Not Even Surgeons Can Tell Breast Implant Shape Apart After Surgery
Women who opt for breast augmentation surgery have the option of getting either conventional round implants or newer, more expensive anatomically shaped implants. However, according to a recent study, neither plastic surgeons or nurses can tell the difference between the two following surgery, so perhaps the splurge isn’t quite worth it. When it comes to breasts however, is it size or shape that matters most?
Upon viewing the preoperative and postoperative photos of 30 women who underwent breast augmentation surgery, a panel of 30 plastic surgeons and plastic surgery nurses were unable to tell which patients had received which type of breast implant. Ultimately, there was about a 50 percent chance that the medical professionals would guess correctly, the same rate as pure chance.
Read: Science Reveals Men's Ideal Female Breast Size Linked To High Fertility
There was only a very small difference between the guesses of plastic surgeons and their nurses, as plastic surgeons were better able to decide which type of breast implant would be recommended based on the before photo. However, this once again only goes to show how similar the two implants look once inside of a patient.
"A widespread idea is that the anatomically shaped implants give more natural results than the round implants," explained Dr. Carlos Rubia, main study author, in a recent statement. According to Rubi,the results of this study show just how unjustified this claim really is.
However, despite the inability of doctors and nurses to tell apart the different breast implant shapes, new research has suggested that the shape of a woman’s breast is very important, perhaps even more so than the actual breast size. For example, a recent study found that men all over the world prefer shapely, perky breasts to larger, saggy breasts. According to the study authors, that may be because this breast shape signifies fertility.
Source: Rubi CG, Lozano JA, Perez-Espadero A, Eache EM. Comparing Round and Anatomically Shaped Implants in Augmentation Mammaplasty: The Experts’ Ability to Differentiate the Type of Implant. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. 2017
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