Can Breast Implants Lead to Stretch Marks?

As its name suggests, the primary aim of breast augmentation surgery is to increase the bust size using either saline or silicone implants.  In the US, only Allergan and Mentor are allowed by the Food and Drug Administration to sell these products to the market.

One of the most common concerns of patients considering breast augmentation is stretch mark, which happens when the skin tissue is stretched to its limit, resulting to purplish, reddish, or whitish stripes.  This often occurs after a significant weight gain/lose and pregnancy.

In some cases, breastimplants can cause stretch marks although a patient’s predisposition to have them depends on many factors including the implant size.  The rule of thumb is that the larger the device is, the higher the risk of developing the whitish or purplish stripes on the skin.

One effective way to lower the chance of having stretch marks after breast augmentation surgery is to use smaller implants.  Most plastic surgeons will likely agree that a 300 to 350 cubic centimeter (cc) range is a reasonable size.

By contrast, breast implants that come in 500cc size and above are often considered relatively large especially if these are going to be used on petite patients.

Aside from large breast implants, the age also seems to affect the likelihood of developing stretch marks.  According to some surveys, the problem is more common on younger women (those who are in their 20s and younger) than adult patients.

Plastic surgeons have also noticed that placing the implants on top of the muscle (subglandular technique) can increase the risk of stretch marks than positioning the devices below the muscle (submuscular technique).

Perhaps the reason why the subglandular implant placement increases the risk of stretch marks is that only the skin and tissue provide support to the weight of the device.  On the other hand, the submuscular technique offers more coverage and support to the implant, preventing the skin from stretching too much.

Also, most patients who developed stretch marks after breast augmentation have previously experienced the problem, although choosing a reasonable implant size and using the proper implant placement can reduce their risk.

By contrast, it is very unlikely for patients who have not experienced stretch marks to have the problem after breast augmentation surgery.

Fortunately, most patients who have developed stretch marks after breast augmentation reported that the purplish stripes turned white and became barely noticeable within three to four months. 

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.

Celebrity Body-Builder to Downsize Her Breast Implants

In a recent interview, celebrity body-builder Jodie Marsh said she wants to downside her breast implants with a revision plastic surgery that is going to be performed this year.  Her decision to get another “boob job” came after dropping to a size 6 over the past couple of months.

The British tv personality, who has appeared topless on numerous tabloid newspapers, was quoted saying that her large implants seem out of proportion with her smaller body-frame.  In fact, she even admitted to “lifting her breasts” during body-building competitions because they hide the “first couple of rows of her abs.”

Meanwhile, Dr. TarickSmaili, a cosmetic surgeon who did not treat Marsh, said that he is seeing more patients wanting to downside their breasts in order to achieve a more natural look.

“In general, very large breast implants lead to the heavy top look which often looks unnatural, especially if you have a small frame and limited chest width.  Surprisingly, this was a trend during the previous years although I am now seeing that many patients are opting to replace their implants with smaller ones to look natural,” Smaili said.

Another concern with extremely large breast implants, Smaili said, is that the patients are at higher risk of rippling, which is more of a problem if they have a limited amount of breast tissue and fats to cover the implant shell.

Citing the body-builder’s recent photo, Smaili said that her upper and medial cleavage has some visible rippling, which the doctor explained is caused by implants that are too large for her body.

Marsh is not the only celebrity who is shifting to the natural look.  In fact, Denise Richards and Pamela Anderson have been reported to undergo a revision breast augmentation to downsize their implants.

Another good example is Kate Hudson who has been reported to have plastic surgery in 2010 to receive small breast implants that no one would even be able to tell she have them if not for her previous videos and photos.

Going back to Marsh, she previously said that she was concerned if she had the controversial PIP breast implants which have been pulled out in the UK market and other countries after findings suggest the devices have a very high failure rate.

However, she did not mention if her decision to replace her breast implants with smaller ones has also something to do with the controversial PIP devices.

Did Cameron Diaz Undergo Breast Implant Surgery?

Hollywood sweetheart Cameron Diaz has recently been the center of rumors.  According to some showbiz news reports, the actress may have received breast augmentation surgery after a recent photo shows her seemingly larger bust size while wearing a tiny bikini.

The 39-year-old actress was spotted on the Hawaiian beach during the holiday with a more toned and shapelier body.  Some experts have said that she may have increased her bust size by a cup.

While Diaz’s body appears to be shapelier than the previous years, some people are really not convinced if she had the procedure as the increase in her bust size was not as significant as compared to other celebrities who have gone under the surgical knife.  In fact, some bloggers even said that a slight weight gain may be the primary reason for the actress’ improved figure.

During previous interviews, Diaz was quoted saying that she would love to have a curvier figure, something she said she was not “naturally gifted.”

Meanwhile, the actress was not a first-timer in plastic surgery.  In 2006, she had rhinoplasty or nose surgery after sustaining injuries; however, the Hollywood star said she would rule out cosmetic surgery.

Whether Diaz has gone under the knife or just gained some weight that resulted to a shapelier figure, it is really hard to tell since the increase in her bust size was not dramatic.  And because the actress has brushed off rumors of her alleged breast augmentation surgery, the only thing people can do is speculate.

But assuming that Diaz had breast implant surgery, her decision to choose smaller implants is commendable as it resulted to a very natural appearance rather than looking “heavy” on top. 

Meanwhile, Dr. Tarick Smaili said that he is seeing more and more women opting for the natural look.

“I see that the growing trend is having smaller implants so the results will be natural that it would be hard or even impossible to tell if a woman has undergone plastic surgery or not.  In fact, we’ve seen Hollywood celebrities such as Denise Richards and Pamela Anderson downsizing their bust size with another augmentation surgery,” the leading cosmetic surgeon said.

During the previous years, the actress has been accused of yoyo dieting that left her with a very thin frame and flat chest.  But after she gained some weight, she now looks healthier and shapelier than the previous years.

Does Plastic Surgery Impede Dolly Parton’s Acting?

Movie critics are not happy with Dolly Parton’s acting in her newest film, Joyful Noise, in which she and Queen Latifah play rival gospel singers in a small town.  Most of them cited the actress-singer’s noticeable plastic surgery, which they blamed as the main culprit for her “lack of expression.”

While the movie has made Dolly’s plastic surgery a butt of joke, with some of the characters’ tacky reference to her “overdone” appearance, not everyone is laughing.  Many people—especially movie critics—believe the actress deserves better than the slapstick, loud film that undermines her talents.

Going back to her acting, some movie bloggers said it was “painful” seeing the actress with overdone plastic surgery especially on the big screen.  This is more of a problem with the emergence of high definition technology that can emphasize any facial flaws.

In fact, one writer at the Chicago Tribune has described Dolly’s plastic surgery “as if she did her last work in a drive-through.”  But despite the harsh comment, he noted the actress’ vocal prowess and her charm.

To digress from the movie and Dolly’s impeded acting skills, facelift surgery is not just about removing the facial aging—e.g., wrinkles and sagging—but more importantly is maintaining the normal appearance and fundamental shape of the face.  This is the rule of thumb followed by board-certified cosmetic surgeons.

“The goal of facial plastic surgery is to create a natural appearance and not a windblown face and squinty eyes,” said Dr. Tarick Smaili, one of the leading Los Angeles plastic surgeons.

To create a natural appearance,Dr. Smaili said the most important thing is to remove the right amount of skin.  By contrast, he said that excising too much facial tissue can result to the “dreaded windswept look and squinty eyes.”

Another technique is to go deeper into the facial tissues, the cosmetic surgeon added, so the result of facelift surgery can last 10 to 15 years without the need for revision procedures.

However, Dr. Smaili warned that facelift does not stop the aging of the face and so the need for “minor tweaks” after 10 years will be needed in order to maintain the youthful appearance.  Revisions may include “isolated facelift,” Botox injection, eyelid lift, and even nose job (particularly for aging patients whose nasal tip becomes too drooping and elongated).

Citing Dolly’s appearance,Dr. Smaili said the actress probably had “too invasive” secondary facial rejuvenation procedures that resulted to her lack of expression.

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.

Snooki Says She Wants Breast Implants After Weight Loss

A month after shocking her fans with her new figure, reality tv star Snooki—whose real name is Nicole Polizzi—said she wants to have breast implants as a reward for her weight loss.

The 4’9” television celebrity, who is known for her countless misdemeanors, Tweeted a message saying that she would not mind having a bigger bust size like her Jersey Shore co-star JWoww whose real name is Jenni Farley.

“All I want for Christmas is big knockers like JENNIWOWW.  Thanks Santa,” the pint-sized reality tv star said on her Twitter account.

With Snooki’s small frame, most people would probably wish that she will choose small- to moderate-sized breast implants so the result will look as natural as possible rather than fake. 

Aside from natural results, considering the overall body frame, chest width, and rib cage can also help breast augmentation patients to minimize the risk of rippling and wrinkling, especially those with limited amounts of fats and tissues in their breasts.

Meanwhile, it is not yet clear on when will Snooki get breast augmentation surgery, although she still trying to meet her weight goal which is 45kg through regular gym sessions and diet pill Zantres-3, a product which she advertizes.