SIMPLY THE CHEST
ALMOST three quarters of the 20,000 Australian women gaining breast implants each year undergo the process for cosmetic reasons, an audit of the surgery has found.
But one of the Gold Coast’s leading cosmetic surgeons believes that figure is closer to 90 per cent here.
Cosmetic surgeon Dr Craig Layt said his Layt Clinic and the nearby Breast Academy were performing about 1000 boob jobs a year.
Dr Layt said up to 90 per cent of the breast implants were for cosmetic reasons, followed by breast uplifts and reconstruction after cancer.
The Australian Breast Device Registry shows the majority of breast surgery takes place in private clinics, including 26 per cent who undergo their augmentation as a day procedure.
ALMOST three-quarters of the 20,000 Australian women gaining breast implants each year undergo the process for cosmetic reasons, an audit of the surgery has found.
But one of the Gold Coast’s leading cosmetic surgeons believes that figure is closer to 90 per cent here.
Cosmetic surgeon Dr Craig Layt said his Layt Clinic and the nearby Breast Academy were performing about 1000 boob jobs a year.
Dr Layt said up to 90 per cent of the breast implants were for cosmetic reasons, followed by breast uplifts and then reconstruction after breast cancer.
He said the growing trend was towards more naturallooking breasts, as opposed to overly large breasts, as patients and surgeons became more educated.
“People are realising, with doctors’ encouragement ... it’s better in the long run,” he said.
“I think it’s because of guys like myself and the guys we’re training are educating the patients that (a more natural size) is better for them.
“It’s like building a house, you can’t build a 20m basement on your house on only a 15m block of land. And the size of the implants are like storeys on a house.”
He said the average breast implant surgery cost $8000$11,000 depending on the breasts.
The Australian Breast Device Registry was established in 2012 following concerns over French-made PIP silicone implants and has now become the most comprehensive database on the use of breast implants in the world.
It found 3.5 per cent of implants placed in Australia require revision surgery within two years, mainly due to internal scarring, being incorrectly placed or leakage.
“I do a lot of secondary procedures, ruptures, lifts or reductions and there is an increasing number,” Gold Coast plastic surgeon Dr John Flynn said. “Unfortunately, a lot of the discount range domestically or internationally do lead to revisions.”
Registry project leader Dr Ingrid Hopper, from Monash University, said it was important to know what was happening for individuals as well as the overall industry to respond to emerging issues.
“The biggest group is the women who have cosmetic surgery. They are relatively younger than the reconstructive group, so they will have the implants for a longer period of their life and we think it is really important that they are in the registry and can follow it up,” Dr Hopper said.
The report also shows the majority of breast surgery takes place in private clinics.