From the early days of adolescence to life as a grown woman, your breasts have been there - shaping your body and your personality every step of the way. Your tastes in clothing, in lingerie and even the way you carry yourself have all been influenced, for better or worse, by the unique shape and size of your breasts.

But as much as breasts shape a woman, many women perceive their breasts as slightly different shapes or sizes than they are, often cramming them into the wrong bra size for years - even decades! Most women want their breasts to fit their personalities, body types or lifestyles, ignoring wrong sizes or unflattering fits to suit their ideal. When accoutrements fail to satisfy a woman's ideal, there are modern ways to make things fit.

Finding the right fit
If you're considering breast augmentation or breast reconstruction surgery, you're certainly not alone. In 2006, approximately 32,000 Canadian women chose to have breast augmentation surgery and 5,000 Canadian women elected for breast reconstruction.¹ Whatever your reasons, you are a part of a growing body of Canadians opting for breast augmentation.

New options for breast implants: Just the right size
Safe new options are now available in Canada for breast augmentation. The latest product approved by Health Canada is the Natrelle ^™ Collection - a wide array of over 360 silicone and saline implants designed to work with the size, shape and tissue characteristics unique to your body and your needs. Having such a range of implant options makes it easier for your surgeon to match the right implant for your shape and body tissue, making Natrelle ^™ implants even safer and more satisfying for you.

Implants and breast augmentation surgery: Where to start?
As with any surgery, begin by educating yourself to decide if breast augmentation or breast reconstruction is right for you. Talk to friends or family, scour the internet for breast surgery and implant information, but most importantly talk to your doctor or surgeon about your expectations, your fears and your thoughts on breast implants and surgery. Some questions to ask your doctor or surgeon are:

• What are my options, i.e. size, shape, texture, filler and placement of breast implants, and what are the differences between them?
• Is there anything in my medical history I should consider?
• How long before I'm back to my normal activities?
• How common is reoperation after breast augmentation?
• Will breast augmentation affect my overall breast health, i.e. pregnancy, breastfeeding and mammograms?

Silicone versus saline - what's the difference?
Silicone - Silicone products are biocompatible, flexible and easy to sterilize, making them ideal for medical devices like artificial joints, catheters, facial implants as well as breast implants.

Silicone gel-filled breast implants are still the top choice for patients undergoing breast augmentation surgery. Natrelle ^™ Silicone-Filled Breast Implants offer over 140 styles - from very soft to more firm - so you have control over how your breasts will feel.

A higher-grade product, the Natrelle ^™ Highly Cohesive Silicone-Filled Breast Implant, creates an even smoother look and feel through better distribution of the silicone gel. With more than 120 different options, the Natrelle ^™ Highly Cohesive Silicone-Filled Breast Implant most closely mimics the dimensions of a natural breast and provides the best shape retention.

Saline - Saline simply means "salt water". The saline solution used in saline-filled breast implants has the same salt concentration as the normal cells of the body.

Saline implants involve a rubber implant shell that is inserted into the incision site and then filled with sterile saline, a salt water solution, through a shell. Natrelle ™ Saline-Filled Breast Implants offer more than 100 shell sizes and shapes. The amount of saline used to fill the shell is what determines the look and level of softness of your breast implants.

What are the risks for breast augmentation or reconstruction?
Your doctor or surgeon is the best source to help you weigh the risks with potential benefits of breast implants. However Health Canada urges you to consider the following risks before going forward with breast implant surgery:

• Many of the changes to the shape of the breast after implantation are irreversible.

• Removal of the implants may leave unacceptable dimpling, puckering, wrinkling or other cosmetic changes to the breast.

• Breast implants may affect your ability to produce milk for breast feeding.

• Breast implants make routine mammography screening more difficult.

• Breast implant surgery carries the same general risks as other surgical procedures. Check with your doctor or surgeon for more information about the standard risks. All surgery, including breast implant surgery, has risk involved.

How safe is Natrelle ^™?
The Natrelle ^™ Collection was developed by Allergan, an industry leader in breast implant research, patient support and breast implant safety for the past 25 years.

Health Canada recently approved the Natrelle ^™ Silicone-Filled Breast Implants based on preclinical testing, four years of data of 715 women from Allergan's Core Clinical Study and three years of data from Allergan's Style 410 Study (the Natrelle ™ Highly Cohesive Silicone-Filled Breast Implant), plus a European study that evaluated implant rupture prevalence rates beyond 10 years.

Sites to visit
For more information on breast implant surgery, breast aesthetics and health concerns, here's a list of websites that will help:

Health Canada

Food and Drug Administration

Institute of Medicine Report on the Safety of Silicone Implants

Canadian Society of Plastic Surgeons

Canadian Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Canadian Cancer Society

www.breastimplantanswers.ca

For information on Natrelle ^™ breast implants, visit their site at www.breastimplantstoday.ca, or www.natrelle.ca

¹ Statistics collected by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (http://www.plasticsurgery.org) determined in 2006 approximately 56,000 women underwent breast reconstruction surgery, while 329,000 women had breast augmentation surgery. Canadian numbers reflect roughly one-tenth of American figures.