Breast Augmentation and Breast Cancer: Advice from a Plastic Surgery Clinic That Even Offers Early Blood-Based Screening
1. If I get breast augmentation, doesn't my risk of breast cancer go up?
2. Will I no longer be able to get breast cancer screenings after surgery?
3. I have a family history of breast cancer — is it really okay to have surgery?
As a plastic surgery clinic built on 20 years of research devoted solely to the breast, we would like to answer each of these questions.
〈 A record of breast surgery research going back 20 years 〉
Let us briefly introduce ourselves :)
Hello! We are U&U Plastic Surgery — the clinic where a breast surgeon and former Seoul National University professor is on staff full-time.
As a clinic dedicated exclusively to breast surgery, we also provide breast examinations and procedures such as mammography, ultrasound, and Mammotome biopsy.
We are currently the only plastic surgery clinic in Korea offering early breast cancer screening through a blood test (known as Mastocheck).
The blood testing room for breast augmentation and breast cancer screening
That concludes our brief introduction — now let's get right into the main topic.
1. If I get breast augmentation, doesn't my risk of breast cancer go up?
Source
After thyroid cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer among Korean women.
So it is only natural to worry about developing breast cancer.
To give you the conclusion first:
the incidence of breast cancer
has no association with breast implants.
Source
Back in August 2019, there was a case in Korea in which a rare cancer developed in a patient who had received textured implants from U.S. Company A.
However, according to data released by Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS),
the rare cancer found was an immune-system-related type, confirmed to be distinct from breast cancer.
( * The implants from U.S. Company A have since been recalled by the FDA, so there is no need to worry. )
Still, if that rare cancer concerns you, simply choose microtextured or smooth implants rather than textured ones.
2. Will I no longer be able to get breast cancer screenings after surgery?
Source
There are broadly two types of examinations used for breast cancer screening.
- Mammography (breast X-ray imaging)
- Ultrasonography (breast ultrasound examination)
Of these, mammography — which compresses the breast during imaging — is probably your biggest worry.
These days, radiology departments are using imaging techniques that avoid putting excessive pressure on breast implants.
Mammography is also an examination routinely performed on patients who have had breast augmentation.
So we can tell you there is no need to worry too much :)
〈 Videos worth watching when choosing implants 〉
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXFk6dLa_kU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSsv9B8qnOw&t=1s
3. I have a family history of breast cancer — is it really okay to have surgery?
Source
Breast cancer develops in the mammary gland tissue.
Beneath the mammary gland tissue lies the muscle, and the implant is placed under that muscle.
So even if, by any chance, cancer is found, surgery can sometimes be performed only on the breast cancer above the implant, without removing the implant.
As mentioned earlier, there is no link between implants and breast cancer.
Having a family history does not mean that surgery raises your risk of developing cancer.
In fact, because the implant pushes the mammary gland tissue and muscle forward, it can actually help with the early detection of breast cancer.
( * If you would like to check for possible hereditary breast cancer, we recommend a genetic test called BRCA. )
< Breast cancer and implant screening / Mammotome /
Benign Tumor Follow-up Management Center >
For those of you worried about breast augmentation and breast cancer, this is everything I have prepared.
Finally, I will close this article by attaching a Q&A collection compiled over two years on mom-community forums.
It gathers in one place the questions and answers of people who, like you, are concerned about breast augmentation and breast cancer.
[Free PDF] A collection of breast augmentation Q&As from two years on mom-community forums
We have been researching breasts for 20 years, but in the past, breast augmentation was …
blog.naver.com
It will certainly help you prepare for your consultation as well. Please be sure to check it out.
Thank you for reading this long article. This has been U&U Plastic Surgery.
〈 This is what U&U Plastic Surgery is like 〉
U&U Plastic Surgery: why we were able to record the most breast augmentation surgeries in 2024. < Based on Motiva Korea data >
U&U Plastic Surgery is the clinic that performs the most breast augmentation procedures in Korea…
blog.naver.com
U&U Plastic Surgery Clinic
Myungkwang Building, 819 Nonhyeon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul