Study Explores Demographics of Breast Augmentation Patients
An interesting study was recently published in the Canadian Journal of Plastic Surgery that compared physical characteristics and implant details of women who underwent breast augmentation in three different geographical locations: Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada; Loma Linda, California; and Temple, Texas.
Because of the increase in breast augmentation surgeries — according to statistics from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, there has been a 45% increase in women seeking breast augmentation since 2000 — the researchers wanted to look at the demographics of these patients, as that’s often been lacking from other studies.
A hundred consecutive breast augmentation cases were retrospectively reviewed at practices in each of the three cities. The authors gathered data on height, weight, body mass index (BMI), age, the number of children the patient had and implant volume.
For weight, BMI and implant volume, the three group medians were significantly different. BMI was lowest in the Canadian city and highest in Temple, Tex. Temple patients had the smallest average implant size, significantly lower than the other two cities.
In addition to comparing geographies, the study also reveals data for all 300 patients combined. On average, the breast augmentation patients studied were:
- 34 years old
- 5’ 4” tall
- 128 pounds
The study also found there was a statistically significant positive correlation of BMI and implant volume in the U.S. cities — the higher the patient’s BMI, the larger the implant volume used. The researchers wrote, “Implications from this correlation found in our study include possibly improving implant volume predictions preoperatively, leading to improved efficiency, outcomes and reduced reoperation rates.”
They also say that the patients’ BMI could potentially provide an additional data point on which to make operative planning decisions.
Dr. Haiavy performs breast augmentation surgery and is one of the few surgeons in Southern California to perform the transumbilical (belly-button) breast augmentation.
