Physician Invents Reconstructive Surgery For Female Genital Mutilation.


There is new hope for the hundreds of millions of women worldwide who have been subjected to genital mutilation.

A surgeon in Penn Medicine’s Center for Human Appearance has developed a reconstructive procedure that can increase sexual function and, patients’ early experiences suggest, help heal the emotional and psychological wounds associated with the mutilation. Ivona Percec, an assistant professor of Surgery in the division of Plastic Surgery, reports on her use of the technique in three patients this month in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal. She also calls for greater awareness of this human rights issue in support of women who’ve suffered these experiences across the world.

 “Plastic surgeons have a crucial role to play in this recovery, and it’s important for physicians to be informed and prepared to address the surgical and emotional needs of women who seek care for this,” Percec said. “Our procedure is simple yet effective and can help victims restore their physical and psychological sense of well-being.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) as, “any procedure that intentionally alters or causes injury to female genital organs for non-medical reasons and with no health benefits.” An estimated 200 million women have been subjected to FGM around the world, usually between the first week of life and adolescence, and often by their caregivers. It is a cultural ritual in parts of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia to encourage female sexual fidelity. It is internationally recognized as a violation of human rights.

FGM can also have long-term consequences, including severe pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, cysts, recurrent infections, and even death.

All three women were between the ages of 30 and 33 and had recently immigrated to the United States from Sierra Leone. In each case, the women were married but had not told their husbands they had undergone FGM as children.

“These women were embarrassed that they were subjected to this procedure, in particular since relocating to the United States,” Percec said. “All of them were able to have intercourse, but without pleasure – usually with pain.”

The patients wanted to know if there were any surgical options available to help them look and feel more normal. After Percec’s research turned up little in the way of established procedures, she used her knowledge of other reconstructive techniques in hopes of restoring appearance and function.

With an average follow up of almost a year, all three patients reported improved sexual function and decreased embarrassment with their partners. All three women said they would recommend this procedure to others who have suffered FGM.

“Female genital mutilation is a violation of the basic rights of women and children,” Percec said. “As nations around the world work to eliminate this custom, plastic surgeons can play an important role in the physical, emotional, and psychological recovery of women everywhere.”

Double Trouble? How Your Breast Size Speaks Volumes About You


Two red scoops of ice creamBoth men and women are obsessed with breasts; men ogle at women’s “fun bags,” while women wish they had a bigger or smaller cup size. The average American bra size has swelled up from 34B to 34DD in just a 30-year time span due to better education on bra fit, breast augmentation, and obesity. And a woman’s breast size can reveal more than just how big (or small) her breasts are — it can speak volumes when it comes to her personality and lifestyle.

Bra sizes have become a hot topic in the scientific community, with numerous studies linking breast size to character traits like being frivolous with money to consuming copious amounts of coffee. In no particular order, here’s what your bra size says about you:

1. Bigger Than A B-Cup, Bigger Spender

The amount of money you spend on lingerie could be contingent on your breast size. A studyconducted by Alibaba, a Chinese e-commerce giant, found customers who bought a bra with a cup size of B or smaller tended to spend less than their more endowed counterparts. The total money spent was divided into five categories: low, slightly low, middle, slightly high, and high. Only seven percent of B-sized women tended to buy in either of the “high spending” categories, while D-sized women were 24 percent more likely.

This correlation is speculated to be linked to the possibility specialty sizes for larger-breasted women are more expensive than smaller ones. Also, it could be linked to the fact that women who go under the knife for breast augmentation with E-cup breasts could also afford to go on a shopping spree at high-end lingerie stores. The exact correlation between bigger breasts and bigger spending has yet to be known, but there is an association nonetheless.

2. Bigger Breasts, More Likely To Have Lower Self-Esteem And Eating Disorders

Whether breasts are small, large, or average-sized, they can have many implications when it comes to women’s mental health. Women with asymmetrical breasts, extra-large breasts, and those with a relatively mild but noticeable difference in breast size are more likely to suffer from self-esteem issues and eating disorders, according to a study published in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Dr. Rod J. Rohrich, editor-in-chief of the journal ofPlastic and Reconstructive Surgery explains that mismatched and macromastia (overly large breasts) are “unfortunately often classified as a cosmetic issue [when it] is truly a condition which has lasting psychological and emotional effects.”

These findings may sound counterintuitive, especially since society glorifies voluptuous models like Victoria’s Secret angels and well-endowed actresses. However, there is a physical and mental burden that comes with bigger breasts. They can lead to the inability to bephysically active and may lead to chronic pain in the neck, shoulders, and back from the breast weight strain. Mentally, bigger boobs can also make women subjected to boob-shaming since they are viewed by society as less intelligent and more promiscuous.

3. Bigger Breasts, Higher IQ

Contrary to popular and unfounded belief, large-breasted women actually have higher intelligence than their less-endowed counterparts. A 2011 University of Chicago study found larger-breasted women scored an average of 10 points higher than other women in IQ tests. Women with average-sized breasts also scored higher than those who were the smallest size in the group. The women were divided into five categories based on their breast measurements: extra-large, large, medium, small, and extra-small breast sizes.

It has not yet been determined why the correlation between breast size and intelligence may exist, but it’s suspected to have something to do with sex hormone levels. They help determine a woman’s breast size. Also, it could be linked to the possibility about natural selection where intelligent men prefer larger breasted women for reproductive partners to ensure their offspring will inherit a larger breast size and higher intelligence.

4. Bigger Breasts, More Likely To Be Nurturing

Men tend to find larger breasts more attractive — unless they’re not interested in fatherhood. A 2012 study published in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior found men who wished to remain childless preferred smaller breasts, while those who preferred larger breasts had a desire to become a dad. These findings imply large breasts are an innate signal of a woman’s physical capacity to bear and nurture children. It seems there is an association between a particular fertility-related hormone and larger breast tissue.

5. Smaller Breasts, Heavy Coffee Drinker

Women with smaller breasts could be considered heavy coffee drinkers, consuming just three cups a day. A study published in the British Journal of Cancer found three cups a day was enough to start making breasts shrink, with the effects increasing for every additional cup of coffee consumed. The researchers established a clear link between drinking coffee and smaller breast as about half of women possessed a gene shown to link breast size to coffee intake.

“Drinking coffee can have a major effect on breast size,” said Helena Jernstroem, a lecturer in experimental oncology at Lund University. “Coffee-drinking women do not have to worry their breasts will shrink to nothing overnight. They will get smaller, but the breasts aren’t just going to disappear.”

6. Bigger Breasts With Augmentation, More Likely To Commit Suicide

Women who get breast implants are found to be at least three times more likely to commit suicide — a risk that increases with time. A 2007 study published in Annals of Plastic Surgeryfound the increased risk of suicide became apparent 10 years after a woman received implants. The researchers believe such suicides could have been attributable to either pre-existing psychiatric problems that probably made some women prone to suicidal behavior.