Breast Enlargement and Filler Injections

Just as body parts can be removed, they can also be added. Breast enlargement (augmentation mammoplasty) is a very common procedure for women who would like larger or fuller breasts. The enlargement is done through the use of either salinefilled or silicone gelfilled implants. The two most common incentives for breast augmentation are aging breasts or having small breasts to begin with. The procedures are quite different. As women age, breast tissue loses fat, and the breasts become more shallow. The excess skin results in droopy, or “ropy” breasts. Sagging breasts are often blamed on breastfeeding, although what has really happened is that milkfilled breasts had become that much larger, which resulted in a proportionately greater decline in volume afterward. Stretched skin generally resumes its earlier shape, but the degree to which it does so varies; some people end up with stretch marks or baggy, excess skin, while others don’t seem to suffer as much from this problem. It is the same with weightloss surgery: some people who lose weight from, for example, stomach banding, will gain a slimmer figure, while others will end up with flaps of extra abdominal skin. This is why many bariatric surgeons recommend a followup procedure to tighten the skin. Slender or petite women often have relatively flat breasts. This can be a benefit to athletes and ballerinas, but some women prefer a fuller figure — and not just aspiring Hooters waitresses. Fashion has come full cycle from the 1950s, when prominent breasts were esteemed, to the 1960s when the thin model took over, to a resurgence of bigger breasts in the past decade. We now have the peculiar preference for women with skinny bodies but big breasts — which can usually only be achieved artificially. There is a third reason for implants, less often discussed, which is when women have lost their breasts to breast cancer and opt for reconstructive surgery. Since these women have also lost the overlying skin, the common procedure is to pull the nearby skin together and tattoo a simulated nipple and areola. For more information, a particularly useful website is: www.implantinfo.com Fat, collagen, and other materials may be injected to plump up other areas, such as the lips. The typical method of “filler injection” is to take fat from one part of the body (for example, the hip) and add it to another (e.g., the face). For very fine lines, an artificial material such as Dermalive™ may be used.