The poll of 55 women who had breast surgery reported a 34% increase in overall satisfaction with their sex life after surgery on average.
The poll also found:
61% of women said they had sex more often after their breast procedure.
The average post-surgery sex life satisfaction score (8.13, on a 10-point scale) jumped two points compared to the average pre-surgery score (6.07).
70% of respondents said their overall sex life satisfaction improved after the procedure.
While the poll was not scientific, a previous study did have similar findings.
A 2007 study from the University of Florida found that women reported improved self-esteem and enhanced sexuality after breast augmentation surgery. In this study, there was an increase for ratings of sexual desire (78.6%), satisfaction (57%), and arousal (81%), compared to initial scores before surgery.
The 84 women in the study did not have low self-esteem or poor sexual function before surgery. “They were already OK with self-esteem and sexuality — they just wanted larger breasts,” said researcher Cynthia Figueroa-Haas, PhD. “They got increased levels of self-esteem and sexuality.”
While it appears that breast surgery may enhance a woman’s sex life, researchers and surgeons warn that it cannot help those women who have serious underlying psychological issues, such as body dysmorphic disorder.
A Discussion Guide For Your Breast Augmentation in Maryland
Every year, hundreds of thousands of women undergo breast augmentation surgery, making it the most popular cosmetic surgery procedure since 2006. When deciding to undergo breast enhancement, it is important to consider all of your options. Like any major purchase, it’s important to do your homework and find out your options.
Two women who were both unhappy with their breast size shared with the TODAY Show’s Life Changers series how breast surgery helped them they achieve their ideal cup size.
Erica says she described herself as being in the “negative category” for breast size before getting a breast augmentation, while Jeanne, who was a triple D at only 4’9,” had a breast reduction.
Both women chose to have cosmetic surgery to get their ideal breast size, a C cup.
Appearing on the TODAY Show about two weeks after their surgeries, Jeanne says that after surgery she saw her stomach for the first time in the shower. Erica, who chose silicone implants, says breast augmentation is something she’s always wanted to do and that she’s more than happy with the results.
The women’s surgeon, Dr. Steven Teitelbaum, says that there is more scarring with breast reduction than augmentation, although the scarring for reductions is less than it used to be and that surgeons have gotten better at shaping the breasts in reductions.
Saved By Saline Implants: A Survival Story in the News
A surgeon on the west coast has spoken publicly about a dramatic story of workplace violence that left one of his patients with disfiguring scars and deflated breast implants.
Lydia Carranza was shot in the chest last summer during an incident that claimed the life of her co-worker, according to a story published in the Los Angeles Times. When a man opened fire in the dental office where Lydia worked, she was shot twice: “The bullet fragments were millimeters from her heart and her vital organs,” said Dr. Ashkan Ghavami.
According to a firearms expert interviewed for the story, what saved her life may have been the presence of Lydia’s saline breast implants. Of course he goes on to tell readers they should not be getting “breast enhancements as a means to deflect a possible incoming bullet.”
Lydia’s surgeon is hoping her story will elicit a supply contribution from manufacturers of saline breast implants to help cover her reconstructive surgery.
Trend Alert! Woman are Opting for Smaller Breasts
Ever popular, breast enhancement continues to be one of our most requested surgical procedures at Will Surgical Arts. Recently, however, an interesting trend has developed—women are less often seeking out large, buxom breasts and instead, are opting for a smaller, more natural appearing chest.
What type of breast implant feels natural? Does saline feel natural or is silicone the most natural-feeling implant? These are common questions during surgery consultations.
Surgeons generally agree that silicone implants mimic natural breast tissue more closely than saline. However, natural results can be achieved with either implant. If you’re concerned about a natural look or feel in your breast implants, there are a few factors to consider:
The amount of tissue covering the implant will affect the way it looks and feels, so you may want to consider sub-muscular or partial sub-muscular implant placement.
After breast augmentation with saline implants, the breasts can be very firm but over time the tissue and the implants may soften.
Women with a thin body and thin breast tissue will often be advised to choose silicone implants due to the possibility of visible implant wrinkling caused by a lack of adequate coverage.
Choosing the proper size is critical for achieving a natural result that matches your body proportion.
Male breasts — a condition known as gynecomastia — are embarrassing and emasculating, and they’re not something you should have to live with long term. Male breast reduction surgery may be what you need to restore your confidence and stop you from hiding your condition under excess weight or baggy clothes. You may be a candidate for male breast reduction surgery at Will Surgical Arts if you have persistent, painful male breasts that affect your daily life.
Is it safe to combine breast lift and breast augmentation?
According to new research published in the latest issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, breast lift and breast augmentation are safe to combine into a single surgery.
Researchers reviewed 430 breast lift surgeries performed between 2005 and 2009, and of those 430 breast lifts, 332 of them combined breast augmentation (breast implant surgery).
The average patient was 47 years old, and approximately one-third of patients were undergoing a repeat operation after previous cosmetic breast surgery.
To determine the safety of these two procedures, researchers assessed rates of complication and the need for additional surgery (reoperation).
Complications and Reoperations
Of the 430 surgeries performed, 23 percent of patients experienced complications. The most common complications were:
Capsular contracture (hardening around the implants)
Scarring
Recurrent (drooping) ptosis of the breasts
The complications above were the main reasons listed for reoperations following a breast lift/breast augmentation combo. It’s also important to note that complications and the need for reoperation were both more common in women who were undergoing a secondary breast surgery.
Risks Are ‘No More than Additive’
Compared to women undergoing breast lift surgery alone, the reoperation rate was about 10 percent (compared to 13 percent of combined surgery patients seeking reoperation for tissue-related problems).
The remaining reoperations in women who underwent combination breast surgery were related to issues with their implants, which led study researchers to believe that “the revision rate of combining the procedures is not more than additive in this study.”
Advantages of Combining Breast Lift and Breast Augmentation
Breast lift surgery and breast augmentation are two of the most commonly performed cosmetic surgeries in the U.S. and there are several key advantages to combining the two into a single surgery:
Lower overall surgical costs
Eliminates risks of two surgeries
Avoids living with disappointing results between surgeries
According to lead researcher Dr. Calobrace and co-authors “patients overwhelmingly prefer not to undergo a staged procedure and rather have the augmentation and mastopexy (breast lift) concurrently.”
Combination surgery can be a safe, cost-effective alternative, just as long as the proper precautions are taken in advance of surgery.
“With appropriate patient selection and a carefully planned operative approach, our data demonstrates a one-stage procedure can be safely performed with acceptable complication and reoperation rates.”
American Breast Implant Maker Assures Safety of Their Implants
Breast implant maker Allergan has released a statement on the safety of its silicone breast implants in order to reassure consumers after an investigation into breast implants made by a French company.
Allergan is not part of the investigation that led to France’s health minister recommending that French women have silicone implants made by Poly Implant Prosthese (PIP) removed.
PIP used cheaper industrial silicone instead of medical silicone for the implants, and they appear to have an unusually high rupture rate, according to investigators. The PIP implants were removed from the market last year and have never been used in the United States.
Estimates say that around 30,000 women in France have the PIP implants. Tens of thousands more women in Britain, Italy, Spain and other countries in Europe and South America also have had PIP implants.
Allergan’s breast implant devices, including Natrelle, were not part of the investigation. Just last year, the FDA reaffirmed the safety of silicone breast implants in the U.S.
“All Allergan implants are manufactured at our state-of-the-art facility using silicone and saline that is approved for use in medical devices and are designed to meet all relevant national and international Quality Control Standards and Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP),” stated Allergan’s press release.
Allergan also offered specifics on the manufacturing of its implants: from start to finish, it can take up to 12 days to manufacture an Allergan breast implant, which undergoes almost 100 quality control tests.
Allergan’s breast implants have been used for almost 50 years. Their gel-filled breast implants have been available in Europe since 1997 and received U.S. FDA approval in 2006.
According to Allergan, silicone gel-filled breast implants are among the most studied medical devices, with more than 3,000 studies supporting their safe use.
In addition to Allergan, Johnson & Johnson’s Mentor also makes a silicone breast implant approved by the FDA.
Patients should recognize that while breast implants are safe, they are not lifetime devices. It’s possible that at some point a patient may need to have an implant removed or replaced.
Q: Is it true that breast implants do not last a lifetime?
A: While there isn’t any breast implant expiration date, some patients need to return for a revision surgery at some point. However, if a patient remains pleased with her appearance and no complications arise, it’s possible for implants to last a lifetime.
A: It is possible, but this method is still being studied. Most surgeons agree that fat grafting for breast augmentation is not as predictable and not as effective as methods using silicone or saline breast implants. The New York Times just published a great article about that topic.
Q: Why has breast augmentation become so popular in the United States?
A: Without getting sociological about it, I’d say that breast augmentation is popular because many American women are dissatisfied with the size and shape of their breasts and breast augmentation is a predictable procedure for correcting that situation.
Q: Have we seen a dramatic increase in the use of silicone implants since their return to the market?
A: Just 3 years have passed since restrictions were lifted on silicone implants, so that’s still difficult to measure. 2009 statistics haven’t been publicized yet, but so far saline implants remain the most common choice for surgeons in the United States.
Q: What type of surgeon is qualified to perform breast augmentation?
A: This can be a controversial issue, but many agree that a board-certified plastic or cosmetic surgeon is qualified. It’s still recommended that you evaluate each surgeon on an individual basis.
A: It varies. According to the ASAPS, the national average cost is around $4000. However, according to this chart on RealSelf.com, the price is significantly higher. Call us or schedule a consultation to learn more.
“Patient care was incredible! We are so very happy our child was referred to Dr. Will. We appreciate the attentiveness given to his medical condition. Will highly recommend to others.”
Women say their sex lives improved after breast augmentation and breast lift surgery, according to a January 2012 survey by RealSelf.com.
Male breasts — a condition known as gynecomastia — are embarrassing and emasculating, and they’re not something you should have to live with long term. 
Breast implant maker Allergan has released a statement on the safety of its silicone breast implants in order to reassure consumers after an investigation into breast implants made by a French company.
