| " Shaw doesn't know how many Kansas women get breast implants each year, but he says 85 percent to 90 percent of the implants he does are for cosmetic reasons rather than for breast reconstruction. His typical patients are women ages 25 to 45 who have had children and "want to get back to more like how they were prior to having children." Most women lose breast volume with each pregnancy. " " That was the case for Jane Doe of Wichita, a woman who asked that her real name not be used. After giving birth to three children, "I kind of lost the oomph that I'd had," she says. She also had a husband who wanted her to look good in a swimsuit for their backyard pool. " " "I would say most people are trying to get to a C cup and trying to fill up the skin that's loose after they've lost volume," Shaw says. " " An average implant weighs about 12 ounces. That sounds like a lot, but implants usually are placed behind muscle, against the rib cage, so they don't feel heavy. " " Shaw says he has had one woman in 12 years ask to have her implants removed. About 20 percent of his patients "wish they had gone bigger." " " Jane Doe, who got her implants in the 1970s, had them removed in 1994 because they had ruptured. Six years later, she got new implants "because I just didn't like the way I looked" ? though her current husband was just fine with her appearance. " " Implants can leak and need replacement. The natural scar tissue around an implant can contract, and additional surgery may be necessary. " " Pregnancy, weight loss and menopause may change the appearance of implants. And some older women may find they look unnatural ? a natural breast shifts to the side when a woman lies on her back; an implant doesn't. " " Both saline and silicone implants have the same outer shell, made of silicone. Saline implants are filled with saline ? saltwater. Silicone implants contain a silicone gel. In place, they look the same. Shaw says most women think the silicone implants feel more natural to the touch. They're softer than saline implants. " " In the early 1990s, the FDA restricted the use of silicone implants after women started to file lawsuits that linked a variety of health problems, from rashes to autoimmune diseases, to their implants. " " Until recently, women could get silicone implants only in certain cases. In announcing its broad approval of the implants, the FDA said scientific evidence "provides reasonable assurance of the benefits and risks" and said decisions should be left to patients and their doctors. " " "There are times I just wish they weren't there, like when I go have a mammogram," Jane Doe says. Mammograms
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