When I first told some of my colleagues that I was attending a press event on Macrolane, several eyebrows were raised.

"Isn't that so frivolous?"

"Why can't women be happy with their own bodies?"

"Injecting some foreign substance into your body - is it even safe?"

To understand their reactions, one must understand that Macrolane is an elective aesthetic procedure - stress on the words 'elective' and 'aesthetic'. To many of us, these two words are synonymous with "tai tai", "frivolity" and "vanity".

Truth be told, I found it hard to comprehend why any woman in her right mind would go for such a procedure - or any kind of body 'enhancement', so to speak - unless she had been disfigured and needed some form of restorative work performed. Of course, socialites who shape their bodies to fit their designer gowns (instead of altering their gowns to fit their bodies) were another matter altogether. These were the women whom, I thought, would be most interested in this "lunchtime boob job". Needless to say, I was not terribly keen on promoting what I regarded as another gimmick that preys on women's insecurities about their bodies.

My scepticism lasted until the press event, where I met a patient at Singapore Lipo, Body & Face Centre who was about to undergo the Macrolane procedure.

The Macrolane procedure is available at Singapore Lipo, Body and Face Centre, Novena Medical Center.

Jane (not her real name) is a 35-year-old personal assistant who was most clearly neither a socialite nor a frivolous airhead with too much money to spend. She came across as a very down-to-earth, sensible woman - the complete antithesis of the airhead socialite that I'd imagined. And the reason why she chose to undergo this procedure was painfully obvious.

Jane was almost completely flat-chested. If you had dressed her in a T-shirt and hidden her face from view, no one would have guessed that she is a woman. She revealed that she has been flat-chested all her life, and she was sick of looking like a boy. It is easy for others to say that one should accept one's body the way it is, but it is not as easy for women to accept the way they are built when their bodies do not look even remotely feminine.

Jane's procedure went off without a hitch. Within an hour, she had gone from being flat-chested to a cup size B. She did not look unnaturally top-heavy for her petite frame - simply more womanly.

Dr Kevin Teh, the surgeon who performed the procedure, explained that Macrolane is a temporary filler made of hyaluronic acid that would be slowly reabsorbed by the body over the next 12-18 months. It is injected into the breast or buttocks to increase their volume or to enhance their shape.The hyaluronic acid is chemically similar to that found in the human body and is completely passed out of the body within three years. Patients can choose to return for 'top-up' injections of Macrolane after a few months to retain or increase the volume of their breasts. Moreover, Macrolane will not interfere with mammogram readings the way silicone implants do, and patients who have had the procedure will still be able to breast feed.

Macrolane also has limited uses in reconstructive surgery, such as for breast cancer survivors who have undergone a partial mastectomy. However, Dr Teh stressed that Macrolane is primarily an aesthetic, lifestyle procedure that can help enhance a patient's self-esteem. The fact that the procedure is fairly simple, painless and has temporary - albeit long-lasting - results make it an attractive option for women who are looking for alternatives breast implants which are significantly more invasive and riskier.The hour-long procedure leaves no scars, has no downtime, and requires no hospitalisation.

My encounter with Jane forced me to re-evaluate my idealistic disdain of aesthetic procedures. More than just a quick 'fix' for socialites, Macrolane offers hope for women with post-breastfeeding breast deflation or underdeveloped breasts. Now that is not entirely frivolous, is it?

The Macrolane procedure is available at Singapore Lipo, Body and Face Centre, Novena Medical Center #08-05. Macrolane costs $3,399 per 100ml; a total of 200ml is usually used for both breasts.