More Men Seek Plastic Surgery

More Men Seek Plastic Surgery But Need Different Procedures and Techniques

800,000 men had plastic surgery procedures last year, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic surgery, and the number is growing.

Lloyd M. Krieger, M.D., founder and Medical Director of Rodeo Drive Plastic Surgery in Beverly Hills notes that the bodies, goals and temperament of men are different from those of women -- so men need special procedures and techniques.(PRWEB) May 17, 2005 -- 800,000 men had plastic surgery procedures last year, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic surgery, and the number is growing.

Lloyd M. Krieger, M.D., founder and Medical Director of Rodeo Drive Plastic Surgery in Beverly Hills, now supplies Sports Illustrated along with Vogue in the waiting room. But the bodies, goals and temperament of men are different from those of women. Men are impatient with long recovery periods, and often seek plastic surgery to remain professionally competitive.

Facelift and rhinoplasty procedures that work well on women tend to feminize men, who need techniques that will ensure a masculine look with less recovery time.8 Things Men Should Know About Plastic Surgery

1. Liposuction can remove love-handles that even gym rats can’t shed; it is also excellent for removing fatty breast tissue and giving men back the abs they had in college.

2. Liposuction can remove localized fat deposits that the gym can’t touch. Dr. Krieger’s male patients refer to his liposuction machine as a “mechanical personal trainer”

.3. Results from liposuction will be best if men continue regular workouts at the gym after the procedure.

4. Facelifts tend to feminize men. Men tend to have fewer problems with jowls and do better with chin liposuction, neck lifts and forehead lifts. These three smaller procedures can often be combined and provide a better result than the larger facelift. The recovery time is shorter, so the male impatience factor is not overly tested.

5. When men do go for facelifts, their thicker skin means they need a unique procedure -- less pulling of the skin itself, which tends to become overly thin when pulled, and more work tightening the deeper tissues of the face.

6. Men often have more resilient skin than women, so it tends to shrink better following the procedure. This allows for more fat removal in some men during liposuction.

7. Calf implants and pectoral implants tend to migrate with time and have other problems. Better to use liposuction to sculpt the surrounding areas, and make the pecs and calves appear more distinct.

8. A chemical peel, which can be done without general anesthetic, is not a "facial" and can get rid of fine lines and blotchiness that make sportsmen look older than their years.

http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2005/5/emw240781.htm
http://surgerynews.net

Grow your own nipples

Grow your own nipples

ABC Science Online

Researchers have devised a way of growing nipple-coloured skin in the lab, which may one day help surgeons to more accurately reconstruct breasts after a mastectomy.The researchers believe they are the first to grow pigmented skin this way specifically for nipple reconstruction and say they have found a way of making sure the skin colour doesn't fade.

Australian scientists report their research in the March issue of the British Journal of Plastic Surgery.
There are currently two main ways of recreating nipples for women who have lost a breast, or breasts, to cancer.One way involves tattooing a nipple on the reconstructed breast mound.The other is to take pigmented skin from another part of the body, such as the groin crease or a spiral of skin from a remaining areola, the dark area surrounding the nipple, and transplant it.But the colour of the new nipple fades with time, one of the biggest problems facing reconstructive surgeons.

Associate head of health sciences at South Australia's Flinders Medical Centre, Professor Tim Neild, says while the new nipple may look good at first, the results of transplants tend to be short-lived."We don't really know why but the number of pigmented cells recedes and the amount of pigment in each cell fades," he says.This usually occurs between 12 months and two years of surgery.Neild says fading is believed to occur because the transplanted skin suddenly finds itself in a foreign place where it is lacking the cellular signals needed to maintain its colour."Any cell ... in the body is constantly bombarded by hormones and chemicals leaking from nearby cells that are all signals telling the cell how to behave," he says."If you put cells in a different environment it acts differently because it's getting different signals."Melanocytes to the rescueThe study's main author and Neild's colleague Dr Nicola Dean says she has grown a "pigmented skin construct" in a petri dish.

She mixed together normal keratinocytes, cells that produce the skin protein keratin, and melanocytes, cells that produce the pigment melanin, from the patient's own body."We took a biopsy of normal skin and artificially changed the ratio of melanocytes and keratinocytes," she says.She did this by separating the cells from the skin's dermis, or connective tissue, growing separate skin cell cultures from both types of cell and then introducing them back onto the stored dermis.In this way she changed the ratio of pigmented to non-pigmented cells from one-to-twelve to one-to-three.

Dean stresses that the technique is yet to be tried on a patient and says there are concerns that the growth factors used to encourage cell growth in vitro could also cause the transplanted cells to become cancerous.But she says it highlights the complexities of breast reconstruction for women who have had a mastectomy.

By Judy Skatssoon

http://abc.net.au/science/news/tech/InnovationRepublish_1328801.htm

Men Seek A Chest to Treasure

Men Seek A Chest to Treasure
Breast reduction surgery increases among males.

By JESSE HARLAN ALDERMANColumbia News ServiceIn junior high school, Merle Yost sagged to the bottom of the class in physical education. In the hallways, girls bounced insults off him and offered him their bras.At 5 feet tall and weighing just 80 pounds, Yost had breasts -- a size B-cup, to be exact.

The shy eighth-grader developed strategies to conceal them, to no avail."I did many things to disguise it," Yost said. "I was quite famous for wearing a lot of Hawaiian shirts, big floppy Hawaiian shirts during the disco era. I was a nerd."More than two decades later, Yost finally had to get something off his chest.
In 1993, the Oakland, Calif., psychotherapist had breast reduction surgery. In doing so he opted for an increasingly common procedure for men.

Last year, nearly 14,000 men across the country enlisted plastic surgeons to use liposuction to vacuum out excess fat and then sculpt and lift breast tissue to form a "toned" look. Some even fold skin over the areola to decrease the size of the nipple area.Breast enhancement in the form of silicone or saline implant surgery has long been a popular option for women in search of a larger, firmer chest.
Last year, nearly 400,000 women in America had cosmetic surgery on their breasts, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

Now, surgeons say that more men than ever are going under the knife in search of the perfect breast. As reality television programs celebrate makeovers, cosmetic surgery -- for those who can afford it -- has become a viable option for men in search of self-improvement.Obviously, the notion that "bigger is better" doesn't hold true for men with bouncy breasts. But men don't necessarily want to go too small, either. Getting a man's chest just right to bare with pride at the beach or in the locker room turns out to be a tricky business.

The perfect male breast will have some definition, explained Dr. Miguel Delgado, a San Francisco plastic surgeon."Ideally, a man's breast above the areola is full," he said. "It will have some small contour and as you come down to the areola it comes down to an actual fold and starts flattening towards the chest, which is perfectly flat." In other words, something akin to famously chiseled actor Brad Pitt's buff and oft-exposed pectorals in the movie "Fight Club."To correct the "wall with two bullet holes" look, many men have sought pectoral implants to give their breasts the ideal, contoured look. But far more frequent are reductions of so-called "man boobs."

Last year, 13,963 men had breast reductions, making the procedure the fifth most common plastic surgery for males, behind nose jobs, liposuction, hair transplants and eyelid surgery. Many of those men also had their "silver dollars reduced to quarters" in nipple-reduction surgeries.Not surprisingly, there's a medical term for the large breast affliction: gynecomastia, defined by Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary as excessive development of the male breasts. The word derives from the Greek word for "women-like breasts."Fat tissue typically increases in the breasts of overweight men, but chests can also swell in physically fit men.

For men who suffer from the condition, breasts usually grow abnormally large at the onset of puberty when the body produces large amounts of testosterone. The liver then converts the excess hormone into estrogen, which causes growth of breast tissue. A similar hormonal imbalance occurs with men who abuse anabolic steroids.But insurance companies don't consider gynecomastia a genuine illness. Rarely will a policy cover male breast reductions; doctors say that insurers deem the surgery purely cosmetic.

Men who have surgically decreased the size of their breasts say the procedure has improved their self-confidence. Some suggest that it lifted them from depression caused by their embarrassing physical appearance."Let's put it this way, I used to have sex with my shirt on," said Kevin Braga, a 24-year-old New York resident. "Now there's a huge difference.

Everything is much better."Delgado, who performs 80 to 90 breast reductions a year, said the issue remains taboo for many sufferers."Men do not talk about it like women who like to talk about this and that or `I got my lips done,' " Delgado said. "This is so embarrassing for men. It's a feminizing thing that men cannot stand to talk about."For Yost, who administers the Web site www.gynecomastia.org and counsels male patients with enlarged breasts, the surgery was unsuccessful. His oversized breasts returned in the years following his surgery."It's just impossible to get rid of all that breast tissue," he said. "It grows aggressively." Although, he added, "There are a lot of flat-chested women who might disagree with that."

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050503/NEWS/505030303/1021

http://surgerynews.net

Plastic surgery 'is trivialised'

Plastic surgery 'is trivialised'

Mr Khoo believes plastic surgery is being trivialisedThe obsession with cosmetic surgery is obscuring the real work plastic surgeons do treating cancer patients and burn victims, leading doctors say.

They said the demand for cosmetic surgery fuelled by the media's coverage of celebrities and TV programmes was having a negative effect.
The British Association of Plastic Surgeons even said some people saw them in a similar vein as hairdressers.

Instead, the surgeons said they were doctors who were there to heal people.
To stress their point, they gave examples at a London press briefing of people who had benefited from their work.

In one case, a club bouncer who had had his nose cut off in a sword attack was given a new nose through nasal reconstruction.

Understanding
A man who developed tongue cancer had part of his tongue removed and rebuilt, hardly impairing his speech.
And two children, born with cleft palates, were almost indistinguishable from their peers by the age of two.

Association chairman Chris Khoo said: "One of the things that comes across in the TV programmes is that there is a quick fix for anything, but sometimes we have to say no to treatment and people don't understand.
"This obsession tends to trivialise what the speciality can do.
"Our members treat cancer patients, burn victims and babies with cleft palates.
No other area of medicine has to put up with such misconceptions
Brendan Eley, of the Healing Foundation

Surgery saved my life
"They enable people to live full and active lives, but this does not always come across.
"We are not saying cosmetic surgery is not important, because it is and many of us do it, but just that we are getting things out of perspective."
Martin Kelly, a consultant plastic surgeon at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital who specialises in facial reconstruction, warned the obsession with cosmetic surgery meant that some unsuitable surgeons were carrying out work, leaving the NHS to pick up the tab for repairing the damage.

Scarring
And he added: "We are primarily doctors and not just further along the spectrum from hairdressers.
"We are here to heal and help people."

Another of the effects of the obsession was that the benefits of stem cell research and tissue regeneration, which could lead to the avoidance of scarring, was also being missed.
Patrick Mallucci, a consultant plastic surgeon at London's Royal Free Hospital, said: "Great advances are being made. It is not going to happen this week or next week, it is something for the future.
"But all we hear is cosmetic surgery."
Brendan Eley, chief executive of the Healing Foundation, a charity for people with disfigurements, said: "I have a lot of sympathy for plastic surgeons.
"No other area of medicine has to put up with such misconceptions.
"They are unsung heroes whose work can transform the lives of their patients."

Credit from BBC News

Men increasingly going under the cosmetic surgeon's knife

Men increasingly going under the cosmetic surgeon's knife

Men are increasingly willing to undergo cosmetic surgery such as Botox injections, rhinoplasty, and liposuction. According to a recent poll, 74 percent of men said they approved of cosmetic surgery, either for themselves or for another man. More than one million American men had some kind of cosmetic procedure in 2004.

Ads for Botox and other cosmetic procedures fill the pages of many women's magazines. But more and more men's publications are now talking about cosmetic surgery, as the number of men getting nipped and tucked continues to rise.Simeon Illive is getting a procedure you might not expect for a 28-year-old man. He's having his varicose veins removed."They just kept spreading and spreading and spreading and it got to the point where it gets ugly, he noted.For seven years, Albert Haje has been getting Botox on a regular basis.

The business owner has also had some tightening surgery done on his neck and face."I think it's much more acceptable for men now than it was in past years," said Haje.Not long ago, most men wouldn't even consider having Botox or any other cosmetic procedure done, but a recent survey shows just how much the times have changed.

Seventy-four percent of men polled said they approved of cosmetic plastic surgery for themselves or someone else. In 2004, well over one million men had some kind of cosmetic work done.Plastic surgeon Michael Kane expects the numbers to only go up."Men's magazines that actually write about plastic surgery, Restalyne, Botox, so they are much more aware of what's out there," explained Kane.Some surgeons are even catering to men.

With special goggles, Simeon is able to watch a "Sopranos" DVD during his surgery.And Doctor Luis Navarro says the procedure has become more popular with men now that it's faster and the recovery time is shorter."It lasts about 45 minutes and you can return to work the same day," he said.But Haje says something else has changed over the years."I think we're more vain."

According to the Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, the most popular cosmetic surgeries for men are liposuction, eyelid surgery and rhinoplasty.

http://surgerynews.net

Calf measures and the male anatomy

Calf measures and the male anatomy

More men are seeking perfect bodies through cosmetic surgery, writes social trends reporter JILL MAHONEY
Matthieu Roy's friends used to call him a frog -- and not only because he was a transplanted Quebecker living in Toronto. His calves were "like toothpicks really, like frog legs," so scrawny that he shied away from wearing shorts, going to the beach and playing water sports.

After years of trying to bulk up at the gym proved fruitless, Mr. Roy forked over $8,000 to a plastic surgeon to insert silicone implants into his calves.
"I just feel a lot better about myself. It's like when you get an amazing new haircut or you decide to dye your hair a different colour or you buy a shirt that you really like," the 25-year-old marketing student said in an interview.
"It really helped me to get a lot more self-esteem about myself. You know it's been a year, I got a new girlfriend and I just have the feeling that it's all because of this, and it sounds a bit silly but that's really the way I feel."

Mr. Roy, who was 24 when he had the surgery, is one of an increasing number of young men who are shelling out thousands of dollars to perfect their bodies through a host of surgeries, from rhinoplasty to refine noses to liposuction to erase love handles and create chiselled abdominal muscles, also known as six-packs.

"Men are becoming subject to the same forces women have always been subject to," said Stephen Mulholland, a Toronto plastic surgeon whose male clientele has mushroomed in the past decade. "The previous generation of young men did not do this."

While there are no comprehensive Canadian statistics on cosmetic surgery, those in the field say they are seeing more and more men, including those who are in their 20s and even teens.

In the United States, the number of cosmetic procedures performed on men has more than tripled since 1997. Males got 10 per cent of all enhancements last year, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.

Men's interest in cosmetic surgery is in line with an overall explosion of nipping and tucking. In 2004, the society said the number of surgical procedures in the U.S. jumped 17 per cent over 2003 levels. When considered along with non-surgical treatments, such as laser hair removal and Botox injections to smooth our wrinkles, the figure soared 44 per cent.

As plastic surgery becomes more common, the stigma of going under the knife is slipping, in part because of a host of celebrities -- including Joan Rivers, Cher, Pamela Anderson and Patricia Heaton of Everybody Loves Raymond -- who have openly discussed their revisions.
Even ordinary Joes are being featured on prime-time reality shows such as The Swan and Extreme Makeover. The latter has chronicled the surgical transformations of several men, including a law-enforcement officer, an aspiring artist and a man who had been wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death.

Indeed, the male body is being "disrobed in many ways," said Michael Atkinson, a sociology professor at Hamilton's McMaster University who is halfway through a three-year study into Canadian men's uses of cosmetic surgery.
Though the stereotype of yesteryear may have been beer bellies, hairy backs and general inattention to style, men now live in a culture intensely focused on all things aesthetic, from a toned physique to health and fitness to quick fixes. Many young women readily proclaim their affinity for sculpted abs, and encourage their boyfriends and husbands to be surgically enhanced.

Young men, especially those who live in cities, are acutely sensitive to body issues in a way previous generations never were, Prof. Atkinson said.
"All these things sort of crystallize and sort of put some pressure on young men to do this and to think about this."
"These guys are saying, 'Yeah, everybody is talking about this. Everybody is sort of reinforcing this as the norm. I want to look like a masculine body. I want to look like a healthy body. I want to look like an attractive body. I want to look like I care and have a sense of morality and ethics about my body.' "
Prof. Atkinson, who said some men have a striking lack of knowledge about risks and side effects, said so-called minor treatments appear to be "pathways" into more serious surgical procedures.
"This is what we have to be aware of right now, as we start seeing this mushrooming of the younger populations into this and kids who are 15 and 16 now speaking about wanting plastic surgery."
He told the story of one man who underwent five procedures in just three years. The man, who was in his early 30s, started out with a nose job, then got his eyelids lifted. His face looked so good, Prof. Atkinson said, that he got a hair transplant, then liposuction and finally laser eye surgery.

"He sort of progressively rebuilt himself in three years. He's starting to represent this 'I- want-to-do-this-and-I-want-to-do-this-now,' Extreme Makeover mentality. [They think] 'I'd like to do this as quickly as possible because I want to look good today, not tomorrow.' "
The surgical procedures most popular among men in Canada, according to plastic surgeons, are liposuction, nose jobs and eyelid lifts. While in high demand in places like California, calf, buttock and pectoral implants for men are rare in Canada, though "slowly rising" in popularity, said Marc DuPéré, the doctor who operated on Mr. Roy's calves.

Also common, but rarely discussed, is male breast-reduction surgery to correct a condition that is often the result of hormonal imbalance or weight gain.
Ryan Tucker, a 21-year-old Toronto waiter, had such an operation, which can cost about $8,000, last year after years of embarrassment and teasing. The results have made a big difference; he now wears thin T-shirts in the summer instead of heavy clothing.

"I definitely feel a lot better about my body. It's given me a little more confidence in terms of being able to stick my chest out and walk around," he said.
"It's all about the confidence factor."
As a kid, Scott O'Leary was called Dumbo because his ears stuck out. In January, the 20-year-old construction worker from Alliston, Ont., southwest of Barrie, had them pinned back. The $3,000 operation "makes me look a little bit better and I feel a little bit better.
"I think plastic surgery is perfectly fine, to be honest with you," he said. "Because, what the hell -- why look good when you can look great?"

http://surgerynews.net
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050328/SURGERY23/TPHealth/

FDA bans public marketing of silicon gel breast implants

FDA bans public marketing of silicon gel breast implants

In a narrow vote last month, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decided against allowing silicone gel breast implants back on the market. This debate was sparked by the worries of the medical community that the implants could cause cancer, autoimune and connective tissue disorders among other problems.

Inamed Corp., one of the manufacturers of the implants, claimed to be "stunned" by the decision and insisted on that they are safe for women. This ban, however, does not apply to women receiving implants who have undergone mastectomies, had rejection issues with saline implants, are having breast lifts or have chest wall deformities. Also, women willing to be involved in clinical trials are allowed to receive them for periods of five to 10 years.

Breast implants have become one of the most popular cosmetic surgeries available. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons estimates that in 2004 about 260,000 women received breast augmentation for cosmetic purposes only, and about 60,000 women received them after undergoing a mastectomy. This number is expected to increase by 10 percent this year as the procedure is gaining popularity.

The first breast implant was performed in 1920, where fatty tissue was removed from the buttock and abdominal region and then transferred into the breasts. However, this procedure proved unfruitful because the body quickly reabsorbed the fat and left the breasts misshapen and lumpy. The unseemly scarring that also resulted made this procedure unpopular and subsequently it was no longer performed by the 1940s.

Rumor has it that the first silicone implants were utilized by Japanese prostitutes during the WWII era. They injected silicone directly into their breasts to make them appear more voluptuous, thus attracting more customers.
By the 1960s, the American exotic dancing scene began to realize the benefits for their business with breast augmentation. Slowly, this cosmetic surgery, once used solely by a specific population, was received into the mainstream public.

In the 1960s, in order to reduce infections that could result with direct silicone injections, the medical community began to develop a capsular method to contain the silicone and implant them in the breasts. The first surgery for these types of augmentation were made available in 1963.

The FDA has long been unsure of the efficacy of the silicone implants. Their most recent decision to ban the public marketing of such implants resulted because that the claims that the evidence in research that ruptures and complications do not cause cancer or connective tissue diseases has been inconclusive and that more studies need to be done.

Yet the scientific community still remains at odds with the decision, as proof of the narrow five to four vote against allowing them back onto the market. The link between connective tissue disorder and breast implants has not been sufficiently proven as medical experts and implant manufacturers continue their research.

Silicone gel has not been an immediate obvious danger and women appreciate that their feel is much more realistic, unlike the hard saline implants that are currently available.

Another significant concern centers about "silent" ruptures. Data collected shows that 85 percent of ruptured implants would take time, sometimes even years for the women to discover that their procedure had failed.
Silicone presents a few problems already. A rupture not only unevens the breasts, but also causes pain, burning, and other uncomfortable symptoms.

Furthermore, some women run a risk of having an immune response against the silicone, which is a foreign object within the body, which could on occasion prove fatal. Others are more susceptible to infections, especially during surgery and from implants that were not properly sterilized, which could be a possibility also.

Doctors have thought to encourage women who have received silicone gel implants to get regular MRIs to ensure that their breasts are still intact. However, this is a difficult task to ask women. Breast augmentation and some other forms of plastic surgery, as well as their treatment and care are not always approved to be covered on health insurances.

The medical community has sought to seek more information and perform more research on the link between certain diseases and breast implants. Until then, the implants will be prohibited by the federal government.

By Esther Hwang
http://www.jhunewsletter.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/04/14/425eb2b8cbf68

Bust boom: all for that sexy look

Bust boom: all for that sexy look

Pamela Anderson did it, so did Madonna. Now, thanks to the recent re-approval of silicone breast implants by the FDA after a gap of 13 years, bust lines are set to get a lift.

The FDA's new position on the use of silicone is important because this is the age of sexual imagery. As Mallika Sherawat says: "Men like talking to my breasts" Fact is, the obsession with an ample bustline dates back to 1858, when Anne McLean of Williamsburg, NY, invented what may be the first patented American falsie - a cone-shaped wire device that intimidated her husband.

Such preoccupation with female curves might have a purpose. "Women should look sexy and feminine. I like models with shapely bosoms walking the ramp," says Rohit Bal. "I know many models who have stuffed silicone in their breasts." According to the Society of Plastic Surgeons, post-Pamela Anderson and Carmen Electra, the number of women undergoing breast augmentation surgery is growing at an incredible pace.

In 1992, 32,607 women underwent the surgery, but by 2002, this number had jumped to 2.5 million: A 593 per cent jump in 10 years with 19-34 year-olds being responsible for 25 per cent of the procedures despite the whopping cost: USD 3,375. The US cashed in on USD 857 million for breast implants in 2003. Is breast enhancement popular in India too?

"Unlike in the UK and US, we don't maintain breast-implant registers. Breast augmentation is a taboo in India. Another deterrent is the cost. A breast implant can cost anything between Rs 35,000 and Rs 50,000," says Sunil Choudhary, a consultant with Max Health Care. However, there are cosmetic surgeons like SB Gogia who have done more than 65 such jobs, because as he says, when it comes to the feminine mystique, nothing spells success like DD-cups. "Most patients ask for a very large breast size," he clarifies

So, what exactly can silicone do for you? "The look and feel of silicone-studded breasts are so natural that you have to touch them to tell," says Bal. A cosmetic surgeon reveals: "We do import silicone implants. Even though they were banned in the US, they were used in the UK, Israel, New Zealand and Australia."

Neither the implants imported nor medical procedure involved are monitored in India. "We don't require any monitoring body as they are already certified by the authorities concerned in the countries of their origin," says Gogia. Is it okay to have silicone assets? Psychiatrist Sanjay Chugh offers an explanation for this phenomenon: "Women who go for breast augmentation usually have low self esteem and confidence. They believe that their only appeal lies in their physical appearance. Relationship problems with the spouse are also a factor when it comes to feeling inadequate."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1093565.cms

http://surgerynews.net

Groups urge US to reject silicone breast implants

Groups urge US to reject silicone breast implants

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators should deny applications to sell silicone gel-filled breast implants because the manufacturers have not met the legal benchmark for proving safety, 20 consumer groups and individuals said in a petition released on Tuesday.

Inamed Corp. and Mentor Corp. are trying to win Food and Drug Administration approval to resume widespread sales of silicone breast implants for the first time since 1992.

The petitioners said neither company has met the requirement in federal law that makers provide a "reasonable assurance" that the implants are safe.
"Even if interpreted in the manner most favorable to Inamed and Mentor, the data regarding safety are inconclusive, and FDA therefore must deny both applications," said the petition, signed by Public Citizen, the National Organization for Women and others.

In April, an FDA advisory committee voted 5-4 against Inamed's implants, while urging approval for Mentor's implants by a 7-2 vote. The FDA is considering those recommendations and is expected to make a final decision around mid-July.

Many women believe leaking silicone from ruptured implants has made them sick with debilitating illnesses, but studies have failed to find a connection between the devices and chronic disease. The implants can, however, cause painful scarring and other complications in the breast area. FDA spokeswoman Kathleen Quinn said the agency will carefully review the petition.

Spokespeople for Mentor and Inamed could not immediately be reached for comment. Both companies previously have defended their silicone implants as safe and more natural-looking than saline-filled breast implants, the only option for most U.S. women. Silicone implants are allowed through clinical trials for breast cancer patients and other women who need reconstruction surgery.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=8590305

http://surgerynews.net

Breast Implants: A Woman's Choice, But a Safe Choice?

Breast Implants: A Woman's Choice, But a Safe Choice?

Women have the right to buy products that will make them look better or feel better about themselves. Are silicone breast implants part of that inalienable right to choose?

The companies that make silicone breast implants (search), the plastic surgeons who use them, and the women who want them are all focused on that right, and angry that it has been restricted for the last 13 years. They question the motives of government officials, women’s organizations, and health advocates that question that right.

On the other side of the debate, consumer groups, public health advocates and others remind us that the Food and Drug Administration has the responsibility of approving medical products only if they are proven safe and effective. Implants are especially worrisome because it costs thousands of dollars to have them removed. If these products are risky or can break inside the body, that risk should outweigh the benefits.

Breast implants have become such a hot topic that pundits who otherwise wouldn’t talk about the FDA or women’s issues have gravitated toward the topic. Many pundits have become instant experts on the subject, even if they have never spoken to any woman about her implant experiences and never read any of the safety studies they quote.

But like most hot topics, this one is complicated. If you talk to women, read the research, and try to figure out why there are such strong opinions on both sides of the issue, you’ll find out why the controversy has continued for 15 years and is not yet resolved.

This is what we already know about breast implants:

Dozens of studies of women who had implants for a short time find no significant increase in diseases. Most of these studies are funded by companies with a financial interest in breast implants. Studies conducted by implant makers and analyzed by the FDA found that more than one in three patients report complications such as breast pain and hardness and the need for additional surgery within the first three years.

Only two studies have been conducted on the health of women with leaking silicone implants. One, conducted by FDA scientists, found a significant increase in fibromyalgia (search) and other autoimmune diseases (search). A study funded by a silicone manufacturer found an increase in autoimmune symptoms such as fatigue and mental confusion but not in diagnosed diseases.

Studies conducted by the National Cancer Institute are the best-designed because they compare women who had implants for at least seven years to other plastic surgery patients and to women in the general population. They found that all plastic surgery patients, including breast augmentation patients, tend to be healthier and wealthier than women of the same age in the general population. Plastic surgery patients also have similar health habits.

However, compared to other plastic surgery patients, breast augmentation patients are twice as likely to die of brain cancer, three times as likely to die of lung cancer, and four times as likely to commit suicide. They are more likely to report autoimmune diseases, but their medical records indicate that patients are not always accurate in their reporting (for example, many women who report having rheumatoid arthritis (search) actually have osteo-arthritis (search) instead). These government scientists concluded that the results were inconclusive and more research was needed.

The testimony of women with breast implants was surprisingly consistent with these research studies. Many of the women praising their implants had them for just a year or two. The women who were testifying against implants usually had them for 10 years or more. Many spoke of being happy with their implants for years, and then slowly becoming disabled from chronic fatigue, mental confusion, and aches and pains at the ripe old age of 32. After years of being told that their illness was unrelated to their implants, they eventually had their implants removed, and only then learned that the implants had ruptured and were leaking.

Ed Brent, a widower from Atlanta, described his wife, P.J., as very happy with her implants for years. When she became ill, she sought medical treatment but none of the doctors were able to help her. Frustrated by the lack of effective medical care and feeling guilty because her children became seriously ill after she breastfed them with implants, P.J. Brent committed suicide.

Ed testified that after her death, doctors found exceptionally high levels of platinum in her blood, and in the blood of the children she breastfed after implants (but not those breastfed before). Platinum is a potentially toxic substance that is used to make breast implants. Research published last year found high levels in the breast milk, blood and urine of women with implants, compared to other women.

This is what we don’t know about breast implants:

We don’t know how long they last, although many studies suggest that 10-15 years is likely.

We don’t know how often they leak silicone outside the implant area, but the FDA estimates one in four women with leaking implants have such leakage. Will that eventually become 100 percent if a woman doesn’t have her implants removed? Nobody knows.

We don’t know what percentage of women will get sick from breast implants that are intact and what percentage will get sick from breast implants that are leaking. No studies have been done to examine that over time.

We don’t know if breast implants make most women feel better about themselves. According to the companies’ own studies, women who got breast implants two years earlier tend to feel worse about their lives and themselves, not better, than they felt before getting their implants.

Can women make an informed choice about breast implants? Most women who make a decision about breast implants get their information from their plastic surgeon, the implant maker’s patient booklet, or the Internet. The plastic surgeons tend to be very positive, the company brochures tend to be confusing, and the Internet has information ranging from extremely positive to extremely negative and everything in-between.

The bottom line: men and women have a right to choose safe medical products, and it is the FDA’s job to determine if a medical product is safe. Whether the product is a painkiller, an anti-depressant, or a breast implant, FDA approval should be made on science, not wishful thinking or philosophical musings about choice.

Diana Zuckerman, Ph.D. is president of the National Research Center for Women & Families, a nonprofit research and education organization that advocates to improve the health and safety of women, children, and families

By Diana Zuckerman, Ph.D.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,154086,00.html

http://surgerynews.net

U.S. breast augmentation surgeries increase

U.S. breast augmentation surgeries increase

Demand for breast implants is growing steadily, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, and a recommendation by the Food and Drug Administration might change the availability of silicone gel-filled breast implants in the United States.

In 2003, almost 335,000 women had breast augmentation surgeries, spending more than $800,000 -averaging about $3,300 per surgeon or physician's fee, according to the society.

A federal advisory panel voted 7-2 in April to recommend approval of an application to allow silicone-gel implants filed in 2003 by the Mentor Corporation, one of the two leading suppliers of silicone breast implants in the United States. The panel did not recommend approval of implants from another supplier, Inamed Corporation, because it lacked data about long-term effects of the implants.

"The two panel recommendations differed because the scientific data supporting each application differed," FDA spokeswoman Julie Zawisza said.
The application still is under review by the FDA.

In the United States, silicone implants are available only to women willing to participate in a continued study, including breast cancer patients who have undergone a mastectomy, patients who need silicone implant replacements and extremely thin people who will not get the desired structure from saline implants, said Dr. Bryan Michelow, an assistant clinical professor of plastic surgery at Case Western Reserve University.

Most women choose saline breast implants because for the average person, silicone implants have not been available.

Sheryl Hummer, 46, of Columbus, purchased saline breast implants three years ago because she shrank from a C-cup to an A-cup after nursing her children. She opted out of participating in an FDA-approved study to receive silicone implants because she was concerned about the possible risk factors.

The preference toward silicone is because it feels more natural, he said. Saline is firmer and heavier.

Concerns about silicone implants arose when women who had the implants experienced certain symptoms such as fatigue. In 1992, the FDA restricted the use of silicone implants until more research could be done.
During the past decade, independent studies have shown no significant danger in using silicone implants, Michelow said.

Breast implants do not last a lifetime; some may deflate or rupture within the first few months after surgery, while others might take 10 or more years, according to an independent review by the Institute of Medicine in 1999 that can be accessed on the FDA Web site (http://www.fda.gov/). There are other potential complications to getting breast implants, but no evidence that they cause major diseases.

In countries where silicone is available, patients will choose it 90 percent of the time, according the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

"The FDA in America is very strict, and they do a good job of protecting people from harmful products, but often they cause a lag in allowing things on the market," Michelow said.

Many interest groups, including the National Organization for Women, did not support the FDA decision, claiming that no studies provided enough data to prove silicone implants safe.

More than 1 million women in more than 50 countries have received Mentor Corp.'s gel implants, according to the corporation.

by Ellie BehlingCulture Senior Writerellen.behling@ohiou.edu
http://thepost.baker.ohiou.edu/F.php?article=F6&date=052605

http://surgerynews.net

Saline vs. silicone dilemma

Saline vs. silicone dilemma

Each of the breast implant fillers comes with its potential drawbacks, so some women choose neither

One breast cancer survivor switched to silicone gel after her saline-filled implant shriveled up into a hard little knot the size of a golf ball.Another switched because she didn't like the feeling of the saline "gushing up and down" when she lay down.

And a third developed infections and had to have her saline implants removed - she did not have them replaced.Breast cancer survivors who need reconstructive surgery are among the only women currently allowed to choose silicone gel-filled implants, and they are monitored closely for health problems. But even though silicone gel is hailed as having a more natural look and feel than saline-filled implants, breast cancer survivors are the first to acknowledge:

There is no perfect solution. As the author of a medical article on the topic concluded years ago, "Neither prosthesis type is ideal."Complications occur with both types, but the most common problem, capsular contracture

- the formation of scar tissue around the implant, which causes the breast to harden

- occurs considerably less frequently with saline-filled implants, studies show.

Saline-filled implants, however, may be more prone to leak."There really isn't a safe procedure for breast reconstruction, and it's not fair," said Cecilia Claudio-Moskowitz of Glen Head, whose breast cancer was detected in 1996. "There's no good alternative."Claudio-Moskowitz, 55, initially chose a saline-filled implant, but it shrank and hardened, possibly as a result of radiation treatments she received.

In February, she had it replaced with a silicone implant."It looks natural, it feels natural," said Claudio-Moskowitz, a social worker who does volunteer work answering the Adelphi Breast Cancer Hotline. "I'm just hoping if anything goes wrong, it'll be caught early on."Like many other breast cancer survivors interviewed, Claudio-Moskowitz said she chose implants over reconstructive surgery, which would have used her own abdominal muscle, because she wanted to avoid protracted surgery and a lengthy recuperation.

She also wanted to maintain her abdominal muscles, she said: "Bad enough that I had to have breast cancer. I didn't want to lose my stomach muscle, as well."Barbara Levitz, 54, of Island Park said her saline implant migrated under her arm, and she had it replaced with a silicone implant after six months. But even that is imperfect, she said."Once you have an implant, it's very uncomfortable; you feel like you have an underwire bra on," she said.

Though the saline implant has a natural feeling, she said, "it's still a foreign object."Implants can also become infected, either immediately after surgery or months later, sometimes necessitating surgical removal.Shari Schaefer, 46, of East Rockaway developed repeated infections around her implants, which she attributes in part to her other health conditions, which include diabetes and lymphedema-related swelling. She had the implants removed in November after about 18 months."Anyone who is considering having this procedure should inform their doctor if they have diabetes, arthritis or high blood pressure or swelling," she said. "My doctor did warn me that it might not work out for me."The exchange must go both ways, said Geri Barish, a founder of 1 in 9: The Long Island Breast Cancer Action Coalition."It's not as simple as popping an implant under the skin," she said. "There are successes, but there are also failures, and women need to have a real understanding of the side effects. ... We need to make sure doctors tell us the truth."

BY RONI RABINSTAFF WRITERApril 14, 2005
http://www.newsday.com/news/printedition/health/ny-hslocl144216748apr14,0,6572124.story?coll=ny-health-print

Bill Would Permit Dental Surgeons to Do Elective Plastic Surgery

Bill Would Permit Dental Surgeons to Do Elective Plastic Surgery

Two state lawmakers have introduced legislation that would allow oral and maxillofacial surgeons to perform elective facial cosmetic surgery. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons are specially-trained dentists who can do cosmetic surgeries for medical reasons, but not as elective surgeries.

Senate Bill 438 would give those practitioners the option of applying for a permit to do elective facial cosmetic procedures. The state's dental board would be responsible for granting the permits, based on the surgeon's education, training and experience.Dr. Tim Silegy, an oral-maxillofacial surgeon, spoke before the Senate Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development hearing the bill. "We take care of these very horrific accidents," he said. "We would like the ability to treat these patients in our office in an ambulatory setting and address their cosmetic issues."Yet because the dental surgeons are not medical doctors, some disagree with letting them perform elective cosmetic surgeries. "There is absolutely no substitute for training," said Dr. Jack Bruner, a plastic surgeon. "You can't blow that off. You can't say training doesn't count."

http://www.kxtv10.com/storyfull1.asp?id=10392

http://surgerynews.net

South Koreans and their dream to looking beautiful

South Koreans and their dream to looking beautiful

It’s no big secret that South Koreans love to go and get a nip or a tuck, with the average 18-year-old girl already having had cosmetic surgery. With a beauty craze having caught on throughout South Korea, it has also attracted the attention of neighboring countries like Japan, China and Taiwan. Upon arriving in South Korea, let’s go take a look at what it is that most people want to get done.

This here is Mindong, a shopping haven in South Korea, and with our sharp eyes we have already discovered the trail of manmade beauty. She said, “I’ve had my eyes and nose done, there’s no special feeling but there are some who have said I look more beautiful.” “I’ve arrived at one of Korea’s well known cosmetic clinics and inside it looks very much like a five star hotel. Now what kind of service do they provide? Look this is really something.”

Many people in Korea start at a young age getting cosmetic surgery. High school and college seems to be the highest peak for those going under the knife. In South Korea, at least 80% of the women have gotten a double eyelid operation. For them, it’s as normal as getting braces to have your teeth straightened out.

Besides getting a double eyelid operation, a statuesque nose and liposuction are also operations well sought after by South Koreans. Now if you think this is just for women, well think again. “Most men have nose jobs because nose are what symbolizes a man’s pride, so many like it higher.” Not just South Koreans are doing it, but the Japanese and Chinese are all making trips to South Korea to get cosmetic surgery. Most Japanese get liposuction, but not too many of them really have anything done on their faces.

The Chinese seem to have a tendency to change their cheekbones while for the Taiwanese, anything that they aren’t pleased with they’ll have changed. “Wanted to look your best is natural, so cosmetic surgery if compared with European skill, Korean cosmetic surgeons are more detailed.

Therefore many foreigners including Japanese and Taiwanese all come looking for cosmetic surgery.” In the hearts of South Koreans, do you know which superstar is the most modeled after in cosmetic surgery?

From http://www.ettoday.com/2005/03/29/11195-1771228.htm

http://surgerynews.net

Health warning: don't let the middle go over a metre (3 feet)

Health warning: don't let

the middle go over a metre (3 feet)

A tape measure could be more important than a set of bathroom scales in helping people protect their health, doctors say.
People with a waist size greater than 39.37 inches (one metre) have a sharply increased risk of heart disease, diabetes and other conditions linked with obesity, according to a study published today in the British Medical Journal.

The one metre cut-off point could become a more important health measure than the existing body mass index (BMI), which defines obesity as a BMI above 30 and is harder to calculate.

In separate research, treatment with the new obesity drug rimonabant helped people lose weight. Patients on a 20mg dose of the drug lost just less than two inches (5cm) from their waist size over a year and their cholesterol and insulin levels improved.

Excess weight around the stomach is more harmful than when deposited in other parts of the body, such as the legs and hips, and putting a simple limit of one metre on waist size could help people maintain a healthy lifestyle. The type of fat and where it accumulates is more important than the amount. Fat deposited under the skin, which wobbles and causes cellulite, is relatively unimportant.

Fat deposited deep inside the abdomen, which is seen in an expanding waist, secretes toxins into the bloodstream, raises cholesterol and increases the body's resistanceto insulin, essential for controlling blood sugar. A rise in insulin resistance means the pancreas has to produce more, which can damage other organs, such as the kidneys.

The problem is greatest in Britain among men. The typical British male has an apple shape, his stomach bulging over his trousers, aided by a diet of beer and chips. Women tend to the traditional pear shape as they age, with weight accumulating on hips and legs.

An apple shape is healthier than a pear shape, but women are increasing their waist sizes and turning from pears to apples, researchers say. The finding that the critical point for waist size is one metre applies equally to the sexes and is the best predictor of insulin resistance - the early warning sign of declining health affecting the heart, liver, kidneys and other vital organs.

No easy test for predicting insulin resistance exists but researchers from the Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden, have set out to devise one.
Guidelines suggest men with a waist size of more than40 inches and women with waists over 35 inches are at higher risk. But the Swedish researchers found a cut off of one metre for both sexes was a better predictor of insulin resistance.

They measured insulin resistance in 2,746 male and female volunteers aged from 18 to 72, with a variety of body shapes, and waist sizes from 26 to 59 inches. The results showed that almost half of those with a waist greater than one metre were insulin-resistant.

David Haslam, the chairman of the National Obesity Forum in the UK, said: "The fat around your middle is the most dangerous ... The good news is that even though it is the intra-abdominal fat that is dangerous, when you lose weight that goes quickest and the benefits are seen in lower blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol."

Time to worry?

* The biggest waists are in Scotland and the North-east. But levels of obesity in Scotland are the same as for the rest of the country at 21 per cent - more than 850,000 people.
* 30,000 people die from obesity each year and the death toll will top that from smoking, which kills 100,000 people, in 10 to 15 years.
* Adding extra weight starts early. Children's waist sizes have expanded by two clothing sizes over the past 20 years.
* Three million Britons will suffer from diabetes by 2010, double the number of four years ago.

By Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor,15 April 2005
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/story.jsp?story=629534

http://www.surgerynews.net

The price of perfection

The price of perfection

Bleeding, infection, permanent loss of feeling in the nipples and/or breasts, chest skin ripping, implant leakage or deflation ... Whoa, is my Ouch-o-Meter whistling off-scale! Still, those are only a few serious complications many women today are willing to risk when striving to attain a better body.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, in 1992 alone, 32,607 women underwent breast augmentation surgery.

Ten years later, the number nearly jumped 700 percent as 225,818 women went under the knife for the same procedure in 2002.

Even more significant, of the 187,755 breast augmentation patients in 2000, a whooping 58 percent of them were in the 19 to 34-year-old age group.
What may look like a rising trend in young adults is thanks to "Teen Dream" celebrities like Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan, who were both accused by the media of having breast augmentations as soon as they turned one. Both deny that surgical enhancement was the cause of their oddly area-specific sudden growth spurts. Older celebrities, such as Halle Berry and Salma Hayek, are known for their breasts... I mean their voluptuous bodies as well.

In an era where media exploits reality television shows such as MTV's "I Want a Famous Face" and Fox's "The Swan," patients go through extensive plastic surgery with the hope of improving their physical images.

"Breast augmentation can enhance your appearance and your self-confidence, but it won't necessarily change your looks to match your ideal, or cause other people to treat you differently," the American Society of Plastic Surgeons said.
"A breast implant is a silicone shell filled with either silicone gel or a salt-water solution known as saline," is the description of breast implants given by the society.

According to www.infoplasticsurgery.com, unfounded news reports in 1991 found that silicone gel breast implants were responsible for connective tissue diseases in some women.

CTD's can also cause the body to become disabled. Although many women with silicone implants had CTDs, so did many women without implants. "Furthermore, it was noted during the panel hearings that one legitimate cause of concern regarding silicone gel breast implants is that they have about an 85 percent risk of rupture during the first 10 years," according to the Web site.

Incidentally, an FDA panel is encouraging the pass for silicone gel breast implants to be approved in the market again.

If you are considering getting breast augmentation through saline implants, you risk getting the chance of supplying Barbie and friends their own waterbed, courtesy of your chest of course.This rippling effect of the skin is due to saline shifting around inside your implants.

When it comes to other risks that saline implants may bring, risk of deflation is about four percent during the first year following surgery, then about one percent per implant per year for each year.

The national risk of having permanently numb nipples is also about 15 percent. The risk of infection is about one percent and often requires removal of the involved implant and antibiotics, according to www.infoplasticsurgery.com.
While coconuts should be reserved for the dinner table and not on your body, this "hard, water balloon" image is called severe capsular contracture. Usually accompanied with silicone implants more than saline implants, they definitely look unnatural.

Placing the implant under the muscle has a lower risk of capsular contracture than placing the implant over the muscle.

Nonetheless, breast implants should serve the patient who decides to get them. Their friends, society or Tinseltown should not be a basis on why one chooses to undergo breast surgery.

By Leslie Casaje
http://www.lavozdeanza.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/05/02/4273f377ab47a

Making the Cut Nip and tuck on campus

Making the Cut Nip and tuck on campus: enhancing the student body

Summer 2005 - The letters A, B, C, and D have taken on an entirely new meaning on college campuses. They no longer simply refer to that grade on your latest math test or term paper. Nowadays, the letters are also a guide to the changing breast sizes at the center of an exploding trend in plastic surgery among college students.

Plastic surgery procedures among college patients have increased 30 to 40 percent over the last three to four years, according to Dr. Rod Rohrich, former fresident of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPAS) and current chair of plastic surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Many of the patients, both male and female, see plastic surgery as more of an option because of the Internet and the media advertising, he said. Due to a combination of falling costs and a more affluent society, students are not only more informed about possible procedures, but increasingly able to afford them. According to Rohrich, the most highly sought after procedures by college females are liposuction, rhinoplasties — nose-reshaping surgery — and breast implants, which students often undergo over vacations.

Courtney Thompson, a senior at the University of Michigan, changed her cup size from a double A to a C in 2003. Thompson started to want surgery when her breasts shrank from a B cup to a double A after she started jogging regularly. For several years she struggled to find clothing, especially going-out clothes. Eventually, instead of going on Spring Break, the then twenty-one year old stayed home to have the surgery.

“It didn’t sound very invasive,” she said. “[The surgeon] told me you could get the incision in your armpit or under your breasts. Once we made all those choices he told me to go home and pick out pictures from Victoria Secret ads or whatever, of how I wanted to look.”

Despite the surgeon’s assurances that the procedure was non-invasive, Thompson’s surgery was not without complications. After the implants were inserted under her muscles for a “more realistic look,” Thompson said she noticed her right breast hurt more than her left.

“I had a rare thing called capsular contraction, when scar tissue forms around the implant because your body recognizes it as foreign.” After treatment, her breasts healed without further problems.
Thompson said the $7,000 operation was worth every penny because it boosted her confidence. Though she described the initial pain as “crushing,” she said she was pleased with her decision to have surgery.

Dr. Edwin Wilkins, an Associate Professor at the University of Michigan Medical School who specializes in plastic surgery, said that college students are turning to cosmetic surgery in increasing numbers. However, Wilkins warns that some cosmetic surgeries are not geared toward the college market.

“I think rhinoplasties in the late teenage years are not unreasonable things to do, under the right circumstances,” he said. “I differentiate that from other things like breast augmentation, body contouring with liposuction, chin implants, and other aesthetic procedures that may be more appropriate for older age groups.”
Beccah Green, whose name has been changed at her request, is a UMich alumnus who graduated this winter. She had a rhinoplasty when she was eighteen.

“I was a senior in high school [when I had the surgery] but I had my (first) consultation when I was fifteen,” Green said. She added that she chose to have the operation before college because this was already a period of transition in her life.
“It actually wasn’t a typical one because they didn’t have to break the bone…but it was still rhinoplasty.”

Green said she thinks plastic surgery is common on campus. “A lot of people are getting nose jobs. Plenty on campus…One of my roommates, she had one done,” she said, adding that she did not think cosmetic surgery in college is stigmatized as much as it has been in the past.

Indeed, a recent survey by the ASPS found that only 8.7 percent of college students and college graduates disapprove of cosmetic surgery while 38.6 percent actually approve of it for themselves and others.

In addition to acceptance, the procedures also garner much attention. Kyle Allison, a junior at UMich, says he approves of cosmetic surgery for others but not himself. He noticed when his friend got a nose job over summer vacation. “It looked like he had taken his nose from a manikin. It looked sculpted,” he said.

Allison is not the only one who noticed an increase in the number of younger patients getting operations like nose reshaping surgery. The ASPS estimated that nose reshaping among the 18 and younger group rose 43 percent from 2002 to 2003. The increase is also similar in the 19 to 34 age group where the percentage grew 15 percent from 2002 to 2003. The AmericanSociety of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery found that by 2004, the 19 to 34 age group made up 52 percent of nose reshaping patients.

University of Michigan sophomore Megan Fizell, had two friends who got plastic surgery in high school. Fizell says one of the girls had a large bump on the bridge of her nose. When she came back from break her nose was smooth. “It was a big deal; a lot of people talked about it,” she added.

Another friend who had a breast reduction inspired the same response. “It was a big discussion at lunch. The guys couldn’t believe she had done it, and the girls were happy for her,” Fizell said.
While this trend is new, according to Wilkins, the reasons behind it are not. “People have always, and will always, care very much about how they look. What is changing, I think, is what the public views as acceptable or not acceptable as far as changing one’s appearance.

Now people are going beyond dyeing their hair, and maybe thinking of changing their facialappearance or their figures.” He added that “any number of things now are more widely perceived as being acceptable—and not just for the rich and famous.”

A’s, B’s, C’s, and D’s, then, are becoming the marks of competition both in and out of the classroom. What Rohrich calls “America’s obsession with the quick fix,” is now finding its way onto college campuses as more and more students go under the knife.

From....Kim Tomlin is a senior at the University of Michigan.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7503078/site/newsweek/

The Plastic Surgery Boom

The Plastic Surgery Boom

Twenty-eight-year-old Heather has had two plastic surgery procedures – first a tummy tuck and later a breast augmentation. After having two kids, Heather felt some nips and tucks would improve her body and her self-esteem. "I decided this is what I need to do for me to feel better about myself," said Heather, who did not want to be identified by her last name.

Heather is part of a growing trend. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons says 8.7 million cosmetic surgery procedures were performed in 2003, up 32 percent from 6.6 million the year before. That trend is reflected in a boom of reality TV makeover shows during which men and women go under the knife for head-to-toe plastic surgery.

Plastic surgeon Dr. Gwen Maxwell said the shows can be misleading.

"With the reality TV shows, it's become even more prevalent,” Dr. Maxwell said. “They seem to think they can get their tummy tucked, their breasts done, their brow lifted, their rhinoplasty and eyelids all in one sitting.”

Dr.Maxwell says that kind of surgery is possible, but risky. In fact, every surgery comes with some sort of risk -- even a highly-performed surgery like a breast augmentation.

"We do try to caution patients that the larger the breast implant, the higher the complication rate,” Dr. Maxwell said.

“So, there's a trade-off for everything." Breast implants are not permanent. “It's a medical device and it will fail,” said Dr. Maxwell. “So, the minute I operate on a patient, she guarantees herself another surgery regarding her breasts.” Many patients are also opting for less risky, non-invasive procedure like Botox injections and chemical peels.

Dr. Maxwell also says her patients are getting age-maintenance surgeries -- like face lifts -- at a younger age. "When patients get older -- in their 60s and 70s -- a face lift doesn’t last as long and the results aren't as profound,” said Dr. Maxwell. “So, there is a trend for a little bit earlier intervention for a little bit better result." And, it seems plastic surgery isn't a taboo topic anymore.

A survey of 1,000 adults conducted by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery showed 54 percent approved of plastic surgery and about 75 percent said if they had cosmetic surgery, they wouldn't be embarrassed if others knew. In fact, 25-year-old Noel is proud of the results of her breast augmentation. "My self-confidence went through the roof,” Noel said. “I can wear a bathing suit and look wonderful to me and I'm not ashamed of the way I look anymore."

Before you go under the knife, doctors encourage patients to research their doctors, get recommendations from friends and get a second opinion.

Marianne Martinez, KOLD News 13 Reporter Posted 4-14-05

http://www.kold.com/global/story.asp?s=3217208&ClientType=Printable

The Top Plastic Surgery Procedures to Get You Ready for Summer

The Top Plastic Surgery Procedures to Get You Ready for Summer

CINCINNATI, May 20 /PRNewswire/ -- The following story was submitted by plastic surgery expert Dr. Robert P. Hummel, III M.D. for transmission over PR Newswire.

With summer quickly approaching, many of us want to look and feel our best. While diet and exercise remain essential, there may be some issues that they cannot address alone. Following are some of the top plastic surgery procedures that can help you get ready now for a season of shorts and swimsuits:

Breast augmentation -- If you often wish that your breasts were larger, fuller, more shapely or symmetrical, breast augmentation may be right for you. This outpatient procedure can also address changes seen after pregnancy. Within two weeks most patients are back to their pre-procedure activities.

Tummy Tuck -- Many people labor intensively to achieve a flat, firm stomach. Healthy diets, strenuous workouts and abdominal gadgets all seem promising at first, but do little to address this issue. A Tummy Tuck requires the removal of loose skin from the abdomen and tightening of the underlying muscles. Clothing, including swim wear, will fit nicely over a tight, flat belly.

Liposuction -- Sometimes even a strict diet and rigorous exercise regimen are not enough to conquer stubborn areas of excess fat. Liposuction (or Lipoplasty) is the most common cosmetic surgery procedure to help remove unwanted fatty deposits. Stubborn fatty deposits that are often located on the abdomen, hips, love handles, outer thighs, knees, ankles and neck are especially suitable to liposuction.

Botox® -- Refresh your appearance with this simple, fast, and safe treatment. Wrinkles located on the upper third of the face will be greatly diminished or disappear usually within three to six months.
Botox can also be used to treat excessive sweating, known as hyperhidrosis, by temporally blocking the neurotransmitters that stimulate sweat production. About 15 to 20 sites in the underarm are injected. A decrease in sweating is noted after the injections but repeat treatments are usually needed every four to six months.

Tattoo removal -- Unwanted tattoos can be excised if they are small or treated with a series of laser sessions.

http://surgerynews.net

Cosmetic Surgeons Focus More on Teen Set

Cosmetic Surgeons Focus More on Teen Set

WASHINGTON, April 18-Cosmetic surgery procedures among children and teens rose by 9% in 2004, compared with 2003. Cosmetic surgery, says the president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, whose members perform most of it, is all part of growing up.

Scott Spear, M.D., the group's president, says that in his mind cosmetic procedures are done generally to help the child in much the same way that a parent will take a child to the orthodontist for teeth straightening, or that parents will help a child with diet or exercise to lose weight.

Dr. Spear, who is also professor and chair of plastic surgery at Georgetown, conceded that there was a whopping rise in injections of Botox among young people, but he warned that such statistics may signal a trend where none exists.
For instance, ASPS data state that 8,978 Botox injections were administered to patients age 18 or younger in 2004 -- a whopping 244% increase over injections in 2000 and up 60% from the number of injections given in 2003.

Botox, which is a paralyzing agent, is widely promoted for its ability to smooth away facial wrinkles, and Dr. Spear says that he, too, was surprised and puzzled when he first saw the number of injections given to teens. "It would be surprising if Botox were used in teens to treat wrinkles," he said.

The more likely explanation, he said, is that the injections were used to treat migraine or muscle spasm, which are two other fairly common uses for Botox.
The statistics on plastic surgery procedures are issued annually by the ASPS. Procedures for patients 18 or younger is a separate category. Rhinoplasty was listed as the number one surgical procedure for teens -- 51,931 done in 2004 -- followed by ear surgery (otoplasty).

While rhinoplasty is almost never covered by insurance, otoplasty, which is surgery to pin ears back against the head, may be covered by insurance, but Dr. Spear says that insurers are more likely to pay for the procedure if the patient is four or five than if the patient is 20-something.

The otoplasty example, he said, illustrates the difference between reconstructive and cosmetic surgery. "Reconstructive surgery is surgery to restore to normal appearance, cosmetic is surgery to enhance the normal.

"In the case of otoplasty, it is not normal to have ears that stick out. For a child, there is a time when kids start noticing differences and when this happens the kid who is different can get very self conscious and other kids can be very cruel about differences," he said. "So otoplasty is a reconstructive procedure for a child."

Dr. Spear pointed out that plastic surgeons don't operate on every teen that wants a straighter nose or bigger breasts -- although 3,962 teens did get bigger breasts via surgery in 2004 and 3,631 teenage boys had breast reduction. In either case the teen is typically referred by a pediatrician and is accompanied by a parent to the surgeon's office. And, again, there are medically valid reasons for either surgery, said Dr. Spear.

Making the case for breast reduction to treat gynecomastia, he said. "a tablespoon or a quarter cup of breast tissue in an adolescent boy can be very alarming to him." Likewise some teenage girls have "absolutely no breast development at age 17 or may have a breast on one side, but not the other."

But Dr. Spear added that it is also possible that some teenage girls are getting breast augmentation surgery for cultural reasons -- he speculated that in southern California or Florida large breasts are more culturally desirable than in "more conservative areas like Washington or Cleveland." Even so, he said that "I don't believe there is an epidemic of teens getting breast augmentation surgery

By Peggy Peck, Senior Editor, MedPage TodayApril 18, 2005Also covered by: Yahoo!
http://www.medpagetoday.com/tbindex.cfm?tbid=898

Grandparents turn to cosmetic ops

Grandparents turn to cosmetic ops

It is grandparents rather than teenagers who are fuelling the growing demand for cosmetic surgery, doctors have said.

A survey by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) found the percentage of under 18s undergoing surgery remains low.
But they said they had seen an increase in the numbers of older people seeking treatment.

Surgeons reported people in their 70s and 80s coming in for treatment.
Older patients usually ask to 'turn back the clock' Martin Kelly, consultant plastic surgeon

The BAAPS recorded 16,367 cosmetic procedures in 2004 - up from a total of 10,738 in 2003.

The vast majority (92%) were carried out on women - but cosmetic surgery is also growing in popularity among men.

'Teen talk'
Douglas McGeorge, consultant plastic surgeon and BAAPS President-Elect, said: "Patients are presenting over a greater age range but we're seeing more from older age ranges than younger.

"My oldest face lift is 81 and oldest set of eyes 82. Although some teenagers do enquire about cosmetic surgery, I can't say that the numbers are large or noticeably increasing."

Adriaan Grobbelaar, a consultant plastic surgeon in London and BAAPS member, said he had only received two enquiries about cosmetic surgery from teenagers in the past six months.

One wanted a breast enlargement, the other rhinoplasty - a 'nose job'. But neither went through with surgery.

Mr McGeorge said: "Lots of kids may talk about it. But talking about cosmetic surgery is a long way from actually going and having it done yourself."

He said older people now had more money at their disposal and were increasingly likely to consider cosmetic surgery.
"We live in a well-off society where people now retire to start a new life.
"Social stigmas about cosmetic surgery are less common and as they feel young people want to look younger."

Martin Kelly, consultant plastic surgeon and BAAPS member, said: "Older patients usually ask to 'turn back the clock' - younger patients want to change their shape.
"But a number of senior patients have recently become more daring, and I believe largely because of the influence of happy younger patients they know, seeking to change their shape as well, having their nose done or breasts augmented."

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