Giving Breast Implants As Birthday Gifts Makes 16 Less Sweet

By Kelli Wilhite, Government Relations Intern

In this age of television's extreme makeovers, many young women now think that plastic surgery can help them attain that "perfect beauty" society teaches women to covet. Pursuing society's unrealistic ideal of tiny waists, long legs, large and perky breasts is a risky and costly venture.

The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), reported that nearly 330,000 women underwent breast surgeries in 2004, more than triple the total in 1997. The number of breast augmentation procedures increased more than 800 percent since 1992, the America Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) recorded, with half of all cosmetic breast augmentations performed in the 19 to 34 age group.

According to the ASAPS, 11,326 teens underwent breast augmentations in 2004, compared to 1992 when 978 girls had the procedure done. Although the two plastic surgeons' associations differ on the number of teen-agers reported to have recieved the procedure, with ASPS reporting only 3,481 breast enlargement for adolescents in 2003. One thing is agreed, though, the increase has been drastic.

In spite of the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) recommendation against women under age 18 getting breast implants, buying implants for a daughter's 16th birthday has now become fashionable and even expected. ASPS has an official position against breast augmentation for patients under 18, but many cosmetic surgeons continue to perform the procedure as an "off-label" use.

Physical development continues

As a 22-year old, I think back on the body I had six years ago and the rather different body I have now. The amount of change a young woman's body experiences between the ages 16 and 21 should be enough reason for any teenage not to go through with the procedure.

However, more worrisome to me are the health and financial risks that young women take on when getting breast implants. With breast implants come a great many health risks – not only to the young woman's own breast tissue, but to her entire body.

To start, there is significant risk of breast pain, hardness and numbness in the nipple area that could last for years. Many women complain about such intense tenderness in their breasts that they not only don't want anyone to touch them, but they won't even hug people because it hurts too much.

Other major problems include rupture and leaking, especially with saline breast implants, and local infections. Also, the implant can shift to other locations in the chest area and, frequently, the woman's body builds capsule of calcified tissue around the implant which can become quite painful. If and when a woman needs to have her implant removed, her breasts may become shriveled and disfigured from the experience.

Studies suggest deadly risks

The tens of thousands of women who successfully sued when they became ill after receiving breast implants complained of a wide range of maladies, including auto-immune and connective tissue disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, Sjogren's disease and fibromyalgia.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) found that women with implants were twice as likely to die from brain cancer, three times as likely to die from lung cancer, and four times as likely to commit suicide, as compared to other plastic surgery patients. Implants have not only been linked to causing cancer, but interfere with the detection of breast cancer through mammography. In a study, mammography screening missed 55 percent of breast cancers, according to the January 2004 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

On average, breast implants need replaced every 10 years. However, based on studies done by implant makers, the FDA found that approximately 45 percent of women have a serious complication within only three years after their augmentation surgery. Recent data supplied by two implant manufacturers to the FDA details an astounding 93 percent failure rate for their implants within ten years.

When major complications occur, surgery to replace or remove the implants is needed. While the expense of getting implants is relatively modest at about $5,000 to $7,000 — many cosmetic surgeons offer easy payment plans — the cost of explanation (removal) runs two or three times higher.

Let's do the math: surgery every ten years beginning at age 16 up until age 86. That's at least $140,000, not counting medical expenses from any illnesses or injuries not covered by insurance.

Kasey Long, a Texas teen-ager who received saline implants in 2001 at age 19, immediately began suffering from chronic fatigue, hair loss, muscle tremors, dizziness, memory disturbances and other symptoms. She was still paying for her implants when she sought removal two years later. Kacey is still trying to recover from debilitating symptoms and is repeating her story to audiences on college campuses.

Insurance coverage denied

These procedures rarely ever get covered by insurance (only in cases involving breast cancer) and must be paid for out-of-pocket. In fact, many major health insurers deny coverage for any procedure that may be linked to breast implants.

If a company does provide coverage, they will not pay for services related to health problems involving a woman's chest, which includes the lungs, heart and breasts. So, if a woman with breast implants discovers lung cancer, or even breast cancer, she may be forced on her own to pay for some very expensive medical care.

Companies and plastic surgeons do not disclose all the potential problems nor do they cite the growing number of studies that document the very serious risks to getting breast implants. Many websites created by companies and cosmetic surgeons groups give a false impression of safety and downplay the problems. NOW remains committed to assuring full and accurate health and safety information is made available.

Over the last ten years, NOW has been a leading force demanding that the Food and Drug Administration require that implant manufacturers demonstrate long-term safety for their breast implants. This is especially true for silicone gel-filled breast implants as companies and cosmetic surgeons are pressing to get these risky products back on the market – but the data they have presented thus far has been very unconvincing.

Read more about NOW's campaign to keep unsafe breast implants off the market.