Dr. Kenrick Spence Named Top Orlando Plastic Surgeon

Dr. Kenrick Spence Named Top Orlando Plastic Surgeon

Readers of Orlando Magazine singled out Dr. Spence as their #1 choice for the sixth consecutive year

ORLANDO, FL, -- Orlando Magazine, the chronicle of central Florida lifestyle, awarded Dr. Kenrick Spence top honors this month in its annual poll of "The Best of Orlando."

The plastic surgeon was singled out as readers from around the area voted for their favorite restaurants, stores, personalities and more.Although the magazine noted that "quite a few categories got a good shake-up this year," Dr. Spence took the top spot in Orlando plastic surgery for the sixth year in a row.

"To be named top plastic surgeon again by residents of a community that calls itself 'The City Beautiful' is indeed a high honor," said Dr. Spence.Dr. Spence feels it's the relationships he develops with his Orlando plastic surgery patients that probably make the difference between him and other plastic and cosmetic surgeons in Orlando.

He emphasizes patient education to the point that he often provides multiple consultations prior to surgery. He also routinely sets aside time in his daily schedule for one-on-one discussions with patients.Another key to good patient relationships, Dr. Spence feels, is to understand not just patients' physical attributes and aesthetic desires, but to learn about their lives as well. "As a trained, experienced surgeon, it's easy for me to understand 'how' to deliver results.

It's more challenging, and just as vital, to understand 'why.'" Knowing patient motivations helps ensure they are candidates for the procedures they're considering, Dr. Spence explained. It's also a good idea to give thought to 'when' it's the right time for a patient to have a procedure. "We tend to be quite active here in Orlando, and plastic surgery patients sometimes underestimate or overestimate recovery time. When I know about the demands of their jobs and families, I can help them plan."

Dr. Spence has other strategies for ensuring he communicates with patients throughout their plastic surgery experience. Workshops he conducts during the year give prospective patients the information they need to consider all their alternatives and decide whether to pursue plastic surgery in Orlando.

His Web site, devoted to patient education, offers frank, honest information on topics from surgical risks to fees and financing.For more information on Orlando's top plastic surgeon, visit http://www.spencemd.com.

Orlando, Florida plastic surgeon, Dr. Kenrick Spence, specializes in facial plastic surgery, body contouring and breast enhancement for his Orlando area patients. He is fully trained in both cosmetic and reconstructive surgery, and he's certified by the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Plastic Surgery. For more information, visit the practice on Hillcrest Street in Orlando, call (407) 999-2585, or go to http://www.spencemd.com.

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Navy paid for breast implants for servicewomen

Navy paid for breast implants for servicewomen

THE Australian Navy is paying for women sailors to have breast enlargements for cosmetic reasons, at a cost to taxpayers of $10,000 an operation.Defence officials claim the surgery is justified because some servicewomen need bigger breasts to address "psychological issues''.

Darling Point plastic surgeon Kourosh Tavakoli told The Sunday Telegraph the navy had paid for two officers, aged 25 and 32, to have breast-augmentation surgery at his private clinic. Dr Tavakoli said the women had not been injured but claimed to suffer "psychological'' problems.

"I've had two female officers who have got the navy to pay for breast augmentation for psychological reasons,'' he said. "I know for a fact two patients claimed it back on the navy. They (the navy) knew it was breast augmentation and paid for it.

"I don't know why they pay for it. There's no breast augmentation, that I know of, for medical purposes. You've got to be fair to yourself.'' A Defence spokesman admitted cosmetic surgery occurred at "public expense'' when there were "compelling psychological/psychiatric reasons'', but refused to say how many such cases were taxpayer-funded.

Cosmetic surgery was also provided for servicemen or women who were disfigured by work-related injuries, he said. "Cosmetic procedures undertaken solely for the purpose of preserving or improving a person's subjective appearance will be considered only if the underlying (psychological) problem is causing difficulties that adversely impact on the member's ability to do their job. "Operations purely for cosmetic reasons are not allowed.''

The Sunday Telegraph asked Defence Minister Brendan Nelson, formerly a GP, how many members of the armed forces had received taxpayer-funded cosmetic surgery. A spokesman said figures would not be available until next week.

Australian Defence Association spokesman Neil James defended the practice of taxpayers funding medical proceduressuch as breast enhancement surgery for psychological reasons. He said young men and women were attracted to defence careers because they offered free medical care. This, in turn, improved the efficiency of the force.

"Just as there are in civilian life, there are some females who feel their breasts are too small and if their breasts were bigger, they might be more of a 'normal' woman,'' Mr James said. "If they were lacking in self-confidence, this might provide the measure of self-confidence that would help them tackle their wider job. "There are privacy issues here for people. It's not as if they keep a record of who has had a nose job in the Defence Force over the past 100 years.''

Dr Tavakoli, a member of the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons, said the navy officers had visited him in 2005 and 2006. Each had had $10,000 worth of surgery, which required a recovery period of at least two weeks. Boosting self-esteem was the biggest motivation for cosmetic surgery, Dr Tavakoli said. The Sunday Telegraph understands Dr Tavakoli is not the usual surgeon used by the navy for reconstructive/cosmetic surgery.

"I don't see a lot of them (naval officers) because they have their own plastic surgeon,'' he said. "I know for a fact they have their own surgeon.'' Last year, a Brisbane surgeon revealed that an army cook had had a taxpayer-funded nose job.

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Plastic surgeons learn new techniques

Plastic surgeons learn new techniques

By...... calgary.ctv.ca
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Canada’s plastic surgeons are in Calgary learning some new techniques, in a new way.

On Friday, an expert in body sculpting performed a surgery in a Calgary hospital.

The surgery was then broadcast live to a conference room, in a downtown hotel, for the other surgeons to see.

The live broadcast allows the operating surgeon to answer questions and explain what is going on.
“I think video really gives something that still images, during a lecture, can never do,” says Dr. Fremont Eaves, a body sculpting expert from North Carolina who performed Friday’s surgery.

Over 120 surgeons are taking part in the annual meeting of Canadian plastic surgeons.

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Smaller breast reduction surgeries provide health benefits and should be reimbursed

Smaller breast reduction surgeries provide health benefits and should be reimbursed

Findings question insurance industry's refusal to cover reduction mammoplasties of less than 1,000 grams

NEW YORK (Sept. 13, 2007) -- Smaller-framed women reap significant health and quality-of-life benefits from breast reductions that involve the removal of under 500 grams of tissue per breast, according to a first-of-its-kind study from NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center and the New York University School of Medicine.

The finding runs counter to the policies of most U.S. health insurance companies, who typically do not reimburse women for these smaller mammoplasties because insurance companies deem them to be only of cosmetic value. "Of course, as plastic surgeons, we know that isn't true -- you can't apply the same number, in terms of the benefits of excised breast tissue, to different-sized women," says co-author Dr. Jason Spector, a plastic surgeon at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center and assistant professor of surgery (plastic surgery) at Weill Cornell Medical College. "Smaller women are going to have proportionally smaller breasts, but for their particular frame, their breasts may still be far too large and uncomfortable," Dr. Spector explains.

The study, appearing in the Sept. 15 issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (already available online), found that breast reductions of less than 500 grams per breast greatly eased women's back, neck and shoulder pain. The procedures also improved their quality of life by allowing them to exercise more, play sports and choose from a wider variety of clothing.

All of the 59 patients in the study had come to the study's co-author, plastic surgeon Dr. Nolan S. Karp of NYU Medical Center, complaining of pain linked to uncomfortably large breasts. Dr. Karp is associate professor of plastic surgery at the NYU School of Medicine. None of the women in the study had ever undergone any form of breast augmentation before.

On average, the mammoplasties involved the surgical removal of 415 grams of breast tissue per breast (830 grams total), for an average breast reduction of just over 2 cup sizes. Seventeen of the women had less than 750 grams total of breast tissue removed -- an average decrease of 1.7 cup sizes.

Three months and then one year after their surgery, the women were asked about changes in pain and quality of life. They were asked to rate their pain from a score of 1 to 5 (5 being highest). Scores fell dramatically after the reduction mammoplasties -- in categories including lower-back pain, neck pain, headache and bra-strap "grooving." "Women were also greatly relieved that they were more able to engage in healthful activities such as running or playing sports -- demonstrating that breast reduction surgeries have even wider health implications," Dr. Spector says.

None of these findings came as a great surprise to this experienced plastic surgeon. "However, studies like this are needed if we are ever going to reverse the arbitrary ceiling the insurance industry has in place in terms of reimbursing breast reduction surgeries," Dr. Spector explains.

"The smaller-framed woman who comes to us complaining of chronic breast-linked pain is not having this procedure done for a 'lift' or any cosmetic purpose," he says. "Breast reduction surgeries involve some scarring, general anesthesia, and the usual level of surgical risk. Patients are not taking them lightly." Dr. Spector is optimistic that reimbursement policies may change, based on the new findings.

"This is going to be useful data that patients and other plastic surgeons should be able to turn to as they go back and forth with insurance companies trying to get the procedure approved," Dr. Spector says. "Women come in all shapes and sizes, and we're just pointing out that breast reduction -- like many other surgeries -- is definitely not a one-size-fits-all proposal."

Contact: Emily Berlanstein eab2007@med.cornell.edu 212-821-0560 New York- Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center/Weill Cornell Medical College New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, located in New York City, is one of the leading academic medical centers in the world, comprising the teaching hospital NewYork-Presbyterian and its academic partner, Weill Cornell Medical College. NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell provides state-of-the-art inpatient, ambulatory and preventive care in all areas of medicine, and is committed to excellence in patient care, research, education and community service. NewYork-Presbyterian, which is ranked sixth on the U.S. News & World Report's list of top hospitals, also comprises NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. For more information, visit www.nyp.org

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Lung cancer treatment revamped

Lung cancer treatment revamped

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

Thousands more lung cancer patients each year could be offered surgery or other aggressive therapy under a new system that classifies many tumors as more treatable than in the past.

It is the first big overhaul of a decades-old method used to predict survival and help determine whether a lung cancer patient will have surgery, chemotherapy or be treated at all.

The new guidance is to be presented at a conference of lung cancer specialists in Seoul, South Korea, that starts today. It is expected to be adopted by policy-making groups in the next year.

Lung cancer is the world's top cancer killer, claiming 1.3 million lives each year. In the United States, 213,380 new cases and 160,390 deaths from the disease are expected this year.

Nearly 60 percent of people die within one year of diagnosis, and nearly 75 percent die within two years, American Cancer Society statistics show.

Treatment

In treating it, doctors use a formula called tumor staging. It is based on a tumor's size, how far it has spread and other factors to predict a patient's survival odds and to guide treatment.

The current system was developed from about 5,000 tumor samples from University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston decades ago — before improved scanning technology was available to evaluate a cancer's spread.

The new plan is based on 100,000 tumor samples from around the world including Asia, where lung cancer rates are projected to climb because of trends in smoking, unhealthy lifestyles and aging populations.
It keeps four broad groupings but sorts people more precisely based on refined understanding of tumor characteristics.

The result: "There will clearly be shifting of patients from categories not operable to operable" — as many as 10,000 a year in the United States, said Dr. David Johnson, a lung cancer specialist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. He reviewed the plan, which was partly published in a medical journal recently.

Tumor stages

The stage of the tumor at diagnosis is the best predictor of survival. Only 20 percent of cases are diagnosed in Stages 1 or 2, when tumors are small and confined to a lung, Johnson said. About 30 percent to 40 percent are found in Stage 4, after they have widely spread. The rest are in the middle.

Five-year survival rates are 47 percent for Stage 1 and 26 percent for Stage 2, but only 8 percent for Stage 3, and 2 percent for Stage 4, according to the American College of Surgeons.

Most lung cancers are the type called "non-small cell," which is covered by the new staging system. The system was developed by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, a group of lung cancer specialists from around the world.

Dr. Peter Goldstraw, a surgeon at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London, led the project, and Canadian scientists independently validated the recommended changes by comparing survival across geographic regions.

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One Surgery Often Enough for Peritonitis

One Surgery Often Enough for Peritonitis

Study questions usefulness of secondary procedures
By Randy Dotinga HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Aug. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with a serious gastrointestinal infection known as peritonitis may not automatically need to undergo more operations beyond the first one, new research suggests.

In the United States, most surgeons choose to wait and see if they think patients need the extra surgery, said Dr. David Flum, a gastrointestinal surgeon at the University of Washington, who wrote a commentary about the study.
Until now, however, "there hasn't been a lot of evidence to guide that decision," he said.

The findings are published in the Aug. 22/29 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Peritonitis occurs when a hole develops in the intestines -- such as when the appendix bursts -- and allows bacteria to spill into the abdominal cavity, Flum said. Severe infection can result.

There's a high risk of death even after surgeons plug up the hole, he said, because bacteria remains and creates problems.
One approach has been to operate and then "keep taking them back to the operating room and washing out the abdominal cavity until they improve," Flum said. "Another strategy is to re-operate when the patient's body is giving you signs that it needs an operation."

In the new study, Dutch researchers at the Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, examined the impact of each strategy on 225 patients. Only 42 percent of those in the "non-automatic-surgery" group actually went on to have a secondary operation, compared to 94 percent in the automatic-surgery group.
About a third of the patients in both groups died, and the researchers said there was no "significant difference" between their mortality rates.

However, patients who only underwent a second surgery when their doctors thought it necessary spent an average of seven days in intensive care versus 11 days for the other group. They also spent an average of 27 days in the hospital versus 35 days in the automatic-surgery cohort.

Meanwhile, "direct medical costs" were 23 percent less among those who didn't automatically have a subsequent surgery.
"It doesn't like look there's a huge difference in survival," Flum said. "But the approach with fewer operations and less cost would be the preferred one."

Dr. E. Patchen Dellinger, chief of the division of general surgery at the University of Washington, Seattle, said he hopes that questions about the validity of automatic re-operation are now settled.
"An area that could use study is how long antibiotics should be continued in the treatment of peritonitis," said Dellinger, who also wrote a journal commentary on the Dutch study. "Currently, I believe that many [peritonitis] patients get antibiotics for far longer than needed."

More information
There's more on peritonitis at the University of Maryland.
SOURCES: David R. Flum, M.D., associate professor, surgery and surgical outcomes and gastrointestinal surgeon, University of Washington, Seattle; E. Patchen Dellinger, M.D., professor and vice chairman, department of surgery, and chief, division of general surgery, University of Washington, Seattle; Aug. 22/29, 2007, Journal of the American Medical Association

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Indiana Plastic Surgeon Offers Silicone and Saline Breast Implants for Breast Enlargement in Indiana

Indiana Plastic Surgeon Offers Silicone and Saline Breast Implants for Breast Enlargement in Indiana

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“Almost all my patients want a naturally enhanced look. I can provide a more tailored breast augmentation now that there are more implant choices on the table.”

Women can now customize their breast enhancement in Indiana by choosing between saline breast implants and a new generation of silicone gel implants at the Valparaiso or Schererville offices of Indiana plastic surgeon Gustavo E. Galante, MD.

Only 10 months ago, most women considering breast enlargement in Indiana and across the United States had to choose saline implants, the only implant material widely available. But now, following U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of a new generation of silicone gel implants, the choices for breast augmentation in Indiana have grown. Plastic surgeon Dr. Gustavo Galante, after seeing for himself the strong safety record of the new silicone gel implants, has expanded his implant options to include both saline and silicone gel. "Women are excited about having more choices, and there really has been no better time to consider breast enhancement," says Indiana plastic surgeon Dr. Galante. "Almost all my patients want a naturally enhanced look. I can provide a more tailored breast augmentation now that there are more implant choices on the table."Choosing an implant material is only one of the many decisions every woman needs to make when considering breast enlargement.

Indiana women also have a wide array of choices regarding shape, size, and profile. There are literally hundreds of variations possible, allowing Dr. Galante to provide each of his patients with a custom result."The latest silicone gel implants have a consistency remarkably like real breast tissue," adds Dr. Galante. "This is preferable for many patients, particularly those with very little breast tissue of their own.

In these patients, silicone gel implants tend to look more like a natural breast, with a gentle slope away from the collarbone when they stand up, rather than a fixed or overly round appearance that might occur with saline."Various generations of silicone implants have been available in other parts of the world for several decades, but since 1992 they had not been used for most breast surgeries in the United States. Initial safety concerns did not pan out after over a decade of research and technological improvements have increased the durability of this implant type. Modern silicone implants use silicone with a more gel-like consistency, allowing them to hold together better than earlier versions. As a result, silicone migration is much less likely if rupture occurs. "In my experience silicone implants can provide a more attractive breast augmentation result for selected patients, but saline can be an excellent choice for some women, particularly those very worried about safety or implant rupture. Silicone implants have a slightly higher rate of capsular contracture, the hardening of the scar tissue that surrounds the implant.

Also, I can use a slightly smaller incision when placing saline implants, so this may be the right choice if scarring is a big concern."Dr. Galante has the training and experience to provide a pleasing, shapely breast appearance regardless of whether a patient chooses saline or silicone gel. He encourages women interested in breast enhancement to schedule a consultation and learn more about which implant type is right for them. "Ultimately," he says, "it's a personal decision, but I do everything I can to make sure each patient has the facts so she can make the best choice for her breast augmentation goals."

The cosmetic surgery practice of Dr. Gustavo Galante serves Northwest Indiana, with offices in Schererville and Valparaiso. Dr. Galante offers a variety of cosmetic surgery options, including breast augmentation, tummy tucks, liposuction, and face lifts. He is board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American Society of Laser Medicine and Surgery. His practice is committed to creating an environment where each patient can feel comfortable with every step of their surgical experience.

Many in they UK still regard cosmetic surgery as a largely American indulgence

Many in they UK still regard cosmetic surgery as a largely American indulgence. But with more operations than ever taking place, what's the chance of the person next to you having had some "work" done?

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Joely Richardson is facing quite a dilemma - her marriage is on the rocks, so would breast enhancement make her happy? The beautiful blonde ponders this poser on billboards, all to advertise her new TV series about plastic surgeons.

With its unflinching depiction of invasive procedures such as liposuction and butt implants, Nip/Tuck, which begins in the UK on Tuesday, has been described by one critic as "Six Feet Under six hours earlier". The show's catchphrase, "tell me what you don't like about yourself", has special resonance on both sides of the Atlantic.

For cosmetic enhancement is a thriving industry in the UK, and it is not just glamour models, aging starlets and Dale Winton who keep plastic surgeons in Ferraris and speedboats.

WHAT UK WOMEN WANT

Breast augmentation
Blepharoplasty, or eyelid lifts
Face and neck lifts
Liposuction
Rhinoplasty, or nose jobs
Source: British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons The number of Britons trying to improve on nature has increased six-fold in the past six years, with an estimated 25,000 surgical procedures performed in 2002. Add non-surgical procedures such as Botox injections and laser treatment, and that figure climbs to 75,000 a year, according to Bupa.

Compared to the United States, where patients attend "Flaunt It" parties to show off their new breasts, bums, pecs and noses, it seems Britons prefer to be discreet about the "work" they have had done.

Dr Patrick Bowler, the chairman of the British Association of Cosmetic Doctors, says few of his patients - who include 20-somethings and men - admit to the treatments they've had.

"British women want to look better, they want to be told they look better, but they don't want to say they've had a face peel. Few of my patients would tell their husbands - they might tell their closest friend, but most keep it secret. I doubt we'll become like America, where 'who did your facelift?' is taken as a compliment."

WHAT UK MEN WANT

Otoplasty, or ear-pinning
Rhinoplasty
Blepharoplasty
Face and neck lifts
LiposuctionRumours constantly circulate about which home-grown stars may have felt the touch of knife or needle, yet often it's those who have had treatments too obvious to ignore who will talk openly about it.

Adam Searle, a consultant plastic surgeon and the honorary secretary of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, says Britons' attitude towards cosmetic surgery is shifting - and not in a good way.

"It's become far more acceptable to do this, and if thoughtfully done, it can alter the lives of those who need it. But I fear that we may be slipping into a gratuitous cosmetic surgery trap, where people tumble into having multiple procedures as if it's a hairdo. Yet it carries very real risks, which have to be taken into account."

Leslie Ash suffered a reaction to lip plumping, and newspaper odiumNor are the risks properly explained to patients, says the consumer watchdog Which?
In an undercover investigation into cosmetic treatments such as Botox and chemical peels, only five of 16 consultations were considered good. Others failed to take a medical history and didn't fully explain the risks. The researchers also found a doctor under investigation for serious professional misconduct.
Women's lib

If this is, however, another trend which will spread inexorably across the Atlantic, what might be in store for Britons?

One part of the body where cosmetic surgery is still in its infancy is the feet, but not for long perhaps. Dr Suzanne Levine has made a name for herself among the style conscious women of Manhattan, who turn to her when they can't fit into designer high heels.

"It's up to patients to be able to enjoy their lifestyle," says Dr Levine, who performs a range of operations such as toe-shortening at her Institute Beauté clinic.

It has echoes of the ancient Chinese practice of foot binding, yet her patients are anything but enslaved. Many are "baby-boomer" career women in their 50s, whose feet have weathered a lifetime of discomfort in what the doctor calls "limousine shoes" - precipitously high with virtually no structure.
'FOOT FACELIFTS'

So-called claw toes (see above) stick out beyond the big toe
They are incompatible with pointy shoes and can be shortened with bone removal

Other foot options include narrowing and collagen injectionsDr Levine resets the bones in the foot, and, with lasers, returns a healthy glow to the skin.
Dr Magdi Greiss, a leading foot surgeon in the UK, frowns on such procedures.
"Last week a 16-year-old girl asked me to remove the inherited bunions on her foot because her boyfriend didn't like them," says Dr Greiss. "Do they hurt, I asked. No, she replied. So I told her to get a new boyfriend."

Yet he concedes that cosmetic foot surgery is creeping to these shores - already some clinics give collagen injections in the feet for high-heel wearers.
"Removing a bunion is a serious piece of surgery that involves slicing through the bone. There's a lot of pain. So I say, if it's not painful to start with, don't create more pain."

WHAT'S BEING DONE?

No longer is plastic surgery limited to facelifts and tummy tucks. Today's procedures can remodel those with cash to burn from head to toe:

Breast implants now come coated in biocompatible titanium - to reduce the risk of the body rejecting foreign matter. There's no word on the risk of setting off airport metal detectors.

Surplus fat can be sucked from the upper arms and injected into thinning, aging hands.

Butt implants fill out a flat rear - these are placed just above the sitting area so weight isn't placed on them.

Don't like that sticky-out belly button? Umbilicoplasty turns that "outy" inwards.

Men can have their "man breasts" reduced - and those who dream of a gym-fit bod can opt for silicone pectoral implants.
Stiletto-wearers can have their feet padded and toes shortened to make those Manolos more comfortable.

For improvements of a particularly intimate nature, surgery can offer practically any kind of increase or decrease in size or alteration to shape.

Follicular Unit Extraction vs Older Methods of Hair Transplantation

Follicular Unit Extraction vs Older Methods of Hair Transplantation

In the past, as the names of these earlier procedures indicate, undergoing a hair transplant was a painfully unpleasant process. Men with receding hairlines and balding scalps often resorted to the unnatural-looking, and often ridiculed, toupee to avoid the pain, slow healing, and scarring of a transplant.

Because of this, the hair transplant business was staggering in the late twentieth century. Surgeons knew that hair restoration techniques needed to evolve.Fast forward into the beginning of the twenty-first century…Thousands of bad comb-overs and strip incision scars later, the new technique that hair restoration surgeons were waiting for was finally perfected.

The hair transplant community eventually embraced follicular unit extraction (FUE). Surgeons praised the method and potential patients were curious about it. But what exactly is follicular unit extraction? And is it really more effective and beneficial than older methods of hair transplantation?Follicular unit extraction involves the removal of small groups of hair follicles (usually between one and four) from the donor site and their reinsertion into the receptor site. These small grafts allow for equal distribution of hair in the balding area of the scalp and produce more natural-looking results.

In fact, once the receptor site has completely healed, it is virtually impossible to detect that any sort of hair transplant procedure has taken place.The differences between FUE and the older methods of transplantation are noteworthy.Firstly, the FUE procedure is quicker and less painful than any other hair restoration technique. FUE is performed with a punch-like scalpel that cuts the skin around the follicle.

This facilitates the removal of about one to four follicles from the donor area at the same time. Also, the advanced method of follicular perforation™ allows the surgeon to make a shallow punch on the surrounding tissue, ensuring that the graft be released from the tissue with minimum traction and with better ease. The extracted follicles (called grafts) are then inserted into small slits that have been cut in the recipient area. These slits do not need suturing, heal quickly, and are completely undetectable once the new hair begins to grow in about seven to ten days.Secondly, FUE is beneficial because the recovery process is much faster and less painful.

In most patients, the grafts become fully secure in about eight days after surgery and the surgical wound in the donor area usually heals within one to two weeks. Some discomfort may be present, but usually analgesics like Tylenol or codeine will help. Generally, normal activity may be resumed one to two weeks after the procedure. In older methods of hair restoration, bleeding, suturing, and bandaging were parts of the long and painful recovery process. Thirdly, 100% of hair loss sufferers are candidates for FUE.

In the past, hair restoration was not as widely available to every hair loss sufferer as it is today. There were various criteria that each candidate had to meet to be eligible for a hair transplant. Such criteria included the patient’s age, color and texture of hair, skin complexion, amount of donor hair available, and future hair loss projections.

However, because the methods involved with follicular unit extraction are so advanced, such criteria are not much of a concern. For example, the amount of donor hair on the head is not an issue when determining candidacy because the procedure allows for the extraction of hair from other parts of the body.Fourthly, the incidence of complication during the FUE procedure is lower than with other transplantation methods.

In a study, published by Dr. Masumi Inaba, of over 150 patients treated with FUE, researchers found that patients suffered only from mild discomfort from sitting still for several hours at a time. Furthermore, only four out of the 150 patients experienced donor area shock, while two more patients experienced a more limited variety of patchy circular alopecia (hair loss). Nevertheless, all patients made full recoveries within five weeks. Lastly, FUE patients recover without visible scars in the donor or recipient area.

Unlike previous methods, like strip incision, where an unattractive linear scar was exposed in the donor area, FUE does not leave ugly, unbearable scars on the head. Instead, the tiny slits that are cut in the recipient area are conveniently hidden by new hair. The final result of FUE in all patients is that of a seamless, natural, healthy-looking head of hair.For all those who are suffering from hair loss and are searching for the best method of restoring their youth, follicular unit extraction should be considered.

It is a hair restoration method that discards the use of the painful linear donor incision and regards 100% of hair loss patients as proper candidates for the procedure. It is widely predicted that within the coming years, follicular unit extraction will make further advancements and become the method of choice for every hair restoration surgeon and patient.

About the AuthorDr. Robert Jones has been practicing medicine since 1979. He is active in the field of hair restoration. An advocate of providing his patients with the best quality, Dr. Jones is among the first doctors in North America to use follicular unit extraction—a procedure he praises for its great value and efficiency.

Dr. Jones is a member of the International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons, the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery, the International Society of Cosmetic Laser Surgery, and the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery. He is also the president of the International Society of Follicular Unit Surgeons. For more information on Dr. Jones or follicular unit extraction visit:

http://www.torontohairdoctor.com

http://surgerynews.net/200501.html

The Top 10 Cosmetic Surgery Trends

THE TOP 10 COSMETIC SURGERY TRENDS

Over the last decade, plastic surgery has become a mainstay in our society.Not only have celebrities such as Joan Rivers, comedienne Kathy Griffith andCarnie Wilson become self-professed plastic surgery advocates, but averagemen and women jumped on the cosmetic surgery bandwagon as aestheticenhancements have become a regular fixture in our culture.

Programs aboutcosmetic surgery such as ABC's "Extreme Makeover" and MTV's "I Want A FamousFace" have perpetuated the trend making that used to be a dirty littlesecret, something that people now regularly boast about having done.

The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), the leadingnational organization of board-certified plastic surgeons who specialize incosmetic surgery has announced their plastic surgery trend predictions for2005. Below is a summation of those predictions. Dr. Dennis Hurwitz, a topplastic surgeon located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is available to commenton these trends, how celebrities have helped raise the profile of particularsurgeries and the consequential effects of plastic surgery on society as awhole.

* HELLO RESTALYNE, GOODBYE COLLAGEN:
New, long lasting soft tissuefillers for facial wrinkles and creases will challenge collagen for thenumber one spot among injectable cosmetic treatments.

* FACIAL REJUVENATION:
Endoscopic (arthroscopic) facial rejuvenationprocedures will increase in popularity. Suture suspension techniques thatpromise facial rejuvenation with minimal downtime will also be a populartrend. There will be many patients who will still opt for traditionalfacelifts or endoscopic procedures with more predictable and lastingresults.

* TOTAL BODY SURGERY: The number of total body lifts, includingtorso, breasts and for some patients, face and neck will increase, as postbariatric surgery patients seek plastic surgery to rid themselves of excessskin left hanging after massive weight loss.

* BIGGEST BUZZ: A new generation of breast implant fillers andcoatings, advanced lasers that rejuvenate the skin from the inside out, newproducts for scar management and keloid prevention.* LIFESTYLE ASSESSMENT REFERRALS: After receiving plastic surgery,doctors will refer their patients to other health and beauty professionalsincluding specialists in nutrition, weight management and cosmeticdentistry.

* EMPHASIS ON NOSTALGIA & ELEGANCE: More cosmetic surgery patientswill express a preference for classical facial features embodied bycelebrities like Nicole Kidman and icons like Grace Kelly.* ETHNIC MINORITIES: Cosmetic surgery for racial and ethnicminorities in the United States will increase.

* PATIENT SAFETY: National attention will result in more stringentrequirements for physician credentials to perform cosmetic surgery.

* NON-INVASIVE FAT REMOVAL: Experimental techniques that will offera non-invasive alternative to liposuction will be tested in clinical trials.

* "REALITY" TV: The long term psychological effect of undergoing adramatic change in appearance from simultaneous multiple-procedures, as iscommon for participants of reality shows, may surface in 2005.

About Dr. Dennis Hurwitz: Since 1977, Dennis J. Hurwitz, M.D., F.A.C.S. hastreated thousands of patients with cosmetic concerns, structural defects,and congenital deformities. At the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Hurwitz isClinical Professor of Surgery and former director of the Aesthetic PlasticSurgery Center. He is a skilled practitioner, teacher, and innovator and wasrecently recognized as one of America's Top Doctors for specialist referrals-- the only plastic surgeon in Western Pennsylvania in the 2000-2004 editionof the <" target=_blank>http://www.castleconnolly.com/index.cfm?dws=ey>; Castle ConnollyGuide. A diplomat of the American Board of Plastic Surgery, a member of theAmerican Society of Plastic Surgeons and the prestigious AmericanAssociation of Plastic Surgeons, Dr. Hurwitz has been president of city,state and regional plastic surgery organizations, as well as the AlleghenyCounty Medical Society.

http://www.castleconnolly.com/index.cfm?dws=ey ;
For additional information on Dr. Dennis Hurwitz, please visit his websiteat www.hurwitzcenterforplasticsurgery.com
http://www.hurwitzcenterforplasticsurgery.com ; or his national website at
http://www.usalipo.com
http://www.usalipo.com

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New Instant Recovery Facelift

Prominent Long Island plastic surgeon Dr. Zachary Gerut develops revolutionary new surgical procedure.

i-Newswire, patients desiring a younger look have been forced to choose between a small improvement from a “mini” procedure or thread lift allowing a quick recovery or a substantial face lift procedure with a lengthy recovery of one, two or even three weeks.

The Gerut Lift is a complete and long-lasting face lift procedure! Not a mini lift, not a thread or feather lift and not any other small procedure. Dr. Gerut’s procedure has a reliable record of providing excellent facial rejuvenation and lasting many years. Dr. Gerut has combined many innovations and established techniques including a very striking departure from the usual: the facelift is done with the patient totally awake yet totally comfortable.

Dr. Gerut states “Anesthetic drugs cause major physiologic changes that increase bruising and swelling. Without anesthesia and with Gerut’s innovations, the recovery is significantly and even amazingly faster- so much less swelling and bruising that most patients are exceptionally well healed in as quickly as one, two or three days.”

For his new procedure Dr. Gerut uses techniques that have been proven effective for other cosmetic procedures- special techniques, special instruments and Dr. Gerut uses Novocain to numb the face with several totally painless injections using a tiny, imperceptible needle and a special apparatus that spreads the Novocain slowly to avoid even the slightest discomfort. Distributing the Novocain throughout the face can take approximately ½ hour or more. For patients who are squeamish about needles, small amounts of Valium are given orally or even by I.V. to keep them comfortable.

How can Dr. Gerut be sure that a patient is numb? Dr. Gerut explains that the entire face is full of the diluted lidocaine, saline and adrenaline (which is commonly used in tumescent liposuction), which turns the tissues completely white so that he can see the affect the adrenaline is having on the numbing process.

What about the patient ‘fear factor’ in terms of being completely awake during surgery? As Dr. Gerut explains, “the patient is lying back and listening to any type of music they wish. If the patient feels he or she wants a break, Dr. Gerut can pause during the surgical procedure. The patient can speak with Dr. Gerut but if he needs them to remain especially still or silent, he will let them know. As Dr. Gerut points out, “even when a patient is sedated by traditional means, they can still make involuntary movements such as scratching or hand movements so there is no more risk in terms of patient movement using this Novocain method. If a patient feels the need to scratch or shift positions they simply let Dr. Gerut know so that that he can pause.”

In addition to eliminating the potential dangers of anesthesia, there is no post operative nausea, grogginess, or anesthesia ‘hangover.’ The Novocain wears off an hour or two after the surgery is over and patients do not feel pain. There is perhaps some tightness, which is quite normal. Dr. Gerut uses a very long acting Novocain called Marcaine that lasts up to six hours.

Because tumescent liposuction is so successful in minimizing bruising and swelling, Dr. Gerut has been tumescing the face for many years, and is adept in his surgical technique to accommodate for the facial changes that occur when the patient’s face is full of saline and Novocain. At this point, Dr. Gerut has successfully performed over 25 facelift procedures using this anesthesia-free method. He has had no complications and only positive aesthetic outcomes.

Just as surgeons have readily accepted the tumescent technique for liposuction, Dr. Gerut feels that once this facelift technique has been taught to other plastic surgeons that it will be widely embraced. Although Dr. Gerut is not suggesting that the use of anesthesia is a uniformly dangerous method of performing plastic surgery, the fact remains that its use does pose potential risks even in healthy patients.

For those patients wishing to minimize that risk and recover much faster post operatively, this is perhaps the most exciting news to emerge from cosmetic surgery in a long time.

*** Dr. Gerut will be submitting a paper on this technique to The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.
Dr. Gerut is a diplomate of The American Board of Plastic Surgery, a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and a member of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.

****An understanding of tumescent liposuction helps to better comprehend the principles of Dr. Gerut’s no-anesthesia technique
One of the most significant improvements in liposuction in recent years has been the use of tumescent anesthesia, introduced by Dr. Jeffrey Klein a few years ago. Tumescent liposuction (Tumescent Technique) refers to the performance of liposuction using large volumes of a dilute solution of lidocaine, a local anesthetic, in combination with the drug epinephrine that temporarily shrinks capillaries. This is comfortably performed with minimal or no sedation required. The Tumescent Technique minimizes post-operative swelling, bruising and discomfort.

With the Tumescent Technique there is no post-surgical nausea, nor the unpleasant feeling of "hang-over" usually associated with general anesthesia. The Tumescent Technique dramatically reduces both the bleeding during surgery, and the post-operative bruising and swelling as compared to liposuction done purely by general anesthesia. Minimal bleeding reduces post-operative recovery time. Most patients can return to work within three to four days after surgery.

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What's new in cosmetic surgery?

What's new in cosmetic surgery?
By Alana Semuels, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

In the hot field of cosmetic surgery, look for advances this year in the use of lasers for everything from improving the appearance of that dreaded cellulite to removing gray hair.

Botox treatments and soft tissue fillers such as Restylane will continue to be popular in the Pittsburgh market as consumers opt for so-called "lunchtime procedures" that are less invasive and require less recovery time than a face lift or liposuction.

"If you subdivide procedures into surgical vs. nonsurgical, nonsurgical procedures are booming," said Dr. Leo McCafferty, a Pittsburgh plastic surgeon and a spokesman for the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.
The number of minimally invasive cosmetic procedures performed has risen 1,504 percent from 1992 to 2003, according to data from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, with 1.8 million procedures performed in 2003.

So if you received a gift certificate over the holidays for a cosmetic procedure or are just looking to freshen your appearance for 2005, here's a review of new procedures arriving in Pittsburgh and other local trends in cosmetic surgery.
Experts emphasized that as with all procedures, it is important to choose a doctor who is well-versed in everything available and can use the technology effectively.

Hyaluronic acid treatments

Some of the most popular treatments in 2004 were soft-tissue fillers such as Restylane and Hylaform, both approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2003. They are made from hyaluronic acid, a naturally occurring substance found in human skin. When injected, the filler plumps up the skin by allowing it to attract and hold water.

Restylane is an alternative to collagen injections, and the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery predicts that it will surpass collagen this year as the most popular injectable cosmetic treatment. Collagen injections have been available since the 1980s, but sometimes cause allergic reactions. Such side effects are less likely with hyaluronic acid.

Hyaluronic acid is most commonly used around the mouth and on forehead wrinkles and smile lines and can be used to enlarge the lip. The process takes less than an hour, and requires repeat treatments every four months to a year. Hyaluronic acid treatments are more expensive than those using collagen, but last longer because they help the skin hold onto moisture. A primary cause for wrinkles is dehydration.

A syringe of Restylane or other hyaluronic acid product might cost $500 or up, while the national average surgeon fee is around $373 for collagen, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
"It's something that can be done as an office visit," said McCafferty about Restylane, "And you can go back to work, with really no down time at all."

Botox

Botulinum toxin, or botox, has been popular since it was approved by the FDA to treat eye muscle disorders in 1989, and in 2000 to treat a neurological disorder that causes neck and shoulder contractions. The FDA approved Botox to treat moderate to severe wrinkles in 2002. There were 2.27 million Botox injections performed in 2003, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, up 3,387 percent from the previous year.

Botox is primarily used to temporarily reduce or eliminate frown lines, forehead creases, and crows feet near the eyes, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Some studies suggest that Botox also helps get rid of migraines because it relaxes the muscles around the eyelids.
Botox injections take about 30 minutes and cost roughly $400. Treatments should be repeated every four to six months.

But consumers must be careful when shopping for Botox injections. Last year, four patients in Florida were paralyzed when they were injected a form of the toxin not approved for use in humans. To avoid this, consumers should ask their doctors to check the Botox bottle and should make sure their doctors are certified to administer it.

Thermage and Titan

A few local practices have started performing Thermage, one of the newest treatments available. Some doctors tout it as the most effective nonsurgical procedure for making faces look younger, while others warn it is not worth the risks or costs.

Thermage, which was approved by the FDA in 2002 for the area around the eyes, is now used to treat whole faces. It uses a radio frequency device called ThermaCool to heat the lower layers of the skin, while protecting the outer layers with a cooling spray. The result: a tightening of the facial layers that is not quite a face lift, but is as close as you can get without surgery.

"It allows you to turn back the clock," said Dr. Brian V. Heil, a plastic surgeon who has offices in Cranberry, Washington, Butler and Pittsburgh. "We haven't figured out how to break the clock yet, though." His office performs Thermage, and Heil says he has seen it cause some discomfort associated with the heat, and lingering pinkness.

In the initial clinical trials of Thermage, 80 percent of patients experienced improvement, and about 6 percent had slight burns.
As the only FDA-approved tissue tightening treatment, Thermage has a hefty price tag -- at $2,800 to $4,000 for a full facial treatment, Heil said.
Dr. Lori Cherup, who heads the Radiance Surgery Center in South Fayette is skeptical about the treatment.

"The machine is ridiculously expensive, and the patient has to have three or four treatments," she said. "It pretty much comes to the price of a face lift." The procedure is generally not focused on a specific area of the face, and so Cherup thinks that it completes something inaccurately that could be done otherwise with surgery.

Thermage "is pretty painful," because the frequency is conducted along nerve endings, said Dr. Suzan Obagi, director of the Cosmetic Surgery and Skin Health Center at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Her practice gives a pain medication to patients undergoing Thermage therapy.
Obagi's office is testing a new treatment called Titan that could have the same results as Thermage, but with less pain. The Titan treatment, which costs from $1,750 to $4,000, is a light source that uses multiple wavelengths to tighten skin.

Optimal results for both treatments are available in three to six months.

Lasers

Although Cherup says she does not trust most laser companies because they often exaggerate the efficacy of their procedures, there will be a lot of interest in new laser treatments that will address everything from cellulite to gray hair.
"The new lasers try to do everything with one machine," said Cherup, who has seen lasers that attempt to obliterate freckles, sunspots and broken blood vessels.

The cellulite laser is a combination of a laser and a radio frequency device that remodels the collagen in the skin. Although there is not yet a treatment to get rid of the fat entirely, the machine is "finally something that improves cellulite," Obagi said. Although this treatment can be painful, Obagi thinks it will be palatable.

The second type of laser coming this year will get rid of light-colored or gray hair, which currently is difficult to do with traditional lasers. The heat from the lasers targets hair follicles and stunts the growth within them, Obagi said. This device is innovative because it can locate lighter-colored hairs in a way that current technology cannot.

This treatment would be comparable in cost to other lasers used for hair removal, or $150 for a small area like an upper lip up to $800 for removing hair from legs.
"With anything, if used incorrectly, there are risks for burns," she said, referring to both treatments.

Skin care as treatment

Doctors agree that the best way to keep skin wrinkle- and blemish-free is through prevention, so many offices have started patients on skin care treatments to supplement cosmetic procedures.
"For the past five years, there's been a real heightened awareness about skin care," said McCafferty.
This increased attention has led to an emphasis onprocedures that produce natural-looking results.
"Gone are the days of these tight face lifts and brow lifts," said Obagi. "People don't want to have that operated-on look."

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40% of girls look to plastic surgery

40% of girls look to plastic surgery

By CRAIG BROWN

CELEBRITIES with perfect bodies have driven four out of ten teenage girls in the UK to consider plastic surgery, a new survey has found. Just 8 per cent of the 2,000 girls questioned said they were happy with their bodies, while one-quarter said they had suffered from an eating disorder.

The respondents, who were on average 14 years old and weighed 8st 8lb, said pressure to be slimmer came mainly from celebrities such as singers Jennifer Lopez, Beyoncé Knowles and Britney Spears - and boys. About a third of the girls described themselves as "overweight"; two-thirds thought they needed to lose weight, and seven out of ten said they would be "100 per cent happier if they could lose half a stone". The survey of teenagers by Bliss magazine also suggested parents were partly to blame for their daughters’ insecurities, with more than half of the respondents saying that their mothers "worried and moaned" about their own weight.

Just 3 per cent of the girls thought themselves beautiful, and only 29 per cent said they were attractive, while 15 per cent found themselves very unattractive and 7 per cent chose "yuk" when asked about their appearance. Two-thirds thought slim girls were more attractive to boys and half agreed they were "generally more popular with everyone". The results pointed to a "21st-century tragedy", said Chantelle Horton, the editor of Bliss. "The endless parade of thin-yet-curvy, surgically-enhanced celebrities has made young girls obsessed with their own normal, lumpy, bumpy bodies," she continued. "They also feel tremendous pressure from boys, who increasingly expect their girlfriends to resemble the perfect celebrity body-model they’ve been fed by a looks-obsessed society. "And when teenage girls look to their mums for reassurance and guidance, they see an older generation of women who are also haunted by their imperfect body-shape and size.

"Instead of searching for quick-fix answers like faddy diets and plastic surgery, teenage girls need to be shown the benefits of healthy eating and regular exercise," added Ms Horton. "Only when they stop striving for perfection will they learn to love their bodies." Today’s photographs of celebrities rarely reach the pages of the magazines without being touched up to remove acne scars and cellulite, or even change the proportions of the subject’s body.

Cary Cooper, a professor of psychology and health at Lancaster University, blamed the media’s obsession with looks for the survey’s findings and said it was unsurprising that impressionable young girls made direct comparisons. He said: "It is extremely worrying that teenagers are not able to accept who they are and what they look like. They are instead accepting what magazines, television and celebrities say they should look like. "The multimedia, celebrity-orientated age that we live in has made teenage girls much more conscious of their looks. "The American Pretty Woman culture has started to grow here," he added. "Attractive women do get better jobs and better treatment. Being more attractive does now provide an ‘added value’ for people.

This is a fact in the United States, and it is starting to happen to a greater degree here too." Cosmetic surgery has become commonplace in Scotland, with operations worth £25 million carried out in 2004. Home teeth-bleaching kits, botox parties and chemical face peels - unheard of five years ago - are now seemingly normal. On television, Channel Five’s Cosmetic Surgery Live was seen as virtually encouraging viewers to examine their bodies critically, while many magazine adverts offer reasonably priced procedures and send out the unmistakable message to young readers that their lives would be better if their breasts were larger, noses smaller and their foreheads smoother. Andrea Scherzer, a psychotherapist who specialises in eating disorders and body-image disturbances, said:

"Modern reality TV shows which focus on plastic surgery may seem laughable and grotesque to older people but they have a worrying impact on teenage girls in the throes of puberty." And Dr Mairead Tagg, a psychologist at Scottish Women’s Aid, said the public acceptance of cosmetic enhancement as "a way of life" was feeding down to young girls. "In our society, plastic surgery has become a way of life," she said. "A documentary on television recently showed a girl who was approaching 16 years old getting plastic surgery with the full support of her parents. "From the Barbie doll, who has an anatomically impossible figure, to supermodels, everything is enhanced and we are telling young girls that they too should look like this."

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Plastic Surgery For Men

Plastic Surgery For Menfrom Lifts To Tummy Tucks

by William McCall , Associated Press
Craig Sowash, a 43-year-old sales manager with a pulp and paper company, says he feels more confident with customers ever since he had the wrinkles on his face smoothed out with a few injections.

And if he ever needs a little surgery at some point to produce permanent results, he says, "I won't be shy about pulling the trigger."
Competition for corporate jobs among aging baby boomers, along with quicker, cheaper and less invasive techniques, and greater attention to grooming among men are helping drive an increase in cosmetic procedures among the male of the species.

Botox injections, which won Food and Drug Administration approval for wrinkle-reducing in 2002 but had already come into fairly widespread use by the end of the 1990s, were the most popular cosmetic procedure for both men and women in 2003, with nearly 334,000 procedures for men and 2.56 million for women, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Botox treatments typically cost about $200 to $400.

Traditional plastic surgery rose about 10 percent among men and 14 percent among women from 2002 to 2003, according to society figures. Nose jobs were the most popular surgical procedure among men, followed by eyelid surgery and liposuction.

Doctors say they are seeing more and more men trying to take years off their looks.
"Men feel that doing some of these procedures gives them a foot up in the business world, a competitive edge," said Dr. Marla Ross, a dermatologist in suburban Tigard who gave Sowash wrinkle-reducing injections of Restylane.
Ross also said the age range of her patients has widened, with most of them between 35 and 55. Occupations vary dramatically, from waiters "right up to CEOs of big companies."

"You see a lot in the media about `metrosexuals,' or men who are dressing well and taking care of themselves," Ross said. "Probably 15 years ago that would have been ridiculed and now it's acceptable."

Dr. Darrick Antell, a leading plastic surgeon in New York City, said women patients tell him they have always compared themselves to the models they see on fashion magazine covers. But now men are making the same kind of comparisons.

"From Calvin Klein ads for underwear to GQ, I think the media have made men more aware of how good they should look," Antell said. "They see an ad and say, `I don't have abs like that.'"

GMI Inc., a market research firm in Seattle, said a survey in the major industrialized nations found that Americans are more likely than the British or the French to consider cosmetic surgery a negative trend.

"Cosmetic surgery is more negatively viewed by Americans because it is threatening to become so commonplace," said Pepper Schwartz, a University of Washington sociologist. "People feel pressured to look a certain way if everyone you know who is 50 is having surgery to look 40."

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People ever more plastic

People ever more plastic

Men the latest wrinkle in quest to look youngerBy WILLIAM McCALLTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PORTLAND, Ore. - Craig Sowash, a 43-year-old sales manager with a pulp and paper company, says he feels more confident with customers ever since he had the wrinkles on his face smoothed out with a few injections.

And if he ever needs a little surgery at some point to produce permanent results, he says, "I won't be shy about pulling the trigger."
Competition for corporate jobs among aging baby boomers, along with quicker, cheaper and less invasive techniques, and greater attention to grooming among men are helping drive an increase in cosmetic procedures among the male of the species.

Botox injections, which won Food and Drug Administration approval for wrinkle-reducing in 2002 but had already come into fairly widespread use by the end of the 1990s, were the most popular cosmetic procedure for both men and women in 2003, with nearly 334,000 procedures for men and 2.56 million for women, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Botox treatments typically cost about $200 to $400.

Traditional plastic surgery rose about 10 percent among men and 14 percent among women from 2002 to 2003, according to society figures. Nose jobs were the most popular surgical procedure among men, followed by eyelid surgery and liposuction.

Doctors say they are seeing more and more men trying to take years off their looks.

"Men feel that doing some of these procedures gives them a foot up in the business world, a competitive edge," said Dr. Marla Ross, a dermatologist in suburban Tigard who gave Sowash wrinkle-reducing injections of Restylane.
Ross also said the age range of her patients has widened, with most of them between 35 and 55. Occupations vary dramatically, from waiters "right up to CEOs of big companies."

"You see a lot in the media about 'metrosexuals,' or men who are dressing well and taking care of themselves," Ross said. "Probably 15 years ago that would have been ridiculed and now it's acceptable."

Dr. Darrick Antell, a leading plastic surgeon in New York City, said women patients tell him they have always compared themselves to the models they see on fashion magazine covers. But now men are making the same kind of comparisons.

"From Calvin Klein ads for underwear to GQ, I think the media have made men more aware of how good they should look," Antell said. "They see an ad and say, 'I don't have abs like that.' "

GMI Inc., a market research firm in Seattle, said a survey in the major industrialized nations found that Americans are more likely than the British or the French to consider cosmetic surgery a negative trend.

"Cosmetic surgery is more negatively viewed by Americans because it is threatening to become so commonplace," said Pepper Schwartz, a University of Washington sociologist. "People feel pressured to look a certain way if everyone you know who is 50 is having surgery to look 40."

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The Ultimate Sexual Makeover: Laser Vaginal Cosmetic Surger

The Ultimate Sexual Makeover: Laser Vaginal Cosmetic Surger

Says Dr. Joseph Berenholz of the Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation Institute of MichiganSOUTHFIELD, Mich., Jan. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Joseph Berenholz, board- certified OB/GYN and director of the Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation Institute of Michigan in Southfield, has brought some of the world's newest, most advanced laser surgical techniques to the Midwest."In the past, women have changed their lives with surgical procedures like liposuction and breast augmentation," said Dr. Berenholz. "At the same time, they believed that nothing could be done to improve their sexual function, self-image or pleasure. We've changed all that."

Surgeons have used traditional procedures for repairing vaginal defects as a medical necessity. The revolutionary breakthrough here is in the use of lasers in these procedures. "Laser techniques have made vaginal rejuvenation and vaginoplasty faster, more precise, and have dramatically reduced pain, bleeding, complications and recovery time. Even more remarkable, it's now elective surgery," said Dr. Berenholz.

Laser vaginal rejuvenation® (LVR®) can tighten and reconstruct the muscles of the vagina, increasing sexual pleasure and dealing with other issues like incontinence. The results can be dramatic, often for both partners. One LVR patient commented, "I know my husband loves me, but his dissatisfaction was obvious. Dr. Berenholz has given us a new lease on life."
Designer laser vaginoplasty® (DLV®) improves the appearance of the vagina. The most common DLV involves trimming oversized labia minora, a condition that can be embarrassing and uncomfortable. Other DLV options include reconstruction of the hymen, an often-requested surgery in various cultures.

Dr. Berenholz is the only gynecological surgeon in the Midwest to have advanced training in these laser surgical techniques. Surgery is usually completed in around an hour, with patients back to work in five to seven days.
Dr. Berenholz is a member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, Diplomate American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists, and the Society of Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery. He is on the active staff of Sinai Grace Hospital, Hutzel Hospital, Huron Valley Hospital, the Vivian Berry Surgical Center, St. John Healthcare System, and Providence Hospital. He is a clinical instructor and staff member of the Detroit Medical Center.

The Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation Center of Michigan is located at 30603 Southfield Road, in the Birmingham Cosmetic Center in Southfield. For more information, call (248) 593-8780 or visit: http://www.drBerenholz.com .

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New Developments in Cosmetic Surgery at AACS 21st Annual Scientific Meeting

New Developments in Cosmetic Surgery at AACS 21st Annual Scientific Meeting

CHICAGO,

Cosmetic surgeons from around the world will converge at the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery's 21st Annual Scientific Meeting to share and learn the latest developments in cosmetic surgery. "The Art & Science of Cosmetic Surgery: Past, Present &amp; Future" will be held from January 27 - 30, 2005 at The Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego, California. AACS continues its commitment to excellence, gathering speakers from each medical discipline to share their research in an effort to advance cosmetic surgery.

Featured speakers include renowned facial plastic surgeon Leslie Bernstein, MD, DDS of the United States, ophthalmic plastic surgeon Robert Goldberg, MD from UCLA, dermatologic surgeon Loek Habbema, MD of the Netherlands and laser specialist Mario Trelles, MD of Spain. In addition, AACS is pleased to welcome Michael Maves, MD as Keynote Speaker. As Executive Vice President and CEO of the American Medical Association, Dr. Maves will present "The State of Medicine in the United States," a serious look into the turbulent forces impacting the healthcare system today and what the future may have in store.

New developments in each topic of cosmetic surgery will be presented including abdominoplasty following gastric bypass surgery, facelift with Aptos threads, ELOS technology for cellulite and fat treatment, hair restoration surgery, male cosmetic surgery, breast implants and breast reduction. The Annual Scientific Meeting will also feature a Video Workshop, an expert Botox(R) Panel conducted by Jean Carruthers, MD and Alastair Carruthers, MD, and a session showcasing young surgeons of the future. For more information regarding registration or media access to the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery's 21st Annual Scientific Meeting, please contact AACS at 312.981.6760 or visit http://www.cosmeticsurgery.org/ .

The American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery is a professional medical society whose members are dedicated to patient safety and physician education in cosmetic surgery. Most members of the AACS are dermatologic surgeons, facial plastic surgeons, head and neck surgeons, general surgeons, oral and maxillofacial surgeons, plastic surgeons, or ocular plastic surgeons -- all of whom specialize in cosmetic surgery. AACS is an organization that represents all cosmetic surgeons in the American Medical Association through its seat in the AMA House of Delegates. Quelle: American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery

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Germans nip over the border to take advantage of cheap tummy tucks

Germans nip over the border to take advantage

of cheap tummy tucks

By Ruth Elkins in Berlin

Sabille Brixner had always dreamt of having larger breasts. But she couldn't afford plastic surgery in Germany. So she recently popped over the border to Poland to have them done there instead.

"The prices I was quoted in Germany were absolutely ridiculous," said Ms Brixner, a former nurse. "So I thought: off to Poland I go." Ms Brixner is a jolly yet sanguine 46-year-old from a small village near the northern German city of Rostock - just one of an increasing number of Germans now opting to have plastic surgery in Poland and other former Communist countries. Treatment in the ex-Ost Bloc can be as much as 70 per cent cheaper than in Germany, and doctors at private clinics say business has never been better.

"I now operate on up to 40 German patients a month," says Dr Maciej Pastucha, director of Artplastica one of Poland's biggest plastic surgery clinics in Szczecin. The city where Ms Brixner paid €2,700 (£1,880) for her new 34B silicone implants, is a mere two-hour drive or train ride from Berlin. And, like the rest of Poland, low wages and a low cost of living mean prices are still cheap. "Whatever the Germans charge, I can do it for half," says Dr Pastucha, who says most Germans come for facelifts (Artplastica price €3,250), breast enlargements and liposuction (€1,000-€4,000).

"Medical tourism", one of the new faces of the newly enlarged European Union, extends to the entire range of health treatments and medical care - boosted in the Germans' case by a new law allowing those with state health insurance a free choice of doctor across the EU.

The move has led to good business for Czech surgeries and Polish fertility clinics - IVF costs around half the German rate. Dentistry in the new EU member states is also booming. In Hungary, where dentists have always enjoyed a good reputation, some clinics claim 99 per cent of their patients are German. Polish clinics, too, are doing a roaring trade.

"The number of Germans coming to get their teeth done has definitely gone up since Poland joined the EU," says Dr Malgorzata Domanska, who says she treats up to 40 German patients a month at the Aestheticdent clinic in Szczecin. Prices are, yet again, half those in Germany: a dental lab-created implant and crown costs on average €1,400; a fixed bridge starts at €140.

There is a downside, however. In Eastern European countries many plastic surgeons do not have personal liability insurance, so if an operation goes wrong the patient has no redress. Post-operative care, a crucial stage of any procedure, can also be risky. Almost all patients who undergo surgery in Poland return to Germany within days of the operation, leaving German GPs to take out stitches and deal with any post-op problems.

The British Association of Aesthetic Surgery also recently warned British residents against travelling to Eastern Europe for cheaper plastic surgery. One council member, Douglas McGeorge, recalled having to pick up the pieces for two patients who had undergone abdominoplasty or "tummy tuck" surgery there. He frowns on "holiday surgery," and is "amazed that people go for these so-called deals".

But Ms Brixner had no such qualms. In fact, she even took her best friend, Krista Bleck, with her. "I wasn't afraid at all," she said. "I went and checked it all out: the sterile areas in the operating theatre, the instruments they were using, the surgeon's qualifications ... By the time the operation came round, I was completely satisfied everything would be fine."

Credit from

http://surgerynews.net/200501.html

Plastic surgeon donates his services to treat the world's poor

Plastic surgeon donates his services to treat the world's poor

Williams teaches American surgical techniques by encouraging local physicians to assist in his operations, which can be long and grueling. The longest was 17 hours. This one was at a hospital in Nairobi, Kenya.

Geoff Williams could be making a million bucks a year, but he isn't interested. He drives a 1991 Honda Civic, lives in a modest apartment and travels at his own expense to work for free.

Williams is a plastic surgeon, but don't expect to see him at a posh clinic. Instead of catering to wealthy patients seeking eternal youth, he treats needy children in poor countries. He travels the world to treat disfigured kids no one else will help.

Why?"Actually, I think I'm being kind of selfish," the Boise native said. "I get more out of it than my patients do because the work is so rewarding. To see the reaction when a child's cleft palate or burn is treated, that makes it more than worthwhile."

Michael Jensen, a physician who accompanied Williams on a medical trip to Kenya last year, struggles to describe him."He's a different kind of person. He's ... well, he's just a very good person. ... To put it plainly, he's another Mother Teresa."

A general practitioner in Provo, Utah, Jensen said he has "never heard of a single case in which a physician does what he's doing. I know people who donate time, maybe once a year for a week or two, but not full time the way Geoff does. He could be making $1 million a year. The popular plastic surgeons I know make up to $2 million. But Geoff has never been financially oriented."

Williams grew up in Boise, attended Capital High School and studied medicine at the University of Utah, Stanford and the world's largest craniofacial center in Taiwan. He was studying in Taiwan when he went to Vietnam and India in 1998 and "got addicted to working in those kinds of places. There's such need. You have the feeling that you're their only hope."Since then, Williams has made at least one trip a year to Third World countries.
A year ago, he took a leave of absence from his job on the faculty of the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas, to work full time in medically needy countries. He's been to India, Vietnam, Kenya, the Philippines, Mexico, Peru and Bolivia, and he left Wednesday for Pakistan after spending New Year's with his parents, Milton and Bev Williams, in Boise. He pays most of his travel expenses out of his savings.

"Occasionally a charity or someone helps him," Jensen said, "but other than that he's financing everything. I'm just a GP, and when I've traveled with him, I've spent more money than he has. He never stays in fancy hotels, and he lives very modestly. In Galveston, he lives in a kind of student apartment. All he's interested in is the work."The work can be anything from routine surgery for a cleft palate to building a face for a disfigured child. The results are as important to him as they are to the patient.

"One reason I chose plastic surgery is that I like art," he said.
Art?"Yes. A lot of people who do this don't have an artistic feel for the shape of the human face. That often comes through in the work."
In Mexico, he made a nose for a girl who was born without one. She cries for joy whenever she sees him.In Peru, a family crossed the Andes to have him operate on a child with no ear.

"It's really touching when people travel two or three days to see you," he said. "A lot of poor countries have found ways to support life-saving skills, but what you look like isn't as important. If you have a deformity, they just don't look at you."
One of his patients was a teenage girl born without an upper lip."She went everywhere with her hand over her mouth. She thought it was untreatable. She thought she'd spend the rest of her life with her hand over her mouth."

In Vietnam, a patient's mother wept so uncontrollably after her daughter's cleft-palate surgery that he thought something was wrong."I thought maybe she didn't like the result, but that wasn't it," he said. "They're just so destitute in some of those countries that she thought that it was impossible to fix. She thought nothing could ever be done.

"... I think the moms are more my patients than the kids are. There's something about a mother of a disfigured child. They've spent years thinking it's hopeless and then it's fixed. It's a wonderful feeling to relieve their anxiety."

Williams doesn't keep a running count of his patients, but says they'd number in the hundreds. When word got out that an American doctor who could operate on burns and cleft palates was coming to Vietnam last month, more than 100 people were waiting for him.His patients are poor, but not ungrateful.
"Word has gotten out in Vietnam that I like mangos," he said with a sudden smile. "The last time I was there, I got several hundred of them. So I guess I have been paid."Doctors and patients alike benefit from Williams' visits. He teaches the local physicians American surgical techniques and invites them to assist when he operates.

"A doctor I work with in Vietnam has just started doing her own cleft-palate surgeries. Some of them look better than mine."
The training needed to become a plastic surgeon is all but unattainable in many countries. The Vietnamese doctor with the new skills isn't a plastic surgeon. She's a dentist."When you can teach the local people to do the work, you're not just treating the patient," Williams said. "You're solving the problem."
He's the first to correct those who call him a miracle worker."It's not miracles. It's just a lot of hard work."

Jensen said:
"A lot of doctors who take these trips go with the idea they'll also take a vacation. He doesn't think that way. In fact, it's hard to keep up with him. I assisted him on a surgery in Kenya that lasted nine hours, and he never took a break. He didn't eat; he didn't even go to the restroom."His father sees one drawback:
"He works so hard and is on the go so much he's never had time to get married."Williams, who is 49, says he hasn't given up on the idea of marrying and settling down. But it isn't likely to happen soon. In December, he resigned his post at the University of Texas to continue his medical missions long-term. He's working with attorneys in San Antonio to set up a foundation for support after his savings are gone.

His selflessness is something of an enigma, even to those closest to him.
"There were no signs of it when he was growing up," his mother said. "I think it was just inborn and surfaced after he became a doctor. He seems to get great joy out of working with poverty-stricken people that everyone else casts off."

Crdit from
http://www.idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050107/NEWS01/501070338
http://surgerynews.net/200501.html