Plastic Surgery Articles

Plastic Surgeons Wish Patients Informed Themselves More

December 29 , 2006 -

Although the surgeons staff explains everything and provides patients with numerous brochures and pamphlets, it is important that every woman does a few hours of research on her own before she walks in to request a surgery.

We want the patient to be happy, healthy, and well. We like educated patients because an educated patient is the key to a happy patient, says Dr. Marek Dobke, the University of California San Diego Medical Center head of plastic surgery.

Its important that the patient understand our limitations and why certain things, despite our best efforts, may not go well, and what is the likelihood of revision. If I feel a patient doesnt understand or want to understand these things, I chose not to have that person as a patient, he added.

Here are a few bits of information the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the Food and Drug Administration say you should know before you go in for your breast augmentation:

Not every surgeon is as good as every other surgeon Do research on your surgeon. Make sure the surgeon is board-certified, and that the certification is in plastic surgery. Find out how many times the surgeon has performed the procedure.

There are risks associated with breast augmentation Implants can rupture. Silicone implant manufacturers report a rupture rate of about one to two percent in the first three years, and 12-15 percent after 15 years, which is a rate similar to that of saline implants.

Implants can affect breast and nipple sensitivity Sensitivity can be increased or decreased.

Implants can affect your ability to breast-feed Women who have implants put in through the nipple are less likely to be able to breast feed afterward.

You may need more than one operation The FDA says that about 20 to 25 percent of women who have their breasts augmented have additional surgeries to correct hardening, shifting, sagging, or ruptures.

Mammograms will be made more difficult with breast implants Be sure to have your x-rays performed by a facility with technicians experienced with implants.

Implants keep getting better They are becoming more realistic and more durable.

For more information about breast augmentation, or to set up an appointment with an experienced board-certified plastic surgeon near you, please contact us today for a free consultation.

Interested in breast augmentation surgery? Please contact us to find a board certified plastic surgeon near you.

Breast Implants Increasingly Popular with Average Women

December 21, 2006 -

New studies and surveys show that breast augmentation is becoming increasingly popular, but not just with strippers and movie stars.

Plastic surgeons are noticing that the typical person who gets breast implants today is not an exotic dancer or a model. It’s the average woman next door.

The number of women in the United States who augmented their breasts went up 37% from the year 2000 to 2005, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

The procedure is expected by many to become even more popular now that the FDA has lifted the ban on silicone gel breast implants, which most people consider more realistic than saline implants.

In 1998, 231,378 women had breast augmentation surgery. In 2005, more than twice as many women did, according to the Plastic Surgeon’s Society

A survey in 2003 asked women who were researching breast implants about their age, marital status, education, and income. There were 3,500 respondents who had breast implants and 1,625 who were considering them. The average age of all respondents was 34. Nearly half of them had a bachelor’s degree, and three-quarters were either married or in a long-term relationship.

Nearly three-quarters of the women who responded reported a yearly income of $50,000 or more, which is not surprising, considering the procedure typically, costs upward of $4,000.

Why the shift?

A University of Pennsylvania psychologist who studies attitudes toward plastic surgery, David Sarwer, said that improved surgical techniques, shorter recovery time, implant manufacturer advertising, cosmetic surgery-related reality television shows, and celebrity culture as seen in the media are likely to have played a role in the shift of the typical breast augmentation patient from the stripper to the soccer mom.

“We’re bombarded by this ideal of beauty more so than any other time in history,” Sarwer said. “That kind of relentless bombardment takes a toll, because inevitably we compare ourselves to these ideals.”

Today, in the eyes of the public, to be beautiful means to be a thin actress with large breasts, Sarwar said.

Considering breast augmentation? Please contact us today for a free consultation with an experienced board-certified plastic surgeon in your area.

Breast Implants: Fastest Growing Plastic Surgery Procedure?

December18, 2006 -

With the new reintroduction of silicone breast implants in the United States market, the interest in cosmetic procedures has further increased. However, is breast enhancement the fastest growing cosmetic surgical procedure?

While breast augmentation is one of the most popular plastic surgery procedures in the U.S., it is not the fastest growing. Neither are nose jobs, Botox, liposuction, or other “tune-up” procedures.

Body Contouring

So what’s everyone running to their surgeon for? According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), the top five fastest growing plastic surgeries are major operations performed to cut away excess fat and pounds of flesh-also known as body contouring procedures.

Statistics from the ASPS show that 68,000 body contouring procedures including thigh lift, upper arm lift, buttocks lift, breast lift, and reshaping tummy tuck were performed in 2005-a 22 percent increase since the year before. Furthermore, the five fastest growing plastic surgery procedures generated $700 million in surgeon fees alone.

Contouring After Gastric Bypass

Why this sudden jump in body contouring procedures? It’s a result of the explosion of gastric bypass surgeries performed to treat obesity-170,000 in 2005, an eleven-fold increase since the early 90s.

As patients shed hundreds of pounds in such a short amount of time, extra flesh that was permanently stretched by years of weight gain hangs off their bodies. Most decide to undergo body contouring procedures, which are more extensive forms of surgeries such as a tummy tuck, to cut away the fat.

Considering Plastic Surgery? Please contact us today to set up a consultation with a board certified plastic surgeon near you.

Giving the Gift of Cosmetic Surgery

December 14, 2006 -

When 48-year-old Tina Baldwin of Newfield N.J. found out that her husband was buying her the cosmetic surgery of her choice for Christmas, she was thrilled.

Many cosmetic surgery centers across the country are offering holiday gift discounts on various procedures, from Botox wrinkle removal to new FDA-approved silicone breast implants.

Though, experts are quibbling over the ethics of giving the gift of plastic surgery, they all agree that it should not be done lightly.

Trivializing, Offensive, or Rewarding?

“It’s not perfume, a piece of jewelry or a spa treatment. Giving cosmetic surgery as a gift trivializes a serious medical procedure,” said associate professor of psychology at the Center for Human Appearance at University of Pennsylvania school of medicine in Philadelphia, David Sarwer. He added that, “The giver may have good intentions, but it could place undo pressure on the person on the receiving end.”

Another expert, a Long Island plastic surgeon Zachary Gerut, says that offering plastic surgery as a gift may offend the receiver. He noted that many husbands buy their wives breast implants around Christmas. “Why don’t you just insult the poor lady and be done with it? It’s like telling someone they have bad breath,” he said.

Before giving the gift, one should consider that some procedures might not last, plastic surgeons say. Gerut offered the example of Botox treatments, which remove wrinkles temporarily. “You have to come back every six months for treatment because they wear off.”

Other experts believe that giving someone plastic surgery can be a very rewarding experience, and that many people who do receive such gifts are happy with them - especially if the receiver has requested a specific procedure, and is a good candidate health-wise.

“As long as the giver is not attempting to impose the cosmetic procedure he wants on the individual receiving, there is little downside,” said David Watts, a Vineland N.J. plastic surgeon who offers plastic surgery gift cards. In those cases, Watts says, “It gives the giver the opportunity to say, I hope I have helped to make you feel better about yourself.’”

For a consultation with an experienced board-certified plastic surgeon near you, please contact us today.

Cosmetic Surgery Has Wide Appeal

December 11, 2006 -

Ask any plastic surgeon to describe a typical cosmetic surgery patient, and you may find yourself surprised by the answer. Most plastic surgeons will say there is no such thing as a typical cosmetic surgery patient. From stay-at-home moms and working dads to generation X-ers and baby boomers, cosmetic surgery appeals to people from all walks of life.

More and more Americans are opting for cosmetic surgery these days, making it less of a celebrity secret and more of a common beauty regimen. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, more than 10 million cosmetic procedures were performed in 2005 - a 38 percent increase from 2000.

Who’s Getting It Done?

Dr. George Rudkin, associate professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery at the University of California Los Angeles, says that baby boomers represent a growing population of cosmetic surgery patients.

Remarriage, later retirement, and an emphasis of healthy living all contribute to the baby boomer trend toward cosmetic surgery. “They want their faces and bodies to reflect their inner feelings, not their chronological age,” he said.

Cosmetic surgery is also popular among women in their 30s and 40s. Dr. William Beeson, plastic surgeon and past president of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgeons, says that the “mommy makeover”-a combination of tummy tuck, breast lift, buttock lift and/or breast implants - is common in women this age.

Still, the desire for cosmetic enhancement doesn’t stop there. “I’ve worked on priests, police officers, salesmen. A large number of my clients are trial lawyers and others in high-profile jobs,” Dr. Beeson said.

Expectations Are Key

Some people are even beginning to regard cosmetic surgery as a kind of preventative medicine, says ASPS president Roxanne Guy. Others see it as an addiction. So, cosmetic surgery is not for everyone.

Those considering cosmetic surgery should have realistic expectations, says Dr. Rudkin. “We’ll see people who want to look just like a celebrity, or they come in thinking cosmetic surgery will fix their marriage,” he said.

Cosmetic surgery will not fix your marriage, but it can help improve your self-image. If you are considering breast augmentation or other cosmetic procedure, please click here to schedule a consultation with a board certified plastic surgeon near you.

Boom in Plastic Surgery Practitioners

December 7, 2006 -

Many more surgeons, emergency room physicians, obstetricians, and other physicians are stepping into the plastic surgery arena. Plastic surgery is very enticing to medical practitioners who specialize in other fields and have to deal with government programs, insurance providers, heavy patient caseloads, huge insurance premiums, and long workweeks.

Unfortunately, this influx of new practitioners brings with it an increasing number of under-qualified plastic surgeons, making a patient’s selection of a board-certified plastic surgeon today more important than ever.

Until recently, the only physicians practicing cosmetic medicine were plastic surgeons, dermatologists, and facial surgeons - physicians who underwent years of specialized training in their fields.

But now physicians from all areas are being lured to cosmetic medicine, and with good reason. Patients pay up front for their procedures so plastic surgeons don’t often have to deal with Medicare, Medicaid, and other programs that rarely cover cosmetic procedures. Plastic surgeons also deal with smaller patient caseloads, pay lower insurance premiums, and get to set their own hours.

“And it’s very satisfying,” said Dr Nwankpa-Keshinro, an obstetrician and gynecologist turned cosmetic medicine practitioner. “When you clear up someone’s acne or facial hair, they are as grateful as if you delivered their baby.”

The Dispute Rages

However, board-certified plastic surgeons and specialists don’t like the fact that many of these new plastic surgeons are performing procedures with very limited training.

“Dentists are doing Botox, and urologists are doing hair transplants and vein removal,” said Dr. Ellen Gendler, Manhattan dermatologist. “Everyone wants to be a plasticologist.”

Many see danger in the new trend.

Dr. Stephen H. Miller, president of the American Board of Medical Specialties commented that, “You can’t assume that everyone with a pilot’s license can fly a 747 as well as a piper cub When you use a generic medical license to practice other forms of medicine, there is an inherent danger to patient safety.”

Seeking the services of a highly qualified, board-certified plastic surgeon? Please click here to locate a board-certified plastic surgeon near you.

Silicone Breast Implant Approval Raises Questions, Concerns

December 4, 2006 -

The recent approval of silicone breast implants for use in women age 22 and older has prompted a flood of phone calls to plastic surgery offices across the nation. Despite the excited flurry of calls, plastic surgeons are cautious over the newly approved implants.

According to Dr. Walter Erhardt - chairman of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons’ public education committee - the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to approve silicone implants has created “a whole host of questions” for women and their doctors.

The Question of Cost

Primary among those questions is that of cost. The FDA recommends that women who opt for silicone implants undergo periodic medical exams, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), to check for ruptures.

FDA safety guidelines specifically recommend that silicone implant recipients have an MRI three years after the initial procedure and then every two years thereafter. In instances where a leak or rupture is detected, the FDA recommends the implant be replaced.

However, cosmetic breast augmentation is considered an elective surgery and is generally not covered by medical insurance. This means that postoperative check-ups and any additional surgery may not be covered either.

The FDA noted that the cost of periodic MRIs and any subsequent surgery “may exceed the cost” of the initial surgery.

Other Important Questions

Other pertinent questions raised by the FDA’s recent decision to approve silicone implants include:

• What happens if the patient fails to pursue follow-up care?
• Must ruptured implants always be removed and replace?
• Who is financially responsible for the costs associated with removing/replacing a ruptured implant?

In fact, plastic surgeons don’t even agree on whether or not ruptured implants should be removed at all. Chicago plastic surgeon Dr. Laurie Casas says broken implants “should be replaced, as you would any broken device.”

Dr. Richard Ellenbogen, a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, disagrees, “If it ain’t broke, why fix it? Why submit a woman to that trauma?”

It’s not surprising that such questions, particularly those involving follow-up care, are dampening the initial enthusiasm for the FDA’s decision.

“Most women want to put them in, go on with their lives and forget they got the surgery. That’ll be a big question, whether they’re going to want to be burdened with that follow-up,” said Dr. Ellenbogen.

Considering breast enhancement? Please contact us today to learn more about your options from a board certified plastic surgeon near you.