Letting It All Hang Out: How I Made Peace With My Small Boobs (A Plastic Surgeon’s Commentary)

An article recently surfaced on HuffPo about the joy of going bra-less, and the unspeakable dangers of breast implants… according to blogger Hallie Seegal that is…

Now, I completely support any lifestyle decision that a woman (or man) chooses to make, including not wearing a bra 🙂  But if you’re attempting to persuade people that your choice is the “right” choice, you should be certain that you have your facts straight. If you present inaccurate information that you don’t truly understand, you’re doing a lot of people a great disservice, so let’s go through Hallie Seegal’s claims one by one…

#1. “Loss of sensation…”

This is certainly a risk of breast augmentation surgery, but what Hallie didn’t mention is that it’s also possible to have INCREASED sensation after surgery! And that it is incredibly rare for decrease in sensation to be permanent. Her claim that loss of sensation is a “major risk” that may rob you of your sexual pleasure is totally untrue and way over-dramatized. The reality of sensation after breast augmentation is the law of thirds: 1/3 will have decreased sensation (which is temporary in most cases), 1/3 will have increased sensation, and 1/3 will have no change in sensation.

#2. “Implants are not lifelong…”

Hallie, no one ever said they were! Most plastic surgeons quote a life-span of approximately 10 years for breast implants, and newer generation implants may last even longer. The fact that breast implants don’t last forever is not new information, and is certainly not a valid point of argument against breast implants.

#3. “One in five women will need her implants removed due to serious health complications.”

If you twist my arm, I might be able to let #1 and #2 slide, but this statement is seriously misleading. It is completely inaccurate to lump all possible complications into one category, one statistic, and one classification as “serious health complications”. While it’s true that 10-20% of women who have breast implants will undergo another procedure at some point, the vast majority of these women are not having their implants permanently “removed”. Many of these procedures are performed for relatively minor indications such as exchanging saline for silicone, changing the implant size, or simply replacing old implants for a new pair. In addition, almost none of the problems associated with breast implants carry an inherent health risk as Hallie suggests. Most of these revisional surgeries are performed for purely cosmetic concerns and are in no way associated with a danger to one’s health.

#4. “Anaplastic large cell lymphoma…”

The issue of ALCL is a different issue altogether, and while this is certainly a serious health concern, the association between ALCL and breast implants must be kept in perspective. The “risk” is thought to be 1 in 15-20 million, but it may prove to be even less once better quality research becomes available. As it stands now, this risk is on par with getting injured in a car accident or being struck by lightning, and is certainly not anywhere near as common as the other problems Hallie considers in her article.

#5. “… what else has a one-in-five risk? Smoking.”

Hallie’s claim that breast implants are as dangerous as smoking is another claim that is not only inaccurate, but also slightly insulting to our intelligence. Hallie, if breast implants are so unsafe, why is breast augmentation the most popular cosmetic procedure in the US? And why are silicone breast implants the most common devices used for reconstruction after breast cancer surgery?  Quite a few people have commented that this isn’t a good argument because popularity doesn’t equal safety. This is totally true, and I totally agree with that statement, but they’re missing the point altogether. Breast implants aren’t safe because they’re popular… they’re popular because they’re safe!

The bottom line is that there is a reason why breast augmentation is the most popular cosmetic procedure in this country year after year… women like the results! Plain and simple. Just as no one will ever force a woman to wear a bra (or not to wear one), no one will ever force a woman to get breast implants. It’s an individual decision that should be based on factual information provided by an experienced plastic surgeon rather than emotionally-charged misinterpretations of complex medical data by someone with an overly-dramatic aversion to boobs, bras, and breast implants!

Ladies, if you’re interested in breast implants, make sure you get your information from the right person… there’s no question that Hallie Seegal knows blogging, but she sure doesn’t know breast implants!

Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Nicholas Vendemia, M.D.

Plastic Surgeon, New York City

MAS / Manhattan Aesthetic Surgery

www.ManhattanAestheticSurgery.com

Follow MAS on Facebook

Follow MAS on Twitter

Photo Credit: HuffPo

NOTICE: None of the celebrities or individuals discussed here have ever received treatment, surgery, medical advice, or evaluations from any author, physician, surgeon, or representative of this blog. All images and photos in this article represent models only. No actual patients or clients are shown.