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Bionic Boobs: Weighing the Consequences |
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| There is only one thing that scares me. It isn't spiders or snakes. It isn't even | ||
| SARS or West Nile. I am afraid of mammogram machines. | ||
| In order for you to understand my fear I have to let you in on a little secret. | ||
| I have bionic boobs. It was one of those silly decisions I made in my youth. | ||
| Without doing much research, I had breast implants done in my early twenties. | ||
| I didn't always have this fear of the monster machine. Despite some discomfort I | ||
| even survived a mammogram once. However some years ago, in a moment of | ||
| passion, my boyfriend gave me a bear hug that had the same effect as a mammo- | ||
| gram machine. At that time one of my boobs succumbed to the pressure. With | ||
| dismay I felt something tear. Within a few days my breast developed a strange | ||
| lump. It became lop-sided. A visit to the doctor didn't help much. She couldn't | ||
| stop laughing. | ||
| "I'm sorry," she said, wiping tears from her eyes. "I don't mean to laugh, but | ||
| I've never seen anything like it." She then sent me to a specialist. | ||
| It turned out that the actual implant did not rupture. The immune system, in order | ||
| to protect the body from foreign objects, builds capsules (scar tissue) around the | ||
| implants. It was this capsule that tore. Within months my body healed itself. We | ||
| now go easy on the bear hugs and I vowed to never bring my breasts near a | ||
| mammogram machine again. | ||
| With today's emphasis on the 'perfect' body and face, cosmetic surgery seems more | ||
| popular that ever. Botox injections, nose jobs, collagen, breast augmentation, | ||
| tummy tucks, liposuction--do we really weigh the consequences before we go in | ||
| for these surgeries. I didn't. I just wanted a better figure. How much research | ||
| does the average person do before submitting their body to the knife? Horror | ||
| stories abound. Breast implants leaking or rupturing and causing deformities. | ||
| Many women fear their leaking silicone implants may be responsible for chronic | ||
| fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, lupus, and other chronic auto immune disorders. | ||
| Even simple procedures like collagen injections have risks that include swelling, | ||
| bruising, abscesses, scarring and lumpiness. One need only look at the distorted | ||
| face of Michael Jackson to realize cosmetic surgery can go terribly wrong. | ||
| My research consisted of talking to a co-worker who had her breasts done a month | ||
| before and a fifteen minute consultation with the surgeon who explained the | ||
| procedure and informed me of the cost. I never stopped to think what could happen | ||
| twenty years hence. | ||
| I don't regret having my breasts enlarged. Would I do it again? Having arrived | ||
| at this stage in my life it doesn't seem that important anymore. Knowing what I | ||
| do now I probably would not have the surgery. I would do much more research | ||
| before considering any kind of cosmetic surgery and talk to many people, those | ||
| performing the surgery and those who had it, to find out the short and long term | ||
| risks. I never knew that implants were not expected to last a lifetime and that | ||
| I will likely face more surgery. That somehow never came up in my consultation. | ||
| As for the dreaded mammogram, I will probably never have one again. My doctor | ||
| recommends it for the early detection of breast cancer, but with implants they won't | ||
| even guarantee the results of a mammogram. Even though the equipment has | ||
| improved since my last exam, I fear that next time with that pressure my implant | ||
| may pop. It is not a chance I am willing to take. And in case you are curious, | ||
| lumpy is just fine for now. | ||
|
Marion de Man |
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***** |
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| (Note from author: If you have an experience with cosmetic surgery (good or bad) | ||
| that you would like to share for possible use in a future follow-up article please | ||
| contact me at mar-de-man@writeforall.com subject: cosmetic surgery) | ||
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