To have breasts or not?

Reconstructive breast surgery is popular. But should you have it done? Some women can’t bear the thought of going through life without their breast(s) while others rejoice (well almost) in the thought of not getting shoulder dents and back pain anymore. The bottom line: do what you think is best for you and what will make you happy. If your partner insists on "surgery or else" show them the door as it closes in their face. True love knows not breast size.

Leave without my wig? What would people think?

You’re on chemo, you’re bald. Yep, your family may mistake you for a cue ball, but so what? It’s hot, humid, you need to go to the store and don’t want to put that wig on. So don’t. Who cares what people think? Cancer isn’t a secret, so why hide behind a rug? If people snicker and gasp at the sight of your bald head, then they’ll have to live with their actions. You’re too busy living your life. Besides, under all that hair, they’re bald too!

Falling Hair

When my son was undergoing the effects of chemotherapy we noticed the rapid loss of his hair. It was falling out in bunches. As I was changing his bedding one day, I noticed it all over his pillow case. As I removed the pillow case, the hair was falling everywhere. In order to prevent this, I took a towel and placed it on the pillow case. That way, instead of it going all over, it would just remain on the towel. The towel would then be removed and replaced as needed.

Risks and Complications of Breast Augmentation Surgery

You can get beautiful results with your breast augmentation, but you have to think to yourself "at what price." There are many risks and complications to this type of surgery, so you better be sure this is what you really want, becauser this is serious stuff.
One risk of breast augmentation is called CAPSULAR CONTRACTURE.This is a scar that forms around the implant, causing it to feel firm, look unnatural, and potentially hurt.
Another risk of breast augmentation is INTERFERENCE WITH MAMMOGRAPHY. Breast implants do interfere with the ability of a mammogram to "see" all of your breast tissue. Placing the implant under the muscle allows for the least amount of interference.
Whether uncer or over the muscle, implants do not interfere with your ability to detect lumps in self examination. Self exams are found to be the most successful way in discovering the majority of breast cancers. Implants also do not interfere wih ultrasound or MRI scans, which are helpful in the evaluation of breast masses.
Another risk in this type of surgery is IMPLANT DISPLACEMENT. Implants can move out of position at anytime after breast augmentation surgery. If the movemrnt is severe, you may nee further surgery to correct the problem. The larger the implant, the larger the implant, the greater the chance that it will displace downward.
SALINE IMPLANT DEFLATION is yet another risk. Saline implants can develop a leak and deflate. If this happens your breast will shrink to its preoperative stage in a day or so and yu will need another breast augmentation surgery.
SILICONE IMPLANT RUPTURE is also another risk. Whereas Saline implants are said to deflate, Silicone implants are said to rupture. It really is the same thing, except that when the Silicone gel implant shell ruptures, the Silicone does not become quickly reabsorbed by your body.
RIPPLING is another risk of this procedure. Rippling is the visible appearance of waviness of the skin over your implants, like the ripples of a wave on a like. Some doctores call it "Wrinkling." Rippling is most common in Saline implants.
INFECTION is a risk you must take if you are to undergo breast augmentation. Infection, if it occurs usually does so within 2 months of surgery. Infection occurs in about 1%
of all implant surgeries. If an infection occurs it requires anibiotics and the removal of the involved implant. Anew implant can be placed six months later.
NIPPLE NUMBNESS is yet another risk. No surgeon can guarantee to you that you will get out from this surgery with perfect preservation of nipple sensation. The nation risk of having permanently numb nipples is about 15%.
BREAST FEEDING AND PREGNANCY is not altered by implants. Many women ask about the effect of future pregnancy on augmented breasts. In most cases, implants will not affect the fate of your postpartum breasts.
All in all, women who are unwilling to accept the potential need for further surgery should not have breast augmentation. You must understand that if you receive any implant in your body, whther it be a pace maker, artificial joint, heart valve, etc, there will always be a potential risk that you may need further surgery at some later point in your life. With breast augmentation in particular, you may need surgery for capsular contracture, deflation, rippling, displacement, infection desire for a different size or another reason. Perhaps, you may go your entire life without any of these problems, but it is better to be forwarned and be knowledgeable.

Advantages of Silicone Gel Implants

The FDA approved the silcone gel implants in Nov. 2006 and they have been a hit ever since. Now women over the age of 21 have been able to get the implants they've been wanting for a long time. Silicone implants offer several advantages over saline breast implants, but they also have some disadvantages of their own.
1. Silicone implants have a more natural look and feel than Saline.
2. Rippling is far less likely to occur in women with Silicone implants than in women with Saline implants. This is because Silicone gel is far more viscous(thicker) than Saline, so it does not move or slosh, as Saline can.
3.Silicone implants can also be placed over the muscle in women with little body fat or little breast tissue withoutthe aesthetic concerns, for example rippling which is associated with Saline implants over the muscle in these women.

Disadvantages of Silicone Gel Implants

1. Silicone implants can rupture and if they do the liquid silicone may leak out of the implant shell into the body. This leakage has never caused any type of systematic problems, such as lupus-type diseases, but your body may develop a thick scar around the implant, called CAPSULAR CONTRACTURE. The overall rate of captsular contracture among women with Silicone implants is higher than women with Saline implants. A new type of Silicone gel implant has been developed to hopefully reduce the number of ruptures, but the rate of these problems is yet not known.

2. The cost of Silicone brest implants is about $1000-$1500 higher than Saline implants. Thi is due to higher production costs.

Cosmetic Surgery Ramifications

You must understand that sometimes there are negative ramifications to getting cosmetic surgery. For example, sometimes people go for cheeck implants and loose their peripheral vision as aresult of complications. That is why cosmetic surgery must be thought over very seriously.

Don't Be Bullied Into Cosmetic Surgery

If you do decide to get cosmetic surgery, never let the cosmetic surgeon bully you into getting a procedure that he/she wants. Be clear with him/her of what you are interested in. make a list of questions and bring a photograph to you appointment to show the doctor what you really want.

Cosmetic surgery alternatives

Some alternatives to plastic surgery include: strategic use of blush and eyeliner, whiting your teeth and making others love you for who you really are, not for who you are trying to make yourself. Another alternative can be Botox and Collagen injections from your dermatologist which are not as radical as cosmetic surgery, as well as not as expensive.

PLastic surgery and Me

Don't have plastic surgery to please anyone, but youself.