Jacob Haiavy, MD, FACS - Inland Cosmetic Surgery

For men with excess breast tissue, having male breast reduction corrects the problem, known as gynecomastia.

Treating gynecomastia also improves patients’ quality of life, according to a new study. Additionally, researchers found that patients reported a high degree of satisfaction with the procedure.

What is Gynecomastia?

Doctors believe the excess breast tissue is caused by hormonal problems. Men with gynecomastia can get a more masculine chest by having male breast reduction surgery.

During surgery, excess glandular tissue or fat is removed, either through liposuction or surgical tissue removal.

Results of Treating Gynecomastia

The study examined 126 patients who had undergone male breast reduction surgery in Siena or Pisa, Italy. The patients, whose average age was 28, were given questionnaires both before and one year after surgery. The survey asked patients about their motivations for treatment, degree of satisfaction with the procedure and quality of life.

All of the patients said their quality of life improved after the surgery, with an average satisfaction score of 8.2 out of 10.

The researchers found the results of surgery to be so positive that they suggested that patients with gynecomastia “undergo surgery always and as soon as possible.”

The surgery is relatively short — generally about one hour of operating time. The study reported a 17.72% complication rate. Potential complications include scarring, pigment changes, asymmetry, infection, bleeding and fluid loss or buildup.

Recovery from male breast reduction takes about one week, and exercise can usually be resumed about three weeks after surgery.

Contact Inland Cosmetic Surgery in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., for more information on male breast reduction.

There has been an increase in the number of women seeking treatment after complications from silicone buttock injections, reports the Baltimore Sun.

A dancer in Baltimore was admitted to the hospital in March with silicone in her lungs after the procedure, and the FDA is investigating this and other instances across the U.S.

The woman who injected the dancer, who is not a doctor or nurse, was arrested in October. Court records also showed the silicone may have come from a home improvement store.

The medical-grade liquid version of silicone is only approved for the treatment of detached retinas, according to the FDA. But in the past, doctors have used it for procedures, including breast augmentation and lip enhancement.

Surgeons say injectable silicone is dangerous and is not used in procedures today, as it causes an inflammatory reaction in the tissue where it’s injected, and it can spread to other organs. The encased silicone used for breast and buttock implants is considered safe.

Safe Alternatives to Silicone Buttock Injections

There are cosmetic surgery procedures that are safe for augmenting the buttocks, such as fat transfer. The procedure, which is often used for the face, is referred to as a Brazilian butt lift when used for buttock augmentation.

During the procedure, fat is harvested from another area of the body, such as the abdomen, through liposuction. The fat is then purified and injected into the buttock tissue.

Buttock implants are another option. During the procedure, a silicone gel implant is inserted beneath the gluteus maxiumus muscle.

If you are interested in a cosmetic procedure, be sure to choose a qualified cosmetic surgeon. The American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery provides guidelines for choosing a surgeon on its website.

Dieting may not only be good for your waistline — it may also help your body fight the aging process.

Consuming fewer calories can slow down the aging process, according to researchers at Sweden’s University of Gothenburg. And the sooner one cuts down on calories, the greater the effect.

”We are able to show that caloric restriction slows down aging by preventing an enzyme, peroxiredoxin, from being inactivated. This enzyme is also extremely important in counteracting damage to our genetic material,” says Mikael Molin of the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology.

Other studies have shown that restricting calories can delay the onset of some age-related diseases, such as cancer and type 2 diabetes, but it was unclear why. The researchers were able to identify peroxiredoxin 1, Prx1, one of the enzymes needed for the anti-aging effects of caloric restriction to work effectively.

The study showed that Prx1 is damaged as we age, but caloric restriction counteracts this by producing more of the enzyme Srx1, which repairs Prx1.

“Impaired Prx1 function leads to various types of genetic defects and cancer. Conversely, we can now speculate whether increased repair of Prx1 during ageing can counteract, or at least delay, the development of cancer,” according to the study.

The enzyme has also been linked to disorders that affect the nervous system, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. The researchers plan to study if stimulation of Prx1 could delay the onset of these diseases.

The study’s results, published in Molecular Cell journal, are promising, but be sure to consult with your doctor before making any significant changes to your diet.

While cosmetic procedures can’t slow down the internal aging process, they can help you look younger. For instance, Botox and fillers can help smooth away wrinkles that appear as we age. Schedule a consultation with your cosmetic surgeon to learn more about procedures that are right for you.

Breast augmentation patients can learn more about the procedure through participation in forums and message boards. A new study finds that these online communities also provide women with emotional support.

The study found that overall the forums are a positive experience for women. “Through electronic postings, they cared for and nursed each others’ anxiety and feelings throughout the whole process,” wrote the researchers at Oslo University Hospital.

Online forums have made it easier for patients to connect and communicate with others interested in breast augmentation. The researchers suggested that for women who are looking for information on the procedure, the Internet “is one of the most important or perhaps the most important, source of knowledge on the topic.”

The women used forums and message boards to share information and experiences on breast augmentation and to examine their reasons for choosing the procedure.

The message boards are also a place for getting support and building relationships as well. “The most profound element of the forum culture was the provision of support to other women,” the researchers wrote. “By sharing and exchanging thoughts, the women nursed each other in terms of their doubts, bitterness, pain, sadness, excitement, elation, and happiness.”

The study found the forums offered women support throughout the process. For instance, before surgery women discussed how they were making decisions with regard to implant size, profile, shape, placement and material. After surgery, discussions included their experiences with soreness, swelling, pain and postoperative self-care.

Women on the message boards also discussed relationships with their self-image and their surgeons.

The researchers located the online forum they studied using Google. Here are a few popular breast augmentation forums:

Just Breast Implants

Implant Info

Real Self

Make Me Heal

Learn more about breast augmentation in Rancho Cucamonga.

According to clinical trials, an injectable has shown promising results for double chin reduction.

The injectable drug ATX-101 reduces the amount of fat that develops under the chin (also called submental fat).

KYTHERA Biopharmaceuticals, maker of ATX-101, reported that 80% of participants in the study saw a significant reduction of fat under their chins after the first two years of the five-year trial.

“Treatment results with ATX-101 appear to be sustained and well-tolerated, which illustrates its potential as a novel, non-surgical approach to reducing submental fat,” said Kevin C. Smith, a dermatologist in Canada and an investigator in the Phase 2A and long-term follow up studies.

ATX-101 is a formulation of deoxycholate, which is a natural compound that breaks down dietary fat. The procedure is done over several sessions, during which the patient gets around 50 small injections of the treatment into the chin area. The injections work to eliminate fat under the skin’s surface.

“While these results are still preliminary, they support our expectation that ATX-101 may result in a long-term aesthetic correction,” said KYTHERA’s chief medical officer Patricia Walker, MD, PhD. “We look forward to continuing to follow these patients and to further characterizing the long-term safety and efficacy profile of ATX-101.”

Surgical Options for Double Chin Reduction

ATX-101 needs FDA approval before it becomes an option for treating double chins. There are cosmetic surgical options for patients looking to reduce their double chins.

A lower facelift or neck lift targets the chin. During a lower facelift, the skin is lifted and removed as necessary to make the transition between the chin, neck and lower face more defined.

Neck liposuction is another surgical option for reducing a double chin and restoring definition to the lower face. Submental liposuction gets rid of the sagging, fatty tissue below the chin and is a less invasive option than a facelift.