the BREAST REPORT

Breasts have been cultural, political and fashion icons, helped launch social movements and started showbiz careers. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and thanks to the marvels of modern cosmetic surgery, breast implant surgery can give you the breasts Mother Nature did not.

Breast implants are available to suit the needs and preferences of just about every patient. Some women seek implant surgery to correct congenital or developmental anatomical abnormalities, while others are striving to repair the toll of age or breastfeeding by restoring their breasts to a more youthful and upright position. Other women simply want to have a larger size bust, which is more proportionate to their overall body size.

Implants may also be required to reconstruct a damaged or missing breast, which has sustained injury, illness or mastectomy. There are countless reasons women undergo breast augmentation and each one has unique importance to the individual.

Careful discussion of your expectations and concerns with your chosen surgeon, along with planning and assessment, can help to achieve a successful outcome and natural-looking results. You should thoroughly discuss your goals and motivations with a surgeon you trust and with whom you feel comfortable.

Listening to your surgeon’s feedback and advice will go a long way in ensuring expectations and motivations are realistic. Satisfaction with breast augmentation results ultimately depends on your understanding of the capabilities and limitations of the procedure.

WHAT MAKES A BEAUTIFUL BREAST?

The assessment of physical beauty varies enormously across both time and cultures. What one person considers sexy or beautiful might be far removed from what another perceives as attractive. However, there remain widely held standards of physical attractiveness, and achieving a positive aesthetic outcome is crucial to the success of cosmetic procedures.

When it comes to assessing the breasts, you may be forgiven for thinking it’s all about size. Indeed, breast augmentation involves adding volume to the bust, but a satisfactory augmentation is about a whole lot more than just adding volume.

There is no such thing as the ‘perfect’ breast,’ says British plastic surgeon Dr Paul Banwell. ‘However, there are four aesthetic guidelines that can help surgeons deliver a beautiful-looking breast.’

These guidelines, which refer to the proportions of the upper