This is a before and after breast augmentation pic I found on www.ebreastaug.com (I was directed there by a BlogHer post).  This photo is seen on their homepage and I was just wondering…is the AFTER photo really better?  Looks a little in your face to me (and this is the supposed ideal result as it’s on the homepage!).

The website features before and after photos of specific surgeons.  Last I checked, the good surgeons (and the ones you want) do not need to advertise, rather word of mouth speaks for itself.  I noticed that Dr. Greenberg, the “rent-this-house-get-free-surgery” guy from Krista’s May 29th post here, is also advertising on this website just fyi. 

 ~Kacey

Our weekly round-up of breast implant and women’s health news is back, ladies and gents! Please enjoy our take on current stories, trends and things that make us do a double-take.

The Feminist’s Corner: Eyebrow-tweezing, makeup don’t make women Amanda Teuscher muses on personal appearance and feminism, something we all should think about.

Jezebel , Modeling Is Not The Road To Self-Esteem She’s Got the Look pits 35-and-older women against each other for a modeling contract. We’ll probably watch it too, and we know it’s great for all generations to feel good about how they look, but we agree: Don’t confuse a camera flash with self-worth!

May 28, 2008 - International Day of Action for Women’s Health Last Wednesday was a global call to action to support women internationally in a broad range of health issues. This year’s theme was “Stop conflict being waged upon women’s bodies,” and you can still help! Visit the Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights for more info.

Our Bodies, Ourselves, 28 Days to a Bikini Mind Finally, a plan we want to stick to! What better way to celebrate summer?

Essential Presence, Why bother calling me a bitch when you can just shoot me? Young African-American girl doesn’t give a guy her number, ends up in the hospital. This blog has a poignant and honest take on the whole thing.

In Your Face, British women opt for smaller breasts, unlike Americans In Britain, plastic surgeons perform one breast reduction for every two breast augmentations. In the US, the rate is less than one to twelve.

Finally, just in time for that big ol’ movie we’ve been hearing about, a survey from In Your Face finds that women think men find them more attractive after plastic surgery and Botox. And that SJP is beloved by women and reviled by men, in part for her refusal to support cosmetic procedures. What do you think? Go vote and tell ‘em!

I just wanted you all to know the Senator’s snail mail address. We recently found out (thanks Pam S.) that her E-mail will respond to to CA. residents. It’s so important to thank her for supporting us with this Bill. If you are not a California constituent, PLEASE mail her a note with thanks. Sybil and I will be there soon and it would be great if we could hear from her that there was a response. Here is her address. I will try to get back to you soon with another link. Please send this out to your groups as well. Thanks,
Mary

Honorable Barbara Boxer

United States Senate

Hart Senate Building, Room 112

Washington, D.C. 20510

Hello All,

I just to let you know the following article was posted in the “FDA Week” section of InsideHealthPolicy.com website. Too bad about the “oversight”!!!!

BOXER BILL REQUIRES TERMS OF DEVICE POST-MARKET STUDIES TO BE PUBLIC

_______________________________________________

Date: May 23, 2008

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) introduced a bill May 15 that would require FDA to publish the terms of post-market medical device commitments and any changes made to them.

S 3020, the FDA Accountability and Transparency Act, reacts to problems that advocates for women injured by silicone breast implants have had in following the status of post-market studies for those products. But the legislation would apply to all implanted device post-market studies.

FDA often asks that manufacturers of implanted devices study their products once on the market. When FDA conditionally approved silicone breast implants in 2006, it required the two manufacturers of the implants, Mentor and Allergan, to conduct post-market studies on 40,000 women over 10 years.

Under the agreement, it was mandatory for woman receiving the implants to participate in the study. But when advocates met with FDA officials on the studies, officials said the companies were having a difficult time enrolling patients in the studies because FDA had dropped the mandatory participation at the companies’ request, according to Chris Revere of the Sheridan Group.

Revere said the changes to the study commitments pose a public health problem because women were not notified that the safety studies were slowed. When asked why FDA had not notified the public, Revere said FDA officials responded that they were not required to.

“Before the ink dries on these agreements, they’re in there trying to change the terms,” Revere said of device companies.

Boxer’s bill would require that FDA publish post-market study terms, or changes to them, in the Federal Register.

The bill also would increase the amount that FDA may fine companies that shirk their commitments. Revere said penalties available for drug companies currently are far higher than those for device makers, and the bill would bring parity.

The Advanced Medical Technology Association did not respond.

A clerical error in the FDA Amendments Act exempts device makers from having to report clinical trial adverse events to the online database established by the same law. The database serves as a listing of registry information for drug and device clinical trials, as well as their results. Adverse events from device trials do not have to be reported to the results database due to a wording oversight.

The House last year passed a corrections bill adding devices to the adverse events reporting requirement, but the bill never passed the Senate.

http://www.bodysculptor.com/2008/05/do-breast-implants-have-expiration-date.html

This article was intriguing to me because throughout my sickness, I have met MANY women who got sick from leaking saline in their implants.  First of all, the article says “your implants will eventually degrade and have to be removed” - which is funny because my surgeon and most surgeons, I think - don’t even mention that our implants will be replaced one day. Shouldn’t this be a big part of the pre-op discussion?

The thing that really bothered me was “In the case of saline implants, even a degraded and leaking breast implant will not necessarily have to be removed unless the patient chooses to for cosmetic reasons, as saline leaks have not been shown to cause any serious health risks.” - WOW!! When will all of the women who are sick from leaky, moldy saline be heard and at least part of a statistic and a risk?!?!?

I don’t know about the rest of you, but when I am on vacation the LAST thing I am thinking about is going under the knife, under anesthesia, being bruised and bandaged up, in pain, barely able to move, etc. When I am on vacation I am thinking about spending time with my loved ones, being active, sightseeing, feeling good, enjoying every second of my time away from the office and everyday chores and errands.

I recently read this article explaining that now you can rent a summer home in the Hamptons that comes with unlimited plastic surgery! Dr. Stephen Greenberg, a New York plastic surgeon unveiled this summer getaway package last week. He is offering along with the summer home, all the plastic surgery you could ask for, a nurse, chauffeur, chef and VIP access to various clubs (uuuuhhh…….how in the world are you going to go to a club right after you’ve undergone your unlimited surgery?) all for only a half million dollars!

Dr. Darrick Antell, an attending plastic surgeon at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital in New York and a spokesman for the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, was quoted as saying “you may cloud your medical judgment if there is money of this size involved,” Antell said, suggesting that such a plastic surgery package could violate the ethical standards of the society. “What would you do if somebody purchased this package and then gave you a menu of plastic surgery options? You would then feel obligated to do the surgery,” Antell said. “It brings down the doctor-patient relationship.”

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I find this appalling! When did plastic surgery become so common that you can now just “drop by” and choose your surgery off of a menu!?! I’d also like to know…..where is this surgery being performed, is Dr. Greenberg doing a thorough assessment of each patient’s physical, emotional and mental health before he accepts their half million?

As most of us have already heard, on May 12, 2008, China suffered a devastating earthquake. When these types of disasters hit, it always seems to be the ordinary people that turn out to be the biggest heroes of all. Police officer, Jiang Xiaojuan, mother to a 6 month old son became “China’s heroic Mother.” When Jiang was called into duty what she found was babies crying in hunger. Jiang’s instincts kicked in and she breastfed babies that had been separated from their mother’s who had been orphaned by the quake, at one point breastfeeding 9 babies. See the post on BlogHer about it here.

Many have been making comments about Jiang’s selfless and beautiful act. Jiang herself says “I am breastfeeding, so I can feed babies. I didn’t think of it much, it is a mother’s reaction and a basic duty as a police officer to help.”

It is stories like these of this selfless mother that remind us not only of the power of human kindness, but also how important breastfeeding can be in an emergency or natural disaster.

Who in their right mind would put testicular implants in a dog for looks? If it’s a show dog, perhaps…on second thought…it’s not even okay for a show dog. People should be able to get over the fact that the poor animal lost a part somehow and he should be treated like a whole dog…ball or no ball.

I’m having a hard enough time stomaching the new implant with address and health data in it. How sad would it be if a dog started experiencing side effects from toting around a testicular implant that the owner gave him because it made him “look normal”?

http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/2008/05/articles/wacky-and-strange-but-true/niptuck-doggy-style/

~Kacey

“Attractive people tend to get paid more, and they’re promoted more often, and because of that, plastic surgery procedures are becoming more common.”  http://www.blogher.com/would-you-get-plastic-surgery-further-your-career#readmore

 After studying business for 4 years and getting a degree in human resource management, to say that the corporate world is competitive is an understatement.  You must use every edge you have in order to get your foot in the door when you are in your 20’s, and it does not end there.  When I decided to get breast implants at 19, I knew I would be graduating in a year and be fighting through the list of applicants for my shot at the future I had always wanted.  Although I did not necessarily get breast implants for the sole purpose of being an appealing hire, the thought did cross my mind, especially as I looked into the future. 

 Age discrimination is real.  I’m sure the 40-somethings would agree with me.  At 20, I knew that I needed to get an edge in HR quickly, before I started aging, and begin building up skills so that I would be indispensable to the industry.  40 would come soon enough, and I knew that I did not even want to appear even close to that age for years to come.  I never wanted to feel like my job was in question because I was not looking my prime. 

When I decided to get breast implants, I considered it an investment in my future.  I had already pursued an education and I knew that I could compete in that arena.  I began working with corporate recruiters at my college campus so that I would become more comfortable in interviewing situations.  And I already knew that it was important to dress for the job you want to have.  Breast implants were more of a foresight, my strategic anti-aging plan to maintain my edge into my later years.  I not only wanted a good entry-level job, I wanted an exceptional, lasting career. 

Not only is there pressure from the media to look amazing, but it’s trickling into the work place.  Research already indicates that beautiful people are treated more favorably and given more opportunities.  The enticement of plastic surgery can be hard to avoid, especially when you think it’s devoid of serious risks.  When everyone is looking to one-up the other, new standards are being established, which now include going under the knife.  I cannot help but wonder what measures we will take to stay competitive in another 20 years?

~Kacey

I recently read an article from ScienceDaily magazine regarding the strong role that the media plays on influencing how women feel about their bodies. ScienceDaily reports that through their research involving more than 15, 000 subjects, it was found that exposure to media depicting ultra-thin actresses and models significantly increased women’s concerns about their bodies, including how dissatisfied they felt and their likelihood of engaging in unhealthy eating behaviors, such as excessive dieting.

Researchers from ScienceDaily reported that they have demonstrated that it doesn’t matter what the exposure is, whether it’s general TV watching in the evening, or magazines, or ads showing on a computer. If the image is appearance-focused and sends a clear message about a woman’s body as an object, then it’s going to affect women.

ScienceDaily also reports that recent research has established body dissatisfaction as a major risk factor for low self-esteem, depression, obesity, and eating disorders, such as bulimia. Unfortunately, at the same time, women’s displeasure with their bodies has become so common that it’s now considered normal. It has become normal for women to feel depressed about their image, have low-self esteem and ultimately seek out unnecessary and risky surgeries and procedures to “correct” something that they feel is “wrong.”

Yes, it is normal for a woman to want to be attractive, but what is happening is that our society is striving toward a image (ultra skinny with oversized breasts) that is not very realistic or obtainable, which is leading to health consequences for women seeking this unrealistic and unattainable image.

Over the past week, silicone breast implants have come back into “the hot seat” again after only being back on the market for a year and a half. The Canadian government is considering deeming 11 everyday chemicals, including Cyclohexasiloxane (which is a building block for silicone breast implants) toxic and unsafe for the environment. As questions yet again are starting to rise among the scientific community about the safety level of breast implants, women SHOULD also be questioning the safety level of breast implants (saline included as they are made from plenty of chemicals too,) but are they? No. Women are so overly concerned about reaching that unattainable goal that they are willing to turn a blind eye to warnings from other women, even scientific evidence that shows breast implants are not safe.

Currently, France’s parliament is considering a landmark bill that would outlaw media images glamorizing the extremely thin. But, is this the answer? In my opinion, the problem is not with women’s attraction to these images (ultra skinny with oversized, unnatural breasts,) and trying to emulate those images, but what society is currently deeming is beautiful….unnaturally thin with oversized breasts!

When is enough going to be enough? When are we as women going to be skinny enough, have large enough breasts, big enough lips, small enough noses?? When are we going to stop letting others (for no good reason) tell us there is something wrong with us and that something needs to be fixed?

I don’t know ladies….is this REALLY what is beautiful, or is this just what society is telling us is beautiful?