Breast augmentation remains most popular women’s procedure

If you have been wishing for larger, fuller breasts, you’re not alone. New statistics from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) show that breast augmentation is the number-one cosmetic surgery procedure in the U.S. In 2010, 318,123 American women had breast implant surgery—a 314% increase since 1997.

‘I’d always wanted breast implants’

Daisy, age 32, recently got the breast augmentation she’d waited so long to have. “I rode racehorses for 13 years,” she explains. “I’d always wanted breast implants, but I did not want to do them until after I retired from horse racing. I retired from racing last year; this January, I had breast augmentation .”

Silicone or saline?

Daisy originally wanted saline implants, but decided to go with silicone when she learned that saline implants may not be the best choice for very lean women.

“I’ve always been athletic and into sports—and very tiny,” she explains. “I was 98 pounds in school. If anything, having my daughter helped me gain a little bit of weight. It’s taken me my whole life to be 112 pounds.”

“Women with less natural breast tissue can develop visible ‘rippling’ around the edges of a saline implant—especially if they choose a very large size,” says Dr. Rappaport. “Choosing an implant size that’s in good proportion to your chest and placing the implant under the chest muscle can help avoid rippling and palpability of the implant.

“Silicone implants feel more like natural breast tissue and are not prone to rippling,” he adds. The ASAPS reports that 62% of the women who had breast augmentation in 2010 chose silicone implants.

‘My breasts look so natural’

Dr. Rappaport recommended low-profile implants for Daisy. “Low-profile implants project less from the chest wall than moderate- or high-profile implants,” he explains.

“I went very natural,” says Daisy. “I wanted my breast augmentation to be a subtle change, not a dramatic ‘hello.’ I’m actually in a D cup—I can’t believe it! But I look really natural.

“I’ve always had a bit of a buttocks and I just wanted to even it out,” she laughs. “Now I’m in better proportion.”

Implants replace lost volume after having children

“After having a child, my breasts didn’t have as much volume and didn’t quite look the same,” Daisy recalls. “I didn’t need implants—I wanted them. It was one of those things that made me feel more comfortable.

“My mother is very well-endowed and I was thinking, ‘When is my turn?’” she laughs. “Well, now it’s my turn!”