Stupid, but interesting article - Doctors Should Reuse Tissue In Implants?

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Doctors Should Reuse Tissue In Implants

By Cara Reardon

http://www.dailycampus.com/media/storage/paper340/news/2006/04/17/Commentary/Doc\

tors.Should.Reuse.Tissue.In.Implants-1857701.shtml?norewrite200604171725 & sourced\

omain=www.dailycampus.com

Our society has a keen obsession with breasts. Both

males and females alike enjoy showing them off,

displaying them for onlookers to marvel at by way of a

nicely fitting shirt or at the beach for all to

admire. Females celebrate their development as a

departure from adolescence into the realm of

womanhood. They are also a key factor in the raising

of offspring.

I personally love my breasts; they are of average size

and I enjoy them a great deal. Though I love my

naturally-sized breasts, women all over this country

opt to surgically augment their own breasts, whether

for health purposes or to satisfy personal body-image

desires. There are health benefits associated with

surgically reducing one's breast size if they pose

health problems, such as recurrent back pain, because

they are too large. There are also women who opt for

reconstructive and/or augmentative surgery to

reconstruct or reshape breasts after they have been

removed due to breast cancer or happen to be misshapen

for a variety of reasons. These surgeries, despite

their risks, are said to highly improve the quality of

life for many women. Yet, for those women who desire

to increase their breast size for purely aesthetic

purposes, the health risks associated with the

procedure seem a bit excessive, especially if they get

silicone implants.

The debate over silicone implants is still continuing

because of their connection to an assortment of health

issues. Thousands of women have had to have their

implants removed due to health problems that developed

after their surgeries. Risks associated with this type

of surgery include, but are not limited to, infection,

bleeding and scaring. Within the first three years of

having implants, there is a high likelihood that

patients will experience difficulties associated with

the procedure. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

warns that complications that could arise include

asymmetry, breast pain, chest wall deformity,

infection (including toxic shock syndrome),

inflammation or irritation, malposition or

displacement, redness or bruising, unsatisfactory size

or place and wrinkling or rippling, to name a few.

Those who are considering implants must take into

account " overall health, age, chest structure, the

shape and position of the breast and nipple, skin

texture, the tendency to bleed, prior breast

surgeries, and [how] the surgical team's skill and

experience all figure into the outcome of breast

implant surgeries, " according to an article published

by the FDA.

Yet, with all the information that exists to dissuade

females from having implants, the fact remains that as

long as there is the demand for larger breasts, there

will be doctors to perform the procedure, regardless

of the long term effects on the women. With the rate

of breast augmentations increasing annually, why is

there not more research going into developing a less

harmful implant? Why is there not more funding going

into the long term effects of having breast implants?

Women everywhere should have the option to alter their

bodies, if they so desire, in the most harmless way

possible. It is understandable that there is not more

money going into such research if there are other more

pressing research that should receive such funding,

such as finding cures for cancers or HIV. To address

this problem of under funding, why not turn to an

alternative form of breast implantation that is not

artificial? Instead of spending a gross amount of

money to develop a new type of implant, why not

recycle?

As it is, our society produces an exorbitant amount of

waste each year. Ecologically, this could lead to a

total catastrophe within our lifetime. With

conservation groups pushing for more stringent

guidelines on an array of different consumption

categories, it seems logical to push for conservation

in the medical field as well. In September 2005, an

article from the BBC targeted the issue of

Gynaecomastia, or in slang terms, " man boobs. " In the

United Kingdom, surgeons are seeing an increase of

this affliction, which is not a totally new

phenomenon. According to the article, the increase of

" man boob " cases is connected with " women taking oral

contraceptive pills " because " small quantities of

oestrogens are excreted from the body and enter the

sewage system. " Other causes include rare genetic and

hormonal diseases, puberty and excessive alcohol

consumption. With the number of " man boob " cases on

the rise and the negative social stigma of having

breasts larger than some females, which the article

stated was " very distressing, " men have taken it upon

themselves to have the excessive amount of fat and

skin removed.

What do they do with the left over breast waste?

Perfectly good tissue is being disposed of when it

could be recycled and used for breast implants for

women in the United States. Granted, I am not a doctor

and I am sure there might be some complicated medical

explanation for why these tissues cannot be recycled.

But, with all the technology that is out there, it

seems very plausible that researchers could develop a

way to reuse this tissue and save females the angst of

placing something artificial in their bodies. Yes, the

notion of using discarded breasts from men in the

United Kingdom might seem a bit repulsive, but the

idea of reusing tissue should appeal to the growing

amount of people in the United States that are

conservation friendly. And it does not necessarily

need to be taken from " man boobs. " Tissues could be

taken from breast reductions from other women or even

the leftover contents of a liposuction procedure.

Whatever the future holds for women who wish to

increase their breast size, I sincerely hope that the

use of natural human materials will become an option

for those who are displeased with their natural breast

size and do not wish to undergo the medical risks

associated with silicone or other artificial implants.