Breast Enhancement Information - The History Of Breast Augmentation

Breast augmentation surgery is one of the most popular cosmetic surgeries nowadays. If you are wondering when and how it all started, here's a brief history of breast augmentation.

Cosmetic surgery, in general, has been present for a long time, but it only experienced a significant boom back in 1992 when the trade became more widely accepted and began to develop more rapidly. It was during this year that the number of plastic surgery procedures climbed to more than 413,000. But during this time, minor cosmetic procedures, such as microdermabrasion, laser hair removal, and Botox injections, were not yet present. Now, however, the major and minor cosmetic surgeries make up a total of over ten million procedures done in a year.

The same trend can be observed in breast augmentation figures: 1992 was also a good year for this specific procedure, with figures reaching up to 32,000 cosmetic surgeries. But this is a far cry from the significantly higher figures of breast augmentation these days. In 2007, the number skyrocketed to 347,000 breast augmentation surgeries. This already makes up 19% of all cosmetic surgeries, which just goes to show just how common it has become. In fact, it is now the number one most sought after cosmetic surgical procedure in the field.

But the years that precede the success and fame of breast augmentation had not been easy and without complications. The procedure of breast augmentation itself had to pass under the microscope and swelter under the spotlight for many years before it was deemed successful and safe enough for everyday practice. The first attempt of a breast augmentation surgery was performed by Austrian physician Vincenz Czerny. Before his first attempt, Czerny was already a recognized pioneering surgeon. He is a known expert in kidney stone surgeries and hysterectomies. Despite this, his early breast augmentation attempts were far from successful.

In the early years of breast augmentation, several different materials and procedures were used. First, there were paraffin injections, which led to unfavorable results and were soon dropped. This was followed by a string of equally unsuccessful alternatives including ox cartilage, polyethylene chips, polyurethane sponge, ground rubber, and polyvinyl sponge, among many others.

It was in 1960 when silicone injections rolled along. After the second World War, breast augmentation was popularized when Japanese prostitutes opted for such procedures to try and attract American soldiers. This led to the development of silicone implants. However, during that time, it was linked to disastrous results and negative publicity. The silicone injection cases led to mild complications such as breast hardening to severe complications such as silicone granulomas or the development of immune cells that try to destroy the foreign silicone implants. Due to this, silicone implants were banned from use in the United States.

Despite such initial results, the potential of silicone injections was not dropped, and after undergoing various improvements and further developments, the silicone implants became more successful and feasible. For example, one of the changes was when the shells that caused breast hardening were changed to polyurethane shells to prevent such complications.

Aside from silicone implants, there are saline implants. These were introduced in the 1970s, much later than the silicone implants were, but these two are now considered as the two options women can choose between when it comes to breast augmentation. The saline implants were developed for an easier breast augmentation procedure; saline implants require small incisions since they are first placed into position then later on filled up.

The modern era welcomed breast augmentation with open arms. All surgeries involve risks, but due to the long road taken by breast augmentation, all these risks can be properly tackled thanks to the continuous development and extensive background of the breast surgery field.