Plastic Surgery Blog

Parents giving their young daughters the gift of breast implants for graduation or some other rite of passage is a relatively recent phenomenon. However, it’s a phenomenon that raises a serious question: At what age is a girl too young for breast implants?

The Food and Drug Administration has approved silicone breast implants for use in women over the age of 22. For saline implants, the age is slightly lower at 18—the age at which many high school seniors graduate.

Still, many ask if breast implants are appropriate at such a young age. Doctors recommend that young women wait to get breast surgery—implants and reductions—until their breasts have fully developed, usually between the ages of 18 and 22. This especially holds true in cases where the young girl simply wants to enhance a small bust.

Of course, there are always exceptions. Breast surgery may be appropriate for young women (under the age of 18) in cases involving:

• Severe asymmetry or disproportion
• Abnormal breast development
• Disfiguring condition such as tubular breast
• Excessive breast tissue that causes both physical and emotional distress

Breast surgery in women with any of these conditions can result in significant improvements in self-esteem and social confidence.

Technorati Tags: breast implants, saline breast implants, silicone breast implants

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If you’ve ever seen Dr. 90210 on E!, then you know about Dr. Robert Rey – the eccentric, hugely successful plastic surgeon extraordinaire. Even if you haven’t, he’s made numerous other television appearances, including, ironically, a commercial for the fast food chain Carl’s Jr. My point here is that Dr. Rey has become a celebrity in his own right — his popularity has transcended that of the show that made him famous and his influence as a kind of popular culture icon has become undeniable.

I haven’t watched Dr. 90210 in a while, but if I remember anything about Dr. Rey (besides his flashy suits and oblivious narcissism), it’s that when it comes to breast augmentation surgery, he seems to adhere to the maxim “bigger is better.” But is it?

The answer is really a matter of personal preference, but are those preferences influenced by popular culture? I think so, at least partially. Take, for instance, the image of Pamela Anderson. She has achieved pop culture status as today’s most well known sex symbol. But, when you think of Pamela Anderson, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? For me, it’s her breasts, and I think this is probably true for most people. In fact, I have a rather vivid memory of an old friend who taped images of the blonde bombshell all over her desk as incentive to save money for breast implants.

Images comparable to Pamela Anderson’s bombard the media. And so do opinions like Dr. Rey’s. And this is not altogether a bad thing. Plastic surgery is more widely accepted than ever before. Consider the reigning Miss USA, Tara Connor, who enhanced her appearance with breast implants. This would never have been accepted if cosmetic surgery were still as stigmatized as it once was.

Still, not all women look better with huge breast implants. Kate Beckinsale recently had hers removed. Even Pamela Anderson had hers removed at one point. And perhaps I stand in the minority when I say that I preferred her look during her short-lived stint without the implants, but I’m willing to take that risk. Small-framed women often have a difficult time pulling off the oversized implant look (Victoria Beckham, aka Posh Spice, comes to mind). As far as beauty goes, proportion is key.

So, no, bigger is not always better, and I don’t think it’s blasphemous to say so.

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Breast augmentation surgery is one of the most popular cosmetic procedures performed annually in the United States. More than 360,000 women received breast implants last year alone, making it second only to liposuction.

New plastic surgery research, which suggests that not all breast implants are created equal, may have important implications for the millions of women across the globe considering breast augmentation.

Implant Leakage Rates: The Study

A study published in the journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery examined the deflation rates of 1,000 saline breast implants � half of which were manufactured by Mentor Corporation and the other half by Poly-Implant Prosthesis (PIP).

According to the results, PIP implants had a failure rate of 15.4 percent over a four-year period compared with a 4.4 percent Mentor implant failure rate. Although leaking saline implants are not linked with adverse health effects, they do require replacement and thus an additional surgery.

Other Implant Options

Since the Food and Drug Administration restricted the use of silicone implants in the 1980s, saline implants have been the only real option for those seeking breast augmentation.

Even though many patients are happy with the results of saline implants, some still prefer silicone gel implants � which are only used in reconstructive breast surgeries or in clinical trials.

Now breast augmentation patients may have another implant option. �Cohesive� gel implants are less likely to leak and are firmer than other types of implants. They have consequently been nicknamed �gummy bear implants.�

�Saline implants remain popular, but we have had a huge amount of interest in the cohesive gel implants. Our experience with the new implants has been very positive, said Dr. David A. Stoker, plastic surgeon who co-authored the study.

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