half a million dollars annually coming in to their coffers in implant revenue alone," Rose said on a web page she created to respond to questions from Wired News.

The FDA says both silicone and saline implants carry risks including asymmetry, pain, hematoma, inflammation, scarring, rippling and more.

Wayne Perron, a Calgary, Alberta-based plastic surgeon, uses Mentor's cohesive gel silicone implants.

"There's no question this is a beautiful implant," Perron said. "The engineering is superb and the long-term follow-up shows extreme safety."

He prefers them to saline, he said, because saline leaks and deflates more often. He said women with saline implants are also more likely to encounter rippling and capsular contracture, which is caused by collagen fibers that tighten and squeeze the implant, distorting its appearance.

Perron emphasized that all implants, breast or otherwise, carry risks. "These are mechanical devices. They're like tires on your car and at some point they may have to be replaced. They are not lifelong implants."

Breast Augmentation news : A living boob job

2006-11-07T00:04:00.000-08:00

Interesting article about Breast Augmentation from wired.com I'd like to share with you

What could be better than breast implants? Why, breast implants that continually repair themselves, of course.

Saline implants can leak, rupture, interfere with mammograms, and lose their shape. But scientists are studying ways to make breast augmentations from stem cells, which are famous for their self-renewing capabilities. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago will publish a study in the April issue of Tissue Engineering showing that stem-cell tissue implants in mice kept their shape longer than traditional implants.

The work is not all about vanity. The researchers' first goal is to help people who have undergone mastectomies or been disfigured by other surgeries or injuries. Tissue engineered from stem cells could have two benefits: It would stay firm longer, and it would eliminate a separate surgery, which is often necessary to extract healthy tissue for bone transplants, facial implants or burn treatments.

"The stem cells generated tissue in this particular scaffold and they maintained their shape almost 100 percent four weeks after implantation in mice," said Dr. Jeremy Mao, director and associate professor of tissue engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago. "In conventional fat transplant, it shrinks substantially over a period of a few weeks."

Mao will present his findings Thursday during a press conference that will kick off the annual American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Washington, D.C., which runs through Monday. He will discuss the research during a scientific session at the meeting Friday.

Deriving fat from stem cells is a relatively small field of study, and the new research should give it a boost. "Using stem cells derived from human bone marrow, they were able to provide a cogent proof-of-concept of creating constructs that have a good potential for use in cosmetic and reconstructive surgery," said Kyriacos Athanasiou, professor of bioengineering at Rice University in Houston.

Arnold Caplan, a biology professor and stem cell researcher at Case Western Reserve univeristy called the work "the beginning of a new era in cell-based therapies." He also pointed out that horses are already benefitting from a similar treatment for tendon and ligament injuries as well as fractures.

The Illinois researchers used a three-dimensional scaffold called a hydrogel as a frame for the stem cells. The hydrogel starts out as a liquid, morphs into a gel and can be molded into any shape or size.

Stem cells have the unique potential to self-renew, and to become a variety of cell types. Researchers believe embryonic stem cells are more flexible than adult stem cells, but they are controversial because they are taken from early embryos, which are destroyed in the process. Adult stem cells, which Mao and his colleagues used, come from bone marrow, blood, skin, nasal passages and the brain.

Mao and his colleagues derived their stem cells from the bone marrow of a healthy young volunteer. They then placed the bone marrow stem cells in a culture that encouraged them to become fat-producing cells, and implanted the structures into eight mice, which they continue to study.

Since it's not easy to extract bone marrow cells, the next step for Mao's lab will be to perform the procedure with stem cells derived from fat. Then they can use a fine needle to extract cells.

The procedure could one day replace Botox, collagen and other wrinkle treatments, Mao said. The technique could be ready for human applications in about a decade, he said, depending on scientific progress as well as the Food and Drug Administration approval process.

"As far as I know, this work is quite innovative and has a great potential for regulatory approval," Athanasiou said, "as it can use patient-derived cells placed on approved biodegradable materials."

Custom made breast implants ? The sky is the limit with the new implants

2006-11-01T00:13:00.000-08:00

Interesting editorial from The Gateway

Right now, I’m surfing the Internet, and I’m thinking about breasts.

You see, recently the CBC website has been keeping me abreast of recent changes in Canada’s health policy: namely, Health Canada is once again allowing silicone breast implants to be used—but there are certain restrictions and conditions placed on them. Now, don’t get me wrong—I think breast implants are great to help women who have had a breast removed due to cancer. But are implants really necessary for cosmetic purposes?

In one article, a University of Toronto plastic surgery professor, one Walter Peters, compares the consistency of the gel inside the re-introduced implants to that of gummy bears. Now that is something I would happily support—breasts that feel like gummy bears. In fact, just today, as I was getting dressed, I was thinking to myself, “Geez, I sure wish that my breasts felt a bit more like gummy bears.”

Suddenly, it occurred to me that breast implants can be yet another vehicle through which women can express their individuality and style. After all, today’s consumer market is all about choice. Everything these days can be custom-designed with all sorts of fancy-shmancy features. Look at today’s cellphones, cars and computers. You can even get ice cream made with fruits, nuts and candy mixed in with your ice cream!

In order to stay competitive in today’s consumer market and to attract the desired young female demographic, makers of breast implants really should consider creating implants that women can custom design for themselves. Customized breasts can, and should, be the next new fashion accessory. Today’s consumers want choice, so I say this: ladies, please join me in demanding more options when it comes to breast implants.

I mean, what are the choices for us now? Right now, we can get either silicon or saline breast implants. That’s it. Is it fair to have our choice limited to two types? When you buy a car, nobody limits your choice to two types of cars, and certainly nobody dictates how many options or extra features you can get. Shouldn’t that kind of choice also exist for breast implants?

Personally, I think that silicon implants are so 1992. Surely scientists have considered some different materials with which to create implants while retaining the desired consistency of gummy bears at the same time. What about using actual gummy bears for manufacturing breast implants? Stay with me here—you know how women are always saying that they can’t eat junk food because it’ll go straight to their hips? Forget the hips; redirect it to the breasts!

Now, to accessorize. If you think about cellphones and other modern gadgets, they can all be customized to the user—and they would be much less impressivbe if they didn’t beep, ring or play music. I think breast implants deserve a voice as well. And since many guys like to talk to a woman’s breasts, wouldn’t it be cool if the breasts could reply?

In order to remain competitive, breast implant manufacturers should pay attention to the trends. Nothing’s more profitable these days than combining technologies. If cellphones can come equipped with cameras and computer games, would it really be a stretch to add similar features to breast implants? I think it would be quite convenient to have a camera embedded right in a breast implant, as a matter of fact. Then, when women go to bars or parties, they wouldn’t have to worry about leaving their camera somewhere and having it stolen. And since the threat of theft exists for purses as well, implants could also include a side compartment where a woman could store personal effects like her wallet, keys and lipstick.

This kind of feature would be a nice perk for women seeking a non-traditional, yet practical, implant. It would be breast implants’ answer to cargo pants. Most importantly, it would lift their spirits and separate them from the rest of the crowd.

Tara Reid Talks About Her Breast Implants Gone Wrong

2006-10-26T23:19:00.000-07:00

October 26, 2006 9:20 a.m. EST

Maira Oliveira - All Headline News Reporter

New York, New York (BANG) - At first, she thought her full-sized boobs were going to get her through the door - okay, maybe not entirely - but Tara Reid soon realized she had made a horrible mistake and seen the wrong doctor for the job.

The wild party girl has had it rough over the past year and says a botched boob job left her nipples "looking like goose eggs." Tara - who is infamous for accidentally flashing her chest at VIP events - has also revealed that liposuction left her in agony.

She explained to the Today Show, "It looked like I got completely butchered up. The areolas, they looked like goose-shaped eggs."

She added, "After I got liposuction I got these bumps, like little golf balls all over my stomach, and it hurt."

It's not the first time the 30-year-old has talked about how her breasts were ruined by surgery.

Tara told Us Weekly magazine, "My first operation was horrible. The plastic surgery left me very scarred. My breasts were uneven and my skin was kind of saggy."

She added, "Before I had it done I figured, I'm in Hollywood, I'm getting older, I'm going to fix them... but I didn't do my research."

Tara had previously vehemently denied having her breasts enlarged, despite constant rumors suggesting otherwise. However, she finally admitted having her chest surgically enhanced last year.

She said, "Everyone does it. I don't know why I'm the one who gets so much attention?"

Silicone Breast Implants Are Back in Canada

2006-10-21T02:48:00.000-07:00

According to a AP report, silicone breast implants are approved in Canada

NEW YORK — Breast implant makers Allergan Inc. and Mentor Corp. said Friday that Canadian regulators have allowed them to put silicone gel breast implants back on the market.

Allergan Inc., also known for its Botox wrinkle treatment, said that Health Canada granted the company a license to sell both its round, smooth and textured silicone implants and Style 410 Shaped and Textured implants. Allergan entered the implant market when it acquired Inamed Corp. earlier in the year.

Mentor said it received a license to sell its round and contour MemoryGel breast implants.

Only saline-filled implants had been allowed on the general market, and silicone implants had only been available through a special access medical device program in Canada.

Under the licenses, breast implant makers must keep providing updates on long-term clinical trial results, report on patient focus groups, begin a large long-term study within one year, survey Canadian doctors on the effectiveness of labeling, and continue implant failure studies, Health Canada said.

Manufacturers must also keep Health Canada up to date on any reported problems or recalls, and provide product registration cards with the implants.

The FDA banned silicone gel-filled breast implants for cosmetic use more than 14 years ago after thousands of women complained that silicone from leaky or burst implants made them seriously ill.

The companies are still awaiting a decision from the Food and Drug Administration concerning the implants.

Allergan shares rose 72 cents to $116.80 and shares of Mentor climbed 27 cents to $47.68 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

FDA clears breast implant maker of wrongdoing

2006-10-12T22:37:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON, Oct 12 (Reuters) - U.S. health regulators said on Thursday they found no evidence that silicone breast implant maker Mentor Corp. (MNT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) committed any wrongdoing after examining a former employee's allegations that the company withheld safety data.

In a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, advocacy group Public Citizen said a former Mentor scientist contacted the FDA in June to alert regulators about safety risk data on leaking gel, toxicity levels and other issues.

Mentor and rival Inamed Corp. received initial FDA clearance last year to resume widespread sales of the implants as long as certain conditions, such as providing additional data, were met first.

Final approval for both Mentor and Inamed, now a unit of Allergan Inc. , is still pending.

FDA spokeswoman Heidi Valetkevitch, in an e-mail, said the the agency had taken the allegations very seriously.

"The agency conducted a thorough investigation into these charges and found no evidence of wrongdoing and nothing that would raise questions about the safety of the product under review or the integrity of the data submitted to FDA," she said.

The former employee, who worked at Mentor for 15 years but did not want his name made public, also told Reuters he had urged Mentor to submit the withheld data but Mentor refused.

German Surgeon publishes Breast pictures of the women who didn't pay for her implants

2006-10-10T02:16:00.000-07:00

A German plastic surgeon who was cheated out of payment by several women whose breasts he enlarged has given pictures of the results to police, in the hope that the photos will help trace them.

“The women registered under fake names,” Michael Koenig, a surgeon in Cologne, told Bild newspaper. “After the operations, which lasted about an hour, they just ran away.”

He said “Tanja” went out for “fresh air” after $10,000 surgery to enlarge her breasts. “She never came back and never paid,” Koenig said. He now plans to demand payment in advance.

This is a rare case of "get-bigger-breasts-and-run"
Meanwhile, Bild published a five-column picture of Tanja’s naked breasts, so if she’s still on the run when beach weather gets here….
source : reuters

Huge Breast implants save Woman's life

2006-10-06T10:05:00.000-07:00

Her Airbag like silicone enhanced breasts saved her life in a car accident
Sofia, Bulgaria (AHN) - A 24-year-old woman from Bulgaria was saved by her huge breast implants which acted as airbags to absorb the impact when she was involved in a full frontal car crash with another car in the northern city or Ruse, Bulgaria.
According to the Standart newspaper, both cars were total wrecks and the woman, identified as Elena Marinova from the capital Sofia, was badly hurt, but escaped serious injury because of her breast implants.
A police expert told the paper that the 40DD silicone implants "absorbed the impact of the crash,"
The officer adds, "They worked just like airbags - protecting the victim's ribs and vital organs from damage.
"However they are not as safe as the real thing because they exploded, which airbags are not supposed to do."

Teens getting plastic surgery and breast augmentation

2006-09-29T04:02:00.000-07:00

Many teens are getting breast augmentation and other forms of plastic surgey
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Perfect faces and perfect bodies. Now teens are going to extremes to get the perfect look. In fact, 40 percent of all teens want plastic surgery, and 335,000 have had it.

Rita Demetriou dreams of being a model. When she was 18, Demetriou went under the knife, getting bigger breasts, a smaller butt, stomach, thighs and a new nose.

"I would look at the magazines, especially like the Playboy models, and I would see how pretty they are and everything," Demetriou said. "I want to be like that."

Demetriou is not alone in her quest for a model body.

Kyla Broderick said, "I want to be in like the fashion industry and music industry, and looks matter a lot." She believes her nose job and breast implants have given her more confidence.

But Miami, Florida-based plastic surgeon Dr. Leonard Hochstein says there's a risk of disappointment. "What raises a red flag is somebody who believes that this is going to change their life," said Dr. Hochstein.


	This change in Kyla Broderick cost her more than $5,000.

Teens may also fix one part of their body and then fixate on another part.

"They can start to experience a body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) where they start focusing on other slight idiosyncrasies... wanting more surgery," explained Orlando psychologist Dr. Patricia Clark.

It's not illegal to do plastic surgery on any age, but breast enlargement is not encouraged before age 18 because late development may occur. Liposuction is not a solution for baby fat and shouldn't be done until 18. Rhinoplasty -- or nose jobs -- are safe for ages 13 and up. Physical risks include scarring, implants rupturing, trouble breastfeeding and inaccurate mammograms.

But some say the risks are worth it. "I love myself," Demetriou said. "I think I have had my self esteem boosted."

The bill, however, may not be so pretty. Broderick spent over $5,000, and Demetriou's plastic surgery totaled $11,000.


	Research Summary



		FACT: According to American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) statistics, more than 331,000 cosmetic plastic surgery procedures were performed on people age 18 or younger in 2005. Almost all teens are self-conscious about their bodies. Almost everyone wishes there were a thing or two that could be changed. A lot of this self-consciousness goes away with time. And ask yourself if you're considering plastic surgery only for yourself or whether it's to please someone else. A person's body continues to change through the teen years. Body parts that might appear too large or too small now can become more proportionate over time. Getting in good shape through appropriate weight control and exercise can do great things for a person's looks without surgery. In fact, it's never a good idea to choose plastic surgery as a first option for something like weight loss that can be corrected in a non-surgical manner. Some people's emotions have a really big effect on how they think they look. People who are depressed, extremely self-critical, or have a distorted view of what they really look like sometimes think that changing their looks will solve their problems. In these cases, it won't. Working out the emotional problem with the help of a trained therapist is a better bet. In fact, many doctors won't perform plastic surgery on teens who are depressed or have other mental health problems until these problems are treated first. Inappropriate operations for teenagers: • Breast enlargement is not done before the age of 18 because late development may occur • Liposuction is not a solution for unwanted baby fat. Most teens experience major changes in the body shape for several years • Cheek implants produce subtle results. It is unlikely that the average teen is able to evaluate the benefits adequately Appropriate operations for teenagers: • Rhinoplasty is the most common cosmetic procedure requested by teens. The nose has finished most of its growth by 13 or 14 in girls and 15 or 16 in boys • Otoplasty (ear pinback) is one of the few operations performed on young children, even as young as 5 • Breast reduction can help girls as young as 15 who are embarrassed by very large breasts. They may have shoulder pains, breathing difficulty and embarrassment in social situations. Even though operations to correct breast asymmetry can help girls as young as 16, most doctors would wait until full growth has occurred • Gynecomastia (Excessive breast development on men) is common in teenage boys and often disappears on its own. If severe the excess tissue can be removed as young as 16 • Chin augmentation may be suitable after the age of 15. Chin implants are often inserted at the same time as a rhinoplasty

Bigger Breasts offered by the US Army

2006-09-29T03:53:00.000-07:00

Is your tax money used to pay for breast implants and liposuccion on soldiers ?

NEW YORK - The U.S. Army has long lured recruits with the slogan “Be All You Can Be,” but now soldiers and their families can receive plastic surgery, including breast enlargements, on the taxpayers’ dime.

The New Yorker magazine reports in its July 26th edition that members of all four branches of the U.S. military can get face-lifts, breast enlargements, liposuction and nose jobs for free -- something the military says helps surgeons practice their skills.

Between 2000 and 2003, military doctors performed 496 breast enlargements and 1,361 liposuction surgeries on soldiers and their dependents, the magazine said.

“Anyone wearing a uniform is eligible,” Dr. Bob Lyons, chief of plastic surgery at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio told the magazine, which said soldiers needed the approval of their commanding officers to get the time off.

The magazine quoted an Army spokeswoman as saying, “the surgeons have to have someone to practice on.”

Breast Implants on the rise in Miami

2006-09-25T01:43:00.000-07:00

Breasts. Boobs. Tits. Heaving cleavage. Plunging décolletage. If you think there might be more of this in Miami-Dade than any other place, you might be right. And it's not because Miamians are naturally endowed.

It's thanks to the genius of saline and silicone.

To be sure, breast implants are on the rise everywhere. In 1992 there were 32,000 breast implants in the United States. Last year that number had soared to more than 300,000. But in beauty-obsessed Miami, the trend is even more pronounced. After all, the place was inspiration for plastic surgery television shows like Nip/Tuck and Miami Slice. Get-a-free-set contests (like one run by this newspaper) are oh-so-ordinary here. And bargain-basement deals and financing plans are pitched used-car style: The average price of an American breast job was $3373 in 2005; in Miami you can find them for $1999!

Although the American Society of Plastic Surgeons doesn't keep stats on the number of implants in each city, some local implantologists believe Miami might even exceed traditional silicone hotbeds like Los Angeles and Las Vegas as the Fake Breast Capital of the United States.

For one, we're stuffed with plastic surgeons — there's one for every 28,500 of us (in La-La land, they make do with one per 43,000). Moreover we're a fake-boob destination. Dr. Onelio Garcia, a Hialeah cosmetic surgeon and former president of the Florida Society of Plastic Surgeons, who has performed breast augmentations for more than twenty years, says women from all over the world come here to have their breasts done.

Garcia also notes that Mentor Corp., one of two major implant-makers, has a sales rep dedicated exclusively to Miami-Dade County. In some parts of the country, Garcia says, a rep covers a four- or five-state area. (Mentor declined to comment about its sales force staffing, but a spokesperson acknowledged that Miami is a good market.)

Here in the Magic City, fake breasts went mainstream long ago. They aren't just for strippers, party girls, and wannabe actresses. Some parts of the area might have, in fact, passed the tipping point. Local pornographer and breast aficionado Jay Steele says if you're at some top-drawer clubs in Miami Beach, "it's weird not to have fake breasts...." He estimates that, in such scenes, more than 80 percent of the breasts are fake.

There is an obvious explanation for our exceptional love affair with the implant: Skimpy clothes are de rigueur in our steamy clime. We're beach-oriented, body-conscious. "Why would you get them in Minnesota?" Garcia asks. "You're all wrapped up for nine months of the year."

This is true for all of Florida, of course. But Garcia adds there's another reason why Miami might be uniquely implant-friendly — even more so than Orlando, Jacksonville, or Tampa. It's the Latin factor. "Miami is part of Latin America. And in Latin America, cosmetic plastic surgery is enormously popular."

Or, says Steele, a native New Yorker, "Let's put it this way. If you live down here for two years, there's a good chance you'll have fake breasts."

Doctor Boobner

Before talking about basketball-size breasts, the spike in teenage breast jobs, and the pros and cons of silicone versus saline, he first needed to explain how he got his nickname, Doctor Boobner.

"I didn't intend to do this...," said the Coral Gables plastic surgeon, whose real name is Dr. Leonard Roudner. And no, Roudner added, shaking his head emphatically: "I don't have any particular interest in breasts."

The sequence of events that catapulted the Melbourne, Australia native to Boobner status began in a Chicago hospital in October 1978. Since then, he's completed more than 10,000 jobs, breasting up celebrities, centerfolds, socialites, and porn stars. Clients have come to Coral Gables from Latin America, Europe, Asia.

It all began when Roudner, then a resident in cosmetic surgery at Cook County Hospital, attempted a new way of inserting silicone implants. Instead of making an incision under the breast, the usual method, he entered through the nipple area and under the muscle. It was a breakthrough. The benefit: minimal scars. The practice, called periareolar submuscular augmentation, now standard in the boob business, was heralded in a medical journal. (He didn't invent the process, but was among the first practitioners.)

And a few years later, after Roudner moved to Miami ("Not because it was a good plastic surgery town," he says. "I just like Miami."), he quickly gained a reputation for his then-novel technique. "I was the only one doing this at the time," he says.

The approach was particularly popular here. "Think about it," Roudner says. "Girls sunning at the beach.... When they're laying down, you could see a scar underneath their breasts. They didn't want that."

A few years ago, as the surgery became even more popular, he declared himself a virtual specialist. "I stopped doing other procedures. Maybe I'll do a tummy tuck with a breast surgery, because it makes sense," he says. "But more than 95 percent of my work is breasts."

Five Questions: Dr. Boobner

On one typical day last month, after five surgeries and more than twenty new patient consultations, Roudner was still in his surgical scrubs. Wearing his trademark dolphin-print bandanna, he sat in his plush Coral Gables office and answered a few questions.

Can you tell fake ones from real ones?

Some women intentionally want them to look fake. They want big balls on their chest. But no, if it's well done, you really shouldn't be able to tell.

But aren't there situations — small frame, small butt, with D-size breasts — that are obviously fake?

No. You can't assume. Genetics is a funny thing. Yes, it's rare, but it happens.

What are the largest breasts you've ever implanted?

Three thousand cubic centimeters.

Can you translate that into a cup size?

The average implanted breast size is about 300 to 350 cubic centimeters. Okay? So 3000 is like a basketball. It's about money. There is this small group of exotic dancers who travel a circuit. It's like a cult. They're very weird. I don't do them anymore.

Are husbands behind many of these boob jobs?

Sure, they pressure wives or girlfriends. But sometimes they want to stop them from getting implants. I try to avoid dealing with them. I tell patients: "Husbands and boyfriends come and go. But you have to be happy with this."

What's the future for breast implants?

More and more popular. And they're getting bigger. It's competition. Some women ... say, "My friend has such-and-such a size.... I want to be bigger than her." Also we're seeing younger patients. Some girls are now asking for implants for their eighteenth birthday, instead of a new car. It's like a high school graduation gift.

Gina, Full C

Thirty-nine-year-old Gina is a Boobner alum who has had implants for nearly twenty years. At her Bal Harbour condo, before leaving for her Aspen place, she addressed one of the great mysteries of augmentation: Why would an attractive woman, blessed with perfectly nice natural breasts, need fakes?

In her case, the reason was Miami.

A native of Pensacola, she was by local standards pretty hot. Long blond hair, long legs, shapely, she was a hit on the local bikini model circuit. (She still has a box stuffed with awards from her bikini days.) "I was never insecure about my looks." And she never griped about her B-cup breasts.

But then she came south in '88 to attend the University of Miami. Here she began noticing a trend, particularly among the club/fashionista crowd on the Beach, where she worked part-time. "It was like the breasts were bigger. There were more Cs and Ds."

Gina discovered the secret of the busty Miamians: implants. And she found that, though implants were rare up north, here they were commonplace. At age 22, she went under the knife — increasing from a full B to a full C.

The newly busty Gina, who says her breasts are Halle Berry- or Elizabeth Hurley-size ("not like a stripper"), didn't receive a single sneer in the Magic City. It was like getting her hair done or buying a new skirt. People complimented her.

The larger breasts have been good to Gina. She likes the way they look, gets more attention from men, enjoys wearing low-cut clothes ("Why get implants if you're not going to use them?"), and jokes, "I never get bad service," but adds, "I get double discrimination. I'm a blond with big boobs."

And though she doesn't credit them with luring in her hubby, lawyer Howard Berlin, she admits, "They certainly didn't hurt."

Over the nearly two-decade life of her boobs, Gina's had one repair, and she's planning an upgrade. She is downright evangelical about the surgery, saying, "My girlfriends from Pensacola can't believe they're not real." She adds, "I've passed along at least ten people to Dr. Roudner. "

Lynda, Full D

Pre-implants, Lynda was chubby, big-haired, not very popular with guys. Then, at the age of nineteen, she went on a dramatic diet and lost more than 50 pounds. The newly svelte young woman, though, had a problem: Her breasts disappeared. She went from a D, as a 155-pounder, to a skinny A. Worse, they were saggy; there was excess skin from her weight loss.

Lynda had never considered implants before. But as part of her image rehab, as a way to solve the saggy breasts problem, she began consulting with doctors. She visited Dr. David Rosenstein in Boynton Beach, who pointed out that, owing to her weight loss, she was an unusual case.

Although most small-breasted women would normally choose a modest increase to maintain a natural appearance, Lynda says, because of her unique situation — the excess skin, the sagginess — she needed much larger breasts.

The surgery, nine years ago, radically changed her physique: When she emerged from it, she had gone from a flat-chested A to a buxom D. "The first time my dad saw me," she recalls, "he was shocked. He wasn't happy. "

She also heard scornful comments from her Aunt Joyce, who lived in New York. "She was saying, 'What'd you do, get fake boobs?' And she was critical of women with implants."

But there were others who had a very different reaction to her new breasts. At the health club where Lynda worked, Planet Fitness in Lantana, "everyone flipped out." Most of her co-workers said, "They look great."

And then there were men. "They immediately started noticing me." Within two weeks of the surgery, Lynda says, "I had a mad-hot Brazilian boyfriend."

"I went crazy," she says, laughing at the memory of that year. "I lost 50 pounds, turned 21, and got new breasts."

Within two years — after moving to Los Angeles to work in sales for a fitness club — Lynda made a career change that literally put her implants to work. One day she responded to an ad for bikini models. It turned out to be a front for an adult filmmaker. She vowed to try it only once, "just to make a $1000." But she loved it.

During the next two years, Lynda transformed herself into Shauna Banks — adult film star and busty model. "All of my work was big-breasted. Score, Hustler, Playboy TV.

"These implants have paid for themselves over and over again."

Now, like many women who have saline implants, Lynda is planning for replacements. "They start to get saggy and soft," Lynda says, "every ten years at least."

She's going to Rosenstein ("I would only go to him!"), but this time they'll be larger. "Double Ds," she says. "I mean, I was 105 pounds when I got the Ds. Now I'm 120 pounds. So they should be bigger. And maybe when I'm 40, I'll get even bigger ones."

Then she smiles and says, "One other thing. That aunt, Joyce, the one who criticized my breasts nine years ago? She just got her own." Lynda opens a file on her computer that shows her heavy-breasted 50-year-old aunt. "Look at her," she says, admiringly. "They look great."

Physicians alarmed by rise in injury due to 'simple' cosmetic procedures

2006-09-25T01:33:00.000-07:00

Had a pedicure? Pan-fried yourself in a tanning bed? Been zapped by lasers to remove hair from your nether regions?

Then you, in all likelihood, have put yourself in harm's way.

Before going under the blade for breast implants or a face lift, patients generally do research to make sure their surgeon is properly qualified and knows what to do if problems arise.

But people are more cavalier about treatments that seem less invasive. So they put themselves in the hands of strangers with iffy training who lance toes with unsterile tools, wield dangerously powerful rays of light and sandblast tender skin.

Most of the time, nothing bad happens. But as the number of nail salons, indoor tanning users and cosmetic laser spas proliferates, casualties are mounting. These beauty services have led to bacterial and fungal infections, allergic reactions and burns.

The American Society for Dermatologic Surgery reports that in a survey, almost half of its 2,400 members said they were seeing an increase in injuries caused by nonphysicians doing high-tech beauty treatments -- some who have had no more than one day of training.

While legions of qualified doctors, electrologists, nurse practitioners and cosmeticians beautify skin, hair and nails, countless others are, for lack of a more delicate word, hacks.

For the consumer, the trick is in knowing how to identify the trustworthy from the not. Even when stringent rules are in place, few states keep up with inspections and enforcement. And many people who have been hurt are reluctant to take formal action.

"People are embarrassed," said Terry Bowling, a 41-year-old office worker from Pittsburgh who was badly burned by an incompetent laser technician three years ago. "When people are having a mustache removed or getting their armpits done ... they don't want to come forward, so they keep their injuries to themselves."

Nails

No matter how carefully done, a pedicure exposes you to risk because it messes with the skin and cuticle around nails, which serve as a kind of protective seal.

"Cuticles are there for a reason. They're not meant to be touched," said Tracey Vlahovic, a podiatrist on the faculty of Temple University's School of Podiatric Medicine. "By pushing back the cuticle, you compromise the integrity of the tissue."

You may think that high-priced nail spas with cushy chairs, sultry orchids and complimentary chardonnay are much more sanitary than a neighborhood nail salon where a mani-pedi costs $20 and the staff watches Korean soap operas.

Not necessarily.

Some low-budget salons are extremely conscientious. And conversely, $60 worth of foot pampering doesn't guarantee you'll be fungus-free.

At one elegant day spa in New Jersey, an overzealous nail technician almost cost Christine Finken her toe.

In April, a technician cut her while trimming the cuticles on the big toe of her right foot. That night, her toe ached. A week later it was swollen and infected.

The pain, Finken said, was punishing. Eventually, she went to Vlahovic, who cut away alarming chunks of her toe and nail, put her on antibiotics and gave her a lecture, which at this point, Finken hardly needed.

"I'm very anti-pedicure," Vlahovic said. Of the 30 or so new patients she treats at her weekly clinic, a half-dozen have fungus. Several times a month, she said, a woman will come in with a yeast or bacterial infection -- all because of pedicures.

Laser

The concept couldn't be more seductive.

Instead of turning to Medieval Depilatory Torture devices such as sharp blades, ointments, or hot wax and muslin, you go for a little light treatment. Someone points a wand at your unwanted hair and poof! Gone. Painlessly. Almost forever. Or so you would like to think.

As more people seek cosmetic laser treatments to remove hair, spider veins, tattoos and wrinkles, more are being harmed.

"We're seeing a tremendous increase," said Dr. Roy Geronemus, past president of the American Society of Dermatologic Surgery.

"It used to be we'd see a few a month. Now we're seeing a few a week," he said.

Plastic surgeons and dermatologists command premium prices for their expertise in cosmetic lasering, generally charging several hundred dollars for each treatment. And because multiple treatments usually are required, the bills can be stratospheric.

Bowling was thinking more about budget than safety three years ago when she went to the Steliotes Dental Spa near Pittsburgh, which was offering a special discount on laser hair removal.

She was greeted by a woman in a long, white coat. "I thought she was the doctor." Bowling said she asked if her deep tan was going to be problem and was told no.

Wrong. The light intensity needs to be adjusted for different toned skin. As soon as the treatment began, Bowling's skin began to blister. The pain was hideous.

Doctors counted hundreds of burns on Bowling's body.

"I haven't worn shorts or a skirt. I don't show my legs anymore. ... I was scared to death that I'd be scarred for life," she said. "And I am."

Tara Reid downsizes her Boob implants

2006-09-25T01:29:00.000-07:00

According to the Toronto Sun , Tara Reid has removed her jumbo breast implants and
had them replaced with smaller breast implants, a surgery not unlike what she appears
to have had done to her brain.

According to InTouch, Reid said, "Everyone does it. I don't know why I'm the one who gets so much attention," while standing drunk and half naked outside a party, probably.

Tara Reid downsizes her Boob implants

2006-09-25T01:21:00.000-07:00

The sisters who had matching Breast Augmentation

2006-09-10T23:06:00.000-07:00

Interesting article in the UK - two sister undertake breast augmentation together
to share the experience of bigger breasts

They already share clothes, makeup and shoes. But these sisters all decided to experience going under the knife together - and had matching boob jobs.

Sisters Jacqui Bray and Lousie Robinson,
left Alex and Emma Cockings, right

LOUISE ROBINSON, 37, is a housewife. She lives in Mansfield, Notts, with her husband, Simon, 39, a businessman, and their daughters Teagan, 14, and Tia, four. Louise went from a 36B to a 36DD.

Jacqui was the first to hear about my plans to have breast implants and the first - after my husband, Simon - to see the results. When she announced she was copying me, I was thrilled.

It's welded us even closer together. Now we share everything - including a bigger cup size. Some sisters are competitive, but I'm as delighted by Jacqui's new figure as by my own. I love seeing her selfconfidence rocket.

There's 18 months between us. But, although Jacqui's my big sister, it's typical of our relationship that I had my operation first.

As children, Jacqui was the first to try every new fashion trend from poodle-style perms to Eighties ra ra skirts. When I wanted a Bon Jovi poster on our bedroom wall, she got there first.

She was boy mad while I was still a tomboy. But when it came to anything unpleasant - like taking medicine - she sweet talked me into going first. So I knew Jacqui would see how I got on before taking the plunge herself.

We've both longed for bigger boobs since we were teenagers, embarrassed by B cups. Jacqui comforted me when schoolchildren mocked me for having 'two aspirins on an ironing board'.

Boys said the same to her. When we started going to discos, we stuffed each other's bras with tissue paper.

Our relationship was cemented when I was 13 and our mother, Brenda, died of lung cancer. It drew us together. We've been inseparable ever since.

So it was only natural I'd share my excitement with Jacqui when I decided on a boob job. Although we'd daydreamed about an operation for years, neither of us could pluck up the courage to do it.

But on holiday in Cyprus last October, Simon proposed. We've been together 20 years. Looking at my flat chest, I felt so deflated. How could I wear the fairytale dress of my dreams? I had £4,000 saved for a rainy day. I couldn't think of a better cause.

Researching on the internet, I found details for The Harley Medical Group. Their site was very professional. Before my courage ran out, I booked an appointment.

When I telephoned Jacqui, she was almost speechless: 'I never thought you'd do it.' But her next words didn't surprise me. 'I want new breasts, too,' she announced. We'd discussed it often enough.

Although Simon reassured me I was lovely as I was, he was fully supportive. Two weeks later, he drove me to Birmingham for a consultation. I decided to go for a 36DD - perfect for my frame - with silicone implants. I'm 5ft 6in and a size 12.

I booked the operation for January 11 - six weeks before our wedding in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Jacqui offered to accompany me. I'm so protective of her, I wanted to spare her seeing me in any discomfort.

A car picked me up and drove me to the clinic in London. I was almost sick with nerves, but I couldn't back out now. Thinking of Jacqui kept me going.

Groggily waking up 40 minutes after the operation, I looked down at my chest and saw a mound that looked the size of Mount Everest. I was too excited to feel any pain. Grabbing my phone, I sent Jacqui a text. 'All done. Looking swell.'

The next morning, armed with painkillers, I was driven home. My very first visitor was Jacqui. I had been told not to remove my bra for a week, to give my new chest support, but I couldn't resist letting her have a quick peek. 'They're brilliant,' she said with a broad smile.

Jacqui came with me to buy my wedding dress. It was the next best thing to having Mum there. I chose a floor-length ivory dress with a netted skirt and a basque, which made a feature of my new 36DD breasts. As I twirled in front of the mirror, we cried.

I feel so confident and sexy now. Clothes hang better. My old bras were always boring black or white. Now I have drawers full of lacy undies in gorgeous colours. My nipples were very sensitive for the first few weeks, but I'd been warned of this. However, everything has returned to normal.

Jacqui and I were shopping a few weeks ago. We bumped into a girlfriend we'd not seen for years. She took a look at my chest, then at Jacqui's. 'Is it catching?' she asked and left us roaring with laughter.

JACQUI BRAY, 38, runs a plumbing business with husband Neil, 35. They live in Mansfield, Notts, with son, Nathan, 17. Jacqui went from a 34B to a 34D.

I'm a strawberry blonde and Louise is brunette. We have very different personalities. She's bubbly and outgoing. I'm shy and a coward. But we couldn't be closer.

She'll start a sentence and I'll finish it. We have almost identical tastes.

Walking into Louise's house - two minutes' drive from mine - I could be at home. Even our chocolate brown bedroom curtains match.

We both love tailored jeans and smart tops from Next and River Island. We often come out in the same outfit - and then draw straws on who's going back indoors to change.

Unfortunately, we also shared pretty flat chests when we were young. I was nicknamed Twiggy at school, and the stigma remained with me, even after I met Neil when I was 20. He's always made me feel loved and complimented me on my figure. But I longed to feel sexy.

As I got older, the problem intensified. Push-up bras helped, but I hated seeing myself naked or even in a loose bikini. I looked as if I was sporting a pair of empty carrier bags on my chest. Only Louise knew exactly how I felt, because she felt the same.

That's why, when Louise announced she was having a breast enhancement, I was thrilled for her and stunned she was brave enough to go through with it. But I realised that if she could do it, so could I. We'd daydreamed long enough, poring over magazines and watching cosmetic surgery programmes on TV.

Neil was worried for me but, seeing Louise sail through, I reassured him. Once I'd seen Louise's figure and her newfound confidence, I couldn't wait. I had my operation on January 26 - just two weeks after hers.

Although Louise had chosen a DD cup, I opted for a D as I'm slightly smaller than her. Besides, this wasn't a competition.

I was terribly nervous - I'm a real worrier, but I was in very little pain afterwards. Louise was the first person I rang from the recovery room and she was my first visitor back home - arriving with a Janet Reger bra in pink lace.

She was wonderfully reassuring. I'd been warned to avoid raising my arms above my head for the first week. I forgot and stretched to put dishes away.

Wincing in pain, and terrified I'd pulled my stitches, I rang Louise. 'I did the same,' she said. 'Don't worry.' Of course I could have rung the clinic, but having my sister on hand was wonderful - and everything was fine.

I'm too mature to flaunt myself in low-cut tops. But I feel wonderful just knowing, whatever I wear, that my breasts are so firm and upright they will stay put. Apart from slight numbness under the boobs, they look and feel totally natural.

Louise looked sensational in her wedding dress when she got married. I'm so proud of her for having the confidence to have the operation. Without her lead, I wouldn't have had the guts and it's made the world of difference to me.

EMMA COCKINGS, 24, lives in Tyne and Wear with her son Thomas, 18 months. She's a pastoral servives manager at Tyne Metropolitan College. Emma went from a 32B to a 32C.

My younger sister Alex and I always loathed our chests. We've tried everything - push-up bras, padded bras, gel bras and even, when we were younger, rolls of wadded tissue paper.

It was a standing joke that whichever one of us won the Lottery would treat the other to a boob job. However, by April last year I'd given up dreaming and booked myself a consultation at The Harley Medical Group in Manchester. The operation would cost £4,000.

As a single mother working fulltime, every penny counts, but I was so desperate to improve my looks for my own self esteem that I applied for a loan, repaying around £90 a month for five years.

Then the impossible happened. Four days after that appointment Emma - our middle sister and the only one of us with a fabulous figure - won £3.2m on the National Lottery.

Alex and I walked into my parents' home to find everyone dancing around the room. Sarah threw her arms around me.

'I'm a millionaire. And I'm buying you a boob job,' she announced. She knew Alex was desperate too, so it was agreed we'd go together - having our operations on the very same day. From that moment, our feet never touched the ground.

I was five when Alex was born and Sarah was four. I was thrilled to have a little sister to mother. Although I've always felt protective of Alex, she's incredibly feisty.

She was talking at nine months.

Sarah and I would be playing in the garden when a little voice would pipe up from her pram: 'Come in girls. Mummy says it's teatime.' She was spoilt rotten and has always twisted my dad, a retired policeman, around her little finger. But she's so funny and cheeky, I was never jealous.

As little girls, Mum never knew where she'd find us in the morning because we were always swopping beds. I couldn't wait until Alex could join us for girly shopping trips and nights out.

My family were there for me when Thomas was born. Sadly my relationship with his father collapsed when I was five months pregnant after six years together.

He's a great dad, but the impending birth made us realise we wanted different things from life. Mum and my sisters were at the birth. Mum even cut the cord. The girls are devoted aunts.

Sarah's the calming influence, always ready with a comforting cuddle. Alex rolls on the floor, playing monsters.

I always hated my 32B chest. I felt unfeminine. But I realised the true difference a voluptuous figure would make only when I was pregnant. My boobs shot up to 32C. I felt terrific. I wanted to stay that shape for ever.

But sadly, the second I stopped breast feeding, my wonderful boobs disappeared. I had to act.

The surgeon suggested giving me a D cup, but I have a tiny frame - I'm a size 6 and weigh only 71/2 stone. I didn't want to look like Jessica Rabbit, so we compromised on a 32C.

I settled on silicone implants, as they give a more natural shape. I was warned my breasts would feel very firm and swollen for several weeks and I would have to wear a sports bra 24 hours a day for three months to provide support.

On the day of the operation in July last year, Dad drove us to Manchester while Mum and Sarah babysat Thomas. Looking at ourselves in our matching backless gowns and Norah Batty-style antithrombosis tights, we were almost sick with nerves and laughter.

We planned to spin a coin to see who would go first, but the surgeon decided for us. It was Alex. As I'm so small, my implants needed to be placed under my muscle - a more complex 90-minute operation.

Kissing Alex goodbye, I got the first pang of nerves. Before there was time to worry, they were taking me into theatre.

I remember waking up in our shared room and seeing Alex sitting up in bed eating toast. For a moment I thought we were little girls in our bedroom at home. Then I saw the huge smile on Alex's face. 'Look at these,' she said, whipping up her top. Alex was in more pain than me. Helping her made me forget my own discomfort. I moved back home for a week so Mum could look after us. I recovered very quickly and stopped taking painkillers after three days.

Alex and I enjoy telling friends our sister bought us boobs. We did this for ourselves - not for any man.

Sarah's thrilled for us. I can't thank her enough, but if I'd won the Lottery, I'd have done the same. Her win couldn't have brought us any closer.

ALEX COCKINGS, 19, is a student. She lives in Whitley Bay with her parents, Maria and Ian, both 55. She went from a 34B to a 34DD.

As A child, I suffered from puppy fat. By 12, I had a huge chest, around 34C, but when I lost weight, my boobs disappeared. I've felt out of proportion ever since. I'm 5 ft 5in with wide hips.

I never went out without my gel bra, but that limited the clothes I could wear because the straps show. Halternecks were out. I felt a fraud. The second I removed my bra, my secret would be discovered. I was scared of dating, as any man who saw me naked would get a real shock.

Emma and I are passionate shoppers. We'd trawl the rails getting miserable - looking at all the clothes we couldn't wear. Sharing our problem simply made us more determined.

By last spring, we'd vowed to act. As I was only 18, Emma made the appointment and agreed to check if I was eligible. I planned to borrow the money from my parents. But Sarah won the Lottery and our problems were solved.

On the day of the operation, we were shaking with excitement. It was like waiting for Christmas. Afterwards, we were desperate to take a peek.

We were heavily bandaged, so it was hard to see the full impact. Emma looked at my chest, I looked at hers and we dissolved into laughter. I don't know whether I was happier for myself or for her.

Four days later, I was building sandcastles on the beach with Emma's son, Thomas, feeling fantastic. Having the operation together speeded up my recovery.

To stop Emma worrying, I made light of any pain.I have always been close to my sisters. Strangers often take the three of us for triplets. I don't remember a single row - even when Emma was 15 and I used to borrow her make-up.

I know, at 18, I'm young to have an enhancement and will probably need another operation in ten years. It was pointless being miserable any longer.

Sarah and I have just returned from a sunshine holiday in Cyprus. I wore skimpy bikinis for the first time in my life. I love sexy corset tops and even go bra-less - which was impossible before.

With her Lottery winnings, Sarah has bought my parents a new house. They moved in last month. She's given me a black Mini Cooper car. But her best gift is my breasts.

Pictures Before After - Breast Implants B to DD cup size operation

2006-08-23T02:03:00.000-07:00


Pre-op	Post-op
Pre-op	Post-op
Patient 10 - Bilateral Breast Augmentation - Actual Patient The same "before" and "after" results may not occur for all patients Age: 20 Height: 5' 2 Weight: 120 Implant: Saline Smooth Round Moderate Profile Implant Size: 525cc Placement: Submuscular Incision: Periareolar Post-op photos taken at: 7 months Estimated cup size change: B to DD Photographs Courtesy of Daniel R. Reichner, M.D. - City of Orange, California

Silicone breast implants are coming back

2006-08-21T01:16:00.000-07:00

When silicone gel-filled breast implants were pulled off the market in 1992 amid a storm of health concerns, controversy and subsequent lawsuits, many thought they were history as far as cosmetic breast augmentation was concerned.

That assessment was premature. Silicone implants remained in use for breast reconstruction after mastectomy and in cases where medically necessary through clinical trials.

Meanwhile, the demand for breast augmentation didn't go away.

In 2005, 291,350 augmentation procedures were performed, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons - some 364,610 according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, which draws statistics from specialists other than plastic surgeons. Surgeons simply use saline-filled breast implants, although many say they aren't as natural-feeling as silicone.

Now it looks as if silicone implants are coming back, perhaps by the end of the year.

"It seems likely, and when they (the Food and Drug Administration) release them for general use, I think you're going to see a huge upsurge in breast augmentation surgery," says Brian Kinney, a Los Angeles plastic surgeon.

As Roxanne Guy, a plastic surgeon in Melbourne, Fla., and president-elect of the plastic surgeons' society, explains, the companies must meet certain conditions for approval.

Conditions include marketing the silicone implants only to board-certified plastic surgeons who have undergone training in their use and post-operative patient follow-up. Also required is a patient data bank to track leaking, rupture or health problems. Patients need to give informed consent, know the risks and understand that implants are not lifetime devices and may need replacing.

On that last point, in 1999, a report from the Institute of Medicine found no connection between silicone implants and life-threatening systemic illnesses. And in 2004, other research found silicone doesn't play a role in connective-tissue disorders such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and scleroderma.

Among the health issues surrounding the silicone devices are leaking silicone, capsular contracture (formation of hard scar tissue around the implant) and a possible link to diseases.

Capsular contracture occurs with saline implants as well, but Guy, who follows the implant issue closely, says progress has been made in reducing the problem by placing the implants under muscle and using certain post-operative techniques. The new silicone implants have a thicker shell and a barrier to help prevent "bleed" outside the implant.

Mentor Corp. says its "memory gel" is more cohesive, not runny.

Persistent opponents of silicone implants still voice concerns and remain outspoken in their belief that not enough long-term studies have been done about the health risks. For information and different perspectives, visit the FDA site (www.fda.gov), the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (www.plasticsurgery.org) and the National Research Center for Women and Families (www.center4research.org).

In Guy's view, silicone implants are safe. But if they return for augmentation as expected, "both physician and patient will have an obligation to follow up on any problems, and that's a good thing."