While we keep being told this is the age of the big butt, breast augmentation is still one of the most popular plastic surgery procedures in the United States.
According to last year’s statistics from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, breast augmentation was by far the most requested cosmetic surgical procedure in 2014. And while doctors continue to claim that it’s a minimally invasive procedure with very little downtime, many women walk away with subpar implants, and in some cases, serious medical complications.
More: ‘Rough’ mammogram busts woman’s breast implant
In fact, Sydney, Australia’s largest cosmetic surgery clinic recently ruined at least 60 women’s boob jobs. More and more women seem to be coming forward each day, and their complaints range from implants that traveled to places like their armpits (for real) or more serious issues like a major blood clot.
While the more serious issues are not common, they’re something to keep in mind if you’re considering getting breast implants. Here are a few other important things to note before you schedule this seemingly simple procedure.
1. Breast implants will feel different to the touch than your natural breasts
This is especially true if you have thinner breast tissue, which is often the case with women over the age of 40. Many women opt to get breast implants under the muscle because they feel more natural, but this requires longer recovery time, and the implants still won’t quite move the same as your real breasts.
2. There have been cases of implants migrating
Several of the 60 women whose augmentations were botched by the Parramatta Clinic in Sydney experienced this. One woman really did have her implant move into her armpit and told Sydney News 7 her breast needed “to be completely reconstructed from the inside.” She also claims the clinic tried to keep her from speaking out against them by offering her $6,000.
More: Woman’s botched boob job gives her 4 breasts and we can all learn from it
3. You can lose feeling in your nipples
Any breast surgery comes with the risk of losing sensation in the nipples. While they’ll still respond to cold temperatures (aka get hard), you won’t realize it’s happening, which may lead to an embarrassing situation.
4. Accidents can happen during surgery
One women had her lung punctured during her breast augmentation surgery at The Cosmetic Institute in Bondi, Australia. After surgery, she had shortness of breath and pain in her back, but was told that was normal. When she was finally taken into emergency care, they discovered she had a collapsed lung.
The clinic still refuses to apologize or take responsibility for their part in this incident. They said in a statement, “What we can tell you is that a punctured lung, or pneumothorax is rare but recognised complication of breast augmentation and as such we include it on our pre-surgical information to all patients, along with any other potential risks and complications of this particular surgery.”
5. It’s likely you’ll need more than one augmentation surgery
Breast implants don’t always last, and as such, 25 percent of women will need to get secondary implants after just 10 years.
6. Many things can go awry with your implants post-surgery
The FDA lists over 25 things that can happen to your breasts and body after this type of cosmetic surgery including inflammation of tissue, implant leak or rupture and necrosis of the surrounding skin. One particularly scary side effect is hard lumps can form around the implant, which may appear as cancerous tumors upon first feel or glance at a mammogram.
If you go to a reputable surgeon, most of these issues can be avoided, but it’s necessary to realize there’s always a risk of one of them happening no matter who operates on you.
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