Breast augmentation is one of the most popular and well known cosmetic plastic surgery procedures. With nearly 300,000 women and well over half a million breast devices implanted per year in the U.S. alone, there is no question of its significant role in the aesthetics of modern society. It is commonly perceived that breast augmentation, despite having potential problems like any other implanted medical device, has high satisfaction rates as a surgical procedure. Besides the obvious physical change of making bigger breasts, why is it so satisfying? Recent psychological studies that have evaluated augmented women show that there is a significant correlation between breast dissatisfaction and low self-esteem and diminished sexual well-being. Breast enhancing surgery improves a women’s quality of life by subsequently improving her self-image and sense of her own sexuality. In short, the biggest change that occurs from breast augmentation is not the inflation of the breast mounds but in the expansion of one’s perception of themselves.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana