The Cosmetic Surgery Blog

While we're led to believe that people are lining up for cosmetic surgery across the world, the fact is that the percentage is still small. Celebrity fascination comes with the obligatory "did they or didn't they" question, answered by a panel of media savvy cosmetic surgeons who give their expert opinion. Maybe because it's so in our face (pun intended) that it seems like everyone and, quite literally, their mother is going under the knife. However, one of the implied numbers in those who track cosmetic surgical procedures by groups like the ASPS, is those of people who are going back in for a second or third surgery. Some procedures may require an additional surgery, such as liposuction or abdominoplasty. Some are supposed to be a one-time thing. Like rhinoplasty.

With the growing number of cosmetic surgeons and their patients come unintended consequences of a market with serious potential. Because people want these procedures, but may not have the money to go to someone reputable, they will seek out whomever can do it on the cheap. Life-long injury and death are oftentimes part of this saga. What is required in this case is an additional visit to the very cosmetic surgeon they should have gone to in the first place who then has to correct mistakes. Because of this, one of the procedures we may hear more of is "revision rhinoplasty." This is performed on patients who have had previous rhinoplasty jobs that were either botched or because the patient injured his or her self during the healing period. Many times the patient is simply unhappy with the results. Aesthetic appeal is one thing, but what about nasal function? Sometimes breathing can become difficult after receiving a rhinoplasty. Sometimes scar tissue builds up after a rhinoplasty and this needs to be fixed.

Rhinoplasty can be a difficult procedure to begin with, but a revision rhinoplasty is even harder on both cosmetic surgeon and patient. This is because a graft may be needed to correct the problem, and the graft needs to come from another part of the body, such as rib or ear cartilage, and even tissue from the scalp.

Restructuring the cartilage of the nose can be done if there is a "bump" in the nose. However, if there is a lack, or depression of tissue, then this cartilage must be obtained from somewhere else on the body. If there are problems with the tip of the nose where it looks collapsed or "pinched," then it is almost better to have something called "reverse rhinoplasty." In this case the cartilage is brought back to its original position, and contoured for aesthetics and functionality.

Technology

Even if people want to correct their rhinoplasty, they may not want to get further surgery. Minor imperfections can be fixed with injectable fillers like Radiesse or Restylane. Of course, these imperfections will need to be retouched every year or so as the filler's usefulness diminishes. One of the newer techniques used by some cosmetic surgeons is the use of saline injections. Again, this is used for those who wish to correct minor imperfections.

Because a revision rhinoplasty is done to correct or fix problems, the expectations of how the nose might look are diminished a bit. Moving cartilage and tissue around can only be done so much before you begin to look like Michael Jackson. (Side note: Don't expect a cosmetic surgeon to automatically give you another rhinoplasty if you've had more than one already. Psychological issues are looked at closely by reputable cosmetic surgeons.)

Unfortunately, a small percentage of rhinoplasty recipients will need further surgery no matter who their cosmetic surgeon is. Healing takes time, and there are those a little too eager to show off their new nose before its ready. Bumping the nose while it is healing is not uncommon. But there are those where the healing just isn't going well. Having their noses looked after again is almost a foregone conclusion.

If you have gone overseas or stayed stateside and visited a cosmetic surgeon who made things worse by damaging your nose, you might want to consider revision rhinoplasty. Do your homework and be honest about why you feel you need another rhinoplasty. If you would like more information about this procedure, please contact an experienced cosmetic surgeon in your area.

It's been said before, and it will be said again: Good looks go far. This idea appeared many years ago when cosmetic surgery wasn't so widespread due to its cost and that not many people were getting it. However, it's been a subconscious belief forever, and has been studied by anthropologists, sociologists, scientists from a bevy of fields, as well as politicians. The well-coiffed and beautiful get further in life.

Now, according to a U.S. News & World Report article, more people may be thinking about the nip and the tuck to get ahead in their careers. The American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) states in their research that last year, two-thirds of their members reported men and women who thought they might get ahead in their careers with cosmetic surgery. Has the workforce become that competitive? Apparently. It is reported that men in finance are more likely to want cosmetic surgery to look younger. A marine headed to law school took out $25,000 so he can look good that first day of his first year. (Because law is all about perception, anyway, we guess.) Employees are supposedly more likely to work harder if they find their boss good-looking, and supervisors are more "credible and persuasive" if they are attractive.

Gordon Patzer, who wrote the book Looks: Why They Matter More Than You Ever Imagined states that improving your appearance, is "a good investment for the workplace." However, he states that having a higher education might make you more attractive than others in some people's eyes, and that we can't simply forget eating well, dressing well, and working out. Certainly these are important things to remember. Yet, cosmetic surgery also makes the list of things to consider. Patzer claims he doesn't really care for the results of his research, but doesn't believe our perceptions of beauty will change any time soon. And, like education and clothes, cosmetic surgery will become a common "tool" to advance your career.

While some may shake their heads and claim that it's a shame people think they need cosmetic surgery, like rhinoplasty, blepharoplasty, hair transplants, or even breast augmentation to get ahead, how many of them spent twice as much time worrying about what they looked like at their job interview, as well as sizing up their potential co-workers? Dress is one thing, but as hairless apes that are a little more advanced than other creatures, we tend to try to separate ourselves from a biologic imperative: the good looking are the ones we are attracted to, and the ones we wished we looked like. Still, does that mean we deserve a raise?

If you are interested in advancing your career through cosmetic surgery, please contact an experienced cosmetic surgeon in your area.

Not that there is anything wrong with personal choice, but some may not know when to say, I've had enough. Take Sheyla Hershey for example. As a 28-year-old Brazilian model, she's done what few have done before: made it into the Brazilian version of the Guinness Book of World Records. How, we hear you ask, how has she done it?

She has the world's largest breast implants.

After a reported eight surgeries, this wife and mother has had the equivalent of two quarts of silicone put into each breast to give Hershey the astounding size of 34FFF breasts. Say what you will, but the girl had a dream and made it real. Hershey says, "It's good when you can make your dream come true." She also told Fox News' Houston station, "I want to look better each day, every day."

Many people decide on cosmetic surgery to give them the confidence they may not have felt before. Imagine how confident Hershey must feel these days as she's walking down the street, content to know she's in a record book for her breast size; that the media story was picked up on and written about; that she's a model; that people are looking - nay, staring - at her. And, oh, yeah, a wife and mother. Yet, there must be a shred of doubt about the size of her breasts because Hershey isn't satisfied. She has said that she'd like her breasts even larger.

The state of Texas, who stereotypically enjoys the role of having the biggest of everything in the country, puts a limit on the amount of silicone that can be put into each breast. Perhaps this is a legitimate law. Or, perhaps they just made it up to keep this woman from another surgery. Whatever the reason, there are concerns she may be addicted to cosmetic surgery (there was an episode of Bones that covered this), or she may have a form of body dysmorphic disorder (like Michael Jackson).

While breast augmentation is one of the most popular cosmetic surgeries performed, the results women are looking for are, 99% of the time, not the results that belong in a circus sideshow. And there are few cosmetic surgeons who would argue that Hershey might want to rethink what she's doing to her body. As concerns over the risks of actually getting breast augmentation have hit the front pages, the risks of having breasts that are too large is not mentioned as much as it probably should be. Breathing problems and back pain are just a couple of the results of breasts that are too large. What some women and their doctors might call a medical condition, Hershey strives for.

Yet, once again, this is her choice. However, it has been mentioned that perhaps when Hershey goes in for her ninth surgery, maybe she should have a psychological evaluation as well.

If you are interested in how breast augmentation might enhance your features and are not looking for your fifteen minutes of fame through your breast size, please contact an experienced cosmetic surgeon in your area.

Why does Philip Roth's The Breast come to mind...?

Though summer is officially six weeks away, most people are probably already looking forward to it (especially if you live in a place whose winter was exhibit A for global warming deniers). Along with the thought of summer come thoughts of shedding winter clothes and maybe even wondering if you need a new bathing suit. Maybe you do. However, before you throw down the money to buy one, you might want to try on your old one first. As you stand before the mirror, you might see just where all those Christmas cookies and all that eggnog went. Or you may find out that your workout regimen to prepare you for summer hasn't quite taken care of all those areas around your midsection you thought it might. And, finally, you may see a few other places on your body that you have no intention of showing anyone this summer. So, with some sadness, you put your bathing suit away and decide that money you were going to spend on a new suit might as well go to something else reserved for the shut-in you've decided to become. Because no one wants to see the whale you feel you've become.

Maybe you should turn that painbow into a rainbow. One of the options you still have is liposuction.

Liposuction, also known as liposculpture, is the removal of fat tissue through small incisions approximately one-fifth to one-third of an inch in length. A thin metal tube or cannula is attached to a vacuum which literally sucks the fat from your body. It happens to also be one of the most common cosmetic surgical procedures performed. Furthermore, once the fat cells have been sucked from your body, they are gone forever. One note on this: overeating and lack of exercise can add to your weight even after liposuction.

We have certain areas on our body where the fat collects and is not easily eliminated, even with exercise. As a result, the areas where liposuction works best is on the knees, hips, buttocks, outer thighs, lower abdomen, waist and flanks (love handles), male breasts (gynecomastia), and upper legs. It also can be performed on the face and neck in conjunction with a facelift.

Types of Liposuction

Liposuction procedures have come a long way since their inception. Rather than simply sticking a tube in you and sucking out the fat, as you've most likely been led to believe, there are also tumescent liposuction and ultrasonic liposuction.

Tumescent liposuction involves injecting fluid into the area to be suctioned. This increases the space between the muscle and the fat where it becomes firm and swollen (tumescent). This allows the cosmetic surgeon easier access and produces smoother results.

Ultrasonic liposuction, or ultrasound-assisted liposuction (UAL), is like tumescent liposuction, but the cannula used transmits ultrasonic vibrations. These vibrations break down the walls of the fat cells and liquefy the fat. This makes it easier to suction out.

Risks

Just as with any kind of surgery, liposuction carries a small amount of risk. Some of the risks include rippling or loose skin, clots, uneven contouring, scarring, numbness, infection, and more. Discuss these risks with your cosmetic surgeon before you go through with the procedure.

If you would like to know more about how liposuction can make you bathing suit worthy, please contact an experienced cosmetic surgeon in your area.

A recent CNN article says that an Iranian official believes the importation of Western toys has serious destructive consequences, especially for Iranian culture and society. While Batman, Spiderman, and Harry Potter toys are bad, the worst is Barbie. There has been a ten year campaign against Barbie by the Iranian government, but they're apparently "alarmed" at the rate of Western dolls showing up in shops across the country.

According to Iranian Prosecutor General Ghorban Ali Dori Najafabadi, who issued the latest warning, Iran is the world's third largest importer of toys and states that smuggling imports of Western toys is a threat to the "identity" of the new generation. The main issue, of course, is that Iran a nation whose Islamic fundamentalist government seems to despise everything American, is dealing with Barbie dolls who wear bathing suits and miniskirts. This is the country where women have to wear headscarves in public, where modesty between the sexes is not only encouraged, but enforced, and like to call us "The Great Satan." The illegal importation of Barbie isn't going to help our image much.

There are two semi-interesting reasons about this story, which link to its appearance here:

First, in this country, Barbie has become not only the toy du jour of little sisters everywhere, but an American mainstay. It's right up there with mom, the 4^th of July, and apple pie. And, thanks to the advent of cosmetic surgery, there are women walking around who look a lot like Barbie might if she were a real person (here is an example). And, what may be worse for parents, traditional values, et cet, is that there are really young girls who want to be Barbie when they grow up (that is, look exactly like her).

Now, imagine a country where thousands of young Persian girls who will have a forced conservative upbringing look at Barbie's blue eyes, blonde hair, as well as her figure, and decide they don't want to look Iranian anymore. It's easy for us in the Western world to say there's no problem with this - if that's how they want to look, it's their business (and, by the way, Barbie is a toy). However, the Iranian government - and, we must stress here, not all the people of the country - officially hate us (unofficially is another question). They can't have the next generation growing up wanting to look blond and blue-eyed, and thinking Westerners must be all right since some of our women remind them of Barbie. The Iranian answer to this "Trojan horse"? Dara and Sara. Alas, this 2002 ploy failed as the Barbie dolls continued to sell.

Here's the second reason: Iran has been labeled the nose job capital of the world. No kidding. It beats out Beverly Hills, California for this honor. And it's both men and women having the rhinoplasty. There are whole families of rich Iranians who get nose jobs, and it isn't something to be ashamed of over there while it continues to raise eyebrows over here. Yet it isn't only nose jobs Iranians are getting. It is face lifts and eye lid procedures, too. However, it isn't only the rich who visit their local cosmetic surgeon. Those clerics who decide what people can wear, watch, act like, and more are occasionally also customers.

While it has been reported that Iranians are flocking to the huge number (around 3000 in Tehran alone) of cosmetic surgeons in order to look more like Westerners, it has also been reported that so many women get rhinoplasty because their nose is the only part of their body that can be seen peeking out of their robes. Then there are the Iranians who say, "Everyone would love to have a more beautiful face." Sounds like something an American would say, don't you think?

While the physical differences between those of Persian descent and European descent are obvious, the fact that both groups are flocking to cosmetic surgeons to enhance or change the way they look for many of the same reasons may show that we're more similar than our governments and our media would like for us to believe.

If you are interested in how rhinoplasty can enhance your own features, please contact an experienced cosmetic surgeon in your area.

There are few things more horrifying to a teenager than a massive pimple placed prominently on the face. Sometimes they go away within a few days, sometimes they stay a little longer. And what is hoped, other than the pimple remaining invisible to all who might look in the direction of the victim, is that the pimple will disappear as gracefully as it reared its ugly little white head. However, there are times when these pimples bring friends. A case of acne is much worse than a single pimple. What's more, there is a good chance that the acne may scar. No amount of antibiotics, Retin-A, or Accutane can undo the scarring once it's there. It used to be that there were about two choices: cover up the scarring with things like make-up, or simply accept that it's there and get on with life.

Welcome the wonders of microdermabrasion, one of the best ways to get rid of acne scars once and for all. Microdermabrasion was one of the top cosmetic procedures performed on teens between 13- and 19-years-old in 2007. There should be little wonder as to why it reached so high on the list.

Procedure

Microdermabrasion is a method of resurfacing the top layers of skin through controlled surgical scraping with a handheld device. This device emits tiny crystals that, when sprayed onto the face "polish" the skin. Both the crystals and the dead skin cells are vacuumed up by the machine. As the skin is exfoliated of dead and damaged skin, the exposed collagen is stimulated to create new skin cells. When the layers of scarred skin have been removed, what comes back is smooth and scar-free. This can be performed in as little as half an hour, and might take only once to get to the type of complexion teens can live with. However, there are cases that might take as many as five or so treatments.

Candidates, Dos and Don'ts

While people of all ages, from the young to the old, are candidates, the best candidates are those who have minor skin imperfections or conditions, or don't have the deepest kind of acne scars (pock marks). While microdermabrasion may help those with deep scarring, the best thing is for those to get a chemical peel in addition to microdermabrasion. Those who do not make good candidates include active acne, have had a recent outbreak of herpes, facial warts, mysterious legions on the face, or active keloids. Things to avoid leading up to a microdermabrasion treatment that is a few weeks out include waxing and tanning.

While this treatment helps remove acne scarring, it is also useful for fine wrinkles, crow's feet, and age spots. If you're a teenager, you don't have to worry much about this now. Unless you're one of those sad emo kids who age faster than the rest of us.

If you are interested in learning more about how microdermabrasion can reduce acne scarring, please contact a cosmetic surgeon in your area.

Forget the stories about Paris Hilton swearing she'll never get breast augmentation and Kate Beckingsale swearing she's never had it. Those stories are tame compared to what's the new Flavor of the Week.

In a children's book, aimed at four to seven year olds, a mother tries to reassure her daughter about why she's getting a tummy tuck, breast augmentation (implied by the pictures showing the mother's breasts change from the beginning to the end), and nose job. These are all part of the "mommy makeover."

Written by a Florida board-certified cosmetic surgeon named Michael Salzhuaer, My Beautiful Mommy is advertised as a way to explain to young kids why their mom 1) is coming home bruised and bandaged, 2) will look different, and 3) why the mommy makeover was necessary in the first place. Dr. Salzhuaer states that it was written in response to witnessing kids coming into the office with their mothers when they were looking into having cosmetic surgery. The book has the typical text written for young kids, as well as pictures of what has been described as a mother shaped like a Barbie doll, and a doctor ("Dr. Michael") who looks a little like Superman. By the end of the book, the daughter is pleased with the fact that her mom looks "even more" beautiful.

Helpful or Hurtful?

Some mothers have found the book to be helpful. One mother, Gabriela Acosta, saw the manuscript when she went to talk to Salzhauer. She didn't know how to explain to her son what was going to happen to her. Acosta states that it helped her son move from scared to excited.

President of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Richard D'Amico, gives the book mixed reviews. On the one hand, the believes that the book lets prospective patients know that there is a way to tell their kids what's going on - if they choose to tell their kids anything. On the other hand, he believes the breasts of the mother look "overdone." Most mothers, he claims, are only looking for restoration. He apparently had no comment on Super Doctor Michael's picture.

Those who find the book problematic include both the popular blog sites www.feministing.com and www.huffingtonpost.com. Along with these sites, and their readers, others are wondering, why, on God's green earth, is there a book being marketed to children about cosmetic surgery? While some find the book a little funny, others seem to be appalled. The central argument is wondering why children as young as four-years-old should know about these procedures. The counterargument being, isn't it better to explain to children why their mothers are resting for a few days, seem a little groggy, and might look different than ignore it? Well, sure, we'll buy that.

Yet, perhaps cosmetic surgery's media fascination has jumped the shark. We're already inundated with who-is-getting-what-done all the time. We're told teens are getting cosmetic surgery at a (seemingly) astronomical rate. There are stories about 13-year-olds who want breast augmentation for their birthdays, mothers who tell their kids they may have to consider these things to get ahead in the future, and now a book explaining this to kids who have just begun their education.

Appalling? Perhaps. Genius? Eh. Sign of the times? Definitely.

But, once upon a time, a book called Where Do I Come From? appeared so that parents could read to their kids a nice, non-scientific, un-pornographic description of sex. There might have been biology and facts of life there, and it's certainly more natural than cosmetic surgery. But in the end, isn't it a mother's prerogative to wonder about cosmetic surgery? After all, it's the kid's fault their mom needs a mommy makeover in the first place.

If you are interested in mommy makeovers or other cosmetic surgery procedures, please contact an experienced cosmetic surgeon in your area.