Surgeon Study Finds Patient's Perception of an 'Ideal Breast' Mirrors Natural Pattern

DEL MAR, Calif. - Feb. 16, 2022 - PRLog -- New research by a team of board-certified plastic surgeons and co-authors sought to define the formula and characteristics behind what many women define as the ideal breast shape and proportions.

The research, published in the Aesthetic Society's Aesthetic Surgery Journal, provides measurable numerical data that could help plastic surgeons in the field nationwide make their patient's ideals a living reality.

Every year, nearly 325,000 women undergo breast-related cosmetic surgeries, from breast reductions that provide relief from pain and discomfort, to breast lifts, and breast augmentations using FDA-cleared saline or silicone implants.

While it is widely acknowledged that the safety and aesthetic outcome of the 325,000 such procedures performed annually depends more on the skill of the surgeon than anything else, less is known and documented about the ideal or attractive breast. What makes it? Is it measurable? And is it replicable?

The team of four plastic surgeons sought to discover that exactly, pointing out that much time and effort is invested in developing techniques for breast surgery, while lacking "a paragon for identifying what exactly are the factors that define an attractive breast."

The paper's senior author, Dr. Paul E. Chasan, had early noted that during the more than 5,000 consultations for breast surgery that he conducted with patients over the course of more than 26 years, the same 10-15 before-and-after images were chosen from his gallery by female patients over and over as depicting their desired surgery results.

The authors studied these and hundreds more clinical photographs, including photographs of a female celebrity widely considered attractive. The adage that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" may be true, but what of a plastic surgeon who seeks to help provide or enhance that beauty for a patient—as uniquely envisioned by her alone? That surgeon needs proven formulae and measured numerical values to make her ideals an integrated and proportional reality for the patient's unique body type.

Three breast measurements proved vital and revealed a formula not dissimilar to the Fibonacci sequence, a "golden ratio" seen in nature, from seashells to spiraling galaxies.

The images reviewed and the data presented draws on the surgical results from one practice, Ranch & Coast Plastic Surgery in Del Mar, California, but it adds important information to breast cosmetic surgeries, a staple of the repertoire of plastic surgeons everywhere according to annual statistics from multiple professional societies.

About Dr. Paul Chasan
Dr. Paul E. Chasan, a "surgeon's surgeon" in private practice at Ranch & Coast Plastic Surgery in Southern California, is a member of the American Board of Plastic Surgery and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. He has been in practice for more than 26 years. In December 2021, Dr. Chasan was voted "Best Plastic Surgeon" in Ranch & Coast magazine's "Best of Fashion & Beauty 2021." Co-author Cameron Francis, M.D., a rising star in the world of aesthetic plastic surgery, received board certification by the American Board of Plastic Surgery in December 2021.

About the Authors
Dr. Jourdain D. Artz, MD, MS, is a fourth-year integrated plastic surgery resident. Dr. Adam T. Hauch MD, MBA, is the aesthetic fellow in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Louisiana State University. Drs Francis and Chasan are plastic surgeons in private practice in Del Mar, CA.