February 2008 Blog Archive
Friday, February 29, 2008
Advances in Breast Reconstruction Surgery
Reconstructive surgery for rebuilding breasts damaged by cancer is a very important aspect of
plastic surgery. As opposed to being merely cosmetic, the reconstructive breast surgery can be a way of regaining power and control over your body and your life after dealing with such a devastating disease.
For that reason, many people are happy to see advances being made in reconstructive breast surgery. One such advance came recently when a
study in Japan reported high rates of success in a new type of reconstructive breast surgery which uses tissue and fat from the woman's own body to regenerate the cells and help rebuild healthy breasts.
"The investigational procedure offers hope to partial-mastectomy patients who have limited options," said Dr. Kitamura. "Unfortunately the concept of 'breast conserving therapy' can often times be misleading, as even minimally invasive resections can result in defects that leave patients dissatisfied with the cosmetic outcome." (source)
There are still many advances to be made in this area of plastic surgery but we are regularly seeing studies such as this one which provide hope to women battling breast cancer.
Question of the Day: Do you consider reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery to be the same thing?
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Thursday, February 28, 2008
Recommended Reading: A Little Work
Are you interested in plastic surgery news? Better yet, are you interested in plastic surgery gossip? If you're a fan of celebrity websites that tell you all about bad celebrity plastic surgery and celebrity plastic surgery that you can hardly tell has been done, then there's a book on the shelves for you.
A Little Work: The Truth Behind Plastic Surgery's Park Avenue FaCade by Z. Paul Lorenc and Trish Hall is an interesting book that tells the story of plastic surgery through the eyes of different patients that these doctors have seen over the years. While it's not technically about celebrities, the book reveals plastic surgery through the tales of real life characters that you'll come to love as though they're Hollywood stars. It's kind of akin to plastic surgery reality TV except that it's in book form.
In addition to enjoying the stories, you'll learn a lot about plastic surgery from this book. There are opinions and information on a variety of procedures including
face lifts, breast implants and weight reduction surgeries. There are also interesting insights into the differences between male and female patients and the personalities of people who love getting plastic surgery.
Question of the Day: What other plastic surgery books do you recommend to readers?
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Liposuction is Most Popular Plastic Surgery
New statistics about
plastic surgery have recently been released by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Those statistics reveal that the most popular plastic surgery procedure being used today is
liposuction.
People want to get rid of that fat on their bodies. There are minimally invasive treatment options available to those people but liposuction remains the preferred method of weight reduction. In terms of minimally-invasive procedures, it wasn't any weight loss option that made the list but rather
Botox which was the preferred treatment among all people.
In addition to revealing information about specific procedures, the new statistics showed that there was a growth in overall use of plastic surgery by patients. Plastic surgery overall is up eight percent since last year. Plastic surgery among men has increased more than double that number. And plastic surgery among ethnic minorities is up almost three times the percent of the overall population.
Question of the Day: What plastic surgery procedure are you most interested in getting?
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Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Donda West Law Gaining Popularity in California
Anyone who follows plastic surgery news knows about the tragic death of Donda West, the mother of celebrity Kanye West. Donda West died after complications from plastic surgery (upon electing to get surgery against the advice of her first doctor). One of the biggest issues with the case was the fact that her plastic surgeon was believed by many to be reputable because of numerous appearances on
television.
California is now
seeking to pass a law which actually requires individuals to get medical clearance for plastic surgery from a qualified medical professional. In honor of the cause for this law, it is being called the Donda West Law.
Reports indicate that Kanye West is pleased with the law and supports the idea completely. New York, Illinois and Oklahoma are all considering similar laws.
Question of the Day: Are you for or against the Donda West Law?
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Monday, February 25, 2008
Celebrity Plastic Surgery: Bianca Gascoigne
Biana Gascoigne is a name that you're probably more likely to know if you're from the UK than if you live in the U.S. However, anybody who pays much attention to international celebrity gossip probably knows this British fashion model who is the daugher of a famous soccer player.
When Bianca started out her adult life, she was a pretty girl with A-cup breasts. She started getting more attention when she began rocking D-cups as a result of a
breast augmentation. She has
been quoted as saying in the past that she loves her breasts, although she's not completely content with the rest of her body. Perhaps some additional
plastic surgery is in her future?
Not every agrees that Bianca's big breasts are beautiful. Awful Plastic Surgery
suggested recently that the enhancement itself wasn't awful but the fact that she went so big is.
Question of the Day: Yay or nay on the Bianca's breast augmentation?
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Friday, February 22, 2008
10 Sinful Cities: Vanity
The Christian Post has just reported on an article put out by Forbes magazine which assesses the most sinful cities in the United States. Each of the seven deadly sins were ranked using various measures. The measure for the sin of vanity was the rate of
plastic surgery in those cities.
Many people would assume that Los Angeles would be the vainest city both in general and using plastic surgery as the measure for vanity. Although it did make the list, it ranked in at number ten. You might also be surprised to know that number one in vanity was Salt Lake City.
The other cities on the vanity list were a mixture of surprising and not surprising. People would probably figure that New York and Miami would be on the list. The Bay area ranked with both San Francisco and San Jose making the cut. Nashville, home to Dolly Parton, might not surprise others either. However, Louisville, Virginia Beach and San Diego are somewhat surprising.
Question of the Day: Do you think that plastic surgery rates are a good measure of vanity?
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Thursday, February 21, 2008
Watch a Weight Loss Surgery
Have you ever wondered what a
weight loss surgery actually looks like? If this is something that interests you, you might be happy to know that you can actually watch one take place via your computer screen at the beginning of next month.
The Duluth Clinic Weight Management Program is working with people on the new
Lap Band surgery to lose weight. This surgery is a minimally invasive procedure that uses a lap band to reduce a person's desire (and ability) to eat too much.
Many people have become interested in these surgeries but don't really know what they are all about. In an effort to educate the public, this program is going to be performing one of these surgeries and webcasting it live. Viewers can not only see what happens but will also be able to hear the medical explanation as it's taking place and will be able to write in with email questions.
The presentation takes place at http://www.or-live.com/. It will be held on Tuesday, March 4th at 6:30 pm. Presumably that is for the Duluth, MN time zone. Learn more
here.
Question of the Day: Would you be interested in viewing something like this?
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Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Trends in Plastic Surgery Tourism
The majority of us plan on getting our plastic surgery work done by a doctor who works in or near our hometowns. However, there is a large (and growing) group of people who seek out plastic surgeons in foreign countries to do their work for them. Their major reason is that the cost is lower but some of these people consider plastic surgery tourism to offer additional benefits including a break from home and a fresh start in a new place.
As a
recent news article pointed out, you take a vast number of risks when you travel overseas to get plastic surgery. It's not that this can't be done. It may even be safe if you take the proper precautions. But it's something that more and more people are taking lightly and it probably shouldn't be.
There are things to keep in mind when traveling away from home for plastic surgery. First of all, the medical certification requirements for overseas doctors may differ from those here. Secondly, the emergency response to unusual plastic surgery problems could be different in another country. And finally, you're just really far from home.
In the end, it's usually better to pay the extra cost and get plastic surgery done close to home. But if you choose not to go that route, make sure that you do your research before you get on the plane.
Question of the Day: Would you travel overseas for plastic surgery?
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Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Joan Crawford Plastic Surgery Movie Makes Comeback
A
recent review of the different movies that have recently come out on DVD makes mention of the new Joan Crawford movie collection. This set includes movies that date back to the 1940's. More specifically, it includes
A Woman's Face which was made in 1941.
This deserves a mention here because there aren't too many movies that old that even mention
plastic surgery, let alone make it a key part of the movie. This one does.
The plot summary from IMDB says: "Anna Holm is a blackmailer, who because of a facial scar, despises everyone she encounters. When a plastic surgeon performs an operation to correct this disfigurement, Anna becomes torn between the hope of starting a new life, and a return to her dark past."
Of course, this isn't the typical situation of someone who is getting plastic surgery today. But there remains some truth in the fact that you have a choice after plastic surgery about whether or not you want to consider it a "starting over" point. This is something that's worth thinking about even today. And it's fascinating to see it explored from the perspective of this other era.
Question of the Day: Have you seen A Woman's Face?
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Monday, February 18, 2008
Plastic Surgery Named One of Michael Jackson's Mistakes
Michael Jackson's name is back in the media this month as he just released a new album called Thriller 25. The new album is a celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of his original Thriller album and contains both old and new songs that have people talking.
Of course, any time that a conversation about Michael Jackson comes up, his plastic surgery choices end up in the discussion. Such was the case in a recent article about the album written up in
The Middletown Journal. The author listed Jackson's five biggest mistakes between Thriller and Thriller 25. Plastic surgery made the cut.
Nobody really knows the details about Michael's health issues and plastic surgery choices. Some of his work has likely been reconstructive whereas some has probably been cosmetic. But ultimately, it seems that he was probably discontent with it for at least some time as he didn't settle on just one procedure.
Question of the Day: What do you think - is the topic of Michael Jackson's appearance something that should be over and done with already?
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Friday, February 15, 2008
Lawsuit Over Plastic Surgery Pictures Published Online
How would you feel if you got
plastic surgery only to find that your "before-and-after" photos had been published in an online news article? What if you were nude in those pictures? Chances are that you'd be angry. Would you be so angry that you'd sue?
That's exactly what happened in a plastic surgery case that's going on in St. Louis. The woman in question had lost weight which left her skin saggy and she got plastic surgery to remedy the problem. She didn't know that her before-and-after pictures of the surgery could be shared with others.
When the photos were published, she was horrified. And she decided to sue the doctors that provided these photos to the online paper. The situation took place in 2006 but is in courts this week. Learn more
here.
Question of the Day: Do you believe this woman had a right to sue?
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Thursday, February 14, 2008
Plastic Surgery vs. Lipo Dissolve for a Double Chin
Nobody wants to have a double-chin. It's just the kind of thing that screams "fat" even if the rest of your body is in decent shape. So how do you go about getting rid of your double chin if you've got one?
Many people are using the option of Lipo Dissolve on the chin to reduce the fat that is there. This is a good option for people who have a lot of fat in the face which results in the double chin.
However, if the double chin is caused by saggy skin, it is necessary to consider getting plastic surgery to remedy the problem. This may be the case for people who have lost weight but still have the extra chin on their face.
Learn more about this issue
here.
Question of the Day: What would you do to get rid of a double chin?
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Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Popularity of Porn has Influenced Plastic Surgery
The plastic surgery procedures that we are interested in tend to be the ones that we know the most about. As such, plastic surgery trends tend to have a particular life cycle. First, they are new and only done by a few people. The celebrities start getting them done and so we start to hear about them. That results in allowing them to become more widespread and to begin to be completed in mainstread doctors' offices across the nation.
But it's not just Hollywood that turns out celebrities. As porn has become increasingly popular, the plastic surgery procedures of porn stars have also started to go through this same life cycle. Of course, we saw this years ago with breast augmentation. But the newest trend that was kicked off by porn stars is vaginal reconstruction.
According to a recent article on porn in society: "The third-most popular plastic surgery procedure is the vagina reconstruction popularized by porn stars, says Dr. Robert Rey of the reality show Dr. 90210."
This procedure has now moved away from porn and into the mainstream.
Question of the Day: What would be your reasons for or against getting vaginal reconstruction?
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Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Plastic Surgery at The Grammys
There is always news and celebrity gossip that comes out of The Grammys. That's what the event is all about. But this year the gossip seemed to be squarely centered on just one artist - Kanye West - and the tragic death of his mother which happened months ago.
When the news broke, a lot of people started discussing the dangers of plastic surgery which was blamed for Donda West's death. As more details emerged, it was discovered that Donda had failed to take responsibility for her own safety by refusing to follow the advice of plastic surgeons who told her that she wasn't ready for the work to be done. This caused tongues to stop wagging so much about the purported dangers of plastic surgery.
However, those tongues started up again after Kanye sang the song "Hey Mama" during The Grammys. The media reports seem to have forgotten Donda's own role in the tragedy and have returned to discussing her death with a slant towards blaming plastic surgery.
Question of the Day: Who do you believe is responsible for a patient's health and safety during a plastic surgery procedure?
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Monday, February 11, 2008
Celebrity Plastic Surgery: Katie Price
The people who gossip about celebrities are starting to get bored with the tired tale of Katie Price's breasts. The English actress/model who is better known by the name "Jordan" has apparently been complaining non-stop about how she doesn't like the appearance of her breast implants. HollyScoop
reports that she gave an entire interview about the issue, focusing on how her
breast augmentation has destroyed her sex life.
The reporter from HollyScoop points out there are any number of reasons that Price may have a sex life that she's not pleased with and that the appearance of her breasts isn't the biggest of them. It should also be pointed out that the dissatisfaction that Price feels about her breasts could be due to the extensive amount of surgery that she has had on them and not just the fact that she got work done.
"In addition to the three separate silicone implants that have taken her to a size FF chest, Katie Price has allegedly had liposuction on her waist and hips, and collagen implants in her lips." (source)
Anytime that you get so much plastic surgery that you're creating a body that you simply weren't designed to have, you risk the chance of getting results that you're not pleased with. Really, who needs FF boobs?
Question of the Day: What do you think about Katie Price and plastic surgery?
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Friday, February 08, 2008
Valentine's: The Gift of Plastic Surgery
There are some women who love their plastic surgeons and want to get as much work done as possible to improve their looks. There are others who want one simple procedure done to be more pleased with their overall appearance. And then there are many who consider getting plastic surgery but don't know for sure if it's the right choice for them.
All of these types of women have men in their lives. And these men may be thinking about getting them a consultation with a plastic surgeon as their Valentine's Day gift. Unless you're absolutely positive that this is what the woman in your life wants, don't do it.
Plastic surgery is all about improving your looks in order to boost your self-esteem. However, it's contradictory to this desire when the men in our lives tell us we need to do it. Even when they simply support our own desires, it can feel like an attack. For platsic surgery to be successful, it has to be something that the woman is in control of.
For Valentine's Day, do something that's sweet. If the lady you love has already gotten work done, get something like lingerie that helps her show it off. In a few days, you can talk about how you want to support her getting additional work done, but on Valentine's Day, just let her know that she's loved from the inside out.
Question of the Day: Who in your life would it be appropriate to give the gift of plastic surgery to on Valentine's?
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Thursday, February 07, 2008
Male Enhancement: One Surgery Not To Get
Many men worry about their size. And yes, although they're worrying about their muscles, there's something else that they're even more worried about. Penis size is a significant area of concern for many men who want to be seen as virile and manly. And that means that many men think about getting plastic surgery to enhance the size of the male organ.
However, the medical community hasn't really caught up to the rest of the community yet in the desire to satisfy this consumer demand. As was pointed out in a
recent article on the issue, the American Society for Plastic Surgeons (along with other medical organizations) has not approved any type of penis enlargement surgery that's available at the current time.
This is sad news for men who pay attention to plastic surgery news since the options for the ladies have opened up dramatically in recent years.
Designer Laser Vaginoplasty and
G-Spot Amplification are just two of the procedures that help to improve the shape and sensation of the female sex organs. As for the guys, they're just going to have to hold out for something better to come along.
Question of the Day: As a man, do you wish that you were larger than you are?
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Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Implants Favored Over Fat Transfer for Bigger Breasts
There are many choices to be made when you decide that you want to get
breast augmentation. First of all, there are the cosmetic decisions such as the size of the breast. Then there are the decisions about which procedure to use to get the fuller look that you desire. With silicone implants back on the market, that decision has gotten even tougher.
But you can strongly consider ruling out one choice which is to skip implants and get a fat transfer instead. This procedure is currently considered controversial and is not supported by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons even though it is offered by some doctors.
The fat transfer procedure uses
liposuction to remove fat from other areas of the body and then grafts this fat to the breasts to increase their size. It sounds ideal - moving fat from where you don't want it to where you do. However, there are problems associated with this procedure. These include that it takes longer to see results as well as to recover and that there may be health risks and scarring that you don't want to deal with.
Learn more about this issue
here. And speak with your doctor about breast implant options.
Question of the Day: What would be your reasons for considering fat grafting instead of implants for breast augmentation?
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Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Real Life Plastic Surgery Story Straight Out of a Nip/Tuck Episode
There is a real life
plastic surgery story that's making headlines right now which sounds like it's something that could have happened in a dramatic episode of television plastic surgery show
Nip/Tuck. Nip/Tuck has had some over-the-top storylines over the years so it's surprising to see a case that so closely matches those story lines happening in real life.
The case stars Amit Kumar, the so-called "kidney racket kingpin". Although the title is attention-getting, this is a guy worthy of no-good attention. He is believed to have participated in over 600 illegal kidney transplant operations over the years. The reason that he's making headlines right now is that authorities believe that he underwent
plastic surgery to dramatically alter his appearance and avoid getting caught.
Anyone who watched Nip/Tuck from the early days on knows that this touches on several issues that the show has covered. In the first season, the "bad guy" of the series was a Colombian druglord named Escobar. In the final show of that season, the plastic surgeons were required to transform his appearance so that he could escape the country (a plot that failed when they made him look exactly like another man on the "most wanted" list).
Unfortunately, real life is not a television show and this case is about something quite serious. But it's interesting to see that things as seemingly unrealistic as getting plastic surgery to evade the law actually may be happening in real life.
Question of the Day: What about this plastic surgery case interests you most?
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Monday, February 04, 2008
Your Plastic Surgeon Should Not Work From Home
There seems to be a slew of cases lately in which people have been arrested for practicing plastic surgery out of their own homes and basements. Just last week we took a look at the
ongoing case of a Brazilian doctor who was illegally practicing
liposuction from a suburban basement. This week there are
newspaper headlines in Tampa about a woman there who was arrested for practicing platsic surgery in her home.
It is unclear at this time exactly which cosmetic procedures the woman was practicing. However, under the guise of running a hair salon, she was performing procedures and keeping "before and after" pictures of the work (presumably to show to potential new
plastic surgery clients).
It should go without saying that your plastic surgeon should be operating out of an official medical space and not out of his or her home. However, some people are trying to save money by going to these types of unlicensed doctors instead. This results in a range of problems ranging from poorly done procedures to serious health risks. ALWAYS go to a
qualified and licensed professional for any type of cosmetic or plastic surgery. It's just common sense.
Question of the Day: How common do you think it is for unlicensed people to practice plastic surgery procedures out of their homes?
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Friday, February 01, 2008
Brazilian Liposuction Ring Leader Goes to Trial
There was recently a really unfortunate case in Massachusetts in which a Brazilian plastic surgeon is
being charged in the death of an immigrant. The immigrant woman was in her mid-twenties when she went to the doctor for
liposuction. Complications in the surgery led to her death. The result was that a network of underground plastic surgery for Brazilian immigrants was exposed.
The plastic surgery for these people was taking place in the basements of suburban homes in Massachusetts. The doctors are accused of operating in an unsterile environment leading to the death of the woman involved in the case. The accused doctor recently attempted to plea down to manslaughter. However, the judge has refused to accept his plea and has sent the case to trial.
It is sad to see the lengths that immigrant women will go to go get affordable plastic surgery. And it serves as an important reminder that you should always get your surgery from a qualified doctor, no matter what your situation is.
Question of the Day: Should the doctor have been allowed to plea?
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