10 Cosmetic Procedures You Should Avoid

Injection for Breast Augmentation

What if getting bigger breasts was as simple as getting a shot?

The idea is not a new one, and it stands to reason that pumping the breasts full of fat or fillers would offer an alternative to breast implant surgery -- all without the scars.

Traditionally, doctors performing such procedures have used the fat harvested from other areas of the body, such as the buttocks and thighs. By purifying this fat and reinjecting it into the breasts, they say, they can offer their patients a safe enhancement using the body's own spare materials.

But in reality, the procedure is not nearly as simple as it appears.

"On the surface, the concept of using liposuction to remove unwanted fat from one's own thighs and buttocks, and then injecting it into the breasts to make them larger, has appeal," the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery noted in a past statement on the procedure. "However, aesthetic surgeons certified in plastic surgery have long maintained that injection of fat, or any substance, into or behind the breast tissue can be potentially dangerous."

Dangerous, because there exists the potential for the reinjected fat to calcify, creating a scarred mass buried within the breast tissues. These calcifications can either mask or mimic the presence of breast cancer. And since between 7 and 14 ounces of fat are needed for the enlargement of a breast, there is no shortage of relocated fat to make the detection of breast cancer difficult, or even impossible.

More recently, a procedure referred to as the "boob jab" has made headlines by using artificial fillers to accomplish the same goal of bigger breasts. Specifically, the procedure requires the injection through the armpit of a temporary filler called Macrolane directly into the breast.

The procedure costs $4,000, and the results are temporary. And some doctors worry that this technique, too, could make it more difficult for current screening tests to detect breast cancer.