Breast Augmentation: A Younger Generation Seeks Perfection
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Ilena Rose
Aug 14, 2008, 4:44:56 PM8/14/08
to breast-impla...@googlegroups.com
From Health Lover, Ilena Rosenthal:
http://www.breastimplantawareness.blogspot.com
http://ilenarose.blogspot.com
Excellent article, by then University Journalism Student.
http://web.archive.org/web/20050306193708/http://www.journalism.neu.edu/studentwork/bribitzer.html
www.BreastImplantAwareness.org/
Breast Augmentation: A Younger Generation Seeks Perfection
By Lori A. Bribitzer
What is the ultimate high school graduation present? Baby-boomers and
Gen-Xers might have dreamed of receiving a new car or going on an
exotic vacation. Today's female graduates are asking their parents for
larger breasts.
The number of breast augmentation surgeries that are performed on
girls ages 18 and younger has increased nearly 293 percent since 1992,
according to statistics compiled by the American Society of Plastic
Surgeons.
"I think everyone always wants to be beautiful … and I just think
bigger breasts are prettier," said Julie Nolan, an 18-year-old girl
from Norfolk, Mass.
Nolan, a freshman at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn.,
doesn't have breast implants, but would like to.
"If I had the money, I would get them," Nolan said, adding that she is
considering having implants inserted later on in her life.
This attitude reflects a trend in society that is increasingly turning
towards cosmetic surgery, particularly breast augmentation. According
to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, more than 250,000 breast
augmentation surgeries were performed last year, a 657 percent
increase from 1992.
With each year, the number of teens undergoing breast augmentation is
increasing. These young girls are receiving breast implants as
presents, often from their parents, for high school graduations and
Sweet 16 birthdays. This has become particularly trendy with teens
from affluent areas where cosmetic surgery is a popular and affordable
option, as the cost of implants usually runs between $5,000 and
$7,000. Except in rare cases of breast reconstruction, none of these
expenses are covered by insurance companies.
Each expert has their own interpretation of this rise in the number of
girls receiving implants, but most admit that society's recent
obsession with plastic surgery, especially on the part of young
people, is due to a variety of issues.
"The blame lies in a combination of the plastic surgery industry, the
media, and parents who do not adequately counsel young women," said
Pam Dowd of Boise, Idaho, a survivor of breast cancer and three
ruptured breast implants.
After surviving breast cancer at age 27, Dowd decided to undergo
breast reconstruction and had a set of silicone breast implants
inserted in 1981. Her first implant ruptured 90 days later.
For Dowd, this was only the beginning of a decades-long struggle for
good health. Since then, she has been diagnosed with countless
neurological diseases, which she believes are due to her faulty
implants.
As the popularity of breast implants has increased, so has insistence
from advocates and survivors like Dowd that the US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) ban all breast implants. As more teens receive
implants, a battle that has been waging between the FDA and the
silicone manufacturing industry for the past decade continues.
The FDA removed silicone implants from the market in 1992 at the
recommendation of its advisory panel due to questions about the safety
of the devices. According their decision, the implants could still be
obtained under special circumstances, for women who have had
mastectomies, but could no longer be used solely for cosmetic
purposes.
But in October 2003, this argument was reopened when Inamed Corp., a
silicone manufacturer, requested the FDA re-examine their 1992
decision. The FDA's advisory panel held a two-day conference in
Washington D.C. where dozens of medical professionals and implant
survivors, including Dowd, testified regarding their experiences with
silicone implants. In January 2004, the FDA ruled against Inamed, and
the ban on silicone remained.
Inamed and other silicone manufacturers still claim that research has
shown silicone implants to be comparable to saline-filled implants.
Saline implants remain FDA approved for cosmetic surgery.
Inamed argues that silicone implants are approved in Europe and are
often preferred by women over their saline-filled counterparts.
According to silicone supporters, silicone implants look and feel more
like natural breast tissue. Since the FDA's ruling, other silicone
manufacturers have followed Inamed's lead and have begun to petition
the FDA to allow silicone implants back on the market.
Ilena Rosenthal has spent much of the last nine years of her life
fighting against Inamed and the rest of the silicone manufacturing
industry. She began researching breast implants on behalf of a friend
in 1995 and, after hearing tale after tale from women whose lives have
been destroyed due to their implants, became an advocate for women who
have been harmed by the industry.
Rosenthal, author of "Breast Implants: The Myths, the Facts, the
Women" formed and directs the San Diego-based Humantics Foundation for
Women, a national organization that serves as the world's largest
support group for women harmed by breast implants.
"People make choices all the time that may well harm them in the
future," Rosenthal said. "They typically think the negative won't
happen to them. I've heard hundreds of times, 'If I'd known then what
I know now, I never would have made the choice of breast implants.'"
According to Rosenthal, the personal battle she decided to wage
against the silicone manufacturing industry soon turned into a series
of legal conflicts when members of that industry became irritated with
her advocacy.
In 1999, she filed a defamation suit against Patrick O'Leary, then
Vice President of McGhan Medical Corp, a subsidiary of Inamed.
According to Rosenthal, O'Leary had been posting libelous statements
against her on the implant support internet newsgroup she created. On
the support group, he allegedly harassed and defamed those who spoke
out against implants, never admitting his affiliation with the
silicone manufacturing industry until Rosenthal realized the truth and
called him on it.
O'Leary and several others posted discrediting statements about
Rosenthal that ranged from "silly stuff … to horrid libelous
accusations that I was a cocaine addict, a diagnosed psychotic and
much worse," Rosenthal said. Rosenthal initially won her suit against
O'Leary, but then lost in June 2001 when he forced an appeal.
More recently, Rosenthal is defending herself in what has become a
significant and high-profile internet libel suit. This case, currently
under the review of the California State Supreme Court, was filed in
March by physicians Stephen J. Barrett, MD and Terry Polevoy, MD. They
claim Rosenthal committed libel through posting, on an internet
newsgroup, a copy of an email that refers to the doctors as being
"quacks" and accuses Dr. Polevoy of stalking several women.
Despite the legal problems she has faced, Rosenthal has no plans to
back down.
"I challenge the enormous amount of propaganda disguised as 'news' …
and refuse to be silenced," she said.
Rosenthal argues that many young women remain uniformed about the
risks of breast implants. According to her foundation's website,
ruptured implants can go undetected for years and the silicone in them
is known to migrate throughout the body's lymph system.
Additionally, links have been found between silicone breast implants
and serious auto-immune diseases like Multiple Sclerosis and
rheumatoid arthritis. And, even if a patient experiences none of these
adverse effects, many women remain unaware that implants are not a
permanent solution. Implants have a fairly short lifespan and will
often need to be replaced within a decade.
No one ever told this to Sandra LaLiberte.
"I was told it would be beautiful," said LaLiberte, a middle-aged
woman from Canada who underwent breast reconstruction after a double
mastectomy in 1989. "Even the nurses said I would look great. Being 28
at the time I never thought much about it. What a mistake!"
When the bandages on LaLiberte's breasts were removed, she was shocked
by what she saw. Her implants were extremely high on her chest, near
her neck.
"My plastic surgeon ordered an intern to come in and force the implant
down," LaLiberte said. "It was excruciating."
Two months later, the implant "was so infected and hard it almost
burst through the chest wall" and LaLiberte had the implant removed.
Since then, she has been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and is
scheduled for her 18th operation to repair her abdomen area.
"Being 40 and disabled is not a nice thing," she said. "It affects all
aspects of our lives … I am so ugly and mutilated I can't even imagine
who would want me for the rest of their life. I don't even want me."
Despite the devastation some women experience from breast implants,
still others argue that their implants have been a positive
experience.
Nearly 5,000 women with implants responded to a survey conducted as a
response to some of the questions that were raised during the FDA's
October 2003 investigation. Of those surveyed, 94 percent responded
that they would recommend breast augmentation to friends and family
members.
Additionally, the survey reports that 92 percent are happy regarding
their decision to get implants, and 89 percent said that their
augmentation either "completely" or "mostly" met their expectations.
Anna*, a 24-year-old mother of two falls within these categories.
"I am 100 percent satisfied with my results," she said.
Anna chose to have her breasts enlarged to a small C-cup after the
births of her children left her breasts looking smaller and saggy.
Anna said that the decision to have a breast augmentation was hers
alone, but admits that "society puts pressure on young women, which
makes them feel less confident in they way they look, which drives
them to a plastic surgeon."
Though thrilled with her results, she warns that "surgery should be
made for women 21 and older" because younger girls "need to learn a
lot more before having plastic surgery."
This warning is often lost on the young girls who are frequently
relatively uniformed about the surgeries and cosmetic procedures they
desire.
Doctors are ethically required to inform their patients of the risks
they face in undergoing breast augmentation, and 93 percent of women
surveyed confirm that they were indeed informed of those risks.
However, the same survey cites that ten percent of these women were
never told that their implants would not last forever. This mistake
has advocates concerned that some surgeons gloss over risks and
potential side-effects in their efforts to woo young women eager for
larger breasts.
Adding to that, media critics claim that the nation's recent reality
TV craze has helped to create a society where girls view cosmetic
surgery as a quick fix. Make-over shows like "The Swan" and "Extreme
Makeover" are most popular within the 18-34 demographic and help to
promote a desire for physical perfection amongst young girls.
"Everywhere we turn, we are bombarded by the media in all forms
telling us we are not good enough as we are," said Dowd. "Our young
women have become their new prey … What is wrong with telling a young
woman she is wonderfully and beautifully made?"
*Name has been withheld at person's request
media
~~~~~~~~~~~~
www.BreastImplantAwareness.org
--
Ilena's Health Lover Blog
<http://ilenarose.blogspot.com>
Breast Implant Awareness Blog
<http://breastimplantawareness.blogspot.com>
http://www.breastimplantawareness.blogspot.com
http://ilenarose.blogspot.com
Excellent article, by then University Journalism Student.
http://web.archive.org/web/20050306193708/http://www.journalism.neu.edu/studentwork/bribitzer.html
www.BreastImplantAwareness.org/
Breast Augmentation: A Younger Generation Seeks Perfection
By Lori A. Bribitzer
What is the ultimate high school graduation present? Baby-boomers and
Gen-Xers might have dreamed of receiving a new car or going on an
exotic vacation. Today's female graduates are asking their parents for
larger breasts.
The number of breast augmentation surgeries that are performed on
girls ages 18 and younger has increased nearly 293 percent since 1992,
according to statistics compiled by the American Society of Plastic
Surgeons.
"I think everyone always wants to be beautiful … and I just think
bigger breasts are prettier," said Julie Nolan, an 18-year-old girl
from Norfolk, Mass.
Nolan, a freshman at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn.,
doesn't have breast implants, but would like to.
"If I had the money, I would get them," Nolan said, adding that she is
considering having implants inserted later on in her life.
This attitude reflects a trend in society that is increasingly turning
towards cosmetic surgery, particularly breast augmentation. According
to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, more than 250,000 breast
augmentation surgeries were performed last year, a 657 percent
increase from 1992.
With each year, the number of teens undergoing breast augmentation is
increasing. These young girls are receiving breast implants as
presents, often from their parents, for high school graduations and
Sweet 16 birthdays. This has become particularly trendy with teens
from affluent areas where cosmetic surgery is a popular and affordable
option, as the cost of implants usually runs between $5,000 and
$7,000. Except in rare cases of breast reconstruction, none of these
expenses are covered by insurance companies.
Each expert has their own interpretation of this rise in the number of
girls receiving implants, but most admit that society's recent
obsession with plastic surgery, especially on the part of young
people, is due to a variety of issues.
"The blame lies in a combination of the plastic surgery industry, the
media, and parents who do not adequately counsel young women," said
Pam Dowd of Boise, Idaho, a survivor of breast cancer and three
ruptured breast implants.
After surviving breast cancer at age 27, Dowd decided to undergo
breast reconstruction and had a set of silicone breast implants
inserted in 1981. Her first implant ruptured 90 days later.
For Dowd, this was only the beginning of a decades-long struggle for
good health. Since then, she has been diagnosed with countless
neurological diseases, which she believes are due to her faulty
implants.
As the popularity of breast implants has increased, so has insistence
from advocates and survivors like Dowd that the US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) ban all breast implants. As more teens receive
implants, a battle that has been waging between the FDA and the
silicone manufacturing industry for the past decade continues.
The FDA removed silicone implants from the market in 1992 at the
recommendation of its advisory panel due to questions about the safety
of the devices. According their decision, the implants could still be
obtained under special circumstances, for women who have had
mastectomies, but could no longer be used solely for cosmetic
purposes.
But in October 2003, this argument was reopened when Inamed Corp., a
silicone manufacturer, requested the FDA re-examine their 1992
decision. The FDA's advisory panel held a two-day conference in
Washington D.C. where dozens of medical professionals and implant
survivors, including Dowd, testified regarding their experiences with
silicone implants. In January 2004, the FDA ruled against Inamed, and
the ban on silicone remained.
Inamed and other silicone manufacturers still claim that research has
shown silicone implants to be comparable to saline-filled implants.
Saline implants remain FDA approved for cosmetic surgery.
Inamed argues that silicone implants are approved in Europe and are
often preferred by women over their saline-filled counterparts.
According to silicone supporters, silicone implants look and feel more
like natural breast tissue. Since the FDA's ruling, other silicone
manufacturers have followed Inamed's lead and have begun to petition
the FDA to allow silicone implants back on the market.
Ilena Rosenthal has spent much of the last nine years of her life
fighting against Inamed and the rest of the silicone manufacturing
industry. She began researching breast implants on behalf of a friend
in 1995 and, after hearing tale after tale from women whose lives have
been destroyed due to their implants, became an advocate for women who
have been harmed by the industry.
Rosenthal, author of "Breast Implants: The Myths, the Facts, the
Women" formed and directs the San Diego-based Humantics Foundation for
Women, a national organization that serves as the world's largest
support group for women harmed by breast implants.
"People make choices all the time that may well harm them in the
future," Rosenthal said. "They typically think the negative won't
happen to them. I've heard hundreds of times, 'If I'd known then what
I know now, I never would have made the choice of breast implants.'"
According to Rosenthal, the personal battle she decided to wage
against the silicone manufacturing industry soon turned into a series
of legal conflicts when members of that industry became irritated with
her advocacy.
In 1999, she filed a defamation suit against Patrick O'Leary, then
Vice President of McGhan Medical Corp, a subsidiary of Inamed.
According to Rosenthal, O'Leary had been posting libelous statements
against her on the implant support internet newsgroup she created. On
the support group, he allegedly harassed and defamed those who spoke
out against implants, never admitting his affiliation with the
silicone manufacturing industry until Rosenthal realized the truth and
called him on it.
O'Leary and several others posted discrediting statements about
Rosenthal that ranged from "silly stuff … to horrid libelous
accusations that I was a cocaine addict, a diagnosed psychotic and
much worse," Rosenthal said. Rosenthal initially won her suit against
O'Leary, but then lost in June 2001 when he forced an appeal.
More recently, Rosenthal is defending herself in what has become a
significant and high-profile internet libel suit. This case, currently
under the review of the California State Supreme Court, was filed in
March by physicians Stephen J. Barrett, MD and Terry Polevoy, MD. They
claim Rosenthal committed libel through posting, on an internet
newsgroup, a copy of an email that refers to the doctors as being
"quacks" and accuses Dr. Polevoy of stalking several women.
Despite the legal problems she has faced, Rosenthal has no plans to
back down.
"I challenge the enormous amount of propaganda disguised as 'news' …
and refuse to be silenced," she said.
Rosenthal argues that many young women remain uniformed about the
risks of breast implants. According to her foundation's website,
ruptured implants can go undetected for years and the silicone in them
is known to migrate throughout the body's lymph system.
Additionally, links have been found between silicone breast implants
and serious auto-immune diseases like Multiple Sclerosis and
rheumatoid arthritis. And, even if a patient experiences none of these
adverse effects, many women remain unaware that implants are not a
permanent solution. Implants have a fairly short lifespan and will
often need to be replaced within a decade.
No one ever told this to Sandra LaLiberte.
"I was told it would be beautiful," said LaLiberte, a middle-aged
woman from Canada who underwent breast reconstruction after a double
mastectomy in 1989. "Even the nurses said I would look great. Being 28
at the time I never thought much about it. What a mistake!"
When the bandages on LaLiberte's breasts were removed, she was shocked
by what she saw. Her implants were extremely high on her chest, near
her neck.
"My plastic surgeon ordered an intern to come in and force the implant
down," LaLiberte said. "It was excruciating."
Two months later, the implant "was so infected and hard it almost
burst through the chest wall" and LaLiberte had the implant removed.
Since then, she has been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and is
scheduled for her 18th operation to repair her abdomen area.
"Being 40 and disabled is not a nice thing," she said. "It affects all
aspects of our lives … I am so ugly and mutilated I can't even imagine
who would want me for the rest of their life. I don't even want me."
Despite the devastation some women experience from breast implants,
still others argue that their implants have been a positive
experience.
Nearly 5,000 women with implants responded to a survey conducted as a
response to some of the questions that were raised during the FDA's
October 2003 investigation. Of those surveyed, 94 percent responded
that they would recommend breast augmentation to friends and family
members.
Additionally, the survey reports that 92 percent are happy regarding
their decision to get implants, and 89 percent said that their
augmentation either "completely" or "mostly" met their expectations.
Anna*, a 24-year-old mother of two falls within these categories.
"I am 100 percent satisfied with my results," she said.
Anna chose to have her breasts enlarged to a small C-cup after the
births of her children left her breasts looking smaller and saggy.
Anna said that the decision to have a breast augmentation was hers
alone, but admits that "society puts pressure on young women, which
makes them feel less confident in they way they look, which drives
them to a plastic surgeon."
Though thrilled with her results, she warns that "surgery should be
made for women 21 and older" because younger girls "need to learn a
lot more before having plastic surgery."
This warning is often lost on the young girls who are frequently
relatively uniformed about the surgeries and cosmetic procedures they
desire.
Doctors are ethically required to inform their patients of the risks
they face in undergoing breast augmentation, and 93 percent of women
surveyed confirm that they were indeed informed of those risks.
However, the same survey cites that ten percent of these women were
never told that their implants would not last forever. This mistake
has advocates concerned that some surgeons gloss over risks and
potential side-effects in their efforts to woo young women eager for
larger breasts.
Adding to that, media critics claim that the nation's recent reality
TV craze has helped to create a society where girls view cosmetic
surgery as a quick fix. Make-over shows like "The Swan" and "Extreme
Makeover" are most popular within the 18-34 demographic and help to
promote a desire for physical perfection amongst young girls.
"Everywhere we turn, we are bombarded by the media in all forms
telling us we are not good enough as we are," said Dowd. "Our young
women have become their new prey … What is wrong with telling a young
woman she is wonderfully and beautifully made?"
*Name has been withheld at person's request
media
~~~~~~~~~~~~
www.BreastImplantAwareness.org
--
Ilena's Health Lover Blog
<http://ilenarose.blogspot.com>
Breast Implant Awareness Blog
<http://breastimplantawareness.blogspot.com>
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