Bigger is better?

Breast augmentation on the rise with college women despite health risks

By: Christine Petrozzo

Posted: 11/27/07

Kelsie Leon used to be a gymnast. But when entering college, she still had the body of a gymnast -lean, muscular upper body and flat-chested.

This past summer, after pleading with her parents, the sophomore's wish finally came true. She received breast implants.

"I had always had really small boobs," said the 5-foot-1 Leon, 19, who increased her breast cup from a negative A to a 34C. "I convinced my parents that breast implants were going to make me feel more secure about myself, and they finally agreed to let me go through with it."

Concerned for her happiness and safety, Leon and her parents set out to find the most qualified plastic surgeon for the job. Together, they interviewed three surgeons before making a decision.

"My parents were concerned about me being happy, and if it was something that was going to make me feel better about myself, they had no qualms," the sophomore said. "I also had no qualms about going under the knife or the risks involved."

And apparently neither did the 9,104 other 18- and 19-year-old females in the United States who surgically augmented their breast size in 2006, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

Once a trademark for adult film stars, breast augmentation is now a rising interest among women, including post-pubescent, college-bound females.

Carol Ciancutti-Leyva is director of the newly released documentary "Absolutely Safe" - a feature film dedicated to breast implant risk awareness and education. She said she watched illness - unexplained rashes, severe joint pain, chronic fatigue, crippling arthritis and lupus - plague her mother after her silicone breast implants ruptured three times between 1974 and 1987.

"We had a lot of questions, and studies weren't available at the time," Ciancutti-Leyva said in a phone interview. "The intention of the film was to answer the unanswered questions."

Ciancutti-Leyva, who started the project in 1999 and finished filming earlier this year, noticed the increased number of women choosing breast enhancement surgery without what she considered the proper information needed for their decisions.

"Breast implants are profitable, and safety risks are still unknown," Ciancutti-Leyva said. "I don't think women are truly getting informed consent, and there's a lot of fine print."

Women opting for silicone breast implant enhancement must sign consent forms acknowledging implant risks, including that they may break and require removal or replacement.

Leon still decided to pursue breast enhancement after she read the required safety and risk manual. She said she read the manual that her doctor provided before the surgery and nothing appeared unsafe.

When asked if she was fearful of a possible rupture, Leon was more concerned about maintenance than potential illness.

"I will have to get them changed in time anyways because everything starts to sag," Leon said.

Leon realized that her implants could rupture at the time of her surgery and decided to insure them for 20 years. If the implants rupture before then, Leon gets them replaced for free.

Lora Park, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the State University of New York at Buffalo, spoke alongside Ciancutti-Leyva in a lecture series addressing women's motivations for breast enhancement surgery.

"Many women have an anxious expectation of being rejected based on their appearance," Park said in a phone interview. "There's also the desirability of the opposite sex or other people to like them."

Leon said she enjoys the extra attention as a result of her breast implants.

"People don't look good for themselves anymore, they do it for other people," Leon said. "But it's also great when men are drooling like ravenous starving animals because then you know you are hot."

Park developed an appearance-based rejection sensitivity scale (ARS scale) with 242 UB college students to measure the extent to which people expected rejection from others based on their physical attractiveness. Buffalo released three new studies focusing on appearance-based rejection sensitivity in January 2007.

Senior music industry major Tacie VanLiew said she only cares about her boyfriend's opinion.

"I would be a lot sexier if I had larger breasts," said VanLiew, who has an A-cup. "I want to be sexier for my boyfriend, and of course you want the person you are in love with to think you are pretty."

Her boyfriend, Liam Farrell, doesn't understand the logic in his girlfriend's argument and loves her regardless of her breast size.

"My girlfriend's breasts are really nice and fake boobs are gross," Farrell said. "Natural, big boobs are a plus, but nice, small boobs are more desirable than fake ones."

Farrell said he believes the majority of men favor real breasts over synthetic ones. "The people that like fake boobs the most are girls," the senior music industry major said. "They think they look perfect, but they don't feel perfect."

Park reports women with a high ARS score may feel pressured to meet the ideal image projected by the media.

"People who score high on the ARS scale may also feel really pressured to feel like the models and celebrities," Park said. "If we all were living in a social vacuum, people wouldn't feel the need to be perfect and get plastic surgery."

Leon agrees the media plays a role in the rising trend among young women.

"You constantly see breast implants advertisements in teen magazines," Leon said. "There's the models who are stick-thin and long-legged with big boobs and only 5 percent of women can actually have those perfect bodies."

From 2000-06, the number of women who increased their breast size rose 55 percent for all age groups. Three percent of females under the age of 20 contributed to the 329,000 women who opted for breast enhancement surgery in 2006, according to the ASPS.

The Food and Drug Administration approved the silicone gel implants manufactured by Mentor Corp. in November 2006 after banning all silicone implants from the U.S. market in 1992. Silicone gel implants appear more natural, but in the past, there have been reports of complications from women who had the surgery.

"This was a great day for American women and the plastic surgeons who care for them," said Roxanne Guy, M.D., ASPS president, in an ASPS November 2006 press release. "Silicone breast implants have been scrutinized more than any medical device, and we applaud the FDA for making its well-thought-out decision and allowing American women to make informed choices about their health care."

Darya Rotblat, SU's assistant director of Off-Campus Student Affairs, co-advises the student group BRIDGES: Body Related Issues Discussion Groups Education Support - an official student organization educating others about eating disorders and body image. She said surgical augmentation is a symptom of control issues.

Park's appearance-rejection sensitivity research indicates women with an increased ARS are vulnerable to developing eating disorders and depression.

"On the surface, the media plays a role because women see the images, and overall, that is what is believed," Rotblat said in a phone interview. "But deep down, women who get breast implants probably get them to control some aspect of their life."

Rotblat said she tutors a 21-year-old female who received breast implants for her high school graduation present and kept undergoing different surgical procedures for her enjoyment.

"The girl I speak of has disposable income, and it's the fun thing for her to do," Rotblat said. "Instead of going to the bar, she goes to the plastic surgeon."

The national average cost for a breast augmentation is approximately $3,600, according to the ASPS.

Rotblat said the student and her mother also augmented their lip sizes for fuller, plumper lips.

"I am seeing breast enhancement as a trend like tattoos, and once you get one done, you have the urge to get it done over and over again," Rotblat said. "She said the plastic surgeon had a buy-one-and-get-one-free special."

Ciancutti-Leyva said she fears that marketing ploys also sway the decision making process for women.

"Ads for breast augmentation are wording breast implants as if they are a collection," she said. "It's as though you are comparing it to buying a dress."

Concerned for the future of young women's physical, mental and emotional health, Park said women must reaffirm self-worth from a different context.

"There are many other sources of self-worth other than appearance, like skill and talent," Park said. "Someone's personal appearance is not the pinnacle of who she is."

Leon sees things differently.

"Right now, I see myself in the future as wanting to maintain myself and look perfect."