Breast augmentation is often the source of much internal conflict for many women. Pressure from others, especially males and celebrity images, often cause confusion and uncertainty. By answering a few important questions on your own, you will be better equipped to make a decision for yourself without allowing someone else's opinion to influence you.
1.How important is breast size? It is important to understand how much of a priority breast augmentation is in your life. Is having a larger bust something that you place great importance on in your life? Is it a bigger priority than say, buying a nicer car, traveling, or moving into a larger apartment or home? If you don't feel any sense of urgency to get implants, waiting can often help you make your decision.
2.Can I afford breast implants? Even if breast augmentation is your number one priority, you shouldn't have to go into debt for plastic surgery. There are many affordable payment plans, but if you can hardly make your rent, new breasts will be of little consolation when you're in the poor house.
You'll also need to take two or more weeks off of work in order recover. If all of this is starting to seem too expensive, taking the time to save up at least part of the money is a smart move. It will also give you the opportunity to really think about where that money might be going.
3.What initially inspired you to get implants? If you're first answer isn't yourself and your own aspirations - rethink your choice. If you'd never even given a thought to going in for surgery before your current boyfriend mentioned his love of large breasts, it probably isn't the right option for you. This needs to be something you want for yourself. It isn't meant as a gift for others.
4.Are you willing to take a risk? Undergoing plastic surgery means understanding any and all risks and complications that can potentially arise. Breast implants are a lifelong investment that can take up more time and money that you might bargain for.
They often rupture, leak, and need replacement. Other more serious risks and even physical deformities are possible. Recovering from surgery can also be difficult for some women. You'll be uncomfortable and possibly in a good deal of pain for a week or two afterwards. Cosmetic surgery is a commitment that should not be taken lightly.
5. Will I regret my decision? It is difficult to predict regret, but remember that people change their opinions and minds all of the time. Aesthetic trends change quickly, too. A chic new haircut that suddenly goes out of style can easily be fixed or grown out.
Breast implant removal means going through another expensive surgery with its own risks. Don't think of yourself immediately with implants. Think of how you might look and feel with them in another ten, twenty, or thirty years.
Wanting to improve, enhance or enlarge is not a new relationship between women and their breasts. In fact, the concept is probably older than you think. The 1890s saw the first attempts by injecting paraffin into the breast. Sure, we can easily say that it was a bad idea, but back then they were just trying to find something that might work. Despite the problems with infection, lumpiness and hardness, this practice lasted for almost 30 years.
In the 1920s, surgeons replaced the paraffin injections with fat transplants from other parts of the body. They would surgically remove fat from wherever there was excess and put it in the bust-line. The problem with this procedure was that the body reabsorbed the fat and would leave the breast misshapen. Though it did not exactly give the look women wanted, but with no other alternatives, this procedure had a 20 year run.
Interestingly enough, breast implants hold a tiny spot in the history of World War II. Japanese "ladies of the night" would inject silicon straight into their breasts to seduce American soldiers. It was their attempt at having a more voluptuous and curvier body- more like the 1940s American woman. In the 60s, exotic dancers in the United States took the injections to enhance their figure. However, direct silicon into the blood-stream was a bad idea and caused many health problems such as infections, tumors and the need for removal of the breast.
In the 1950s, surgeons experimented with sponges made from a variety of man-made materials. However, they were unable to find one that didn't have serious side effects. After about 10 years of searching, we finally arrived at the product that we know today- the silicon breast implant. Yes, the first one emerged on the scene in 1961 by Frank Gerow and Thomas Cronin. In 1962, the first woman received a pair of this new invention.
Once the procedure became main stream and thousands of women were getting them, problems began to arise. The initial coating for the silicon was polyurethane foam and this proved to be quite dangerous. The coating would dissolve in the body and then become a cancer- causing substance. In 1988, the first claims of health-related problems due to the silicon breast implants came about and thousands of plaintiffs and billions of dollars in settlements came after. Claims that silicon leaked into the body and then caused connective-tissue diseases and even cancer scared everyone. As a result, the FDA removed silicon from the market until further studies were conducted. Saline took its place as a filler and was a safe alternative.
By 1999, studies revealed that silicon breast implants were not responsible for causing disease. Now, though the implants come with their own risk, nothing proved that it caused these illnesses.
Today, women have a choice of saline or silicon. The incision site, size, amount of tissue, shape and placement over or under the muscle all play a role in picking the best one.
The procedure has really come a long way since those paraffin injections of the 1890s. It also shows that women, through the years, are really not that different. The desire to enhance the bust-line, maybe be a little sexy, transcends time and the cultures of different eras. A woman wants to be womanly no matter what century she's from.
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