As a board-certified plastic surgeon who has specialized in breast augmentation using breast implants, I am excited about another option I can offer my patients—natural breast enhancement. I have been dedicated to the practice of holistic health for more than 20 years and frequently patients ask whether there is a natural way to enhance their breast cup size. Until very recently, our only real option was to augment breasts with implants. Implants can either be made of saline or silicone. Both are safe and look and feel very real, although some patients suggest that silicone implants actually feel more natural than saline once implanted into the breast.
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In the early 1990s, some women claimed their silicone breast implants were making them ill. As a result, other patients panicked and lawyers became involved. The FDA stepped in and, in order to review the data adequately, placed a ban on the use of silicone implants for first-time cosmetic breast augmentation. After much research, the ban was lifted a few years ago without any evidence to corroborate the erroneous claims about silicone. Plastic surgeons now have the option of using silicone implants for initial breast augmentation, provided the patient is at least 22 years old. We see more and more patients opting for silicone breast augmentation, although saline implants remain very popular.
As a result of the events in the early nineties, women became more aware of breast augmentation and developed concerns about placing something foreign or un-natural, albeit safe, into their bodies. They started looking for other, more natural options.
Numerous patients over the years have mentioned how wonderful it would be if they could transfer fat from one area where they didn’t like it to another area where being a little bigger might be better. Of course, most women were referring to their breasts, although some also wanted to replace fullness in their faces or fill in the hollows that form on the sides of the buttocks with age and weight loss.
Though fat transfer was and is available for lifting and enhancing the contour of the buttocks and reducing the signs of aging on the face, fat transfer to the breasts for a natural, cosmetic breast augmentation was discouraged and even prohibited by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), of which I am a member. That left board-certified plastic surgeons in good standing and members of the ASPS without an option.
Continued scientific evaluation, however, has helped make progress on the issue. With data from Europe and Asia, where women have been able to transfer fat to their breasts for natural breast enhancement for years, plastic surgeons in the U.S. are now considering this exciting possibility. The results of these studies have even led to a change in thinking at the ASPS. Unfortunately, many plastic surgeons in the country are not even aware of these recent changes and are still advising their patients against this procedure.
As a result of the new and gentle techniques using the Body-Jet system to harvest and reduce areas of unwanted fat and improve fat survival, your own fat can be used to perform a natural breast augmentation. Since fat survival is enhanced, usually only one procedure is required.
Another myth from years past warned that calcifications formed in the transferred fat could potentially interfere with mammograms. But studies have shown that the new digital mammograms and an experienced radiologist can differentiate these calcifications from those seen in potential breast tumors.
All of this is great news. As women become much more in tune with their bodies and are demanding natural alternatives in food, makeup and skin care, we finally do have a viable and safe option for natural breast enhancement. The ideal candidate desires an increase in approximately one cup size with a very natural look and feel—and this is possible.
Now that the procedure is possible, many unqualified doctors—who have no plastic surgery training—are jumping on the bandwagon to offer natural breast enhancement. Potential patients must beware. You should only choose a board-certified plastic surgeon with years of experience and specialization in breast implant surgery. These surgeons have undergone rigorous training and have developed the aesthetic eye necessary to create a well-proportioned breast enhancement tailored to the individual patient. In addition, your surgeon should have undergone additional training in and have experience with natural breast enhancement. Frequently, the natural breast enhancement can be performed without general anesthesia, while the patient remains safe and comfortable.
Dreams can become a reality.