Breast Implants Linked to Suicides

ladys love the body you have!!! no need to make it filled with chemicals and fake breasts to make yourself feel good, I love natural woman and dont want you be unhealthy!!

Sept. 12, 2003 (Philadelphia) -- A second study in only seven months shows that women who get breast implants commit suicide three times more often than women who don't - but at least one expert cautions that the findings could be misleading.


Both of these studies, done in Europe and together involving nearly 6,000 women who had the popular cosmetic surgery, follow a 2001 report on American women suggesting that those who get breast implants for augmentation face a nine-fold increased risk of suicide compared to women who don't get the procedure, and that they commit suicide four times more often than those who have other types of plastic surgery.


"All three studies suggest the need for surgeons who are doing these procedures to conduct thorough pre-operative psychological screening of patients," says David B. Sarwer, PhD, an assistant professor of psychology in psychiatry and surgery at the Center for Human Appearances at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. "But very few are doing that."


He presented these findings Friday at the American Medical Association's annual Science Reporters Conference held here.


The latest study -- to be published in the upcoming issue of Annals of Plastic Surgery -- finds that 2,166 women who had breast implant surgery for augmentation of breast size in Finland between 1970 and 2000 had a rate of suicide three times higher than the general population.


It echoes another study, published in the British Medical Journal in March, which finds the same three-fold rate of suicide among Swedish women who had breast implants for augmentation compared to those who didn't. That report involved 3,521 women who had the surgery between 1965 and 1993. In both studies, all causes of death were compared between women who had breast implants and those who didn't.


"To be honest, I don't think we know the exact reason why these women have a higher rate of suicide, but it's very possible that a small minority who come in for breast augmentation are trying to solve significant psychological problems," Sarwer tells WebMD.


"I think some women come in with unrealistic expectations, that this surgery will make more popular, get them the promotion they haven't gotten, or save a failing marriage. But it's a large leap to suggest that not meeting those expectations would result in their attempting suicide."


More likely, Sarwer says, the increased rate of suicide may occur in women suffering from body dysmorphic disorder, a psychiatric condition characterized by a profound preoccupation with the slightest or even imagined defects in appearance, even when others reassure them they look fine. Breast size is a common source of obsession in these women, along with skin and other facial features; men with this condition often obsess over their muscle size.


"Our research shows that between 7% and 15% of those who have plastic surgery have this condition," Sarwer tells WebMD. "These are the patients we need to be concerned about. They generally do not respond well to cosmetic surgery -- 80% or more have no change or even a worsening of psychiatric symptoms after surgery and many become suicidal or take legal action against their surgeon."


Peter B. Fodor, MD, a plastic surgeon in Los Angeles and president-elect of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, says the new Finnish study still doesn't offer any indication that getting breast implants increases a woman's risk of suicide. In March, his association issued a press release criticizing the Swedish study.


"We don't think this or the March study were well-done, and we are in the process of designing one that will be credible and statistically significant," he tells WebMD. "Overall, the longevity of women in the Finnish study who had breast augmentation was the same as those who didn't. So you can't make the correlation that suicide is greater because of the presence of breast implants."

As in the March study, he criticized the researchers for not examining patient histories or lifestyle before breast surgery to determine variables known to be associated with increased risk of suicide, such as panic disorder, depression, and alcoholism.

"People who have body dysmorphic disorders may commit suicide whether they have surgery or not," says Fodor.


Despite the controversy, the number of women getting breast implants has skyrocketed in the past decade according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons -- from about 32,000 in 1993 to nearly 237,000 last year.


For anyone considering any type of plastic surgery, here are some warning signs, according to Sarwer, that a person may be getting plastic surgery for the wrong reason:


Seeing defects that others don't. "The biggest indication is when you're concerned about a feature that others have a difficult time identifying. For instance, you say, 'my breasts are too small' and others say they look fine," Sarwer says.
The wrong motivation. "Is it an internal motivation that you're trying to improve your self esteem by restoring your breast to the shape that they were before you had children? Or are you looking to please a partner with this or become more popular?" The latter can be a recipe for unhappiness, according to Sarwer.
Your expectations. It's reasonable if you go into surgery realizing that plastic surgery is unlikely to dramatically change your lot in life. "It's unlikely to get you promoted or save a troubled marriage," he says.

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SOURCES: American Medical Association's 22nd annual Science Reporters Conference, Sept. 11 and 12, Philadelphia, Pa. Annals of Plastic Surgery, October 2003. British Medical Journal, March 8, 2003. David Sarwer, PhD, assistant professor of psychology in psychiatry and surgery, the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine's Center for Human Appearance, Philadelphia. American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Peter B. Fodor, MD, president-elect, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. ASAPS press release, March 2003.

http://content.health.msn.com/content/article/73/88985.htm

I can see why they did this study - but there definately needed to be more research before putting these findings out to scare women. Many times studys like this seem to appear as warnings to women. THere are so many reasons why someone would commit suicide and I doubt every one of those woman commited suicide as a direct result to their implants. I believe may some of them it could be true if they experienced some medical conditions due to the implants. WHo knows. I myself have implants and wouldn't change having gotten them for the world. I did not get them because I wanted to be bigger, or more popular or anything like that. I have 3 kids all breastfed and well after having a nice chest having raisons just was not an option. I researched for over a year and my plastic surgeon asked why I was getting it done and went over EVERYTHING that could happen. He asked are you scared? I said a little. He said good because if your not scared I will not do the procedure. Then he gave me a 20 page pamphlet to read through and sign andinformation on where I could find studys etc before even setting me up for an appointment. I think any woman getting this procedure done needs to be careful - do the research and make an extremely informed decision on the procedure and physician. It is not for everyone. My husband was dead set against it, and now he is as happy as I am with the results. No one can believe they are fake (through clothes - only hubby has seen them). He loves them & I love them and that is all that counts. But again I think each person contemplating sucha surgery needs to do their research and needs to be able to handle what may come with the surgery and be prepared for anything. I have had mine for over a year now with absolutely no complications. I also have 2 friends who have gotten the surgery done around the same time as mine (without even knowing each other was doing it one I hadn't seen in years and one lives in another state) And both have been as fortunate as I. Anyway sorry to write a book - I just hate these "warnings" I think each person needs to make their own informed decisions.

roberto wrote: monca colouring hair is not like operation to cut into your body!! no bloodshed! im glad your okay. take care of yourself.

i was just trying to make a point maria said it the best.

I'm hoping this was just bad phrasing in the original post, but how can a woman commit suicide three times more often if she has had breast implants? Surely any person can only commit suicide once.

Seriously though, I think that if any woman who is emotionally unstable kills herself it is bound to be for more than just their implants. If it is a major reason, though, then I think that the doctor is to blame.
As far as I know, you talk a lot with your surgeon beforehand, and if they don't recognise that a woman is mentally unwell then it is neglect on their part not to see that.

I agree with Enfys. I don't think it's the breast implants that lead to suicide. But perhaps for those that choose implants for the wrong reason, there may be underlying factors (low self esteem, depression, etc.) that contribute to their suicide. I'm not saying that everyone who chooses implants does so for the "wrong" reason. And I'm not saying that everyone who has implants has low self esteem, suffers from depression, etc.

Caramia

I am looking at breast implants... I want them bc I want them... It is something that I have looked at for years... and if they was not so much then I would of had them by now. In this article and both sides I have seen good points but I still want them.

Hal wrote: I think a better conclusion would be: women that are potential Suicide candidates are more likely than women in the general population to get implants!

agreed.

This is a difficult situation, because even if a depressed/suicidal woman is turned down by surgeons, that could make the woman feel just as hopeless. It doesn't mean not getting implants would make her less likely to commit suicide. I'm speaking from personal experience from being depressed many times, so I can imagine how that might feel. I don't think the study is ridiculous or silly, because it is relevent to many women.

oh please... people commit suicide for more reasons than breast implants and that is just bull.

 Ok,and I wasnt saying people shouldnt get them if they want them! But some people DO have problems,and what I was saying is,maybe they are the ones who are suicidal. I have read that some people have to have them removed and get VERY depressed. I happen to have 4 women in my immeadite family who have them and none of them have EVER had a problem.My aunt has had hers for 20 years and still no problems.