Cosmetic Surgery Blog

A mélange of cosmetic surgery and high fashion can be found at the cosmetic surgery center located in Beverly Hills’ Rodeo Drive. The center has cultivated a tailored method to breast augmentation surgery. The overall outcome both complements a woman’s body and produces an enhanced shape suited for wearing chic clothing. The cosmetic surgery procedure is dubbed as the Couture Breast Augmentation. Read the rest of this entry »

To some people, having their nose done is almost like going to the beauty salon and getting their hair fixed, or something like that. However, to some, the idea of going under the knife seems like a very frightening experience. Despite that fear, a lot of people still choose to undergo rhinoplasty just so they could have their nose reshaped or reduced.

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World-renowned reconstructive surgeon Dr. John Reinisch, along with his fellow plastic surgeon Dr. Sheryl Lewin, has united with the Cedars-Sinai Medical Group. Dr. Reinisch and Dr. Lewin will make cosmetic and corrective surgery available to adults and children.

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Unlike women who need to wear brassieres and upper body clothing pieces, it is normal to see men walking around with their tops off. At the gym, at the beach, or even inside the house, men can do away with their shirts whenever they please. Well, that is if he is comfortable enough to walk around with his bare chest.

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Hundreds of physicians worldwide has reported promising results to treat facial bruising from injectable cosmetic treatments with the use of Pinoxide, a very active ingredient most commonly used for treating black under-eye circles.

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Clinical trial results for the first clinically-proven non-invasive focused ultrasound solution for body contouring called UltraShape were recently published in the Journal of the America Society of Plastic Surgeons, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (PRS).

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Based on a recent study conducted by researchers in the United Kingdom, it was found out that women who live in large cities and in urban areas are more prone to suffer from breast cancer. The research says this is because women living in the city have denser breasts.

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Washington- White plastic surgery just to achieve a flatter and firmer tummy, cuter nose, or even bigger breasts seem not that big a deal to some patients. However, experts in the plastic surgery filed admitted that these procedures leave patients at greater risks, medically speaking. Just like any other type of surgery, plastic surgeries also have risks that can be dangerous if not properly attended to.

Another risk today that is starting to balloon in numbers is the opportunistic doctors that are not licensed plastic surgeons. People who desire to undergo a cosmetic surgery procedure tend to avail of services from uncertified cosmetic surgeons, in the hope of trimming down the very expensive costs of this type of medical procedure. More so, plastic surgery is a very lucrative business which predominantly explain why doctors decide to join the bandwagon despite their being unlicensed practitioners in this field of medicine.

The threats and the dangers of plastic surgery were clearly illustrated following the death Donda West,  the mother of rapper Kanye West, last November 10 right after she underwent a cosmetic surgery procedure in a Los Angeles hospital.

The president of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, Dr. Foad Nahai said that “There is no such thing as surgery without risks”. This society is composed of more than two thousand four hundred doctors who specialize in plastic or cosmetic surgery. Dr. Nahai emphasized that as with any other forms of surgery, “plastic surgery is very dangerous”, added this Atlanta-based surgeon who performs nose surgeries, face-lifts, and other forms of cosmetic surgery.

Why Plastic Surgery is a Very Lucrative Business

Cosmetic surgery is actually a cash business. This is why health insurance companies do not typically cover any elective beauty makeovers. However, the demands for this procedure have never been higher, thanks to US television shows such as ‘Extreme Makeover’ and ‘Dr 90210’ that help glamorize and publicize the business.

Records show that almost two millions cosmetic surgeries have been done in the US in 2006 alone. Leading the list are breast augmentation procedures (329,000), followed by rhinoplasty (307,000), then liposuction (303,000), eyelid surgeries (233,000), and finally tummy tuck (146,000). This is based from records of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Additionally, this 6,800-member plastic surgery society noted an over-all counting of nearly eleven million surgeries including laser hair removal and Botox injections.

Crossover Doctors

With the allure of more money plus liberty from insurance company, crossover doctors are starting to get involved with cosmetic surgeries despite the fact that they are not certified members of the American Board of Plastic Surgery.

As a result, family doctors, oral surgeons, gynaecologists, and some other general practitioners are starting to join the field of plastic surgery with only limited expertise.

“They are starting to worry me tremendously,” admitted the president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Dr. Richard D’Amico. He said he has no idea of the number of uncertified ASPS plastic surgeons that work at unaccredited medical facilities.

Thus, Dr. D’Amico provided three specific rules to lessen the risks of a plastic surgery procedure. First is to choose a surgeon that is certified and accredited by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, requiring them to graduate from reputable medical school and that they should have plastic surgery trainings and must pass series of comprehensive exams. Second, if medical procedure is to be done outside a hospital, patients should go for those licensed or properly accredited medical facilities. Lastly, patients who will undergo a cosmetic surgery procedure have to be healthy and fit enough and that they must be thoroughly evaluated before the surgery. They must not have heart issues, history of blood clots, or diabetes.

Plastic surgery should be properly prepared to avoid dangerous risks. This type of procedure is about your body and your health, thus proper evaluation is imperative.

Stem cell researchers have revealed how cosmetic surgeries like breast augmentation and wrinkle removal can be improved by using natural implants to retain the original shape and size better than what synthetics can do.

Researchers say that cosmetic surgery may be done with stem-cell generated natural tissues rather than the synthetic implants. Silicone and saline implants commonly used for breast augmentation may possibly leak, rupture and then interfere with detections of breast cancers on mammograms. But with stem cell generated natural tissue implants, these problems can be avoided.

Also, reconstructive surgeries that are done to replace tissues lost due to cancer and some other disease can benefit a lot from stem cell generated natural implants that do not shrink or even lost their shapes. Researchers have shown that those conventional soft tissue implants relatively lose about forty to sixty percent of their volume over time. Common examples are breast tissue reconstructions after a surgery of breast cancer, and a facial soft tissue reconstruction right after a trauma or cancer surgery.

How do natural implants work?

Natural implants most oftentimes require separate surgical procedures from one healthy location of the body of the patient, so as to gather tissues for the construction of the implant. The approach of the stem-cell method does not necessarily require an extensive surgery because in the first place, cells that are needed for implants are generally attained in less invasive needle procedures.

Jeremy Mao, Ph.D, a Whitaker investigator of the University of Illinois at Chicago showed his results during the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, D.C. He stated that the stem-cell approach might help eradicate the necessities for any additional surgeries. He added that this method may effectively produce a better, long-lasting, and more shapely natural implant.

The research group the Mao led started with using a line of human stem cells obtained from a young volunteer’s bone marrow. Their studies have shown that mesenchymal stem cell can efficiently transform themselves into many varieties of cell types under proper conditions. These transformations normally include those that form bone, cartilage, and fat. In this particular case, the stem cells were developed with other substances that help them to become fat-producing cells.

Probing the Study

To further prove the research, cells produced from this particular culture were placed in a scaffold that is similar with the natural environment where fat cells grow in the body. This scaffold is Food and Drug Administration-approved. This hydrogen-scaffold can be moulded into specific size or shapes. These scaffolds that were cell-seeded were then carefully placed under the skin in eight laboratory mice. In four weeks time, the implants were removed and then examined.

Mao’s team found out that the stem cells had greatly separated into fat generating cells. The implant as well had maintained both its original shape and size. On the other hand, conventional implants started to lose its shape just within a few weeks time. The team was greatly encouraged, knowing the fact that their implants have preserved its original elements for a month.

These results alone clearly demonstrate about the potentials of using the stem-cell approach in medical applications. However, longer term studies are needed while more questions remain to be answered. Additional researchers are also musts as to the density of the cells used in the culture, along with the rates at which the scaffold degrades. Also, further researches should focus on the relationship between the existing host tissues and the implants.  

Nonetheless, this present approach simply represents another leap towards achieving an alternative tissue engineering method for soft tissue reconstruction and augmentation. 

With more than a hundred thousand children with cleft palates and cleft lips treated all across the globe, Operation Smile clearly demonstrates that no other field of specialization could approach what plastic surgery can do in reconstructing patients, that is, restoring dignity and inevitably changing lives.

After twenty five years of putting smiles on children with palate and lip problems, more than three hundred plastic surgeons gathered recently to lend their services and their expertise to the WJOS or the World Journey of Smiles.

The WJOS is a unique twenty-fifth anniversary effort of the Operation Smile where plastic surgeons in twenty-five countries, along with other medical professionals and general practitioners conducted a series of forty different missions, treating four-thousand, one-hundred and forty-nine children that have facial deformities.

Leading a team in Ecuador is John Canady, MD, the president-elect of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and a long time volunteer of the Operation Smile project. Together with ASPS Executive Vice President Paul Pomeranze, both plastic surgeons were very much humbled by their experience.

Dr. Canady said, “I have volunteered for Operation Smile for over fifteen years, and throughout this time, I have had the pleasure of meeting some of the most incredible people all around the world.”

In addition, he stated, “It is an honour to be able to restore the smiles to the faces of both my young patients and their concerned parents. Participating in the World Journey of Smiles here in Ecuador has reconfirmed for me what a positive impact plastic surgeons have on the lives of those who may not otherwise be given this opportunity.”

In general, the World Journey of Smiles in Ecuador has evaluated a hundred and ninety-seven patients, and conducted a hundred and seventy-four procedures and a hundred and seven surgeries. The medical director of the Hospital de los Valles where this mission was held, stated that the mission had served as one great example of how a great teamwork and solidarity can do to patients, setting an impact for the dedicated staff of this very new hospital.

More on Operation Smile

Operation smile was founded in 1982 by Dr. William P. Magee Jr., a licensed plastic surgeon, and his wife, Kathleen, a clinical social worker and nurse. The mission of this children’s medical charity is to help restore childhood facial deformities while creating private and public partnership that strongly advocate for a more sustainable and better healthcare system for children and their families.

International Missions

The standard International Medical Missions of Operation Smile is mostly composed of a team of licensed medical professional all around the world that voluntarily travel to an Operation Smile partner country just to treat children during a whole two-week period.

In one international mission alone, about five hundred children are able to obtain full medical evaluations and about a hundred to two hundred of them are surgically treated. This international mission is also providing educational opportunities to an in-country healthcare professional. The opportunities normally range from a formal medical seminar to an informal training on particular skills and methods.

Local Missions

Aside from the international missions, there are also year-round local missions that conduct local programs to taking care of more children. Local mission teams are composed of in-country medical volunteers that tirelessly work their way even in secluded areas just to help children.

As this children’s foundation is starting to work towards being self-sustainable, more foundations today now have their own clinics where children can be fully treated all year round. These children receive not only post-operative care but also other consultations like dental health, nutrition, psychology, and speech therapy.

Today, it is very heartening to see plastic surgeons helping these less-fortunate children regain their confidence and dignity. Seeing these children smile is truly fulfilling enough for doctors.