Medical innovations in technique and supplies have proven beneficial in all areas of medicine; we are saving and enhancing more lives than ever. There is no exception when considering breast augmentations.
In so many ways women of today are no different than the women of 1895. Women have been seeking ways to improve their appearance likely since the beginning of time. The difference,
of course, is that women of today will find more success than did women of 1895. Today's woman can consider surgeries that were dreamed of, but not achieved at the turn of the century. Women can now consider breast augmentations, along with changing the way their eyes, nose, and maybe even the rest of their bodies appear. If you don't like your lips, you can even change them. The history of all these procedures is fascinating, but let us explore a brief history of implants.
In 1895, Vincenz Czerny was the first surgeon documented to perform a surgery of this nature. After he removed a tumor from a patient, he used a fatty tissue known as adipose tissue to repair the symmetry of the patient's breast. In 1889, a surgeon named Robert Gersuny tried a new technique to enhance women's busts. He injected paraffin into the patients' breasts. There were many complications, but women still lined up to try this and other experimental fillers. Some examples include glass balls, ivory, ox cartilage, ground rubber, terylene wool, and polyethylene chips. There was little success with these implants. Still, in the 1940s and 1950s women and surgeons alike pressed on to find something that would work.
In 1945, Morton Berson performed breast augmentations that took tissue from the chest wall to cause the breasts to have more volume. Forging on, surgeons used silicone injections through the 1950s and 1960s. Some 50,000 woman had this done with most developing a hardening of the breasts. This had to be treated by mastectomy. In 1961, the idea to fill a gel bag with silicone to keep the chemical out of the body was introduced. With it came a more successful procedure. Of course, there were still bumps in the road, but in 1964 a saline implant was created.
Even with the saline implant, the road to beauty by surgery was a rough one. In 1970, a new and innovative implant was created. It was thinner and improved the look and feel of patients' breasts post surgery. When this was used, however, it was more likely to have silicone leaks. Five variations of this type of implant were created, and we learned something new each time.
Fast forward to today, and we see many improvements. Scarring is minimal, and while there is still risk, we are more readily able to handle and foresee it. For instance, due to the risk of rupture, it is suggested patients using silicone implants have an MRI three years after surgery. Further, it is suggested they have one every two years after that. Overall medical innovations in both supplies and techniques are helping patients of today achieve the look they are longing for in safer, more reliable ways.
