Fw: Augmenting Nature

[Guest guest]

----- Original Message ----- From: Kathi

Sent: Monday, October 07, 2002 4:18 PM

Subject: Augmenting Nature

AUGMENTING NATURE http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=5619003 & BRD=1697 & PAG=461 & dept_id=44551 & rfi=6 JEFF EDELSTEIN, Staff Writer October 07, 2002 Breast augmentation surgery, once the domain of porn starlets and topless dancers, has gone Main Street. In the last five years alone, the number of breast enhancements has more than doubled, from 101,176 in 1997 to 216,754 in 2001. "There is a monumental increase in requests for breast augmentation," said Dr. lin DiSpaltro, the president of the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons. "And it's across all age groups, from 18-year-olds to women in their 60s." And the typical woman getting this done? "Your next-door neighbor," DiSpaltro said. "It's just average women who want to look normal and natural." And bigger. In addition to record-setting numbers of women seeking new breasts, the size of the implants being requested is also rising. The average implant, DiSpaltro said, is 350 cc's of saline, up from an average of 250 cc's only a few years ago. "This allows women to go from nothing to a full B, sometimes C," he said. "And if they already have a little bit of breast, it pushes it to a full C. But we're seeing an increase in women asking for larger still." DiSpaltro, who works in West Orange, discourages women to go much larger. "Most surgeons treat their work as art," he said. "And as such, prefer to make them look God-given and not man-made. Beyond the C range, it makes it look a little more apparent. And keep in mind for every woman I see who wants a D, I see one who has a natural D and wants to go down." While many women seek plastic surgery simply to have bigger breasts, DiSpaltro said nearly half the women he operates on are of the post-pregnancy variety. "Their breasts have shrunk, and they just want to revert things back to the way they used to be," DiSpaltro said. "They've lost they're firmness and shape; they want their old breasts back." Dr. Dorothy Neddermeyer, a psychotherapist specializing in women's issues, agrees. "Breast-feeding does raise havoc," she said. "It's great for the baby, not-so-good for the breasts." Neddermeyer also points to a variety of other reasons women opt for implants. "For many, it's self-esteem, a way to draw attention to themselves," she said. "But more than anything, it's the fact that we live in a very breast-oriented society." In fact, Neddermeyer believes that perhaps outside of France, a woman's breast is worshipped more in America than anywhere else. "Other cultures are much less focused on the breast than us," she said. "Turn on the TV, flip open a magazine. We sell everything with women's breasts, from cigarettes to truck tires. It's part of our society and it's not going away." And neither is the cost of the surgery -- DiSpaltro said the average cost in about $4,000, and it's virtually never covered by insurance, no matter the reason for the implants. Today, virtually all women who get breast implants receive saline implants, as opposed to silicone implants. "Saline implants have excellent results and a high degree of safety," DiSpaltro said. "But for women with no breast form, silicone will give the best results." But silicone, which was used for breast implants since the early 1960s fell out of favor in the early 1990s after reports of serious damage to women's health surfaced. As a result, in 1993, the FDA banned silicone implants for all women except those getting implants for breast reconstruction or implant replacement. But silicone, which many say gives a more "natural" look to the breast, may be making a comeback. A solution known as 'cohesive silicone gel' is currently undergoing clinical trials in the United States and is already available in many countries. ©The Trentonian 2002 TDN