Breast Augmentation is #1

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons recently released their plastic surgery statistics for the year 2006. For the first time ever, breast augmentation was the top cosmetic plastic surgery performed. Last year 329,000 people underwent breast augmentation surgery, up from 291,000 the year before. Liposuction, last year's number one, drops to #3, with rhinoplasty at #2.

Why is breast augmentation #1? Could it be:

Ivanka Trump having a breast augmentation? No, that appeared to happen in December or January.

Maybe it's because of people inspired by the woman who had a breast implant save her from the shrapnel of a Hizbollah rocket? Cool story, but I doubt it.

Could it be because of Jodie Marsh? God, no.

It's likely that the increasing number of women having breast augmentation is partially due to the strong economy (in everywhere but here in Michigan) and the fact that silicone gel implants were approved by the FDA in November. These implants are so superior to the saline implants in appearance and feel that I am now finding more women opting for these implants over saline implants, which are considerably less expensive and have been the standard in North America for 14 years (although outside North America are somewhat rarely used).

Back in 1992, when the silicone gel implants were banned by the FDA for widespread use, the ASPS reported only 32,600 breast augmentations performed for the year. This has now increased over 10-fold. Why is this? I believe one major factor is the vast improvement in quality of breast augmentation surgeries today. In the past, plastic surgeons often placed smaller, older style silicone gel implants on top of the muscle, using larger scars. This often created breasts which were hard, scarred, and unrealistic-appearing (sometimes as common as 70% of the time). The newer techniques utilize shorter scars and somewhat larger implants whch are often placed below the chest muscle. This usually creates a softer, more realistic breast.

With more and more silicone gel implants being used this year, I expect the numbers of breast augmentation surgeries to increase significantly from 2006 to 2007. We may see more and more celebrities having breast augmentation surgery as well, as the surgery continues to become more and more common.

For the ASPS statistics, visit plasticsurgery.org.

To view a video of breast augmentation I performed for Fox News, click here.

Thanks for reading.
Michigan-based Plastic Surgeon
Anthony Youn, M.D.: