Fashions change and current trends indicate that curves--mountainous mounds of curves--are "in." Breast augmentation surgeries continue to increase, year over year, even in a down economy, and new, non-surgical interventions come to market on a seemingly daily basis. Happily, for the woman who wants "more," the options are growing right along with size obsession.
Body Mass
No discussion of breast augmentation is complete without a nod to the increase in body mass of the average American woman. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that more than one-third of American adults were classified as obese in 2007-2008. Breasts, made up largely of fatty tissue, grow right along with the rest of the body. Perhaps this is why the average bra size grew from 36 D in 2008 to 36DD in 2009, according to an article in The New York Times.
Bra Style and Padding
Bra manufacturers are in their heyday as more women want, well, "more." While they offer only a temporary fix, bras and padding can greatly augment the breasts' contours. Push-up bras create a fuller look, while enhancing cleavage. Padded bras increase dimension and curve. Gel inserts, a relatively new invention, make breasts look fuller and even retain the jiggle.
Implants
In 2006, for the first time, breast augmentation surgery topped the cosmetic surgery request list in the United States. According to PlasticSurgery.com a resource site for statistics and cosmetic surgery resources, that year 329,000 breast augmentation procedures were performed. In 2008, the number of augmentations rose to 355,671. Dr. Alan Gold, president of the Aesthetic Society, suggested that "changes in fashion, i.e., décolletage baring styles, might be a factor behind this change" in position to number one.
Breast augmentation surgery using implants have been performed since the 1960's, though FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approval took decades. In 2006, the FDA approved saline implants. In 2006, Allergan (formerly Inamed) and Mentor received FDA approval for silicone gel implants. Both types of implant have a silicone shell filled with either a liquid (saline) or a gel (silicone). Shapes and sizes vary, offering patients a wide range of choices. During surgery, the implants are placed either under existing breast tissue or beneath the chest muscles
Implants offer the benefit of long-term augmentation, though the FDA cautions that patients should anticipate the need for replacement at some point due to wear or rupture.
Prosthesis
Artificial breasts, created from silicone or saline filled shells, offer the benefit of natural shape and sway. Inserted into a bra, these forms can enhance and improve the silhouette, albeit temporarily.
Breast Reconstruction
After a mastectomy or other trauma, some patients opt for breast reconstruction surgery. According to the National Institutes of Health, two forms of breast reconstruction that use natural tissue to replace the missing breast or to build up a breast that lost size during a partial mastectomy, are most common.
Both of these reconstructions use skin, fat and muscle transplanted from a different area of the body to form and shape the new breast. In one surgery, called "transverse rectus abdominis muscle flap," the transplanted tissue comes from the lower belly. In "latissimus muscle flap with a breast implant," the surgeon takes tissue from the upper back and may add an implant to more closely match the size of the other breast.
Member Comments