I think many women forget (or are unaware) that the cost of breast implants is only part of the price you’ll end up paying for the procedure. Okay, so you buy yourself implants and go away pretty satisfied with the results.

But do you know that you may have to consider other costs sooner than you think? Research shows that 170,000 breast implants were removed within a recent three-year period.

Although most of the women walked away satisfied with how their new breasts looked, complications had occurred with one implant or both. One of the more common complications was rupturing. Another recent study reported that after 20 years, those few implants that haven’t ruptured will begin to do so.

So if you plan to get implants, factor into the costing the possibility that you’ll need additional surgery on one or both breasts.

Another thing to consider is that regular checkups will have to be added to the tag prices of whatever breast enhancement procedures you have done. For instance, the only way to detect a ruptured implant would be to undergo an MRI.

An MRI can set you back by as much as $2,000. Of course you have the alternative of waiting till you feel pain or your breast changes shape, but who wants to do that?

When you consider the cost of breast implants you’ll also have to deal with the fact that your insurance will probably not cover it – or any medical attention you may need when complications arise as the result of your implants.

I’d think that’d make anyone want to hit the gym instead of going under the knife, wouldn’t you?

In endoscopic breast augmentation, your surgeon will use a special viewing device, called an endoscope, so the area being operated on can be viewed from the inside.

The endoscope is made up of a tube with a small camera that will be put inside your body through tiny incisions. You’d think this would complicate breast enhancement surgery, but endoscopy actually makes it easier for your surgeon to do his job.

Your surgeon will have an easier time positioning the implants beneath your breasts. This means endoscopic breast augmentation offers greater speed and accuracy.

If you’re worried about more scars on top of the ones that come with standard breast enlargement surgery, you don’t have to. Surgeons who use endoscopic breast augmentation are trained to leave minimal scars.

Very tiny incisions will be made either in your navel or armpit. These areas offer the greatest flexibility so your surgeon can give you the best treatment.

For example, endoscopic breast augmentation can deal with a common complication, called capsular contracture, in which scar tissue or capsules form around the implant. This complication can mean hardness and varying levels of discomfort or pain.

Endoscopic breast augmentation also gives your surgeon the capacity to fully evaluate an existing implant you may have. The procedure has also been known to shorten healing time.

Celebrity breast augmentation will always be a hot topic at salons and checkout lines. And why not? There’s this nagging curiosity that just makes us want to know WHO had WHAT done and by HOW MUCH!

It’s difficult to detect celebrity breast augmentation nowadays because science has become so advanced to the point of achieving a high degree of seamless-ness and subtlety.

Not that there was any case where anything leaked or ripped, but somehow celebrities don’t seem to want anything as obvious as Loni Anderson’s obvious enhancement many years back.

Some famous people, such as Pamela Anderson, have even had their implants removed at one point (only to replace them again!). The two Misses Andersons have that in common, by the way; Loni had hers removed as well.

Another celeb, Christina Aguilera, is said to have had her natural Cup-A turned into a Large Cup-C.

So which other actress or celeb has had her breasts augmented through surgery?

Here’s a quick (and thoroughly incomplete!) rundown:

Victoria Beckham
Linda Blair (removed)
Cher
Nicole Eggert (removed)
Carmen Electra
Jane Fonda (removed)
Vivica Fox
Mariel Hemingway (removed because of health conditions)
Sally Kirkland (removed)
Courtney Love
Jenny McCarthy (removed; returned)
Demi Moore (removed)
Stevie Nicks (removed)
Sharon Osbourne
Dana Plato
Tara Reid
Anna Nicole Smith
Raquel Welch

Breast augmentation is a relatively straightforward surgery, taking only about an hour to an hour and a half to perform. Since you’re likely to be under general anesthetic the whole time, surgery is the easiest part for you. Your work begins after breast augmentation surgery. Recovery is hard and painful, but you can get through it much more easily if you know what to expect and how to deal with it.

Most breast augmentation surgeries are performed in a hospital. You may be allowed to go home after the procedure, but many patients remain in the hospital for two to three days following the surgery. If you do have a hospital stay after breast augmentation surgery, it will likely be to monitor the draining of fluids from your body and watch for signs of infection. During the surgery, the doctor will probably place drains in your breasts to keep fluids from building up immediately after surgery. Your body will stop draining within a day or two, and the drains will be removed before you are released. If you have stitches that are not self-dissolving, they will be removed five to seven days after the surgery.

Your first 24 to 48 hours at home are rather dicey because you are still at good risk for… [read on: after breast augmentation]

It is a medical fact that human skin will scar when it is cut either in surgery or by accident. Scars are permanent, and they cannot be removed. The appearance of scars can be minimized, however, and this is of particular interest to women who have breast augmentation scars. Usually, breast augmentation scars are most easily minimized if they are treated as early in the recovery period as possible. There are several options available to help reduce scarring after breast augmentation surgery, some will have to be prescribed by your surgeon and some are just… [full article: breast augmentation scars]