Choice between silicone, saline implants is still not easy to make

After 14 years, women who want to surgically add more curves to their figures again have a choice: saline or silicone.

However, those who opt for the newly approved silicone breast implants may find their choice is padded in confusion, frustration and added costs.

Recently, the Food and Drug Administration lifted its ban on silicone gel implants, dismissing concerns about harmful effects from leaks as unsupported by extensive testing. But the agency, along with manufacturers of the implants, urged women to undergo a special magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) every couple of years "over a woman's lifetime" to detect ruptures.

The series of MRIs could cost women $10,000 in the first 10 years, on top of the costs of the original cosmetic surgery, usually $5,000 to $8,000.

More Hispanics are Opting for Cosmetic Surgery

In 2006, Hispanics led minority racial and ethnic groups undergoing cosmetic procedures (9.5% of all procedures performed, up from 6% in 2000), according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. This is especially the case in California, where Latinos make up a large portion of the population. More Hispanic women are seeking plastic surgery, according to Dr. Lloyd Krieger of Rodeo Drive Plastic Surgery in Beverly Hills, California. Dr. Krieger, who has been featured in Fortune, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Access Hollywood, and other media, states that over 35% of the patients at his California plastic surgery center are Hispanic men and women. The majority of Dr. Krieger's patients who ask for his renowned "Rodeo Drive Mommy Makeover" are Hispanic women in their 20's and 30's.