OK, they're not really steel. The latest breast implants are made of titanium-and-polyester mesh. Ziya Saylan, a plastic surgeon in Germany, has given subcutaneous, strapless support to dozens of women who wanted a lift. "It looks natural, and I don't feel it," says Nina Haro, a 33-year-old cosmetics saleswoman whose weight loss had left her feeling saggy.
For each patient, Saylan creates a computer-generated "ideal bust template" straight out of the build-a-woman scene in Weird Science. He fits the cups individually, and then inserts them through incisions beneath the aureole, stitching them to the breastbone and pectoral muscles for support. Saylan says the implants feel natural to the touch and will never sag.
The titanium "bra" has yet to get government approval in the US. It's not that the materials are harmful; the same stuff is used for hernias and stomach lifts. But some doctors worry that, like silicone and saline, the mesh could obscure a mammogram. "We have more malpractice suits here than in Europe, so everybody's gun-shy," says Leroy Young, chair of the Emerging Trends Task Force of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. On the bright side, unlike some underwire bras, they won't set off airport metal detectors.
- Shana Ting Lipton
credit: Michael Gillette
START
Boobs of Steel
The Amazing Adventures of 802.11
Keep Your Laws Off My Technology
