A small Brazilian study has found that women who got breast implants said that the surgery boosted their sex lives.
HealthDay reports that women reported an increase in their arousal and sexual satisfaction after surgery -- but with a caveat. Those who had stretch marks as a result of their enhanced bustline didn't report any improvement in their sex lives.
"I think that the female breast is a very important part of a woman's body, in terms of how a woman feels about herself in public, how her clothes fit and how she feels about herself sexually," Dr. David Reath, chair of the public education committee of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, told HealthDay. "It's very common for a woman post-surgery to say she feels more confident, that her outward body now fits her inward persona."
Prior research supports that breast implants can help boost self-esteem, body image, and sexual satisfaction, while other research points to the need for doctors to screen carefully before the surgery, ensuring that the patient is in good mental health and has realistic expectations for her new look.
The latest study involved 45 women who completed questionnaires at two, four, and 18 months after surgery. Among the 36 subjects who didn't develop stretch marks, they reported enhanced sex lives at both four and 18 months after surgery.
Some experts are not surprised by the findings. "When we have exerted a great effort, spent a great deal of money and effort and time on something, we tend to justify that effort," Dr. Tomi-Ann Roberts, a professor of psychology at Colorado College, told HealthDay. "Our good feeling is increased because of the effort, not the thing itself." She argues that the study would have been more interesting if the researchers posed practical questions to patients regarding their new breasts, such whether or not they interfere with jogging or breastfeeding.
The findings are being presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons in San Diego.
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