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Breast augmentation on the rise with college women despite health risks
By Christine Petrozzo
Posted: 11/27/07, 12:26 AM EST Section: Feature
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Kelsie Leon used to be a gymnast. But when entering college, she still had the body of a gymnast -lean, muscular upper body and flat-chested.
This past summer, after pleading with her parents, the sophomore's wish finally came true. She received breast implants.
"I had always had really small boobs," said the 5-foot-1 Leon, 19, who increased her breast cup from a negative A to a 34C. "I convinced my parents that breast implants were going to make me feel more secure about myself, and they finally agreed to let me go through with it."
Concerned for her happiness and safety, Leon and her parents set out to find the most qualified plastic surgeon for the job. Together, they interviewed three surgeons before making a decision.
"My parents were concerned about me being happy, and if it was something that was going to make me feel better about myself, they had no qualms," the sophomore said. "I also had no qualms about going under the knife or the risks involved."
And apparently neither did the 9,104 other 18- and 19-year-old females in the United States who surgically augmented their breast size in 2006, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).
Once a trademark for adult film stars, breast augmentation is now a rising interest among women, including post-pubescent, college-bound females.
Carol Ciancutti-Leyva is director of the newly released documentary "Absolutely Safe" - a feature film dedicated to breast implant risk awareness and education. She said she watched illness - unexplained rashes, severe joint pain, chronic fatigue, crippling arthritis and lupus - plague her mother after her silicone breast implants ruptured three times between 1974 and 1987.
"We had a lot of questions, and studies weren't available at the time," Ciancutti-Leyva said in a phone interview. "The intention of the film was to answer the unanswered questions."
Ciancutti-Leyva, who started the project in 1999 and finished filming earlier this year, noticed the increased number of women choosing breast enhancement surgery without what she considered the proper information needed for their decisions.
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chris
posted 11/27/07 @ 12:52 PM EST
Great article. We're featuring it today on our "Best of Campus Headlines" at collegenews.com
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