Breast Implants Save Woman’s Life During an Attack

Yes, the headline sounds comical but it is true.  A woman in Florida has claimed that her saline breast implant saved her life after it prevented a pocket knife from piercing her lungs and heart.

Meanwhile, doctors believe that the victim’s breast implant really saved her life.  The woman, who did not want to be named, said she was stabbed by her ex-fiance’s new girlfriend several times using a pocket knife.

The suspect, Amy Winter, stabbed the 41-year-old victim several times in her left chest. 

Because the breast implant absorbed the deadly blow, it prevented the pocket knife from piercing the victim’s vital organs.  In fact, doctors said that without the synthetic device, she could have sustained fatal injuries such as collapsed lungs and heart failure.

The incident happened outside the victim’s apartment in Melbourne.  According to police report, Winter scratched her car and stabbed her repeatedly during confrontation.

The victim said the attack happened so fast that she found herself covered with blood—and also saline (or simply saltwater solution) from the ruptured breast implants, which she got three months ago.  For this reason, she said that her breastaugmentation, which cost $6,000, is probably the best investment she ever made.

Meanwhile, the breast implant manufacturer said it will provide warranty because the patient is a victim of a crime.

Dr. Tarick Smaili, a breast augmentation doctor who did not treat the victim, said that he heard a few cases of breast implants “inordinately saving a woman’s life.”

“A few years ago, I read a news about a woman in Los Angeles who was shot in the chest but the bullet fragments, as shown by the CT scan, were prevented by the implants from reaching the heart and other vital organs,” Smaili said.

“So this news about a woman with breast implants who survived after being stabbed in the chest no longer sounds incredulous or impossible to me.  I hear such stories from time to time so this one no longer surprises me,” the Los Angeles plastic surgeon said.

Breast Implants for Women with Active Lifestyle

Contrary to popular belief, female athletes and women who live an active lifestyle can have breast augmentation surgery.  However, certain factors must be considered to achieve the best result possible and minimize the risk of complications.

In general, athletic women—especially those who are thin—should use small implants or those from 300 to 350 cubic centimeters range.  By using the right size, their body will not be hindered from certain movements.

The problem with large breastimplants is that they interfere with the patients’ movement, which is a concern of athletes and women who lead an active lifestyle.  Also, these may result to the “heavy top” and unnatural look.

Another consideration to make is that active women often have less amount of fats in their breasts.  This simply means that they are more prone to visible and palpable rippling than women with thicker glandular tissues and fats.

To reduce the risk of wrinkling and rippling, thin athletic women are advised to choose small implants that can provide them a B to C cup bust size after their surgery.  Nonetheless, the exact size also depends on other factors including breast base measurements, chest width, waistline, and other pertinent anatomical features.

Aside from using smaller breast implants, another technique to minimize the risk of wrinkling is to place the devices under the pec muscle rather than in front of it.  In this way, not only the skin and tissue will cover the implant shell but also the muscle.

Another advantage of submuscular implant placement is that it can prevent or postpone ptosis (or sagging) because the muscle provides a strong support.  By contrast, the subglandular placement—a technique in which the device is positioned above the muscle—is believed to increase the risk of sagging and wrinkling particularly on women with limited glandular tissue and fat.

Despite the advantages of submuscular implant placement, one tradeoff is the longer recovery and more pain and discomfort.  But when everything heals, most patients will regain their normal muscle contraction, although in rare occasion some women will have distortion of the lower inner region of the breasts as the pec muscle is flexed.

Fortunately, the problem is relatively uncommon; in fact, some body-builders have submuscular breast implant placement. 

As mentioned earlier, most athletic women have little glandular fats.  For this reason, most plastic surgeons would likely recommend smooth round implants rather than textured tear drop implants which have a rough surface.

Smooth implants can lessen the risk of visible wrinkling especially if there is a little amount of breast tissue and fats to work with.  By contrast, textured implants are not recommended for thin patients because of the risk of rippling.

Brazil Bans French-Made Breast Implants

Just recently, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) has released a statement saying the defective silicone breast implants made by PIP, a now bankrupt French company, did not reach the US.  This means that only patients who received breast augmentation outside the country are the ones who should only be concerned with the products.

But unfortunately, the ASPS said that about 80 percent of PIP breast implants were exported to other countries including UK, Chile, Spain, Germany, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, and Brazil.  For this reason, estimates suggest that 300,000 patients worldwide are affected by the substandard products.

Meanwhile, some reports show that PIP implants were sold by a Dutch-based company under the brand name “M” which was commonly used in Brazil.  And with the growing international scandal, the biggest country in Latin America has recently banned the defective products.

Aside from a nationwide ban, Brazil’s healthy ministry also said the government is willing to pay the medical costs for the removal of PIP breast implants.  This has also been the promise of French authority to the affected patients.

In fact, 39 women in Brazil have been entitled to receive implant removal surgery free of charge.

On the other hand, UK authority still insists that there is no reason to conduct a nationwide removal of PIP breast implants.  Such statement has appalled the public as some authorities directly said the government and clinics cannot foot the bill for about 40,000 patients with PIP implants, which are said to lack coating that prevents the gel filling from leaking out of the shell.

While Brazil is offering free implant removal surgery, the government said the coverage is only applicable for those with ruptured implants.  And without any symptoms, a patient should foot the bill if she is concerned with the potential complications associated with PIP’s products.

“We are not offering free preventive surgeries,” one government official said.

Currently, the health ministry has no idea on how many PIPbreast implants were imported and sold in Brazil.  However, it has discovered that in December last year alone, the country imported about 34,631 implants, with 24,534 of these were sold.

Are You a Good Candidate for Breast Reduction Surgery?

While breast augmentation aims to increase the bust size, the goal of breast reduction surgery is the total opposite.  This procedure typically involves extensive incisions to remove a certain amount of tissue, fats, and skin, which in turn can lessen the size of the female chest.

Breast reduction surgery is particularly ideal if you are suffering from chronic back pain, limited movement because of the extra weight of your bust, non-healing irritation in the cleavage and along the crease, and shoulder strain, just to name a few.  However, you may also have the procedure even without these symptoms if you like to improve your figure.

But as with any major surgery, you must be in good health as it requires several weeks of recovery.  It simply means that you must not be suffering from serious medical conditions that may delay your recovery or result to undue risks.

You are not a good candidate particularly if you have wound healing disorders, diabetes, heart problems, and kidney disorders.  As much as possible, these conditions should be treated first or at least “controlled” before you undergo any surgery, particularly if it involves extensive incisions.

You should also think twice of having breast reduction surgery if you have a history of irregular mammograms and undiagnosed lumps in the breasts.

Another important requirement is to be in normal weight.  You should remember that if you are obese or are experiencing significant weight changes, the result of surgery may be reversed and/or you may end up with a deflated-looking, sagging bust.  While repeating the procedure is possible, doing so will result to more scarring and higher risk of asymmetrical appearance.

Meanwhile, smokers in general are not a good candidate for any cosmetic surgery as they are very prone to gangrene (manifested by purplish color which doesn’t seem like common bruises) and delayed healing.  Because the nicotine stiffens the blood vessels, the oxygen-rich blood finds it hard to reach the wound.

As with any plastic surgery, you will undergo a lengthy consultation with your doctor so he can determine if your expectations and goals are realistic.  You should remember that breast reduction cannot change the fundamental shape of your bust, and the result will only be a smaller version of your breasts.

You should also accept the fact that scarring is just one of the tradeoffs of having breast surgery.  These are the other things you also have to consider: risk of asymmetrical appearance, puckery skin, infection, and delayed healing; however, these can be minimized or even avoided if you will choose a plastic surgeon certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.

Miley Cyrus Denies Breast Augmentation Rumors

Former Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus has denied rumors of breast augmentation surgery after she was seen wearing a plunging neckline dress during a red carpet event. 

To disprove the rumors, she Tweeted: “Thank you for the compliment, but these babies are all mine,” adding that people should “realize that you don’t have to be fake to be beautiful.”

The 19-year old actress-singer also said that she her body is still maturing so there is nothing surprising about her seemingly larger breasts.  Her explanation sounds convincing since her breasts do not appear unnaturally big given that she is not petite, and perhaps her dress just created an “optical illusion” of a larger bust size.

And because of the plunging neckline dress she was wearing, it is not surprising that her cleavage looked more defined.  In fact, one may surmise that if it wasn’t for the low-cut design, her breasts wouldn’t appear as big as they were.

Meanwhile, Cyrus was irked by the comments of three “experts” hired by Star Magazine (via RadarOnline) who said that “there’s a strong indication that the young actress has gone under the knife to achieve her voluptuous look” at the CNN Heroes: All-Star Tribute.

One of the cosmetic surgeons added that the “outline of the breast implants are visible in the lower portion of her breasts,” adding that it is impossible to have a significant increase in bust size, even with large weight gain, without having breast surgery.

Whether her new voluptuous look is a product of breast augmentation surgery or just because of her low-cut dress, she looked stunning during the event.  That’s a fact which is hard to deny.

Subfascial Breast Implant Placement Overview

With the advances in plasticsurgery, there are many available surgical techniques in breast augmentation to accommodate a specific anatomical feature, achieve the goals and expectations of a patient, create the most natural result possible, and minimize the risk of complications.

Nowadays, there are many breast implant placement techniques available to patients, although the most popular are the submuscular (the device is placed behind the muscles) and subglandular (the device is placed behind the tissues).

Meanwhile, there is a new technique called subfascial breast implant placement which is a compromise between submuscular and subglandular methods; it combines the benefits of the two primary placement options while eliminating the disadvantages associated with them.

The subfascial technique greatly resembles the subglandularimplant placement, with one major difference.  While the pectoral muscle is not touched, the fibrous fascia tissue is dissected from its front wall in order to place the breast implants beneath this layer.

Perhaps one of the possible advantages of subfascial implant placement is that it can isolate the device from the breast tissue, which leads to greater accuracy during mammogram examination.

Another benefit is the shorter recovery because the chest muscles are not disturbed, which is the case in submuscular implant placement.  And for this reason, patients can also expect less swelling, bruising, pain, tenderness, and other postoperative symptoms.

In terms of breast appearance, the technique provides a very natural result because it mimics the innate movement and contour of the tissue.  In addition, it provides added support from the strong fascia layer.

And unlike the subglandular implant placement, the subfascial technique prevents the risk of visible and palpable wrinkling because there is a fibrous fascia that provides coverage to the implant shell.

While the subfascial placement can lower the risk of capsular contracture (hardening of the scar tissue around the implants) compared with the subglandualr technique, it is not as effective as the submuscular implant placement which completely isolates the breast implants from the tissue, which is believed to harbor high levels of bacteria that can potentially increase the risk of complication.

Advocates of this new implant technique believe it works well for patients with small breasts and limited amounts of fats and tissue who want to achieve a smooth and natural-looking bust after breast augmentation surgery.

But for those who want to further minimize the risk of implant visibility, the submuscular implant placement is still the best technique.

Ingenious Ways to Avoid Capsular Contracture After Breast Augmentation

The development of capsular contracture is one of the most common concerns of breast augmentation patients.  This complication, which happens at about a rate of 15 percent, occurs when the scar tissue around the implants becomes abnormally thick that it ends up squeezing the devices.

Despite the relatively high rate of occurrence, not all cases of capsular contracture need a revision surgery especially if there are no symptoms such as visible distortion and pain.  However, women who are experiencing severe discomfort and have developed ball- or coconut-shaped breasts will likely need another breast augmentation.

In the early stages of capsular contracture, the complication can be treated with non-surgical methods such as taking antibiotics and certain medicines, and performing breast massage.  For this reason, any unexpected changes in the breasts particularly hardness of the tissue should be immediately reported to a plastic surgeon.

But as the cliché goes, nothing is far better than to prevent capsular contracture than to treat its symptoms.  Fortunately, plastic surgeons nowadays have a deeper understanding of how this complication occurs. 

These are the six most ingenious ways to avoid or at least minimize the chance of capsular contracture from occurring:

1.     Avoid smoking well in advance of the procedure and during recovery.  Several studies have suggested that the nicotine’s ability to constrict the blood vessels not just inhibits proper oxygen delivery but also lead to higher risk of capsular contracture and gangrene.

In fact, smokers face great risks during and after surgery that plastic surgeons today will likely decline to conduct an operation unless they will quit the habit at least three weeks before and after surgery.

2.     Use of no-touch technique.  Also called as the Keller Funnel technique, it involves the use of a pouch (lubricated with a special solution) where the implants are placed.  The narrower end of the device is then squeezed in order to transfer the implant to the breast pocket without actually touching it.

With this technique, doctors can prevent contaminating the implants with staph bacteria present in the patient’s skin, which in turn lowers the risk of capsular contracture.

3.     Avoiding incision in the breast’s sub-muscular space.  This area is known to harbor bacteria, which is one of the most common causes of capsular contracture.

4.     Creating an oversized breast pocket.  With this technique, the scar tissue, which normally forms around the implants, will not put pressure or squeeze the breast implants in case it becomes thicker than it should be.

5.     Breast massage.  While not all plastic surgeons recommend postoperative breast massage, some experts say that it can minimize the risk of capsular contracture by preventing the scar tissue from becoming hard and thick.

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