BY AMANDA BLOYE, FW Writer

Brenda* lies on the operating table, anxiously
awaiting the lethargy of the anesthetic. She
waits for the soothing calm of the hospital’s
drugs to sweep over her body. As it worked its
way through her bloodstream, she recounted
her reasons for the surgery. She was different
and longed to be regular. Sure she was pretty
but she no longer wanted to be passed over. She
had plenty of reasons to be doing it. Didn’t
she? Well she definitely had two good reasons
and they stared back, mocking her every time
she looked in the mirror. They sat on her chest
looking more like pimples than nipples and slight
bumps instead of breasts. She closed her eyes,
letting her consciousness slip away knowing she
would wake up anew.

As individuals living in a cosmetic nation we
are always searching for the latest quick fix. In
no realm is this truer than that of celebrities -
whether it’s Demi Moore using leeches instead
of Botox or Lindsay Lohan considering Botox
injections to cure non-existent crowsfeet. Sure
there is a desire to be beautiful but it can be said
that celebrities might be taking it too far.

What happens when the agony of surgery
outlasts the healing process? How is an
individual to cope?

For Brenda, these questions became her
reality. After months of contemplating her
operation she decided to take the plunge and get
a breast augmentation. At first all was well. The
surgeon’s work healed beautifully and she felt as
though she had a new lease on life. She was glad
to be getting noticed.

About eight months after the surgery, Brenda
began to notice something strange. Her left
breast had grown almost over night. It was now
significantly larger than the right for reasons
she couldn’t understand. She considered going
back to see the surgeon but thought first to do the
exercises he gave her to reduce the swelling.

Over the next five months, Brenda continued
the exercises with the hope that she would wake
up and her breasts would once again be even. It
never happened. The size difference eventually
became so great that she needed to wear a bra
insert in her right cup. After admitting that
something was wrong Brenda went to see the
surgeon. She never expected what she was about
to find out.

As it turned out Brenda’s body had rejected
the cohesive gel implant. Through no fault of
the surgeon or the type of implant, Brenda’s
body was refusing what her mind and heart so
desperately wanted.

“It wasn’t the surgeon or the implant,”
Brenda told Fashion Weekly. “My body just
didn’t want to handle it. Luckily I was able to go
back and get it fixed.”

Unfortunately, when it comes to any surgery
there is no guarantee. Cases like Brenda’s happen
all of the time and luckily they can usually be
corrected. One celebrity who was faced with the
unfavourable consequences of plastic surgery was
Tara Reid. After consulting a plastic surgeon
in 2004, Reid was surprised to find her breasts
larger than she had imagined.
“[I] asked for big Bs [but instead] he gave me Cs,

and I didn’t want them,” Reid shared in an
interview with US Weekly.

After the surgery Reid noticed that her
nipples were slightly deformed but it wasn’t long
until the botched breast augmentation got much
worse.

“After six months of ‘it’s going to get better,’
it started to get worse and worse. I never thought
I would have nipples that looked like this,” Reid
told the magazine.

Why is it that with cases like Reid’s strewn
across the media, we as a society are becoming
an increasingly plastic nation?

“For me I just wanted a way to feel better
about myself,” Brenda explained. “I was tired of
spending money on push up bras. I was tired of
being embarrassed of my chest when I was with a
man.”

Whether or not cosmetic mishaps can be
avoided is another story altogether but it is
important for individuals considering such
procedures to be aware of what they are up
against. Anyone wanting to get cosmetic surgery
should be aware of the facts, the procedure and
should thoroughly research any surgeon they are
considering.

For more information on cosmetic surgery
visit www.plasticsurgeryinfo.ca or consult the
Canadian Society of Plastic Surgeons at www.
plasticsurgery.ca.
* Her name has been changed by Fashion
Weekly