Breast enhancement surgery

May 25, 2012

History of Silicone Breast Implants

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According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeon’s, there were over 300,000 breast augmentation procedures performed in the US in 2011. It’s no surprise, then, that breast enhancement surgery is the most popular plastic surgery procedure. Despite the procedure’s popularity, few know about its origin. Since this year marks the 50^th anniversary of silicone breast implants, Dr. Franklyn Elliott would like to take you through a brief history of their evolution.

Beginning in the 1940s, Japanese women began having their breasts injected with materials like paraffin wax, sponges, and non-medical grade silicone to enlarge their breast size. This method for breast enhancement not only posed increased health risks, but produced undesirable results. Since the injected material wasn’t placed in any type of shell, it had the tendency to migrate, bunch up, and sometimes cause rock-hard lumps. In the 1960s, two plastic surgeons from Texas, Drs. Frank Gerow and Thomas Cronin, had a new idea to encase the filler material inside a silicone shell before placing it inside the breasts and produced the very first silicone breast implants.

Once the silicone breast implants were developed, the Texas surgeons needed to try their new device on someone. In 1962, Timmie Jean Lindsey received the first silicone breast implants. When she first met Dr. Gerow, Lindsey was seeking tattoo removal via dermabrasion. At one of her follow-up appointments, Dr. Gerow suggested Lindsey try silicone breast implants to correct sagging breasts. Lindsey was more concerned with her protruding ears than sagging breasts, so she agreed to have breast augmentation surgery as long as Dr. Gerow would also perform otoplasty, or ear surgery.

Although she wasn’t originally sold on the idea of having breast surgery and didn’t tell anyone about her procedure for over 30 years, Lindsey did notice increased attention after her procedure. While Lindsey helped pave the way for millions of other women, her journey has been bumpy. Ten years after her procedure, Lindsey began experiencing complications like capsular contracture. Nowadays, women who experience such complications typically receive breast revision surgery to remove and/or exchange their implants, but Lindsey chose not to have additional surgery. In fact, she still has her original breast implants from 1962. However, it’s important to understand that she is quite an exception and breast implants are not intended to be lifetime devices.

Like Lindsey, silicone breast implants have had some bumps along the way as well. In 1976, Congress passed a law that required medical devices, such as breast implants, to be reviewed by the FDA for safety. After a growing number of complaints about leakage from silicone implant patients, they were pulled from the market in 1992; making saline breast implants the only option for breast enhancement. Breast implant manufacturers worked for 14 years to redesign silicone breast implants to increase safety, and the FDA-approved silicone gel breast implants were placed back on the market in 2006.

Plastic surgeons are always refining plastic surgery techniques and improving devices, and Dr. Elliott works to ensure patient safety while providing exceptional results. With his teacher’s mindset, Dr. Elliott enjoys sharing plastic surgery techniques with other surgeons as well as educating patients about their procedures. Both saline and silicone breast implants are considered safe, but he still urges patients who have breast augmentation surgery to follow aftercare instructions and go to follow-up appointments as advised to minimize complication risk. Visit Dr. Elliott’s website to learn more about the procedures he performs or to view plastic surgery before and after galleries. Be sure to connect with Dr. Elliott on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ for plastic surgery news.

January 20, 2012

Common Breast Augmentation Misconceptions

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dr franklyn elliott Breast enlargement surgery can help women who are dissatisfied with their breast size, whose breasts have lost volume after weight loss or pregnancy, or who suffer from breast asymmetry. While there are rare chances of complications with any surgery, there are many breast augmentation myths floating around the internet and outside of plastic surgery offices. Below are a few that I would like to clear up.

Myth 1: You cannot breastfeed with implants. While it’s true that breast implants can cause issues with breastfeeding, this situation is rare. The placement of the breast implant and the type of incision used can have an impact on a woman’s ability to breastfeed after pregnancy; however, most women are able to breastfeed normally and naturally even with breast implants.

An incision along the crease of the breast as opposed to a nipple (areola) breast incision is more likely to allow a woman to breastfeed after pregnancy. Likewise, if the implant is placed under the pectoral (chest) muscle, the tissue involved with breastfeeding is less likely to be impeded by the implant. Make sure to discuss your family plans with your board certified plastic surgeon before surgery to help determine which type of breast augmentation surgery is best for you.

Myth 2: Silicone gel filled implants are dangerous. The FDA removed silicone implants from the market in 1992 because of a lack of information on long-term safety. However, after fourteen years of clinical studies, silicone implants were declared safe. In 2006, after much testing and review, silicone gel implants were approved for breast augmentation surgery by the FDA again.

Regardless of the type of implant you receive, it’s important to follow up with your breast surgeon regularly and undergo annual mammograms with technicians who have experience screening women with breast implants.

Myth 3: Everyone can tell when a woman’s had breast enhancement surgery. Breast sizes vary naturally. Even smaller framed women with a lower body-fat percentage can have large breasts without augmentation surgery. Some women pursue breast augmentation surgery looking for larger results, while others are more interested in a slight size enhancement. Breast implant sizing is an individual choice discussed between each patient and their surgeon.

When determining an appropriate breast implant size, I take into consideration the patient’s body type including her height, current breast size, the width of the shoulders, her weight, body shape, as well as desired breast shape and size. Most women want their breast augmentation results to look natural, though, with subtle enhancement that doesn’t give away that they’ve had surgery.

There are many more misconceptions about breast augmentation surgery and breast implants. Make sure to discuss all of your breast surgery questions or concerns with a board-certified plastic surgeon. For more information or to schedule your consultation, contact our office. You can stay up to date on the latest Atlanta plastic surgery news by connecting with me on Facebook and Twitter.

*Diagrams from ASPS