Almost three weeks ago, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler asked doctors across the nation to temporarily stop using silicon-gel breast implants. Although the implants have been in use for over 30 years, Kessler said he has received information questioning their safety. That information has not been released to the public yet, and all anyone seems to know is that after two million patients, silicone-gel implants may not be the best thing to put in your body.

Great. So where does that leave all the women who have already had this procedure done? Probably terrified of the unknown while they read scattered newspaper articles about possible, if scarce side effects.

These women have my sympathy. And although that may seem like the end of the story, I think it goes much deeper.

Recently, an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that according to the FDA, only 20 percent of breast enlargement procedures are done as a result of trauma caused by breast cancer. The remaining 80 percent of patients choose to have the surgery not because anything is physically wrong, but simply because they want larger breasts.

These statistics fascinate me. It's simply amazing what people will put themselves through when there is actually no need to. I don't mean to say I look down on people who have plastic surgery. As a matter of fact, as someone who suffers from a skin disorder that can make the summer months pretty embarrassing, I would probably jump at the chance to have surgery if it was possible. But my condition includes physical discomfort; to my knowledge there is no discomfort in having a small chest.

So I can't help but wonder why so many women -- roughly 10,000 every month -- feel they absolutely must have larger breasts.

The only conclusion I can come up with is that it is a goal women are taught to strive for at a very early age.

Don't believe me? Take a look at some of these simplistic examples . . .

1) Barbie. Anyone in hundreds of countries where Barbie is now distributed can tell you who this famous American is -- just by looking at her silhouette. I don't think G.I. Joe is quite that distinguishable.

2) The Little Mermaid. By now, Disney's Ariel is somewhere in every little girl's toybox. Just tell me an average 16 year-old (which is how old she is supposed to be) can hold up seashells as well as she can.

3) Even Little House on the Prairie. Just the other day even little, innocent Laura Ingalls felt compelled to shove apples in her blouse in order to catch her 13 year-old man. Needless to say, her cheeks were redder than the apples when one inappropriately fell out.

These examples may seem frivolous and reduce the seriousness of plastic surgery to that of changing a color of lipstick. Hardly. But they do support the fact that big boobs can mean big business. Even though permanently altering the state of your body could be as serious as risking your life.

I remember in high school when one of my friends had plastic surgery done. For weeks afterward she had to be extremely careful in what she did so she wouldn't disturb the new shape of her body. She also had to deal with varying amounts of pain. Although she was happy with the results, she said the only thing that would keep her from doing it again was the nightmares she consistently had after the surgery.

You see, plastic surgery doesn't only change part of your body. It changes your self-image, how you act toward people, and therefore how people respond to you.

In some cases, it can even affect your health. Any good plastic surgeon will tell you that there are risks involved, as with any surgical procedure. But what makes procedures like breast enlargement so dangerous is that most of the time, it just isn't necessary. We're not talking about a heart transplant or a tumor removal here, we're talking about putting about what basically looks like a Ziplock bag filled with Jell-O into your body in order to look like one of the women on beer commercials.

Since there are other methods of breast implants still available, it is difficult to say what effect this scare may have on the plastic surgery industry. But the facts are facts. Most patients of breast enlargement procedures do it for the looks and most of them are young. It may seem idealistic, but my hope is that this scare will jolt society enough to make them realize what is truly important. And I hope people can begin to understand and appreciate an individual's true beauty -- something that can't be touched by a scalpel and a check for $10,000.