Demand for Breast Enhancement Increases as Size of Implants Decrease According to Dr. Michael Law, a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon in Raleigh, NC
Raleigh, NC - June 16, 2004 -- Breast implants for cosmetic breast augmentation first became available in the 1960's and rapidly gained popularity in the 1970's. By the 1980's breast augmentation was the second most popular plastic surgery (after liposuction), and the motto seemed to be the bigger the better. The oversized implants seen everywhere in the popular media in the 80's and 90's clearly served to alter the public's perception of what breasts are supposed to look like: large, taut and high. The kind of breasts that formerly appeared only in cartoons.
Today, breast augmentation is more popular than ever. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 254,140 breast augmentation surgeries were performed in 2003. This is a 7 percent increase from 2002 and a 20 percent increase from 2000. But reason is beginning to prevail again, and patients and the public are rediscovering the fact that the aesthetic ideal for the female breast is soft, supple, much fuller in the lower than the upper pole, and in proportion to the rest of a woman's figure.
Patient demographics are changing, too. Women in their 30's and 40's (especially moms) are the fastest growing group of patients seeking breast augmentation today. These are women who have lost breast volume following pregnancy and lactation, and who simply seek to restore a natural, more youthful breast contour. They don't want to look like they've had breast enhancement surgery; they instead wish to fill out clothing better and feel more comfortable out of clothing. Even women who have not had children are opting for smaller, more realistic appearing breast augmentation. Professional women (including physicians!) want to look their best, but they don't want to look done.
It is very common in my practice to perform a breast enhancement that changes the breast profile from an A cup to a B cup, says Dr. Michael Law, a board-certified plastic surgeon in Raleigh, NC, formerly of Beverly Hills. I rarely have patients requesting large implants anymore, although there are still a few who express a desire for that busty, done look. I counsel those patients that it is certainly possible to achieve that look, if it is truly what they want, but that I simply won't perform any aesthetic surgery that doesn't look natural. A woman with very large breast implants that doesn't match her frame looks like a cartoon character, and that is not my aesthetic ideal. And these patients never have any problem finding someone who will give them the look that they want.
Potential breast augmentation patients should also give serious thought to the following consideration: one great advantage of a conservative breast enhancement is that small implants are much more likely to feel natural. It is possible to provide a breast enhancement that is soft, supple and even undetectable (by touching) with a small implant, something that is never achieved with very large breast implants.
One of my most recent breast enhancement patients (another doctor) had the following to say at her three-week follow-up appointment: If I hadn't written a check to pay for them, Dr. Law, I wouldn't know they're not really mine.
Dr. Michael Law is the only solo practice plastic surgeon voted among the best in the Raleigh, NC area in 2003 and 2004. Patients from all parts of the country choose Dr. Law as their plastic surgeon to insure beautiful natural looking results. Dr. Michael Law has moved his Beverly Hills plastic surgery practice back to his hometown of Raleigh, NC. "I have always loved Raleigh" says Dr. Law, "now that I have a family of my own, I wanted them to be here. I want my son to experience all the wonderful things I experienced growing up here. I miss my practice and patients from Beverly Hills, but it is wonderful to be back home."
