Breast Augmentation: The history of breast implants and cosmetic surgery

For hundreds of year, probably longer, women around the world have longed for bigger and better breasts. With the advent of modern surgery, those dreams can become a reality. There are now many cosmetic surgery clinics across the UK.

You may be shocked to learn that the first ever breast augmentation took place the 19th Century; in the 1890's in fact. Unfortunately, the technique of injecting paraffin into the breast area resulted in lumpy and hard breasts and worse still the procedure often lead to infection.

The next attempts at breast enlargement, used fat from other areas of the body. This was injected into the breast area to increase the size of the breasts or to change their shape. Again, this technique was not particularly successful because the injected fat was absorbed into the body. The result was again lumpy breasts and again swellings and infections were all too common.

Moving on into the mid 20th Century, material implanted into women's breasts included ground rubber, ox cartilage, polyethylene, polyvinyl sponge, polyurethane sponge and Teflon-silicon prosthetic implants. It was believed that filling the breast area with these materials would produce better results than the injection procedures because they would not be absorbed by the body. However, the results were no better and these implant materials shrank and hardened. The risk of infection was no better.

In 1961 the first silicone breast implant entered the scene. A bag of silicone gel was implanted into the breast. This marked a huge turning point in the history of breast enhancement. The first shells were prone to hardening, so polyurethane shells were introduced. Other combinations included the silicon gel contained inside a saline sack. For the first time, breast implants had a natural look, feel and shape to them. Silicone breast implants started to become immensely popular.

However, in the years to follow, problems surrounding silicone implants began to surface. Implant leaking and rupturing in particular. There were also many reported connective tissue diseases. Silicone implants went through a variety of changes and improvements over this period. Then a new alternative came along. Saline filled implants were introduced as silicone's successor. Saline implants consist of a silicone shell that is filled with the required amount of sterile saline solution. Since saline is simply salt water, the consequences of the implant rupturing or bursting was far less severe as it would simply be absorbed by the body. The size of saline implants can be adjusted easily by adjusting the volume of saline used to fill the implant. This enables it to be tailor made to the individual patients needs. Saline implants can also be adjusted after they have been inserted into the breast tissue whereas with silicone implants, these need to be replaced if adjustment is needed.

In 1995 a new variety of implant was developed: Soybean Oil implants. Originally thought to be a natural substitute for both saline and silicone implants, they were withdrawn from use by 1999 due to the toxic filler it contained. Now known as cohesive gel implants or gummy-bear implants due to their consistency when sliced (similar to cutting a gummy bear in half) they were designed to maintain their shape and prevent leaks or ruptures as the gel does not move around. They have been used outside of the US for almost a decade and have so far had positive results. Their current down-side is their price, being significantly higher than both saline and silicone implants.

Today saline implants and silicone implants are the two main options open to the potential breast augmentation patient. Saline implants have the advantage of a smaller incision because they can be filled after placement. Silicon implants contain a gel instead of a liquid, and are widely described as feeling more natural once they have settled into position.

Implants have become much less problematic as the technology has improved and as the popularity suggests. They can still leak and that will require revision surgery. In any case they will probably require replacement after a maximum of ten years or so. Nevertheless it is clear that breast augmentation surgery has come of age, adding not only physical dimension but also long-sought self esteem for hundreds of thousands of women annually.

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