Augmentation Mammaplasty: The Surgical and Psychological Effects of the Operation and Prediction of the Result

Abstract

The aim of this research was to evaluate the effect of augmentation mammaplasty on women and to determine if it is possible to predict which women will benefit most from the operation. Interviews were conducted with both women who were about to undergo augmentation mammaplasty and those who had undergone the surgery. These interviews were compared with interviews from a control group composed of a normally distributed population. The women who apply for augmentation mammaplasty are a homogeneous group who experience their breast problems in a very similar way. Our study revealed that they are distinctly different from the control group in personality and childhood environment. Most of the women were generally satisfied with the operation even though many had complaints about the technical result. Certain behaviors had changed, but despite these positive results these changes were not radical and in reality the improvement was not as the women initially described it. The women's behavior reactions rarely changed enough to become similar to the reactions of the control group. Using a personality test, it is possible to predict which women will benefit most from the operation. When an assessment of psychiatric problems was made using the neurosis scale in a personality test, the women who scored low on a scale of neurotic self-assertion were satisfied with the operation to a greater extent.