Breast Implants, Breast Augmentation, and American Culture Essay

Breast Implants, Breast Augmentation, and American Culture Breast augmentation is rapidly becoming a common procedure among women in the United States. Shows detailing the surgery on TV station such as MTV and VH1 show mothers and their daughters getting implants together and teenage girls thrilled with their new 34-D chests. What most of these shows don't mention are the possible risks and painful recovery that come with the procedure. That breast implants are becoming more and more an accepted part of popular culture raises several questions. Are implants as safe and easy as they seem? Are women getting implants because they expect them to radically change their lives? More importantly, does our culture really believe that breast implants somehow improve a woman's quality of life? There are two kinds of breast implants. Silicone implants, currently under review for re-approval by the FDA, consist of a silicone pouch filled with a silicone gel. Saline implants, currently the only implants available unless a woman is part of a medical trial, are simply a silicone pouch that is filled with saline solution once it is implanted in the woman ((1)). The risks associated with both kinds of implant include implant rupture, capsular contraction (where the scar tissue around the implant tightens), calcium deposits in the tissue surrounding the implant, infection, hematoma, delayed wound healing, a possible atrophy of breast tissue and an increased difficulty for medical professionals when reading mammograms ((2)). Rupture and capsular contraction are fairly common with both kinds of implant, and require that the patient undergo surgery to correct the problem. In fact, about 20% of women who sought breast implants for augmentation,... ...srisks.php 6)FDA Advisor: Ignore Breast Implant Vote, Details the concerns that the FDA advisory board chair has about silicon implants. http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/11/05/breast.implants.ap/index.html 7)Suicide Risk May Be Lower Than Expected, from the American Society For Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. http://www.asaps.org/press/news-psyc-08.asp 8)Silicone Breast Implants Redux http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2003-10-03-breast-implants_x.htm 9)Silicone Breast Implants Could Make a Comeback After FDA Hearings, Talks about the rise in the number of breast augmentation surgeries. https://registration.mercurynews.com/reg/login.do?url=http://www.mercurynews.com%2Fmld%2Fkentucky%2Fnews%2Fnation%2F7002595.htm 10)Breast Enhancement For the Modern Woman, Article written by a plastic surgery http://www.breastimplants411.com/articles/modern_woman.htm