Breast Plastic Surgery - Breast Implants

A breast implant is a prosthesis used to enlarge the size of a woman's breast (known as breast augmentation, breast enlargement, breast enhancement, mammoplasty enlargement or augmentation mammoplasty), one of many types of breast plastic surgery, for cosmetic reasons; to reconstruct the breast (e.g. after a mastectomy; or to correct genetic deformities), or as an aspect of male-to-female sex reassignment surgery. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, breast augmentation is the most commonly performed cosmetic surgical procedure in the United States and therefore the most commonly performed breast plastic surgery. In 2006, 329,000 breast augmentation procedures were performed in the U.S.

There are two primary types of breast implants: saline-filled and silicone-gel-filled implants. Saline implants have a silicone elastomer shell filled with sterile saline liquid. Silicone gel implants have a silicone shell filled with a viscous silicone gel. There have been several alternative types of breast implants developed, such as polypropylene string or soy oil, but these are not commonly used, if at all.  The leakage of oil into the body cavity during a rupture would not be good.

Breast Plastic Surgery - Breast Implants - History

Implants have been used since 1895 to augment the size or shape of women's breasts. The earliest known implant was attempted by Czerny, using a woman's own adipose tissue (from a lipoma, a benign growth, on her back). Gersuny tried paraffin injections in 1889, with disastrous results. Subsequently, in the early to mid-1900s, a number of other substances were tried, including ivory, glass balls, ground rubber, ox cartilage, Terylene wool, gutta-percha, Dicora, polyethylene chips, polyvinyl alcohol-formaldehyde polymer sponge (Ivalon), Ivalon in a polyethylene sac, polyether foam sponge (Etheron), polyethylene tape (Polystan) or strips wound into a ball, polyester (polyurethane foam sponge) Silastic rubber, and teflon-silicone prostheses. In recent history, various creams and medicaments have been used in attempts to increase bust size, and Berson in 1945 and Maliniac in 1950 performed a flap-based augmentation by rotating the patient's chest wall tissue into the breast to add volume. Various synthetics were used throughout the 1950s and 1960s, including silicone injections, which an estimated 50,000 women received. Development of silicone granulomas and hardening of the breasts were in some cases so severe that women needed to have mastectomies for treatment. Women sometimes seek medical treatment for complications up to 30 years after receiving this type of injection.

Breast Plastic Surgery - Breast Implants - Indications

Clinical indications for the use of breast implants are for breast reconstruction, sex reassignment surgery, and for abnormalities that affect the shape and size of the breast. In some countries health insurers will reimburse insertion of breast implants only for these indications. Non-clinical indications (the most common reasons) are cosmetic.

Breast Plastic Surgery - Breast Implants - Patient Characteristics 

Patients seeking breast augmentation have been reported as being usually younger, healthier, from higher socio-economic status, and more often married with children than the population at large. Many of these patients have reported greater distress about their appearance in a variety of situations, and have endured teasing about their appearance. Studies have identified a pattern (shared by many cosmetic surgery procedures) that suggest women who undergo breast implantation are slightly more likely to have undergone psychotherapy, have low levels of self-esteem, and have higher prevalences of depression, suicide attempts, and mental illness (including body dysmorphia as compared to the general population. Post-operative surveys on mental health and quality of life issues have reported improvement on a number of dimensions including: physical health, physical appearance, social life, self confidence, self esteem, and sexual function. Longer term follow-up suggests these improvements may be transitory, with the exception of body esteem related to sexual attractiveness.  

Common misspellings: vreast, nreast, hreast, greast, beeast, bdeast, bfeast, bteast, b5east, b4east, brwast, brsast, brdast, brrast, br4ast, br3ast, brezst, bresst, brewst, breqst, breaat, breazt, breaxt, breadt, breaet, breawt, breasr, breasf, breasg, breasy, breas6, breas5, reast, beast, brast, brest, breat, breas, rbeast, berast, braest, bresat, breats, bbreast, brreast, breeast, breaast, breasst, breastt, olastic, llastic, -lastic, 0lastic, pkastic, ppastic, poastic, plzstic, plsstic, plwstic, plqstic, plaatic, plaztic, plaxtic, pladtic, plaetic, plawtic, plasric, plasfic, plasgic, plasyic, plas6ic, plas5ic, plastuc, plastjc, plastkc, plastoc, plast9c, plast8c, plastix, plastiv, plastif, plastid, lastic, pastic, plstic, platic, plasic, plastc, plasti, lpastic, palstic, plsatic, platsic, plasitc, plastci, pplastic, pllastic, plaastic, plasstic, plasttic, plastiic, plasticc,  aurgery, zurgery, xurgery, durgery, eurgery, wurgery, syrgery, shrgery, sjrgery, sirgery, s8rgery, s7rgery, suegery, sudgery, sufgery, sutgery, su5gery, su4gery, surfery, survery, surbery, surhery, suryery, surtery, surgwry, surgsry, surgdry, surgrry, surg4ry, surg3ry, surgeey, surgedy, surgefy, surgety, surge5y, surge4y, surgert, surgerg, surgerh, surgeru, surger7, surger6, urgery, srgery, sugery, surery, surgry, surgey, surger, usrgery, srugery, sugrery, suregry, surgrey, surgeyr, ssurgery, suurgery, surrgery, surggery, surgeery, surgerry, surgeryy, umplants, jmplants, kmplants, omplants, 9mplants, 8mplants, inplants, ikplants, ijplants, imolants, imllants, im-lants, im0lants, impkants, imppants, impoants, implznts, implsnts, implwnts, implqnts, implabts, implamts, implajts, implahts, implanrs, implanfs, implangs, implanys, implan6s, implan5s, implanta, implantz, implantx, implantd, implante, implantw, mplants, iplants, imlants, impants, implnts, implats, implans, implant, miplants, ipmlants, imlpants, impalnts, implnats, implatns, implanst, iimplants, immplants, impplants, impllants, implaants, implannts, implantts, implantss, zugmentation, sugmentation, wugmentation, qugmentation, aygmentation, ahgmentation, ajgmentation, aigmentation, a8gmentation, a7gmentation, aufmentation, auvmentation, aubmentation, auhmentation, auymentation, autmentation, augnentation, augkentation, augjentation, augmwntation, augmsntation, augmdntation, augmrntation, augm4ntation, augm3ntation, augmebtation, augmemtation, augmejtation, augmehtation, augmenration, augmenfation, augmengation, augmenyation, augmen6ation, augmen5ation, augmentztion, augmentstion, augmentwtion, augmentqtion, augmentarion, augmentafion, augmentagion, augmentayion, augmenta6ion, augmenta5ion, augmentatuon, augmentatjon, augmentatkon, augmentatoon, augmentat9on, augmentat8on, augmentatiin, augmentatikn, augmentatiln, augmentatipn, augmentati0n, augmentati9n, augmentatiob, augmentatiom, augmentatioj, augmentatioh, ugmentation, agmentation, aumentation, augentation, augmntation, augmetation, augmenation, augmenttion, augmentaion, augmentaton, augmentatin, augmentatio, uagmentation, agumentation, aumgentation, augemntation, augmnetation, augmetnation, augmenattion, augmenttaion, augmentaiton, augmentatoin, augmentatino, aaugmentation, auugmentation, auggmentation, augmmentation, augmeentation, augmenntation, augmenttation, augmentaation, augmentattion, augmentatiion, augmentatioon, augmentationn