Benefits of Breast Enlargement with Implants

Benefits of Breast Augmentation with Implants

• Improved aesthetic balance between your chest and hips; easier to fit into standard size clothing. 
• Fuller perkier, more attractive breasts.
• Lifting of sagging breasts and a fuller cup size, after loss of volume and shape with pregnancy, breastfeeding and weight loss.
• Improvement in self-confidence and quality of life. Confidence in a swimsuit and dresses etc.
• More confident in intimate situations.
• Limited surgery usually with a rapid recovery and return to work and social obligations within a week.
• Minimal scarring than can be barely visible.
• Multiple implant sizes and shapes available, different diameters and projections, to suit different breast shapes and body types.
• Ability to change implant size (go bigger or smaller) or even reverse the surgery.
• Options for reconstructive and gender change surgery.
• Lifetime warranty on breast implants.
• Long term durability, lasting 10 to 20 years.
• Long term studies and a 60-year history of use in humans.

History of Breast Implants

Breast implants were invented in the 1960’s . In the same decade, the FDA approved the sale of an oral contraceptive,  the Beatles changed the face of popular music, there was the Cuban Missile Crisis and finally ‘Man’kind landed on the moon. It was a busy decade.

The drive to invent a breast implant may be the result of the advent of the bikini. The bikini is commonly dated to July 5, 1946, when, partly due to material rationing after World War II, a French engineer Louis Réard designed it. Bikinis were named after the U.S. Atomic test which took place off the Bikini atoll,  earlier the same week, in July 1946. It was inevitable, with skimpy bikinis that women would want to enhance their breasts.

In Texas, two doctors, Gerow and Cronin, at the Baylor College of Medicine, invented the first silicone breast implants. Perhaps one step for ‘woman’ kind? In 1962, the first woman received breast implants. The rest is history. Sixty years later. breast augmentation is one of the most popular cosmetic surgical procedures, helping women with naturally small breasts, sagging breasts after pregnancy and women who desire breast reconstruction after mastectomy. Breast implants have permanently altered our conception of the ideal aesthetic breast. 

In the past 60 years there have been some notable milestones. In 1991, Connie Chung created a nation-wide scare on CBS’s ‘Face to Face’. The FDA Commissioner, against the advice of his advisory panel, placed a moratorium on silicone gel implants for cosmetic purposes. In 1999, breast implants were granted a full pardon by the National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine. In 2010, a Frenchman, in Marseille, was found to be filling his approved breast implants called Poly Implant Prothese (P.I.P) with industrial grade silicone, thereby making them prone to rupture. This scandal forced a whole new regulatory framework in Europe, to prevent the same thing happening again. P.I.P implants were never approved by the FDA.

In the 2010’s, textured shell implants, particularly those manufactured by Allergan, were found to be associated with a condition known as Breast Implant Associated, Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma, BIA-ALCL for short. In 2019, Allergan textured breast implants and tissue expanders were recalled. Mentor textured implants stayed on the market, without restriction.

Silicone and Saline Breast Implants

Today, in the U.S., there are FDA approved silicone and saline breast implants. Most surgeons, including myself, use smooth-shell silicone gel and saline implants. Breast implants are approved for ages eighteen years and older. In 2019 in the U.S, there were 287,000 breast augmentations and 135,000 breast reconstructions.

There are alternatives to breast implants such as Breast Auto-Augmentation and Breast Fat Injection, but for many women and for sex-change procedures, neither is possible or desirable. For a significant percentage with small or no breasts, implants can be a life changer.

Breast implants are durable, often lasting more than 20 years, and they come with a life-time warranty backed by companies that have been manufacturing the implants for decades. Allergan is now owned by AbbVie and Mentor is owned by J&J. Breast implants are FDA approved and they are backed by multiple long-term studies. 

And so, sixty years later, breast implants are one of the top five cosmetic procedures performed each year in the U.S.A. Although invented in Houston, Texas, breast implants are popular worldwide. Millions of women worldwide have breast implants. The desire for breast augmentation with implants transcends both racial and cultural differences.

Schedule a Consultation for Breast Augmentation

According to Real Self, breast augmentations have a high satisfaction rate. Choosing the right size and shape for your breast augmentation is a critical part of the consultation process and should be decided in consultation with the leading plastic surgeon, Dr. Kirwan at KIRWAN PLASTIC SURGERY. If you wish to schedule a consultation for breast augmentation or for any of the breast or other cosmetic procedures, please call, or complete our enquiry form.

Dr. Laurence Kirwan. is one of the most experienced Board Certified Plastic Surgeons in Norwalk, Connecticut, and in the entire country. He is a recognized international leader in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. He offers a superior level of knowledge, care and understanding to help you achieve the youthful, bright and contoured look you desire.