The First Woman Who Received Silicone Breast Implants

In the spring of 1962, Timmie Jean Lindsey from Houston, Texas received the first silicone breast implants and turned her from B to C cup.  Meanwhile, the plastic surgeons who operated on her did not realize that this would be one of the most popular cosmetic surgeries worldwide that in 2010 alone, about 1.5 million women had the procedure.

Today, 80-year-old Lindsey said she has no regrets of having breast implants, which have boosted her self-confidence.  However, what is surprising to know is that she never really intended to have a breast augmentation in the first place.

She was in a hospital for tattoo removal when one doctor came to her and asked if she would consider getting the first silicone breast implants.  At first she was reluctant because what she really wanted was a surgery to pin back her ears.

But because the surgeons Frank Gerow and Thomas Cronin offered her ear pinning surgery at no cost, she immediately volunteered for the first-of-its kind operation.

Gerow first came up with the idea of silicone breast implants when he squeezed a plastic blood bag and realized that has an uncanny resemblance to a woman’s breast.

But before the device was implanted in Lindsey’s chest, Gerow and his team first used a dog named Esmeralda as their guinea pig.  The implant was placed under the skin and stayed there for weeks until the surgeons decided to remove it after the animal incessantly chewed the stitches.

After deeming that silicone breast implants were safe, the surgeons operated on Lindsey and other women followed her footstep.

Lindsey said she experienced pain for three or four days following surgery and described her recovery “as like something had been sitting on her chest.”

At first she had no idea of the full results until she went out in public and men gave her “the look” while others would whistle at her.

While breast augmentation resulted to higher self-confidence, Lindsey said that she never revealed it to her past relationships, and her family and friends became only aware of her operation when she told them about it decades later.

Though she remains delighted with the results, she realized thatsilicone implants would not maker her “breasts forever young” and said that they began to sag over the years.

Currently, breast augmentation is the most popular cosmetic plastic surgery in the US, with about 307,000 procedures performed in 2011 alone.