Sue Hutchison
MercuryNews.com :: June 14, 2005

Considering Breast Implants? Think About the Life Ahead

There were some interesting responses to last week's column about Stacy Sahlstrom, the 43-year-old San Jose woman who decided to have her breast implants removed and get back to her true self. I heard from women who said that they also wanted to get rid of their breast implants, either because they were worried about the medical risks or tired of feeling like phonies -- or both.

Others e-mailed to applaud Sahlstrom's decision and lament the "Hooters"-happy climate that makes otherwise sensible women think their lives would be better if they looked more like the voluptuous female silhouettes on truck tire-flaps.

Then there was this e-mail sent by Lee Strickland of Aptos:

"I have had breast cancer twice in the same breast. Last year I had the breast removed," she wrote. "My success ratio for the future is excellent because of early detection. The last time I had a mammogram, the technician told me that people who have breast implants do not realize that often the mammogram cannot detect lumps because the implants block the screening.

"I understand that many young women are getting implants as a graduation present, not knowing or understanding what the future may bring."

Warning to teens

Even many plastic surgeons, who acknowledge the "graduation gift" mini-trend, issue this same warning about mammograms to young women. The increasing number of teenagers getting breast implants should not be surprising considering that breast augmentation is one of the most popular plastic-surgery procedures, second only to liposuction. According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, the number of breast augmentation surgeries has more than doubled since 1997, and almost 335,000 women got breast implants last year.

Only a tiny percentage of those procedures, 4,211, were among women 19 years old or younger. But the number has been climbing steadily over the past decade. Here's a message to the girls who are dreaming of a graduation boob-job and the parents who are considering paying for it: The American Society of Plastic Surgeons does not encourage the procedure for very young women. Dr. James Wells, who has a practice in Long Beach and was the co-chair of the society's breast implant task force, actively discourages breast augmentation for teenagers.

Wells said that a few of his 16-year-old daughter's friends have come to his office to ask about breast implants, and this is what he tells them: "Even at 18, you may not have completed your growth, and you may not want implants down the line. Also, you're committing to future surgeries, because implants don't last forever. If you have children, the implants may even hinder your ability to nurse. And, yes, it may be more difficult to get an accurate mammogram."

Why rush into it?

It's a sad statement on our culture, which now includes insta-plastic surgery TV shows, that someone barely out of puberty would be convinced that she needs fake breasts to confront the world. Granted, there are thousands of women who have had breast augmentation and love it. But the great majority don't make the decision to have implants until they are at least in their 30s and have given life a chance without them. Even then, some regret it.

One of those women, Stacy Sahlstrom, has some advice for teenagers who are considering life with fake breasts: "I would encourage girls to appreciate themselves for who they are and their own uniqueness," she said in an e-mail. "Because what they believe they need or want for enhancing their self-image, they already have inside."

Spoken by someone who has been there.