Breast Augmentation: Know More About Its History
Women have been seeking help for breast size for a long time
. A few generations ago, very simple methods were used in an attempt to make breast appear larger and fuller. This mostly included padding the chest area in order to push up the breasts. However, since the late 1800s and early 1900s, other ways have been tried to actually make the breast larger, instead of just making it appear larger.In the last decade of the 1800s, there was an injectable form of enlargement called paraffin. This was commonly thought to be able to enlarge the chest area and was used on many different women throughout this era. While it worked temporarily, it commonly caused uneven lumps and many infections.
The infections could have been from less widespread knowledge of germs and germ transfer; however the body often rejected this foreign material. By the 1920s, it was no longer used. At this point, fat transfer was gaining in popularity. The procedure then is similar to the procedures now. Fat was taken from fatty areas and injected directly in to the breasts.
This also offered temporary size difference, but people began to realize that the body reabsorbed most of the fatty tissues. Because of this and the high risk of infection, the rate of these procedures dropped.
In the 1950s, there was a type of sponge that was inserted in to the breasts in order to give it size. The problem with these was that after about a year, the sponges would shrink in size and could get very hard, causing pain, discomfort and awkward appearance. After it was found that the sponges could be related to breast cancer, they lost popularity. This happened at the same time that silicone implants were created.
The 1960s, doctors were trying directly injecting silicone. This did not work well because the direct injections lead to lumpy appearance. In 1961, a silicone implant was made and began to be used. It was revolutionary in the history of this procedure because it gave a natural shape and feel and was contained so there were fewer complications.
Women were thrilled to finally have something that seemed to work and work well. These were used regularly for about twenty years and were then withdrawn in favor of saline-filled implants. In the case of rupture, saline will do a lot less damage than silicone gel.
In the 1980s, silicone implants were banned because there were safety issues. However, they are now back in widespread use and come in different shapes and sizes so that they can be tailored to your specific body's needs. In addition, there are several other options available that have been able to be used due to superior medical knowledge and rigorous testing.
The history of breast enlargement is a long and detailed one, and one that is filled with trial and error and sometimes success. Because of the long history, we are now able to go in to this procedure with confidence.
by: Abigail Aaronson