Breast augmentation is the most popular cosmetic surgery in the United States. It has a colorful past that would cause many women to second-guess going under the knife. The following delves into the forgotten history and the trials and tribulations that went into various attempts to perfect a procedure that still has numerous and devastating flaws.

10 Timmie Jean Lindsey

More than a half-century ago, Timmie Jean Lindsey became the recipient of the world’s first silicone gel breast implant, an operation in which she became an integral part simply by fate. In 1962, the divorced 29-year-old, blue-collar worker was following up with her physician after having a tattoo removed from her chest.

It was then that Dr. Frank J. Gerow proposed the idea of taking Lindsey from a B-cup to a C-cup free of charge. Around this time in the early 1960s, intravenous blood bags had replaced glass bottles. The idea of using a bag of gel for an implant came to mind as Dr. Gerow inadvertently noticed the texture was strikingly similar to that of a woman’s breast.^[1]

Even though Lindsey was nothing more than a human guinea pig, that did not deter her for a moment from going through with the operation and entrusting her well-being to young physicians.

More than 50 years later, Lindsey—now a great-grandmother and well into her eighties—still considers her role in the revolutionary operation a privilege and has “no major regrets.” In all the years, Lindsey’s implant—albeit slightly calcified—never once leaked or ruptured.

9 Post-Op

Plastic surgeons have long argued that their role, particularly pertaining to breast implants, has not been rooted in ill intent but rather a desire to make a woman feel better about herself. Be that as it may, numerous studies over the years have shown a troubling link between suicide and women who have undergone breast augmentation.

Case in point: A study conducted in Sweden analyzed data on 3,527 women who had voluntarily undergone the procedure. Researchers found a threefold higher risk of suicide overall. However, the risk increases 4.5-fold for 10 years after the operation and six-fold for 20 years or more after the operation.^[2]

According to Louise A. Brinton, PhD, MPH, of the US National Cancer Institute, one cannot merely link breast implants and silicone toxicity to suicide. But at the same time, one cannot rule out the possibility.

This begs the question: Why?

Some researchers believe that the link lies with a significant underlying psychiatric illness prior to implantation. In fact, studies show that the women in this study had a higher rate of alcohol and drug dependence.

In the final analysis, researchers believe that post-implant monitoring in addition to pre-implant psychiatric screening is warranted. However, it is highly doubtful that it will ever be enforced.

8 Liquid Silicone Injections

Risk comes with any surgery regardless of how minor and routine the procedure may be. In the world of plastic surgery, many would find it surprising that breast augmentation is at the top of the list when it comes to risk, far surpassing tummy tucks and liposuction.

Prior to 1992, the majority of complications stemmed from liquid silicone injections that caused a variety of detrimental side effects, most commonly a fibrous capsule contracture. In this instance, scar tissue forms around the implant, causing a hardening of the breast often described as concrete in texture.

To correct this, a doctor must manually break up the scar tissue around the implant or resort to a mastectomy. Another common severe complication is the “bleeding” of silicone particles through the implant membrane, which ultimately become lodged in various organs.

Surprisingly, such injurious injections were never approved by the FDA. It was not until 1992 that the uses of liquid silicone products were banned in the United States. Nonetheless, illegal operations using liquid silicone continue to be performed by unscrupulous individuals passing themselves off as “physicians.”^[3]

7 Trial And Error

In 2002, Dr. Robert Allen Smith patented a new form of breast augmentation using hair as the filler in place of silicone and gel. The idea came to mind when Dr. Smith noticed that a locket of hair had been sewn into the scalp of a patient without any form of rejection from the human body. Thus, Dr. Smith proposed using hair (or keratin, the protein from which hair is derived) from the “fur of animals including any mammal, from finger or toenail material or from hooves, or from the beaks, feet or feathers of birds.”

Such a bizarre proposal is frankly practical when considering the barbaric procedures used in the early to mid-1900s. During this time, breast augmentation was nothing more than an experimental trial and error that involved surgeons injecting a woman’s breast with everything from ox cartilage to glass balls, ivory, and ground rubber.

Suffice it to say, such procedures were a complete failure. It was not until the early 1930s that scientists discovered silicone, which demonstrated a resistance to rejection and bacterial contamination.^[4]

6 Breast Implant Illness

For thousands of women, undergoing surgery to extract their breast implants was more fulfilling than the day of implantation. Despite countless surgeons refuting the claim that implants were making recipients sick, a group called Breast Implant Illness and Healing now has 15,000 women who claim that their new busts caused a myriad of symptoms due to rupture.

Some of those problems include seizures, migraines, blackouts, and autoimmune illnesses. According to Phoenix Playboy model Katelyn Svancara, she fell ill for four of the five years that she had implants. Her symptoms ceased post-extraction.

These types of cases continue to grow in terms of lawsuits and are a public and legal nightmare for implant makers. Case in point: In 1998, Dow Corning Corporation paid $3.2 billion to settle the claims of more than 170,000 women.^[5]

In fact, many of the plaintiffs died prior to the settlement, one in which Dow Corning consistently denied any wrongdoing. Nonetheless, scientific studies have yet to find evidence linking silicone breast implants with these illnesses.

5 1895 Ingenuity

On November 24, 1895, the first recorded breast implant occurred in Germany when a 41-year-old singer and stage actress underwent a mastectomy following the discovery of a painful nodule in her left breast. After numerous consultations, Dr. Vincenz Czerny resected the hypertrophic breast tissue, which left considerable disfigurement for a woman whose career was based on her talents and her appearance.

As a result, Dr. Czerny made the decision to transplant a lipoma (noncancerous tissue) the size of a fist which had developed in the singer’s spinal column. He placed this lipoma into the vacant left breast for the purpose of symmetry. The operation proved successful, and the patient was discharged within a month with only mild tenderness.

At the time, this medical procedure was not only experimental but also unheard of given the belief that “closure of mastectomy sites could conceal tumor recurrence.” Due to such theories, which dated back to ancient times, concerning breast cancer and treatment, Dr. Czerny’s medical judgment on breast reconstruction did not gain acceptance until the mid-1900s.

Since then, numerous techniques have been modified for reconstruction of the female breast. This includes using one’s own muscle flap, specifically the latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap first described by Iginio Tansini in 1896.^[6]

4 Late 19th-Century Cosmetics

In 1899, Viennese physician Robert Gersuny injected mineral oil (Vaseline) into the scrotum of a patient who lost one of his testicles due to tuberculous epididymitis. Dr. Gersuny discovered that the Vaseline solidified as it became cooler, thus acting as soft tissue filler.^[7]

As time went on, he began experimenting with paraffin wax, which quickly caught on in the medical community. Though paraffin was still in its initial stages of experimentation, physicians were eager to use the new technique. It was ideal for cosmetic effects such as the filling of cheeks, face wrinkles, penile defects, and, of course, breast augmentation.

Unfortunately, the solidified miracle filler had a tendency to migrate inside the patient’s body, especially if the person spent time in the sun. This caused the paraffin to liquefy and harden elsewhere. What came about was the development of paraffinomas, or “wax cancers.”

Nonetheless, physicians were hesitant to abandon the practice, subjecting countless more people to the disfiguring effects. Initially, measures were taken to alter the wax substance to continue its use. Doctors would mix the paraffin with Vaseline, olive oil, goose grease, and even white oak bark.

Such practices were deemed “almost medieval in [their] brutality” by Dr. J. Carlyle DeVries of Chicago. By 1920, physicians began abandoning paraffin’s use as a cosmetic filler.

3 Forensics

In September 2006, the decomposed remains of a woman were found in a taped-up cardboard box floating in the waters of Newport Beach, California. The victim had been brutally murdered—stabbed 52 times—and wrapped in bedsheets. Had it not been for the serial numbers on the victim’s breast implants, the identity of 56-year-old Barbara Mullenix would not have been known.^[8]

Identifying corpses via implants has become commonplace. One such high-profile murder was that of Jasmine Fiore, a swimsuit model whose fingers were removed and teeth extracted by former reality star Ryan Alexander Jenkins. He had disposed of Fiore’s mutilated body in a Los Angeles dumpster.

Instances like these could explain why a Queensland man walked into a local police station carrying a “bagged and tagged item,” presumably a breast implant that might be evidence of a homicide. Unknown to the local hero, it was nothing more than a jellyfish.

2 Post–World War II Japan

During World War II, the Dow Corning Corporation and Corning Glass developed silicone products for military purposes. By 1943, silicone was being used to prepare grease and oil products for aircraft as well as rubbers that were resistant to high temperatures. Silicone was also used for waterproofing and as an insulation for electrical transformers.

Shortly after Japan’s surrender at the end of World War II, barrels of industrial-grade silicone began to mysteriously disappear from Japanese docks.^[9] At first, it wasn’t clear why.

However, in a country that had become occupied with US servicemen, it had become apparent that the soldiers had a preference for women with larger breasts. Thus, the missing barrels of silicone provided the substance for injections into the breasts of Japanese prostitutes. This caused many cases of disfigurement, infection, migration of the silicone, and scarring.

These detrimental results occurred because the silicone was industrial grade, which contained traces of organic salt of tin, instead of medical grade, which is sterile. This barbaric practice of injecting industrial-grade silicone was used extensively in Japan long after the war and continues today in some areas of Asia.

1 Esmeralda

There were 296,203 breast augmentations in 2010, and about 5–10 million women worldwide have undergone the procedure. The advances and popularity of surgical augmentation have come a long way over the last 50 years. However, that was not always the case.

In fact, hypomastia (the condition of having small breasts) was of little importance to surgeons in the early postwar years. It didn’t become an issue until fashion magazines and alluring actresses, such as Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield, brought to light women’s desires for a surgical solution to enhance their physique and self-assurance.

As we have discussed, Timmie Jean Lindsey was the first human to receive a silicone implant. However, prior to her operation, the implant was tested on a dog named Esmeralda.

According to Dr. Thomas Biggs, clinical professor of plastic surgery at Baylor College of Medicine, “There was very little regulation, so there was minimal obstruction to its being manufactured and sold.” Thus, Esmeralda the dog went under the knife. By happenstance, the surgery proved successful with no complications, paving the way for countless women (and some men) to accentuate and embrace their feminine side.^[10]

Adam is just a hubcap trying to hold on in the fast lane.

Breast milk helps build a baby’s budding immune system, and the act of breastfeeding establishes emotional bonding. And, frankly, mammals are built for it. So why is there continually so much controversy surrounding the topic? Some women have blamed the sexualization of breasts for the pushback they receive when nursing their babies in public. Others have harshly judged and criticized mothers who opt for formula over breast milk. Even COVID-19 and COVID vaccinations have shone a spotlight on it: The virus will not be passed on to baby through breast milk, but antibodies from the vaccine will. Every few years, a new debate involving breast milk arises. These are some of the most notable.

Top 10 Voluptuous Facts About Breast Implants

10 I Scream. You Scream. We All Scream About Breast Milk Ice Cream

In 2011, a London shop introduced ice cream containing human breast milk. The Icecreamists created “Baba Gaga” using the breast milk of more than a dozen women. The vanilla and lemon zest concoction cost about $22.50 per serving and sold out within days.

The Icecreamists recruited breast milk donors with an internet advertisement and said all milk “was screened [for viruses and contaminants] in line with hospital/blood donor requirements.” The store’s founder said, “It’s pure, it’s natural, it’s organic, and it’s free range—and if it’s good enough for our kids, it’s good enough to use in our ice cream.”

But Westminster Council officials were concerned that Baba Gaga might pose a health threat. “Selling foodstuffs made from another person’s bodily fluids can lead to viruses being passed on and, in this case, potentially hepatitis,” said one council member.

The Icecreamists called the council’s concerns “complete rubbish” and said “if the ice cream is not safe, then these mothers pose a serious risk to their babies.

In 2015, breastfeeding advocate Victoria Hiley teamed up with the Licktators to relaunch the product in honor of the forthcoming royal baby. “How delicious breast milk is, whatever your age,” Hiley said. Would you eat it?

9 Jury Duty Trumps Mother’s Desire to Breastfeed

A Hampshire woman may defer her jury service at Winchester Crown Court for 12 months, but she says that’s not long enough. Zoe Stacey asked to be excused from service while she breastfeeds her now two-month-old son, and she had hoped to do so for longer than one year.

The Jury Central Summoning Bureau rejected the request, and Stacey appealed, saying, “I do feel strongly about being able to breastfeed for as long as possible and not wanting to leave him for the next year. I think they need to show more compassion.” The appeal will be considered by a judge at Winchester Crown Court. HM Courts and Tribunals Service said, “Crown court practice is to defer new mums that are breastfeeding. We are investigating the facts of this case.”

8 Moms Utilize Facebook to Farm Out Surplus Breast Milk

The Eats on Feets campaign started on Facebook when a breastfeeding mother wanted to find a way to put her surplus milk to use. She teamed up with like-minded activists, and the movement spread to every continent, including Antarctica! It describes itself as a “world-wide network for those who have made the informed choice to share breast milk.”

Shell Walker Luttrell, a midwife from Phoenix, Arizona, crafted the original Facebook page in 2010. “Hey, why don’t we just become wet nurses,” she told her breastfeeding friends, “Instead of Meals on Wheels, we can call ourselves Eats on Feets.”

But the U.S. FDA explains that using “donor human milk” is risky business. “Risks for the baby include exposure to infectious diseases, including HIV, to chemical contaminants, such as some illegal drugs to a limited number of prescription drugs, that might be in the human milk if the donor has not been adequately screened,” reads the FDA’s website. “In addition, if human milk is not handled and stored properly, it could, like any time of milk, become contaminated and unsafe to drink.”

The FDA prefers that those interested in breast milk sharing utilize the Human Milk Banking Association of North America as a good source of information and contact.

7 Celebrity Dads Import Breast Milk

Dad couples aren’t equipped to breastfeed, so what do they do when they believe “breast is best”? For celebrity couples like Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka, it helps to be wealthy. In 2010, the parents welcomed twins via surrogate and worried when one baby exhibited fussiness from gastrointestinal problems. After experimenting with various formulas, they opted to source breast milk for her.

“You have to have breast milk shipped in,” Harris said in an interview. “If anyone is pumping, extra milk has to go to San Jose and then get pasteurized and then come back to you. I think it’s a racket!” The actor complained that even if his next-door neighbor wanted to donate milk, she’d have to jump through hoops. “If someone’s in Santa Monica, down the street, and wants to provide milk, it has to go on a plane to San Jose,” he explained. “And they charge a fortune—it costs more for breast milk than sushi!”

Sir Elton John and David Furnish did the same. Their son’s surrogate (and biological mother) pumped breast milk in the U.S. and sent it to the U.K. via Fed-Ex. Celeb couples can easily afford this luxury. But with most milk banks charging about $4 an ounce—that’s more than $100 a day for a hungry newborn—importing breast milk is not an option for the average parent.

6 Actress Donates Breast Milk to Drug-Addicted Infant

When Jenna Elfman’s first son was born, she found she didn’t know the first thing about how to breastfeed. “I had zero education about breastfeeding before giving birth to my first son, I didn’t know there was anything TO learn about breastfeeding,” she said. “I though you put the baby on the breast, and they sucked and that was it.”

When she was unable to get her own son to latch on, Elfman opted to feed him with formula. But the actress put her pumped breast milk to good use when a friend of a friend gave birth to a methamphetamine-addicted baby who was unable to keep down his formula. “Once a week, my friend would come over to get a supply,” the actress said. “The second the baby started on breast milk, he could hold it down. All of the rash symptoms on his body started going away. I literally kept him alive for several months.”

5 Police Officer Breastfeeds Another Woman’s Baby

In 2018, Officer Celeste Jaqueline Ayala was patrolling a children’s hospital in Berisso, Argentina when she heard the cries of a hungry baby. Ayala had recently become a mother herself and immediately recognized the baby’s need. She simply sat down on a chair outside the hospital ward and, in full police uniform, fed the infant. Hospital officials said that the baby was just removed from its mother and that’s why it had not been fed by its staff.

The officer’s partner photographed the moment and shared it on Facebook writing, “I want to make public this great gesture of love that you displayed today with this baby.” The post quickly went viral and was featured by news outlets across the globe. Amazingly, this happened on August 14, which in Argentina is “National Day of the Female Officer.”

Actress Salma Hayek made similar headlines while on a goodwill trip to Sierra Leone in 2009. The country has the highest infant mortality rate in the world—one in five children die before their fifth birthday—and malnutrition is a big factor. Doctors there told the actress that they would like to see mothers breastfeed for two years, but tradition makes doing so difficult. Most mothers stop after just a few months because of pressure from their husbands, who are forbidden to have sexual relations with a woman who is breastfeeding.

A video clip shows Hayek breastfeeding a hungry baby boy, who was born on the same day as her own 1-year-old daughter. The actress said she did so to diminish the stigma placed on women for breastfeeding—particularly, breastfeeding babies more than a few months old.

A blogger on EW.com called Hayek cool “because her left breast has now done more for humanity in a few minutes that I’ve done in roughly my life.”

4 Breast Milk Sets Off Explosives Alarm

In 2017, a Birtney Shawstad told security agents she was traveling with breast milk and was instructed to put the container in its own security bin for screening. The breast milk set off an alarm when it was tested for explosives. It was retested with the same results. Thinking that the bin was the problem Shawstad asked that the milk be screened in a different bin, but her request was denied. She was forced to dump the milk if she wanted to board the plane.

“I just started crying because I really didn’t know what to do,” the mother told reporters. “That was my son’s food.”

The TSA later apologized to the woman and said it would brief all Denver TSA officers on screening oversized liquids, including breast milk.

A few years earlier, Delta Air Lines came under fire for refusing to let a nursing mother board with her breast pump. Gate agents forced the woman to check her bag, rendering her unable to pump for more than eight hours.

The airline apologized and explained that the company does support the breastfeeding travelers. Delta fully supports a woman’s right to breastfeed on board Delta and Delta Connection aircraft and in Delta facilities. Breast pumps are allowed on board.”

3 Supermodel Thinks There Should Be a Law About Breastfeeding

Gisele Bundchen is an outspoken celebrity, and becoming a mother did nothing to quell her abrasiveness. The supermodel (and wife of pro quarterback Tom Brady) infuriated women with comments made to Harper’s Bazaar in 2010.

When asked how she so quickly regained her million-dollar pre-baby figure, Bundchen said, “I think breastfeeding really helped. Some people here think they don’t have to breastfeed, and I think, ‘Are you going to give chemical food to your child, when they are so little?’ There should be a worldwide law, in my opinion, that mothers should breastfeed their babies for six months.”

The Victoria’s Secret model later walked back on her bold remarks, expressing regret that her statement sounded so “black and white.”

2 Festival Goer Sprays Breast Milk Into Crowd

Just when you thought you’d seen it all. At the 2019 DirtyBird Campout in Southern California, an attractive blonde donning a one-piece swimsuit, ballcap, sunglasses, and red boots blends in with the rest of the 50,000 attendees. That is, until she whipped out her breasts and began spraying milk into the crowd. The multitasker twerked and sprayed simultaneously, while a fellow festival-goer squats down to capture the milky shower in her open mouth.

1 Mother Breastfeeds Teenaged Son

Nicole Mullen is a big advocate for breastfeeding older children. And it appears that she’s out to lead by example! The unconventional mother was unbothered by stunned onlookers while she nursed her 13-year-old son while they waited in line for a movie. When the ticket clerk shouted that the pair needed to stop, she replied, “I am a mother, and I have every right to feed my child in public.”

Or perhaps the woman is just looking for publicity with shock value: Mullen claims she derives sexual pleasure from her son’s facial hair—yeah!

10 Facts On The History Of Breastfeeding And Baby Food

About The Author: Mary Fetzer is a freelance copywriter, editor, and content strategist from Central Pennsylvania.