Why Breast Implants Aren’t As Bad As You Think

According to a 2014 statistic report by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, The number one type of cosmetic surgery was liposuction (363,912) followed by breast augmentation (313,327), which held the top spot in 2013.

There has always been some controversy around breast implants. It’s not about whether they are dangerous or not (they usually aren’t, although can be), but it’s usually about a moral dilemma.

Are implants setting unrealistic body goals? Are they damaging or helping women’s self-esteem? Won’t someone think of the children?

So let’s have an open discussion about breast implants.

The Risks

There are risks when under going any type of surgery, cosmetic or not. When it comes to breast augmentation, there has been many different horror stories about waking up post-op and either getting the wrong size of implants, one breast is larger than the other, horrible scarring and plenty of others problems.

There’s really nothing to discuss here. While it can be cited as a reason not to get breast implants (which it definitely is), complications can arise from any type of surgery. It really just comes down to having a properly trained professional, who has experience and a great track record.

Unrealistic Bodies

While I would agree it does set somewhat of an unrealistic body image for women, it’s really only a small symptom of a greater body image issue being perpetuated by the media. If you see a woman walking down the street, you typically won’t obsess over the way she looks, like you would while looking at one of your favorite celebrities.

Most women and even men want to look like their favorite celebrities. Whether you or someone you know has breast implants, it doesn’t affect everyone else in society as much as celebrities being photoshopped to the most unrealistic proportions.

Self-Esteem

This is a very tricky topic and it’s hard to say with certain, whether or not breast implants improve self-esteem or if it’s only a bandage solution. There has been a study published by the Annals of Plastic Surgery, that links breast implants with suicide.

Although, the study cannot directly link the suicides were caused by breast augmentations, only that the women had breast implants. Loren Lipworth from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, believes some women who undergo augmentation may have psychiatric problems to begin with, that may be linked to body image disorders.

On the flip side, there are several studies that cite, breast augmentation were able to provide immediately noticeable boosts in self-esteem.

Practical Reasons

You can sit on a high horse and say all breast augmentation surgeries are terrible exercises in vanity and that you should be happy with the way you were made. What about situations where they aren’t done for strictly cosmetic reason but rather for normality?

Micromastia is a medical condition, that is essential the underdevelopment of breast tissue for women in either one or both breasts. There’s no exact term or definition to what a “normal” breast size, but micromastia can vary from no breasts tissue what so ever to what a woman thinks is normal for her body.

Mastectomy or double mastectomy are common treatments to prevent or treat breast cancer. Breast augmentations are the only way to return a woman’s breast to their natural size in this situation and is the much more favored option, than having only one or no breasts at all.

We also live in a time where more light has been shed on transgendered individuals. A male who is going through sex reassignment surgery would need to have breast augmentations to complete their transformation.

Would it surprise you to know that in a previous study by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the largest group of women to get breast implants were between the ages of 30 – 39?

This is because women of that age range are just getting past their childbearing years. Their breasts lose their volume and sometimes shape and the only way to correct it is with breast augmentation. These women aren’t necessarily getting bigger breasts, they’re just returning them to the way they remember them.

Conclusion

We can all have preconceived notions about breast augmentations, but that doesn’t mean we’re right or wrong in our opinions. Most of us could agree on the fact that, there is an unrealistic standard for body images in the media.

Whether breast augmentation is the cause or only a by-product of those images can still be debated. As stated, there are some real legitimate reasons for augmentation, they aren’t stickily cosmetic per se.

What an individual decides to do with their body is entirely up to them. You can’t push your values or beliefs on someone else and there’s no way to know how a person really thinks or feels about themselves.

However, if you are considering breast augmentation, you need to be confident in knowing why you’re doing it and not looking at it as a solution to all of life’s problems.