The Centre, P.C. - Plastic Surgery Blog

What are the real trends in cosmetic surgery? - Friday, March 28, 2008

A second set of cosmetic surgery statistics has been released. Like the previous ones, released by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, these ones, released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons are not actual values of the number of procedures, but, rather, estimates based on extrapolations from surveys issued to a few cosmetic surgeons. According to these new figures, the top five surgical procedures practiced in 2007 were:

• Breast Augmentation (347,524; up 6 % from 2006)
• Liposuction (301,882; down 0.3 %)
• Rhinoplasty (284,960; down 7 %)
• Blepharoplasty (240,660; up 3 %)
• Abdominoplasty (148,410; up 1 %)

And the top 5 nonsurgical cosmetic procedures practiced were:

• Botox (4,625,192; up 13 %)
• Hyaluronic Acid-based Fillers (1,050,722; up 35 %)
• Chemical Peel (1,024,788; down 4 %)
• Laser Hair Removal (905,940; up 2 %)
• Microdermabrasion (896,505; up 10 %)

Although the two sets of statistics agree that about 11.7-11.8 million procedures were practiced last year, a growth of about 7-8 %, the main disparities come between the top two procedures of both the surgical and nonsurgical lists. The biggest disparity, of course, is between their Botox numbers, where the ASAPS actually lists Botox procedures as decreasing, whereas the ASPS shows them increasing. Both statistical sets list their error as being 3.5 % with a 95 % level of confidence, but the disparity in numbers between the Botox figures is nearly 40 % of the ASPS figure (the higher of the two). Similarly, the disparity between the liposuction figures is over 30 % of the ASAPS figure. Perhaps new tracking methods are needed to better understand the trends in the industry.

What does this mean for you? People tend to recommend and repeat procedures that give good results, so a procedure of increasing popularity often owes its growth to its benefits. With confusion in the statistics, it makes it all the more imperative that you listen to the recommendation of your cosmetic surgeon in deciding on what procedure might give you the best results for your cosmetic goals. To set up your initial consultation, contact the Centre, P.C. today.

Big Belly Linked to Dementia Risk - Thursday, March 27, 2008

Here's another reason for considering liposuction: recent studies have linked abdominal fat with increased risk of dementia later in life. People who have increased belly fat during their forties, even if they are not overweight, are at an increased risk of suffering dementia during their 70s and 80s.

According to the study, conducted by correlating increased sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD) with the rate of dementia experienced by 6,583 members of Kaiser Permanente of Northern California. According to the data, people with the highest SAD had almost three times the risk of dementia. When comparing people with a similar body mass index (BMI), people with normal body weight were 89 % more likely to suffer dementia if they had a high SAD, while overweight people were twice as likely and obese people were three times as likely to suffer dementia if they had a high SAD. Unlike risks of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, also associated with high SAD, there is no proposed mechanism to link SAD with dementia, but there are a number of possibilities. One is that they are linked by a common genetic trait, but another is that increased SAD can relate to body image and behavioral variables that can lead to diminished mental health. If this latter scenario is the case, liposuction or a tummy tuck may help diminish the risk, especially when combined with changes in exercise and diet for long-term improvement of body contours.

If you would like to remake your body and your body image, contact the Centre, P.C. in Elkhart, Indiana, for an initial consultation.

What to Do When a Loved One Wants Plastic Surgery - Friday, March 21, 2008

What do you do when someone you love starts talking about getting plastic surgery, but you don't think it's a good idea? Dr. Joyce Brothers, nationally syndicated columnist received this question from a mother whose daughter was considering breast enhancement and nose surgery (rhinoplasty). Dr. Brothers' advice was good, so I'll repeat it here, and add a few points. Dr. Brothers' response was that the mother should make sure the daughter knew the risks of the procedure. Then, if the daughter's mind is made up, the mother should help her daughter "find a plastic surgeon who will make the surgery and recovery process as safe as possible." The mother was encouraged to find out the reasons for wanting the surgery and make sure they were appropriate. Finally, Dr. Brothers recommends that the mother "should be encouraging and support her in this decision."

All this is good advice, but to it I would add that it is often very difficult for others to understand why a person who looks attractive to us might want to undergo plastic surgery. The truth of the matter is that nothing is more intimate than a person's relationship to his or her own body, and we may never understand the reasons why someone feels the need for a particular operation. If you care for someone, the best you can do is help them make the best decision possible and minimize risks.

To learn more about selecting a cosmetic surgeon and how you can minimize the risks of plastic surgery, contact the Centre, P.C. to set up a consultation.

Skin Care for the Decolletage - Thursday, March 20, 2008

After her face, a woman's decolletage, her upper chest area, is the most exposed part of her body, leading to sun and exposure damage. To keep the skin healthy, it is best to utilize appropriate skin care depending on your concerns.

Prevention

To protect your decolletage from sun damage, it is best to use sunscreen whenever you are spending time in the sun. In addition, consider an advanced form of cosmetics, such as Jane Iredale Mineral Makeup. This line of silky-feeling powders is not only non-comedogenic and will not block pores, but provides sun protection. They are water-resistant and will not crease or smear during exercise. Also, a number of products in the Centre Yourself Cosmeceutical line nourish the living layer of your skin, the epidermis, to prevent age spots, fine wrinkles, and the loss of skin elasticity.

Peels

Skin peels can provide significant correction of age spots, fine wrinkles, and crepey skin by promoting the exfoliation of dead skin and exposing the deeper layers of the epidermis, where the skin has not yet suffered from exposure. It will correct age spots and freckles, and your skin will become firmer, clearer, smoother, and healthier.

Laser Treatment

Laser treatment is one of the best remedies for age spots because the darker cells in your skin absorb more light radiation than the lighter ones, making them more likely to be destroyed. This leaves your skin more evenly colored. Laser therapy is so effective that it can also be used for the removal of pigmented lesions and tattoos as well. In addition, laser treatments stimulate collagen production, reducing some of the vertical wrinkles that can begin to show in your decolletage as you age.

To learn more about skin treatment and how it can help you look your best as you begin to age, please contact the Centre, P.C. today for a consultation.

Floppy Eyelid Syndrome - Friday, March 14, 2008

Floppy Eyelid Syndrome (FES) is characterized by an excess of rubbery eyelid tissue of the upper eye. The upper lid hangs down over the eye, and, in severe cases, can turn inside out during sleep, causing your eye to rub against pillows, sheets or blankets. No one is exactly sure what causes FES, but some theories include injuries to the eyelid and low oxygen tension during sleep.

If you have FES, eyelid surgery can treat it, but you should also be aware that as many as 90 % of people with FES also have what is known as Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), a condition in which your breathing stops during sleep, forcing you to awaken to recatch your breath. This occurs for ten-second intervals at least five times an hour. If you have not been previously diagnosed with OSA, you should probably also seek diagnosis and treatment for that condition simultaneously with your eyelid surgery.

To learn more about FES and how it can be treated, contact the plastic surgery staff at the Centre, P.C. today to set up an initial consultation.

Breast Implant Surfaces: Smooth, Textured, and "Furry"? - Thursday, March 13, 2008

The Australian equivalent of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), known as the Therapeutic Goods Administration, has approved a new variety of breast implant. They're being called "super-furry Brazilians" by Australian cosmetic surgeons because they look and feel furry. The implants are coated in a layer of polyurethane foam, and have been in use in Brazil since the 1960s and in Europe for many years. The implants have been shown to significantly reduce the risk of capsular contracture, which affects as many as 25 % of women who have breast augmentation surgery, according to manufacturer statistics. In capsular contracture, the pocket of scar tissue, or capsule, surrounding the breast implant suddenly shrinks, squeezing the implant and making the breasts rock-hard and very painful. The foam reduces the risk of contracture by realigning the collagen of the capsule from an end-to-end arrangement to a circular pattern, making it more difficult for the fibers to slide over one another and begin contraction.

It is unknown when, or if, the new implants will be approved for use in the United States, but, in the meantime, there are many ways to reduce your risk of capsular contracture, which you can discuss during your initial consultation.

Focus on Liposuction - Friday, March 07, 2008

According to the statistics released by the American Society of Plastic Surgery, the number of liposuction procedures jumped up by more than 50% last year, making liposuction the most commonly performed cosmetic surgery in 2007. Why would this be the case? It seems likely there are a number of good reasons why liposuction would be increasingly popular.

• The "obesity epidemic" in the United States. Although liposuction is not recommended for obese patients, the so-called obesity epidemic is not caused primarily by the preponderance of morbidly obese persons, but more by the majority of the population carrying a few extra pounds and pushing the average weight of the population up.
• Media attention given to the "epidemic." The increasing waistline of the average American was one of the big news stories of the year, making an appearance in most major news outlets at least once a month, often with week-long features tied in with numerous segments on dieting and exercise, leading to an increase in self-consciousness by overweight persons. Those who found that dieting and exercise often led to weight reduction without satisfactory improvement of their figures, would turn to liposuction as a way to correct body contouring issues.
• The increase in male cosmetic surgery. Unlike breast augmentation, as a procedure that is practiced on men proportionally as often as women, liposuction can be expected to increase in popularity as men seek cosmetic surgery more often.
• Safe and effective, the results of liposuction are long-lasting. Because the distribution of fat cells in the body is set at puberty, the removal of fat cells from one area or another has the potential to permanently alter the distribution of fat in the body. This does not mean that people cannot get fat following liposuction, but it does mean that people see long-lasting results that can be permanent so long as they maintain their weights.

In the end, liposuction is so popular mostly because of the last reason. Liposuction is a very effective body contouring procedure, one that can provide virtually permanent correction of stubborn fat deposits.

To learn more about what liposuction can do for you, please contact The Centre, P.C, today to set up an initial consultation.

Cosmetic Surgery Statistics for 2007 - Thursday, March 06, 2008

The new statistics are out, and, as experts predicted, the cosmetic surgery market remains strong despite economic hard times. The figures show that the number of procedures for women in 2007 increased by one percent over those done in 2006, while those for men increased by 17 %. The increase in procedures for men was attributed to the loss of stigma, although men still comprise less than ten percent of the total patients.

The top five surgical procedures were:

• Liposuction (456,828)
• Breast augmentation (399,440)
• Eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty) (240,763)
• Abdominoplasty (185,335)
• Breast Reduction (153,087)

While the top five nonsurgical procedures were:

• Botox injections (2,775,176)
• Hyaluronic acid fillers (1,448,716)
• Laser hair removal (1,412,657)
• Microdermabrasion (829,658)
• Intense Pulsed Light treatment (647,707)

To learn more about these treatment options, contact the Centre, P.C. to schedule your initial consultation today.