Breast Augmentation and the Twenty-First Century Woman

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Phoenix, Arizona, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) January 18, 2012 -- Breast augmentation is the most popular plastic surgery procedure in the US today. Every year, about 300,000 women have the procedure performed, and it is estimated that more than four million women have had had the procedure in this country to date, over 3% of the adult female population. If breast augmentation continues to grow in popularity, more than 10% of the adult female population will have had breast augmentation by 2030. What does this tell us about woman in the twenty-first century?
Changing Breast Augmentation Population

One of the more important trends driving the popularity of breast augmentation is that the population getting the procedure has changed dramatically. Breast augmentation was originally developed for a very limited market: transgender persons, aspiring actresses, and sex workers. Over time, however, the population of women seeking breast augmentation has changed.

Nowadays, the population of women seeking breast augmentation are older than in the past, and they are more likely to be women without any professional interest in having larger breasts. Instead, they are likely to be mothers, housewives, or professional women who just want to look better.

One of the driving forces behind this transition is the greater exposure breast augmentation has received in recent years. Many women had only heard of breast augmentation vaguely and because of the clientele had likely not seen a woman with augmented breasts. However, with the popularity of the television series Baywatch, millions of viewers tuned in every week to see Pamela Anderson's very augmented breasts. The inevitable result of this exposure was greater familiarity with the procedure, after which came greater acceptance.

Another important factor in changing the population for breast augmentation is the changing attitude toward older women and housewives. In the past, women who were married and especially women who were mothers, were considered exempt from being sexual beings. However, following the sexual revolution, expectations for women's sexuality changed. Wives were supposed to be more overtly sexual for their husbands, but still did not have to exude a sexual aura for the outside world. With the advent of the MILF phenomenon, this, too changed and now women of practically all ages are expected to be sexually attractive, even if not sexually available.

A Woman's Changing Shape

In the US, it has long been the accepted ideal for women to be slender but with large breasts, a body shape made much more common with the help of breast augmentation. Because breast augmentation allows women to achieve an aesthetic ideal not easily achievable through natural means, women with breast implants are often admired as beauty ideals themselves. This has perpetuated the standard of large breasts with a slender body, but has also transformed our sense of the ideal breast shape.

In the past, it was accepted that no matter how large breasts were, they did not tend to tip up and spill over without significant support. However, the appearance of augmented breasts, which retain their rounded shape in the upper portion of the breast even without external support has created a sense among many women that this is the ideal breast shape. Combined with recent innovations in push-up bras, now it is normal for women to seek to emulate this overfull breast appearance, even if they do not have breast augmentation.

Health Impact of Breast Augmentation

Although research has largely debunked the assertions that breast implants are associated with increased risks of breast cancer, connective tissue disease, and autoimmune disorders, there is still a significant health impact for a woman who has breast augmentation.

First, a breast augmentation is not a once-in-a-lifetime operation. If a woman has breast augmentation, she will need another surgery to remove the implants or to replace them with newer implants when their results begin to age. In addition, there are a number of significant health complications associated with breast augmentation. These include infections, capsular contracture, breast implant rupture, and others.

According to the FDA's most recent figures, about 20-36% of women who have breast augmentation will need a second operation within 10 years. One of the most common causes is capsular contracture, a painful and deforming complication that requires surgical correction. About 10-20% of women suffer capsular contracture as s result of breast augmentation.

As the number of breast augmentation patients increases, so will the overall medical costs associated with them. This will have a significant impact on health care costs for women in the next century.

Although women have long suffered for their beauty, breast implants have much more serious health consequences than squeezing your toes into those Jimmy Choos. It remains to be seen whether women will continue making these decisions as the consequences of the procedure become more highly publicized.

These theoretical considerations may provide some background for your own decision about the procedure. If you are considering breast augmentation and want to learn more about getting the procedure in the Phoenix, Arizona area, please visit the website of board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. John J. Corey.

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