Breast Implants: A Geographical Comparison
This article (full reference below, free access) came to my attention via MDLinx. It was interesting to read. The conclusion verified my expectations rather than surprised me.
The authors conducted a retrospective review of patient demographics and implant information from three university settings: Kelowna (British Columbia, Canada), Loma Linda (California, USA), and Temple (Texas, USA). Each cohort included 100 consecutive breast augmentation cases. Characteristics analyzed included age, height, weight, BME, parity, and average implant volume.
When considering the 300 as one cohort, the average age was 34 years with a height of 163 cm (5’4”), weight of 58.1 (127.8 lb) and parity of 1.7 . The average implant size was 370 ml.
When considered separately, the three group medians were significantly different for weight, BMI and implant volume, but not for age:
– Kelowna’s average patient was 33 years of age, had a BMI of 20.8 kg/m2 and an implant volume of 389 mL.
– Loma Linda’s average patient was 32 years of age, had a BMI of 21.6 kg/m2 and an implant volume of 385 mL.
– Temple’s average patient was 36 years of age, had a BMI of 22.6 kg/m2 and an implant volume of 335 mL.
Without going back through all my cases, I can say that the average size of implants used has increased over the years. It was rare to use more than 300 cc when I was in training (1987-89), now it is rare to use one smaller than 300 cc.
REFERENCE:
JL Maher, DC Bennett, P Grothaus, RC Mahabir. “Breast augmentation: A geographical comparison.” Canadian Journal of Plastic Surgery, 12/07/2010 (pdf file).
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
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