Before Your Daughter Gets Breast Implants
In a concise advisory video, Dr. Robert Whitfield MD, who has performed over 2,000 breast implant removals (explant surgeries), shares four essential considerations for parents and young women contemplating breast augmentation at age 18. First, implants placed at 18 require lifelong monitoring, and the longer they remain, the higher the likelihood of needing additional surgeries. Second, as a woman ages, overall body fat—including breast tissue—thickens, meaning the breast shape achieved at 18 may change significantly by age 30. Third, fat transfer typically adds only about one cup size; while many teenage girls have enough donor fat, the procedure tends to yield better, more lasting results later in life when more donor tissue is available. Fourth, parents should ask their daughter why she wants implants and truly listen, illustrated by a patient who regretted getting implants at 18 and wishes she had known the long‑term implications.
