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 “Cosmetic surgery tourism,” or traveling to a different country to
have a cosmetic procedure, has been on the rise for the past ten
years, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons – which
means these international differences in ideal appearance may be of
growing importance.
“In a global environment, patients who seek surgery in another
country may not be happy with their result,” said Dr. Neil Tanna,
who worked on the study.
With regard to fullness of the upper breast, for example, surgeons
from India preferred the most full look, while surgeons from France
preferred the least upper-breast fullness.
Surgeons from different countries also had differing opinions on the
ideal areola size. Brazilian surgeons preferred the largest areola
size, both in natural breasts and in breasts with implants, while
German surgeons preferred the smallest areola size.
Surgeons from the U.S., India, and France also tended to prefer
larger areolas.
There is a lot of variation in what is considered the “ideal” breast
and this is true for both patients and surgeons, Tanna said in an
email.
Tanna, a plastic surgeon at North Shore-LIJ Health System in New
Hyde Park, New York, and his colleagues write in the Annals of
Plastic Surgery that while researchers have tried to identify
objective criteria for attractiveness, there has been little
discussion of the factors that influence individual preferences.
The study team sent out electronic visual surveys and received 614
responses from plastic surgeons in 29 countries.
The survey had an interactive design in which the surgeons were
shown an image of a model and were asked to adjust the image to
display smaller or larger areolas and fuller or less full upper area
of the breasts.
The participating surgeons also reported demographic information,
including their nationality, age, sex, ethnicity, and whether they
had a private or academic practice.
Surgeon age had an effect on their preferences, with older surgeons
tending to prefer less upper breast fullness and larger areola size.
Surgeons’ ethnicity did not have a significant effect on their
preferences, however.
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“The geographic location of the surgeon has therefore more influence
on different beauty ideals than his or her ethnicity,” said Tanna,
who added that this is likely due to cultural differences in the
different countries surveyed.
Dr. Colleen McCarthy, a reconstructive surgeon at Memorial
Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, said that based on the study’s
results, “we can gleam that there is no universally accepted
aesthetic norm when talking about breast shape.”
McCarthy, who wasn't involved in the study, said the next step would
be to see if a similar tool could be used to evaluate an individual
patient’s ideal breast appearance.
“As the goal of any cosmetic breast surgery is to satisfy a patient
with respect to her expectations for an aesthetic result, any tool
that facilitates communication of this would be invaluable,”
McCarthy noted.
Tanna agrees that communication between doctor and patient is
crucial.
“It is important for plastic surgeons to consider the cultural
background and country of origin of their patients,” he advises.
“This will help to establish a common denominator between patients
and surgeons, which might ultimately lead to higher patient
satisfaction.”
SOURCE: bit.ly/1fGtM99 Annals of Plastic Surgery, online June 2015.
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