My New Breasts - Why Sharon Eller and so many other American women are getting cosmetic implants

[Guest guest]

Sad but true!

Rogene

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Posted on Sun, Nov. 13, 2005

My New Breasts

Why Sharon Eller and so many other American women are

getting cosmetic implants

By Garloch | Staff Writer

AKED FROM THE WAIST UP, Sharon Eller endured the

medical exam by avoiding the eyes of two men staring

at her breasts.

Dr. J.P. Riou backed up for a better look. He tipped

his head toward Sharon's husband, Maurice, and pointed

out that her right breast hung lower than her left.

Women's breasts rarely match, the plastic surgeon

said. But he could fix that.

Red marking pen in hand, Dr. Riou drew a half circle

under Sharon's left breast, to show where it should

hang. He added dotted lines down the center of her

chest and from nipple to nipple. A map for surgery to

come.

" The next question, " he said, " is size. "

We're obsessed with breasts.

The bigger the better.

Across centuries, their significance has shifted back

and forth, from maternal to erotic.

Today in the United States, women who breastfeed in

public may be ridiculed, even arrested. But stuff a

couple firm, round bosoms in a low-cut top, and you

get a different kind of attention.

In America, there's no doubt. Breasts are more than

fatty milk factories intended to nurse offspring.

They're sex objects.

Breasts are forbidden, but they're everywhere. From

Playboy to Hooters, beer commercials to basketball

games, you can barely turn around without seeing women

dressed to draw attention to well-endowed chests.

Breasts are even stars on reality TV shows -- " Extreme

Makeover, " " The Swan " and " Dr. 90210. " The message: If

you don't like the breasts you have, you can get the

breasts you want.

More than 300,000 U.S. women had breast augmentation

in 2004, compared with 100,000 in 1997, according to

the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.

It's the second most popular cosmetic procedure, next

to liposuction, and it's becoming more affordable.

Nationally, the cost of a new set of breasts costs

$3,000 to $10,000.

Forget the stereotype.

Like Sharon Eller, a purchasing agent in Wilkes

County, women seeking breast implants aren't just

dancers or actresses or wealthy middle-aged women

trying to keep their youth.

Plastic surgeons say most patients are young mothers

whose breasts have gone flat as fried eggs after

breastfeeding.

They want to fill out a swimsuit.

They want to look sexier in a dress.

" Many people see this as an investment in themselves, "

said Sarwer, of the University of Pennsylvania's

Center for Human Appearance.

" For some people, it's no different than eating a

healthy diet or going to the health club. "

Flat and unhappy

Sharon Eller wasn't always unhappy with her breasts.By

32, she had nursed two babies. Her breasts seemed

flat, " not perky like they used to be. "

A 34A bra was too tight, 34B was too big.

Dresses hung like sacks.

She wore blouses, instead of clingier sweaters, to

camouflage her flat chest.

Though a size 4 with a tiny waist, Sharon dreaded

shopping for bathing suits. They'd fit fine in the

hips, but the tops looked like deflated balloons.

She didn't talk about it, not even with her husband,

Maurice. But she read stories about celebrities who

got implants, and she watched cosmetic surgery shows

on the Learning Channel.

She figured it was too expensive for her, a county

purchasing agent in Wilkesboro, near the N.C.

mountains.

Then, in summer 2002, Sharon talked to a friend who

knew someone who got implants from a doctor near

Charlotte. They looked real, Sharon's friend said, and

they didn't cost as much as you'd think.

Sharon looked up the doctor's Web site and got the

prices.

Then she talked to Maurice.

You're kidding, he said.

Maurice didn't want her to get breast implants. He

married her when he was 20, and she was 19. He loved

her the way she was.

Sharon reminded Maurice that she never stopped him

from spending money on things he wanted: shotguns,

rifles and the all-terrain vehicle for hunting deer

and turkey.

Soon after, Sharon and Maurice took out a $3,500 home

equity loan. It was enough to pay for the operation,

which isn't covered by insurance.

Some tried paraffin, sponges

Making breasts bigger is not a new business.

In the 1890s, a Vienna doctor injected paraffin wax

into women's breasts. But problems developed --

infection, breast hardening and lumps.

Other techniques followed through the years --

injections of goat's milk and industrial silicone

liquid; implants of glass balls; cone-shaped polyvinyl

sponges.

After World War II, silicone was used in Japan, where

women who tended to be small breasted hoped larger

bosoms would attract American GIs.

Today's silicone implant got its start with an " Aha! "

moment in Houston.

Dr. Gerow, then a surgical resident, squeezed a

plastic bag filled with blood and noticed it felt like

a breast.

Recognizing that women had been " bosom conscious " for

years, Gerow and his supervising surgeon, Dr.

Cronin, created the first silicone gel-filled implant.

In 1962, they tried it in Timmie Lindsey, a

30-something divorced mother of six. She had come to

the hospital to have rose tattoos removed from her

breasts. When the surgeons asked if she'd also like to

try the new implants, she said yes.

Silicone implants gained popularity until the late

1980s. That's when women began claiming they caused

serious illnesses, such as lupus and rheumatoid

arthritis. Some testified about pain and crippling

health problems when silicone leaked into their

breasts.

Class-action lawsuits led to huge settlements from

manufacturers, and in 1992, the Food and Drug

Administration banned silicone implants for general

use.

Many predicted that breast implants in the United

States were finished. In 1994, doctors performed just

about as many implant removals (38,000) as they did

enhancements (39,000), according to the American

Society of Plastic Surgeons.

But, with saline as a substitute for silicone, demand

for bigger breasts returned, more than ever.

`Enough to fill a dress'

Without eye makeup and lipstick, Sharon was pale and

tired as she waited for Dr. Riou to finish marking her

chest.She and Maurice had gotten up early for the hour

and a half drive from Wilkesboro to Cornelius.

Sharon's blond hair didn't have its usual bounce. Her

5-foot-3 frame looked even smaller with her chest

bared in the harsh light.

Dr. Riou was intense and cheery, and bounced around

the room. Over his dark hair, he wore a pink and green

surgical cap printed with long-eared bunny rabbits in

sunglasses.

He asked Sharon what size breasts she wanted. " Just

enough to fill out a dress, " she said -- from a small

B-cup bra to a full C.

In that way, Dr. Riou thought, she was typical of his

patients. Finished having children. Conservative.

Meticulous about her appearance, but not vain.

The plastic surgeon translated bra size into the

volume of saline needed. A 32C uses about 200 cubic

centimeters, about the size of an orange. But a C cup

varies depending on a woman's chest size. Sharon would

need about 360 to get to a full 34C.

That used to be about average for patients in Dr.

Riou's office. But over the past 10 years, he has

watched women's ideas of the ideal grow -- to C-plus

or D-minus.

At first, many implant patients think their enhanced

breasts are too big, he said. But when he surveys

patients later, about one in 10 say they wish they had

gone bigger.

Before the operation, Dr. Riou's nurse double-checked

with Sharon, just to make sure.

" No D? " the nurse asked.

Sharon scoffed: " Why would you want to be a D? "

Changing ideals

What's the ideal breast size?

It depends on the decade.

Very thin, small-breasted flappers were popular in the

United States in the 1920s, a period of women's

liberation that coincided with winning the right to

vote. But the style in breasts ballooned, interrupted

briefly by the popularity of Twiggy, a rail-thin

British model in the 1960s.

Bust measurements of Miss America contestants reflect

the trend toward bigger-is-better.

In the 1920s, the average contestant's bust was 32

inches, according to Carolyn Latteier, author of

" Breasts: The Women's Perspective on an American

Obsession. " That vital statistic rose to 35 inches in

the 1940s. And through the two decades following 1950,

Latteier wrote, it stayed at a " perfect 36. "

Bust measurements of Playboy Playmates followed the

same pattern, Latteier said, but always a couple of

inches bigger.

In Hollywood, women with larger chests, such as

Marilyn Monroe, tended to get parts that fit their

image as sexual beings. Small-chested women, such as

Katharine Hepburn, played characters with careers and

upper-class sophistication.

The message was: More bosom, less brain.

Celebrities still set the bar for many women, but even

" Baywatch " alumna Pamela said she got tired

of her all-breast-no-brain image. She dropped from

about a 34D to 34C when she had her implants removed

in 1999, according to People magazine. She's still

" Stacked, " though, and stars in a TV series by that

name.

In some cultures, where breasts aren't sex objects,

size doesn't matter.

Take the West African country of Mali, where U.S.

anthropologist Dettwyler spent more than two

years.

Women there laughed out loud when Dettwyler told them

that during sex, U.S. men actually played with breasts

like babies.

Of the world's 190 cultures, Dettwyler said, only 13,

including the United States, view breasts as sex

objects.

Time for the procedure

In the operating room at Dr. Riou's Cornelius office,

green towels covered most of Sharon's anesthetized

body, stretched out on a table like a

crucifix.Flattened by gravity, her breasts were slight

mounds, covered in orange Betadine solution and

surrounded by the doctor's red markings.

Standing at her side, Dr. Riou made the first cut,

less than an inch, near Sharon's left armpit.

He stuck his gloved index finger inside as far as it

would go.

With a sweeping motion, he cleared a pocket between

two layers of muscle. From the inside, the tip of his

finger pressed against her skin, like a cartoon mole

digging an underground path.

" This is easier to do in post-child bearing women, "

Dr. Riou said. " They're a lot looser than someone

who's 22. "

He replaced his finger with a blunt dissecting tool.

Sharon's breast danced jerkily as Dr. Riou pushed the

instrument around inside.

Then, he rolled up an empty implant bag like a cigar

and guided it into the tunnel he'd created with his

finger. A tube, attached to the implant, remained

outside Sharon's body.

A nurse connected the tube to a bag of saline hanging

overhead. The clear liquid flowed, and Sharon's left

breast rose slowly like a yeast roll.

In the next five minutes, Riou repeated the procedure

on Sharon's right breast.

With both implants inflated, a nurse tilted the

operating table until Sharon's unconscious body was

almost vertical and gravity pulled at her breasts.

Dr. Riou and his nurses gathered around, making sure

the enhanced breasts looked even and equal in size.

Someone brought Sharon's husband, Maurice, to the

operating room door, where he looked through a small

window.

Dr. Riou, delighting in his handiwork, shouted two

questions at Maurice.

" Bigger? " he asked, holding his thumb up like a

hitchhiker.

" Smaller? " he asked, thumb down.

Maurice smiled nervously. He gave the doctor two

thumbs up. Just right.

Source of self-worth

Should breasts have anything to do with self-esteem?

Many women say no. Self-worth should come from inside,

they say.

Charlotte's Molly Barker blames much of today's

emphasis on breasts and physical beauty on advertising

and other media images. She worries about its effect

on girls and women.

" I'm frustrated with a culture that is telling women

what they need to look like to be beautiful, " said

Barker, founder of Girls on the Run, a national

self-esteem and health program for pre-teens.

" I'd like to see a transformation at the cultural

level where we don't correlate self-esteem with breast

size. ... I really believe we get confidence through

what we do with our lives. "

Psychologists say many women who get breast implants

aren't necessarily unhappy with their whole bodies or

their lives. They are simply more unhappy with their

breasts than the average woman.

" They're as psychologically stable as women who don't

get (implants), " said Ann Kearney-Cooke, a Cincinnati

psychologist and author of " Change Your Mind, Change

Your Body. "

Research shows that most women who get breast implants

report feeling better about their bodies.

As long as women aren't having multiple surgeries with

unrealistic expectations, Kearney-Cooke said breast

implant surgery can be good for body image.

" Feeling attractive and sexy is a great feeling, " she

said. " Women shouldn't be ashamed of that. "

Road to recovery

After her surgery on a Friday, Sharon Eller spent the

weekend in her living room recliner. Even with pain

medicine, she was barely able to move her arms.She

returned to work on Tuesday, wearing baggy clothes, so

no one would notice the change in her breasts. It took

about a month for the swelling and bruising to go

down.

About six weeks after the surgery, when she stepped

out of the shower one morning, Maurice was watching

her. " You know I really didn't want you to have it

done, " she remembers him saying. " But you do look

nice. "

People at her county office building complimented her

too. But it wasn't only her breasts they noticed.

She laughed and talked more. Her hazel eyes seemed

brighter. She bought new clothes -- form-fitting knit

shirts and sheath dresses instead of blouses and

shirtwaists. They aren't low-cut or showy. But they

fit better, and she wears them confidently.

In the three years since her surgery, Sharon has

exercised more, running in a park and punching the

boxing bag in her basement. She's cultivating a shape

to match her new self image.

" She just has a new glow about her, " said Neal ,

a friend.

When goes to lunch with Sharon, he says people

notice her. And it makes him sit up a little taller.

Sharon's boss, Martha McNeill, sees it too. At lunch

in Pizza Hut one day, when a male waiter was

particularly helpful, McNeill teased: " See, those

things are paying off. "

Sharon smiled, a little embarrassed.

She didn't get the implants to attract attention. She

just wanted to feel better about herself.

And she does.

For Information

• American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery:

www.surgery.org.

• American Society of Plastic Surgeons:

www.plasticsurgery.org.

• National Research Center for Women & Families,

www.breastimplantinfo.org. The site includes details

of surgery risks, photos of women whose procedures

have gone awry. Story Behind The Story

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Garloch

I wouldn't get breast implants for cosmetic reasons,

and for most of my life, I've wondered why anyone

would. Then I met Sharon Eller, who made me rethink

all my assumptions about women who do.

N

History of Enhancement

1890s: Dr. Gersuny of Vienna injected paraffin

for breast augmentation.

1893: Marie Tucek patented the " breast supporter, "

including separate pockets for the breasts and straps

that went over the shoulder.

1914: Socialite Phelps patented the modern

" brassiere, " derived from the French word for " upper

arm. " It was made with handkerchiefs and pink ribbon.

1940s: Japanese women have industrial silicone liquid

injected in breasts to attract American servicemen.

1950s: Ivalon polyvinyl sponges began to be implanted.

1953: Premiere issue of Playboy magazine with Marilyn

Monroe on the cover and in nude centerfold.

1962: First silicone gel-filled implant created and

used by doctors in Houston.

1964: Wonderbra created by Louise Poirier for

Canadelle, a Canadian lingerie company.

1977: Cleveland woman wins $170,000 suit claiming her

ruptured silicone implants caused pain and suffering.

1990: " Face to Face with Connie Chung " airs on the

dangers of silicone breast implants. Class action

lawsuits are filed against implant manufacturers.

1992: U.S. Food and Drug Administration bans silicone

implants, with certain exceptions (such as women

undergoing breast reconstruction).

1994: Wonderbra introduced in United States, suggested

retail price $26, by Sara Lee Corp. Supermodel Eva

Herzigova appears on the spectacular 2,800-square-foot

billboard in New York's Times Square.

1994: Doctors perform 38,000 silicone-gel implant

removals and 39,000 enhancements. Saline begins

replacing silicone.

1996: The number of breast implant removals drops to

14,000. Augmentations rise to 42,000 and continue to

increase.

1999: The Institute of Medicine finds no evidence

linking breast implants to serious illness, such as

lupus or rheumatoid arthritis.

2004: About 300,000 breast enhancement procedures are

performed.

2005: An FDA advisory committee recommends allowing

silicone breast implants to return under limited

conditions. An FDA decision is pending.

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SOURCES: Cosmetic Surgery Times; Texas Monthly;

Frontline; American Society of Plastic Surgeons;

American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery;

Google.com.

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Garloch: (704) 358-5078;

kgarloch@....

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© 2005 Charlotte Observer and wire service sources.

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