Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
proximity of small amounts of the transplanted fat to an established
blood supply (Coleman and Saboeiro, 2007). The results of this
particular procedure for a number of patients over the period 1995-
2000 are also argued to show that fat transplants are effective and
result in good long-term outcomes (Coleman and Saboerio, 2007).
The technique has subsequently been demonstrated to result in
higher numbers of adipocytes remaining in the sample than is
obtained with conventional liposuction, which is thought to explain
its effectiveness over other techniques of fat transfer (Pu et al., 2008).
In addition to breast augmentation, the same clinic also offers the
LipoStructure
®
fat grafting technique for other body parts, including
the face, hands and neck.
Statistics reported in Britain on cosmetic surgery show a consistent
increase in the numbers of individuals willing to undergo treatment
in the UK over the past few years (Rogers, 2011). Over 9500 of the
procedures from a total of just over 38 000 cosmetic procedures
performed on women during 2010 were for breast augmentation, up
from around 8500 in 2008 and 2009 (Rogers, 2011). Although the
exact breakdown in numbers of the kinds of procedures individual
women were having done and whether or not this includes natural
breast augmentation (i.e. using fat transplants) is unclear, what is
clear from this data obtained from the British Association of Aesthetic
Plastic Surgeons is that demand for breast augmentation is high.
The commercial model for any form of natural breast augmentation
is limited to a fee-per-service transaction in the same fashion as any
other cosmetic technique. Given the numbers of people willing to
undergo breast augmentation, however, it seems unlikely that price
will be a significant barrier to treatment. Of course, cosmetic surgery
tourism is on the rise, with locations in Eastern Europe, Spain, South
America and East Asia among the top locations advertising cosmetic
surgery on the Internet (Nasab et al., 2010). One random opinion
poll of shoppers at a retail centre in the UK indicated that almost all
of them would consider having cosmetic surgery abroad, with lower
price being the main reason given (Nasab et al., 2010). Should
natural breast augmentation become a more popular and widely
available choice, global competition for patients could see the price
drop in the future.
