FEATURE: Spears inspires teens to get breast implants By Deena Beasley
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Move over Pam Anderson. Pop music star Britney Spears, 17, has become the role model for young women eager to sport bigger, surgically implanted breasts.
Implant surgery is booming among teenage girls, a segment of the population well-known for its allegiance to fashion trends, medical industry statistics show. Many young women get implants during spring break -- in time for the prom or graduation, several doctors said.
Spears, a former Mouseketeer, has denied going under the knife. Referring to the speculation, her mother, Lynne, is quoted in the August issue of US magazine as saying: ``Let me put it this way, if anybody believes it, I brand them an ignorant goofball.''
However, her daughter's top-heavy performance at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards in May left little doubt among those in attendance.
``Patients used to come in and say they wanted to look like Pam Anderson, but Spears is a big teen idol and more patients are now mentioning her,'' said Dr. Franklin Rose, a plastic surgeon based in Houston, Texas.
Anderson, a former Playboy Playmate, recently enjoyed a spate of free publicity by downsizing her implants as part of an image overhaul designed to play down the mother of two's ''bimbo'' image.
In 1998, 1,840 girls under the age of 18 had breast implants, up 57 percent from 1996 and 89 percent from 1992, with most of the surgeries taking place in California, Texas and Florida, according to the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons.
Breast augmentation has become the third-most frequent plastic surgery -- after nose jobs and ear pinning -- for girls aged 18 and under. Experts say hundreds more teens are probably having the surgery done by physicians who are not part of the trade group and thus not included in the statistics.
``If someone like (Spears) gets implants it becomes very easy to go to your parents and say I want them too,'' Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Harry Glassman said. ``A 16-year-old knows what she wants and she wants it right now.''
Glassman said he considers implants in girls under age 18 only if they have an abnormality such as an asymmetrical chest. Dr. Michael Niccole, a plastic surgeon based in Newport Beach, California, said he once turned away a 17-year-old seeking surgery to achieve her goal of appearing in Playboy magazine.
``I have patients who want to be models and actresses. They want to get it (implant surgery) over with,'' said Boca Raton, Florida, plastic surgeon Daniel Man.
His patients, some as young as 17, ``like their bodies but don't like their breasts. Being completely flat-chested is actually a problem for them,'' Man said. As long as a girl has reasonable expectations, is emotionally stable and is supported by her family, he thinks implant surgery is a good idea.
But Dr. Michael McGuire of Santa Monica, president of the California Society of Plastic Surgeons, cautioned: ``Teenagers think it is cosmetic surgery -- like putting on makeup. It is surgery. Implants are not appropriate for someone who may not need them.''
Sybil Niden Goldrich, founder of Command Trust Network, a clearinghouse for information on breast implants, said most teens, as well as adult women considering implants, are not well-informed about the medical implications of the procedure.
Studies have shown that patients will eventually have to have additional surgery to remove or replace implants. ``The girl needs to be told she is risking her own breast tissue for this product,'' Goldrich said.
Parents, who often fund the operation, should also be aware of the future costs, she said. ``They are paying $5,000 for the breasts but are they prepared to pay $7,500 again within the first five years? Are they aware that the breasts will not be covered under the family's insurance policy?'' Goldrich asked.
Man acknowledged that ``the risks and complications of the surgery should not be belittled.'' The Florida surgeon tells his patients the implants are unlikely to last a lifetime and will probably need to be replaced within five to 10 years.