About 350, 000 women had breast implants last year in the US alone. This figure is phenomenal given the health risks involved. To avoid such problems, Dr Judit Puskas from the University of Akron, Ohio, is developing a new and improved alternative to silicone implants. The biorubber implants are lighter and less likely to rupture.
However, the research comes with a considerable price tag. Dr. Puskas is waiting to hear whether the National Science Foundation will fund an 11-year, $10 million proposal to produce and test the new implants.
According to the American Society of Plastic surgeons statistics, breast implants rank third among the top five surgical cosmetic procedures.
Given that breast implants are done for cosmetic reasons and that research in this area is a multi-million dollar spree, one has to rethink whether this money and effort can be put to better use.
Many projects worthy of this money come to mind: violence against women in Jordan with the continued honour killings, refugee and internally displaced women in Darfur, male jailers sexually and physically abusing women in Pakistani jails, suffering of Palestinian women, and many others.
Research on better breast implants for primarily cosmetic reasons mainly serves to uphold masculine standards of female beauty. The $10 million dollars can be spent to improve the basic quality of life for women with more serious problems.
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