Many cosmetic surgeons nowadays are advertising “stem cell facelifts,” which are often described as a new facial rejuvenation procedure. However, the stem cell facelift is actually a variant on something that surgeons have been doing for a long time – facial fat grafting. For the time being, it seems that this technique is more marketing magic than anything else.
It’s important to understand that a stem cell facelift is not the same thing as facelift surgery. During a facelift, excess skin is removed and tightened to provide long-lasting facial rejuvenation. In recent years, surgeons have begun to advertise “non-surgical” facelifts – procedures that can sometimes offer restorative results similar to facelift. Dermal fillers such as Juvederm are a great example of this.
Facial fat grafting involves removing unwanted fat from one part of the body, and moving it to the face. By adding volume and contour to the face, facial fat grafting corrects one of the most common signs of aging – the loss of facial volume.
How do stem cells come into the picture? There are many stem cells in your body fat. Transferring the fat to the face has a rejuvenative effect on the skin – since the stem cells help the fat integrate into its new position. Some surgeons isolate stem cells from one sample of fat, and then add them to another sample, to create “supercharged” fat.
There is not been enough research into facial fat grafting to show that stem cells make much of a difference. However, this is not prevented many cosmetic surgeons from advertising a “stem cell facelift.” Stem cells are widely recognized in the media for their rejuvenative powers, so that a stem cell facelift sounds more appealing than facial fat grafting. As Arthur Perry recently quipped on the Dr. Oz blog, “the words ‘stem cells’ seem to sell [cosmetic procedures] like the word ‘sex’ sells magazines.”
It’s important to take claims about the stem cell facelift with a grain of salt. While they may be effective, as many of their proponents claim, it’s simply too early to tell right now.
After giving birth many moms are unable to loose the midsection they gained while being pregnant. Many of them are turning to a combination of cosmetic procedures dubbed the “Mommy Makeover.”
Charlotte, North Carolina’s WBTV 3 recently reported that hundreds of thousands of the Mommy Makeover procedures are being performed each year. The women who undergo the procedure typically range from the ages of 20 to 39.
Many would think that the Hollywood elite would make up the majority of the makeover procedures, but in this case the majority of patients are middle-class mothers. They are opting to get the procedure to bring their bodies back to the way they were before they had children.
Pamela Maple, 44, is a mother who underwent the procedure and told WBTV that she hoped it would give her back her pre-pregnancy body. “I was always covering my stomach and always had a muffin top,” she said.
The Mommy Makeover can include a combination these procedures:
- Tummy Tuck
- Breast Lift
- Breast Augmentation
- Thigh Lift
- Liposuction
After her procedure, Maple stated, “I feel great. I feel like me, but I feel like a better me.” Maple’s statement fits right in with the goal of the Mommy Makeover: not to get a perfect body, but to bring your body back to the way it was before having children.
Talking With Your Doctor
As with any medical procedure doing research before making a decision is extremely important. WBTV reinforced this point saying that, “Doctors say the most important questions, however, are not about their tools but about their training.”
WBTV went on and offered the advice that even though the Mommy Makeover includes multiple procedures as a package, make sure you’re only getting the procedures that you need for your situation.
If you would like to learn more about which of the procedures associated with the Mommy Makeover will make sense for your situation, contact Dr. Jacob Haiavy online, or at one of his four convenient Southern California locations.
Nadia Ilse, 14, was harassed about her large ears so badly at school that by the age of ten she had asked her mother if she could have her ears pinned back. In an interview with CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta, the Georgian teen said the taunting, “hurt so much,” and had turned her into a withdrawn person.
According to the Huffington Post, Nadia received the operation she asked her mother for. Her mother had contacted the Little Baby Face Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides free corrective surgery to children with facial deformities.
Not only did they pin her ears back, but they also provided Nadia with a chin augmentation and corrective nose surgery. The Foundation also covered the $40,000 estimated cost of the surgeries, as well as bringing Nadia and her mother to New York City.
“I look beautiful, this is exactly what I wanted, I love it,” Nadia said after the operations. Even though Nadia knows she should have been accepted the way she was, she has no regrets about the procedures because she knew the bullying wouldn’t stop without them.
As part of her treatment Nadia must undergo counseling to deal with the years of psychological stress the bullying at school has caused her. Little Baby Face board member Don Moriarity stated that Nadia’s new perspective about herself reflects the group’s mission. He stated, “We like to say that Baby Face transforms the lives of these children and gives them newfound confidence.”
Social Impacts
Recently, there has been a lot of focus on bullying in schools. According to the Huffington Post, between 1999 and 2010 more than 120 bills were passed on the state level to introduce or amend legislations regarding bullying and harassment in schools.
By December 2011, when the U.S. Department of Education released a study into bullying, 46 states had anti-bullying laws enacted, 36 states had laws focused on cyber-bullying, and 13 states had enacted laws that gave schools authority to address harassment when it occurred off of school property.
When one thinks of being in a relationship, going on dates, vacations, and spending time together comes to mind.
According to recent stories from ABC and the LA Times, more couples are deciding to have cosmetic surgery together.
The stories mirror each other, profiling a couple who have elected to have cosmetic surgery.
One couple with four children had been together for 18 years. They said child-rearing had “taken a toll on our bodies,” David Robinson opted to have a chin lift done the same day his wife underwent an abdominoplasty, or tummy tuck.
After dating her boyfriend for 16 years, Reita Greene planned to have a procedure for several years. Maybe a chemical peel, Botox, or a facelift –and her boyfriend would follow suit.
Couples like these appear to be part of a rising trend, which coincides with the rise of procedures for men. Dr. Richard Chafoo, of La Jolla Plastic Surgery, said, “It’s a male ego thing. When a wife comes in and has work done and is delighted with the outcome, the husband or partner feels more confident and secure and more likely to ask questions.”
While the procedures typically selected between men and women differ, some of them include:
- Neck Lifts
- Face Lifts
- Botox
- Chemical Peels
- Tummy Tucks
- Liposuction
- Eyelid Surgery
- Male Breast Reduction
Most of these couples are finished having children, and are in their late 30s to early 60s.
If you’re interested in exploring or learning more about the available cosmetic surgery options, contact Dr. Jacob Haiavy online, or at one of his four convenient Southern California locations.
Sources: ABC News and LA Times
A new study found that after cosmetic surgery, patients look an average of nine years younger than they did prior to the procedure. Specifically focusing on facial plastic surgery procedures, the study’s results were published in an article online in the Archives of Facial and Plastic Surgery.
Photos in Study Reveal Younger Looking Faces
The study was done by the University of Toronto’s Division of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and used first-year medical students to rate before and after pictures of the study’s participants.
Before the procedures occurred, the raters estimated patients to be around two years younger than their chronological age. However, after the facial procedures the patients were estimated to be around nine years younger than they actually were.
The 60 patients who participated in the study were all undergoing:
Patients were placed into 3 groups based on the procedures they were to undergo. The researchers stated on their findings: “The effect was less substantial for group 1 patients (who underwent face and neck lift procedures) and was most dramatic for group 3 patients, who had undergone all 3 aging face surgical procedures.”
Mark P. Solomon, MD, a board-certified surgeon from Pennsylvania, who was not a part of the study, commented to Medscape, saying: “The study represents an attempt to quantify facts that have been apparent to plastic surgeons through their practices.”
It is hoped that the study will allow patients to be more realistic and have a better understanding of the outcomes and benefits of facial cosmetic surgery. While also, enabling patients to have informed discussions with their doctor before deciding which procedure, or procedures are best for their circumstances.
If you’re interested in exploring or learning more about the available facial cosmetic surgery options, contact Inland Cosmetic Surgery at one of our three Southern California locations.
A recent clinical study shows that breast augmentation improves quality of life, well-being and sexual satisfaction. Conducted as a joint effort by doctors in the United States and Canada, this study showed significant improvement across all measured quantities.
While patients and physicians have long held that breast implants have a dramatic effect on patient quality of life, this study provides concrete evidence of the quantitative level of this satisfaction. By looking into various areas of assessment, this clinical study was able to provide an overall look at the social and psychological results of breast augmentation.
BREAST-Q Module Used to Determine Breast Implant Patient Satisfaction
Far from being a simple survey or poll, the 41 women involved in this study completed the comprehensive BREAST-Q Augmentation module before having their breast implant procedure and after the procedure was completed. The results of the surgery were determined for each individual patient and also for the group as a whole.
The results of the BREAST-Q module were as follows:
- 83% of women reported a significant increase in satisfaction with their breasts.
- Of the women who participated in the study, 88% were seen to have a dramatic improvement in their psychosocial well-being.
- There were 33 out of 41 women (81%) in the study who stated that they had significant improvement in their sexual well-being following their breast augmentation.
The study authors concluded that this particular surgery generally had a very positive effect on the quality of life for the patient. This upheld the initial hypothesis, and was proven on both the individual patient level and the overall average across the study participants.
Though the data for breast augmentation seems conclusive, further research is necessary to determine if a similar effect exists for patients undergoing breast lift and breast reduction procedures. The unique nature of breast reconstruction procedures would likely require a redesigned study to gain accurate information.
Determining what breast implant size you want is one of the most important decisions you’ll make before your breast augmentation surgery, so take the time to figure out what size is going to make you happy.
Here are a few ways that may help you choose the right breast implant size.
- Look at before and after photo galleries. This can be a good place to start. It will be hard to find an exact “before” match that has your same breast size and shape, but it can help give you ideas for the looks you like, which you can show to your surgeon at your consultation.
- Try the rice test. You can make your own breast implant rice sizers at home; this video gives you step-by-step instructions. Try out the sizers you make under a bra and your favorite shirts at home to get a better idea of the size and look that you like.
- Ask about take-home inflatable sizers. If you don’t want to make rice sizers, you can ask your surgeon if he or she has these available for purchase so you can try them out at home.
- Order a Natrelle pre-consultation sizing kit from breast implant maker Allergan. The kit includes sample implants and a profile bra so you can get a better idea of how you will look with different breast sizes.
- Some doctors may offer 3-D imaging programs that can help you decide which breast implant size is best by using three-dimensional images of your own body.
- Ask your cosmetic surgeon. He or she may have their own effective method for helping patients pick a breast implant size.
Contact Dr. Haiavy for more information about breast augmentation.
This episode of The Doctors featured Tickle Lipo, with a visit from Dr. Sandra Lee and her patient Luci, who had the procedure to remove stubborn saddlebags.
Tickle Lipo is done under local anesthesia, says Dr. Lee. Watch the cannula rotate, as she holds it in her hands in front of the audience. The rotation makes it easier to remove fat, allowing the cannula to “glide through the tissue” with ease.
Read more about Tickle Lipo
“Gummy bear” breast implants are the newest type of silicone breast implants. Many women and cosmetic surgeons are excited about them; read on to learn the basics.
Why Is It Called a Gummy Bear Implant?
The medical term for these devices is “cohesive silicone gel breast implants,” but they were dubbed “gummy bear breast implants” by a plastic surgeon because they retain their shape when they are cut in half, like gummy bear candies.
What Are the Benefits & Drawbacks of Gummy Bear Implants?
The difference between gummy bear implants and other implants is that the silicone particles in gummy bear implants are more cross-linked, so the material hangs together, according to Dr. Galen Perdikis, a plastic surgeon at the Mayo Clinic.
“This change in the way the implants are made means they can be formed into a teardrop shape that mimics natural breast shape,” says Dr. Perdikis.
In addition to retaining their shape better, here are some of the benefits of the gummy bear implants:
- May have a lower leak rate than other implants.
- May look and feel more like natural breasts than other implants.
- Some studies show lower rates of capsular contracture (when scar tissue forms around the breast implant and then hardens) than other implants.
The cohesive gel implants have their own drawbacks, however. Some women may find them too firm. Also, the incision for these implants is larger. They also carry the same potential risks of other implants, such as asymmetry, infection, and capsular contracture.
Are Gummy Bear Implants Available in the U.S.?
Until a few months ago, only women who took part in clinical trials could get these implants in the U.S. But in March of this year, the first cohesive silicone implants were approved by the FDA.
The gummy bear implants, made by a company named Sientra, were approved after an eight-year clinical trial that included almost 1,800 women. Breast implant makers Allergan and Mentor are still in clinical trials for their gummy bear implants.
If you’re interested in learning more about your breast implant options, contact Dr. Haiavy in Rancho Cucamonga, CA.
If you’ve developed fat deposits in the inner corner of your eyelids as you’ve aged, a new technique may allow you to have them removed without traditional eyelid surgery, reports MarketWatch.
According to Dr. Sheila Barbarino, who authored an article on the technique that was published in the American Journal of Cosmetic Surgery, traditional eyelid surgery involves a horizontal incision that runs the entire length of the upper eyelid in order to reach and remove the fat.
The new method, developed by cosmetic surgeon Dr. David Morrow, “allows us to remove the fat pad through a 3-4 mm oblique stab incision. This safe, time efficient and minimally invasive procedure yields excellent outcomes with a far smaller scar,” says Dr. Barbarino.
The procedure is done under local anesthesia and takes only about 10 minutes on average.
“In situations where patients just require the removal of the fat pad, this procedure has an excellent success rate. Over a 20-year period, our patients have reported extremely high satisfaction rates with no complications related to the technique,” says Dr. Morrow. The authors have performed the technique on 979 patients.
If you don’t need traditional upper blepharoplasty and are just bothered by the fat on your upper eyelids, the technique offers many benefits. It’s quick, effective, and safe. However, if you have more concerns than just fat pads, traditional eyelid surgery may be right for you. In addition to removing fat deposits, it can also target the following problems:
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- Under eye bags
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- Sagging upper eyelids
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- Excess skin that creates a fold
Eyelid surgery may also be done for functional purposes, as well as cosmetic. Some patients get the procedure to correct impaired vision due to sagging upper eyelids.