Allergan, Inc., a breast implants manufacturer and worldwide leader in the body rejuvenation industry, is reemphasizing assurance in women considering breast augmentation to be highly informed before their first plastic surgery consultation by introducing The Natrelle™ Pre-Consultation Kit. It is an answer for both women starting out, and plastic surgeons that want the right information in the hands of prospective patients.

The kit is a thorough, thoughtful and elegant package for every woman starting the process of achieving a new body image through breast augmentation. It is an intimate, at-home preparation for face-to-face consultations with plastic surgeons, and an ideal resource for patients to set a size goal. The Natrelle™ Pre-Consultation Kit was developed with the help of two of America’s most prominent plastic surgeons, who participated in the kit’s orientation video featuring an informative actual breast exam.

Mr. Jeffrey Moore of communications firm 3v07, and director/producer for the program, established that the Natrelle™ Pre-Consultation Kit’s primary driver must be an elegant approach for selecting what size implant each patient would like to set as their goal.

“This is such a personal, life-long decision that it is hard to believe that until this Natrelle™ Pre-Consultation Kit many women would set a goal for their new profile by filling plastic sandwich bags with rice or hair gel to get an idea of what size they would like to be. A search of the Internet turns up one resource after another recommending this process. At best, some may take 20 minutes in a doctor’s office to determine their goal. Our first principal in development of the kit was to assure that size selection is now a personal, fun, at home experience women could take their time with.” Mr. Moore goes on to say, “The Natrelle™ Pre-Consultation Kit size selection experience is elegant and complete. Women are provided with a beautiful bra and 4 different breast implant-like sizers to assure they are comfortable with their breast enhancement before starting the process. This is a great solution for both women and their doctors.”

Contemporary research clearly shows that practicaly every woman begins her path to breast augmentation by doing some form of research on the web. With the decision to offer this kit prominently through web services offered by Allergan and Natrelle™ patients can be empowered to approach their initial consultation confidently. The kit provides an excellent look at the initial consultation and covers each topic a woman will discuss with her doctor, giving her the perspective to make informed decisions. This includes styles of breast implants, incision choices and profile choices.

The Natrelle™ Pre-Consultation Kit features a DVD orienting patients to the process of getting a new profile, a discussion brochure for the information they will cover with their Plastic Surgeon and a breast sizing system with a special brassiere and trial implants. The kit also includes a $50 rebate for Natrelle™ gel implants and $120 in savings on the Allergan aesthetic products BOTOX® Cosmetic (botulinum toxin type A), JUVEDERM™, LATISSE™ (bimatoprost ophthalmic solution) 0.03%.

The Natrelle™ Pre-Consultation Kit is $39.95 and available to patients only via the Internet at www.Natrelle.com starting April 1, 2009.

Madrid – A Spanish man has been arrested and accused of using veterinary equipment to perform cosmetic surgery.

Catalonian regional police say they arrested the 63-year-old Barcelona native for allegedly practicing medicine without a license in filthy conditions at his home. The police statement says the illegitimate doctor worked in the company of his three dogs, a cat and a parrot.

The police say in a statement released this past Wednesday that the man charged his human patients between €250 and €500 ($330 and $660, USD) to perform breast augmentation and buttock implants, using veterinary tools normally used to inject animals.

It is also believed the man was administering direct injections of liquid silicone, without the benefit of using actual implants.

Police arrested the man on Friday after authorities received a complaint about a defective breast implant.

The latest technology for the detection and diagnosis of breast cancer, the Breast Specific Gamma Imaging (BSGI) system was launched last week in Kingston, Jamaica and is being hyped as the way to help decrease the mortality rate from the disease. The BSGI is a molecular breast imaging system which developers say will be able to diagnose at least 15 per cent of breast cancer cases that are missed by conventional mammograms.

Radiologist at X-Ray and Diagnostic Ultrasound Consultants Ltd. (XDUCL), Dr. Winston Clarke, said doctors have always been aware of the limitations of mammograms, which prompted the search for an alternative. Dr. Clarke explained that for every 100 women tested with mammograms, only about 80 of them will be diagnosed correctly. The other 20% of tests are usually inconclusive and the patients will be asked to come back to do the test at a later date.

Where mammograms are X-rays that examine tissue density, the technology used by the BSGI will detect cancer cells independent of tissue density. The patient will be injected with a small dosage of radioactive Isotopetyechnetium (used similarly to the tissue dyes utilized in X-rays and conventional mammograms) which will be absorbed by the cells. The BSGI will highlight the cancerous cells, similar to thermal imaging, so that cancers as small as three millimetres can be easily detected. The entire procedure can take up to an hour and will be pain-free because no weight is placed on the breast.

Will Breast Implants Affect BSGI Breast Cancer Screening?

The BSGI system will be used in cases where further evaluation beyond a mammogram is needed for the detection of cancer such as cases where the patient has dense breast tissue, multiple and suspicious lesions, post-surgical or post therapeutic masses, breast implants or for women who are taking Hormone Replacement Therapy.

Professor Douglas Kieper, Director of Clinical Research and Education at Dilon Technologies, said the BSGI system will also be able to help doctors predict a patient’s reaction to chemotherapy and will make dealing with breast cancer and subsequent reconstruction (when necessary) less challenging.

“We are actually looking at a phenomenon within itself,” he said. “It is a very specific technique which can contribute in a good way to the patient’s treatment.”

Even though the system is being endorsed by a number of doctors including Chief Medical Officer at the Jamaican Ministry of Health and Environment, Dr. Sheila Campbell-Forrester, Dr. Clarke cites a number of pressing challenges with “bringing first world technology to Jamaica”. Paramount among them is the cost to perform the procedure. Currently BSGI costs between the equivalent of J$80,000-$120,000 in the United States to get the test done. Dr. Clarke, however, wants to find the means to offer it for about $45,000 so that more women can be tested. Currently a mammogram costs around $3,500.

Among the cost-related concerns, the supplies needed to conduct the procedure will have to be imported from the United States every two weeks. This includes the radioactive Isotopetyechnetium, which has a brief two-week shelf life. Dr. Clarke said they are also trying to get the insurance companies to come on board to cover the cost for patients who really need the test. In spite of all these challenges, Dr. Clarke said the possibility of saving a life with the machine is more important.

Far too often, in the world of breast augmentation, much attention and emphasis is placed on the size of the breast implant and not its location. This issue is one that has profound yet differing long-term affects for the patient, so it is important that it is addressed.

Patients typically have two choices when it comes to implant placement: subglandular and submuscular. Subglandular implants are placed underneath the breast tissue, yet above the chest wall muscles, whereas submuscular implants are placed below the chest (pectoral) muscles. Occasionally, a third procedure option is available that allows a patient to have the implant placed partially under the muscle wall.

Frequently, when it comes to implant placement, most surgeons and patients opt for subglandular for a variety of reasons, including the relative ease (compared to submuscular placement) of the procedure on both doctor and patient. Many women are happy and are more than eligible to have their breast augmentation done in such a way.

However, submuscular implant placement presents many benefits to the patient, including:

• Lower occurrence of capsular contracture
• Lower chance of rippling
• Less interference with future mammograms
• Less visible Implant
• More natural appearance and feel to the breast
• Better results for women with small breasts

Capsular contracture is a condition where a “capsule” of scar tissue forms around the breast implants and constricts the implant in an unnatural fashion. This creates a hardened look to the breasts and is potentially painful for the patient. Treating capsular contracture requires that the implants and scar tissue be removed and the implants replaced. Capsular contracture occurs far less frequently with submuscular implants.

The other primary benefit to submuscular implantation is that more of the implant is covered by more muscle tissue, reducing the likelihood of visible implant rippling. This creates a much more natural look to a patient’s implants.

Additionally, submuscular implantation creates less interference with mammography. Because the implants are placed below the breast’s glandular tissue and muscle, and the glandular tissue is what is being examined during a mammogram, imaging is more accurate.

As always, even though submuscular breast implants have many advantages, only you and your plastic surgeon will know what is the best technique for you. Many factors, such as age, body type, implant type and intended results factor into which technique will be best for you. Always be sure to thoroughly discuss your breast augmentation with your plastic surgeon.

There are probably few things scarier than discovering an un-diagnosed but life-threatening medical condition. Being the only person in the world to ever suffer from such a condition would make most people downright petrified!

This was the case for a Florida woman — a condition so rare that it has no medical name — her heart was found to be moving around in her body. Doctors found it stuck in her rib cage under her kidney, on its side.

According to local news reports, the 35-year-old woman was born prematurely and has suffered numerous life-long complications, including an underdeveloped and diseased lung. The lung was removed when she was only 4 years old but not before the disease had spread to the remaining lung. As an adult, she’s had to endure chronic lung disease, which triggers chronic asthma, chronic bronchitis and chronic pneumonia. An onset, treatable for most adults, could easily send her to the emergency room. The empty lung cavity is what allowed her heart to shift and float in her body.

Because her doctors had never seen the condition before, they were initially at a loss to come up with a treatment. One doctor said the patient was the only person in the world with the disorder. Doctors were left to ponder the course of action for this situation. The solution? Breast implants.

“She calls herself a freak of nature because most doctors she’s seen have never seen this condition before,” according to her husband.

It required a four and one-half hour operation, she describes as life-saving, but breast implants — used in the traditional breast augmentation procedure — successfully filled the space where the lung used to be and holds the heart in the correct position.

In spite of the degenerative nature of her condition, she remains upbeat and positive, even though her health is deteriorating exponentially faster than a healthy adult of the same age.

“I coughed, sneezed and farted all at the same time and broke six ribs a few months ago. I guess it’s a talent,” she says with a hearty laugh. “They say I’ll eventually sever my spinal cord, but that’s okay, I’ll just run people over with my wheelchair and leave tire marks to prove I was there,” she added, also saying that she wants her chair motorized with a horn.

One of the UK’s largest cosmetic surgery providers, The Harley Medical Group, have released new figures that reveal 75% of women who have had a Breast Augmentation procedure in the last six months opted to go up just one or two cup sizes.

The new figures reflect the less-is-more attitude now taken by many celebrities, with many women now opting for a more natural look.

The new sort of breast augmentation patients, keen to keep things in proportion, are going for the “lower profile implant” in favor of two other available breast implant shapes – the “contoured” breast implants, which are designed to reflect the slope of the breast and the “round high profile”, which produces a more rounded appearance to the upper breast.

The Brittish medical group also reveals that breast enlargement remains the most popular of all cosmetic surgery procedures, making up 30% of all procedures across its 23 clinics.

“The ‘Boob Job’ has always been the most popular cosmetic surgery procedure we perform. These days women come to us looking for a natural result, not a look-at-me statement d colletage, which can sometimes cause too much attention. Contrary to popular belief, most cosmetic surgery patients want to fit in – not stand out!” according to Liz Dale, Director of The Harley Medical Group.

According to new reports from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, almost 400,000 breast augmentations were performed in 2007 — an increase from previous numbers since silicone breast implants were approved by the FDA in 2006. Still, many women are still choosing saline breast implants, known as the “workhorse” of breast enlargement surgery.

One of the many benefits of saline breast implants for breast augmentation is the many different saline profiles and shapes available, which allows your doctor to achieve a better match to your individual body frame.

Saline breast implants also have a flexible fill volume, and are not prefilled. This provides more options for incision placement, as well as a smaller incision necessary for the breast enhancement surgery.Because saline implants are filled after insertion, their final volume can be adjusted making it easier for the surgeon to correct for existing breast asymmetry.

Saline breast implants are widely endorsed by plastic surgeons for women who need correction for asymmetry, or that have reservations about silicone breast implants. Each patient is different however, and you should always consider the option that is best suited for your body type.The best way to be certain is to consult your plastic surgeon (or 2, or even 3) and find out which breast implants will work best for your breast augmentation.

Fountain, Colorado. There are more strange elements surfacing related to what police say was a botched murder for hire attempt. The apparent goal was getting money for breast implants.

Eighteen year old Nikita Weis allegedly offered to pay two men a total of seven thousand dollars to break into his own home, kill his mother, and steal her money and car. Police say it was all to pay for breast augmentation surgery for his girlfriend, twenty-one year old Sophia Alsept.

Juan Antonio Velez Gonzalez, 18, is accused of striking Weis’ mother in the head with a baseball bat, while Brandon Soroka, 19, waited outside during the attack, acting as lookout and driver.

When police questioned Weis and his girlfriend there stories didn’t match. During further questioning the story came out. Charges include attempted murder and kidnapping.

Court records show Nikita Weis had been bailed out of jail by his mother a couple of weeks earlier for attempted kidnapping with a deadly weapon. The victim listed is the girlfriend in this case.

Christina Applegate Opted for Double Mastectomy,
following her Breast Cancer Diagnosis, this past
August.

The entertainment world was stunned this past August when the star of ABC’s “Samantha Who?”, Christina Applegate announced that she had breast cancer and was set to undergo a double mastectomy to combat the disease. An outpouring of support and well-wishes from fans and women who had undergone the same circumstances followed as she embarked on course of action that for her, “seemed the most logical.”

During her treatments, doctors detected the presence of “CDH1″, a rare genetic mutation that placed her at an extremely high risk for cancer to spread or return, and despite the fact that cancer was only discovered in one breast, she, like a growing number of breast cancer victims, chose to have both breasts removed as a precautionary measure.

“I didn’t want to go back to the doctors every four months,” she says. “I wanted to be rid of it. For me this was the choice I made and it was a tough one.”

What may seem like a drastic step to some, becomes a reasonable decision for patients like Applegate who have the CDH1 gene.

“There’s around a 50% chance of having a recurrence in 5 years, and possibly a 60% chance of developing cancer by the age of 70,” says Dr. Steven Schonholz, Medical Director at Mercy Medical Center’s Breast Care Center.

While it isn’t known what type of Breast Reconstruction she’s had, following her Mastectomy, she is an ideal candidate for tissue expansion (a reconstructive procedure, using the patient’s own tissue) or breast implants, given her age, figure and medical history.

So, where is Applegate now, in terms of her health and state of mind?

“I’m clear. Absolutely 100-percent clear and clean it did not spread, they got everything out.” She added in a Good Morning America interview, following her reconstructive procedure: “I’m going to have cute boobs til I’m 90”.

We here at Breast Implants Info wish Ms. Applegate well and hope that she enjoys many happy and healthy years to come.

Given the controversy and debate that seems to always surround plastic surgery, we want to know where you stand on plastic surgery for reconstructive purposes. Share your thoughts (or your own personal story) about Breast Implants, Reconstructive and Plastic Surgery, by leaving us some comments.

Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Athleo Louis Cambre does a pretty good job answering many frequently asked questions concerning breast augmentation surgery.

Besides the normal ‘what is breast augmentation’ and ‘am I a good candidate’ questions, he covers breast implant surgery options such as incision location and implant type as well as surgery risks and recovery time.

Unfortunately there are no mentions of typical costs and the cost of breast implants is an often asked question.

Scroll down to the bottom of his breast surgery page and there are quite a few before and after breast augmentation photos.