Popular Summertime Cosmetic Surgery Procedures

During the summer, when people plan their beach outings, many women worry about what swimsuit to wear to hide their not so perfect bodies. Others, after struggling through summers of camouflage and wishing for better bodies, consider liposuction and breast augmentation, two of the most popular summer time cosmetic surgery procedures. Many patients are mothers who, after giving birth, never have been able to get back to their pre-pregnancy bodies. Liposuction results in a flatter abdomen and slimmer waist line while breast augmentation restores the volume that is sometimes lost as a result of pregnancy and lactation.

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Are you a Good Candidate for Liposuction?

To be a good candidate for liposuction, you should be in good physical health, near your ideal body weight (only 10 or 20 pounds overweight) and have good skin elasticity. You should exercise regularly and eat healthy well-balanced meals. You may have an area on your body that exercise and dieting has been unable to reduce. Such a localized fatty deposit is perfect for liposuction. Liposuction is not a cure for obesity. There is a limit of fat tissue that can be removed safely from the human body.

You should also be psychologically stable, and realistic in your expectations. You may think having liposuction will make you look like your ideal or give you a perfect body. You may think that people will treat you differently or that you will be a happier person after your liposuction. These are unrealistic expectations. Good results will help you increase your self-confidence but you won't necessarily get your ideal body.


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Liposuction vs. Abdominoplasty

Many men and women struggle with unwanted fat. At times, even after months of diet and exercise, it is difficult to eliminate fat specially in problem areas such as the hips, thighs, stomach, and neck. For the abdomen and waist areas, options to remove fat include liposuction and abdominoplasty (also known as the tummy tuck). Which procedure is best?

Depending on the amount of excess fat to be removed, I would consider abdominal liposuction as the preferred initial procedure. It is an excellent method of spot reduction which involves removing fat tissue by a suctioning technique (with a special machine), and contouring the body area to obtain the desired shape. Liposuction takes a few hours and the patient is able to walk around immediately after the procedure. It may be done as an outpatient procedure, minimizing costs.

Abdominal skin contracts remarkably after liposuction. If there is loose skin still remaining after 6 months, this can be easily removed as an outpatient surgery procedure under local anesthesia only.

Abdominal liposuction entails less risk than a tummy-tuck. The surgical removal of excess skin and fat in the tummy tuck operation involves a wide curvilinear incision from the left side to the right side, mobilization of the skin from the pubic region up to the ribs, and placing of drains. It is an in-patient hospital procedure which takes from 2 to 6 hours under general anesthesia. The patient stays in the hospital from 5 to 7 days.

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Breast Augmentation for Asians

Breast augmentation is very popular among Asians and many of my patients are Filipinas whose partners are Caucasians. Since Asian women are generally small framed and small breasted when compared to Caucasian women, relatively smaller breast implants may be recommended. If the implants are too large, they may not look natural and in proportion to the particular patient's body. In my initial consultation with patients, I discuss the various options that are available to the patient, including the look the patient hopes to achieve. In good cosmetic surgery, the goal is to enhance, with a result that is as natural as possible and not glaringly noticeable.

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Breast Augmentation
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Breast Augmentation: Is the Size Right?

When breast augmentation gained popularity in the 80's and 90's, many women wanted oversized implants, “the bigger the better”. With these oversized implants popularized by media, the public’s perception was that ideal breasts were supposed to look large, taut and high.

Today, breast augmentation is more popular than ever. But unlike in the earlier years, patients are going back to a more natural look, with the aesthetic ideal for the female breast looking more natural in shape, soft, supple, and in proportion to the rest of a woman’s figure.

Many breast augmentation patients are women in their 30’s and 40’s (especially moms). Many mothers lose volume in their breasts after pregnancy and breastfeeding. Breast augmentation restores a natural, more youthful breast contour. Even women who have not had children are choosing smaller implants for a more realistic look.

Patients considering breast augmentation should consider the advantage that smaller implants are much more likely to be soft, supple and even undetectable (by touching). With very large breast implants, this is not the case.

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The New Cohesive Gel Implants

Cohesive gel implants are silicone gel implants. But unlike their predecessors, the filler in cohesive gel implants has a higher amount of "crosslinker," resulting in a firmer, gummy-bear consistency that does not wrinkle or deflate like saline, nor leak as easily as the more fluid filler of earlier-generation silicone implants.

Dr. Mark Solomon, a plastic surgeon and a spokesman for the American Society of Plastic Surgeons described it by saying that even if you cut through it, the gel does not leak out.

The cohesive gel implant has a more stable shape, and works well when implanted above the pectoral muscle. This eases post-operative pain. However, because of the firmer shape, it is necessary to make a larger incision to insert the implant, which is most often made under the crease of the breast. Cohesive gel implants are not recommended for those seeking especially large implants.

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Rhinoplasty: the most frequently performed surgical procedure among teenagers

According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), nose reshaping (rhinoplasty), the most frequently performed surgical procedure among teenagers in 2003. It can be performed when the nose has completed 90 percent of its growth, which can occur as early as age 14 or 15 years old for girls and a little later for boys. It is best to have rhinoplasty after they have completed their growth spurt.

Most experts agree that for appropriately selected teenage patients, cosmetic plastic surgery can have a positive impact on physical and emotional development. Having the surgery should be something the teens want for themselves and not something other people want for them. Their social and emotional adjustment is also important to consider.

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The Art of Augmentation Rhinoplasty

Previously, I wrote about the technical expertise required for augmentation rhinoplasty. However, not only does the plastic surgeon need to be an expert on the "science" of this operation, he must also be an artist. There is so much artistry involved in the planning and execution of this operation. The best plastic surgeons carve an implant especially for each patient in the right size and shape to create a new nose that will look natural. Your surgeon must have a fine aesthetic sense such that the surgical results of your nose operation will appear natural and unnoticeable. The new nose should look like it "fits" together with the rest of your features.

With this need for surgical skills, aesthetic judgement, sense of beauty, and an ability to visualize the end result, untrained doctors find out that augmentation rhinoplasty isn't so easy after all.

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Augmentation Rhinoplasty

As I mentioned before, one of the most popular cosmetic surgery procedures is augmentation rhinoplasty (commonly called nose lifts). This is specially true for Asians. Many Filipinos, especially those who reside in countries like the United States, the U.K., and countries in Europe, where nose bridges are commonly very high, get a boost of self-confidence and feel more attractive when they have their noses surgically enhanced. Indeed, since the nose occupies the prominent central area of the face, it determines to a major extent whether the face is considered attractive or not, and a higher nose bridge makes a big difference in the overall balance and appearance of the face.

A big difference, yes, but unfortunately, not always a positive difference. Augmentation rhinoplasty is a deceptively simple operation. Thus, many doctors who have not had special training in plastic surgery think they can easily do it well. After all, what could be so difficult about placing an implant to increase the bridge of the nose?

As any well trained and experienced plastic surgeon can explain, rhinoplasty is one of the most delicate plastic surgery operations. Everyone has a different nose and the plastic surgeon should evaluate the structure of your nasal bones and cartilage, the shape of your face, your skin, and your age since these factors influence his decisions about what techniques to use for the surgery to get the desired result.

Although rhinoplasty usually takes only an hour or two, this operation is difficult to learn and difficult to perform well. A skillful surgeon knows where to make incisions so that they will be practically invisible after healing. With proper technique, scar tissue doesn't interfere with achieving the desired results. A skillful surgeon also knows where to make incisions to minimize the amount of bleeding during the operation. The surgeon can have better results when there is less bleeding because he can clearly see what needs to be done. An experienced surgeon also knows how to minimize intra-operative swelling. Swelling can make it hard for the surgeon to see what the nose's final shape will be and what needs to be done during surgery.

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Authentic Plastic Surgeons

Mere anatomical and physiological familiarity with a general body region does not automatically give a doctor the license to practice plastic surgery in that area. The principles of plastic surgery are special and the conceptual application of these principles requires indoctrination from years of training and experience. Once indoctrinated, the plastic surgeon can apply these concepts in any area of the body if he has had basic training in general surgery and plastic and reconstructive surgery.

During his surgical training , the surgeon must seek training in as many areas of surgical endeavor as possible. Only when equipped with the knowledge of general principles common to all fields of surgery can the surgeon be admitted to specialized training in plastic surgery. Authentic plastic surgeons have at least five to six years of approved surgical training, including a two to three year residency in plastic surgery.

No surgeon should call himself a plastic surgeon unless he can do both cosmetic and reconstructive surgery.

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Who can perform cosmetic surgery?

Any licensed physician can legally perform cosmetic surgery, even if his or her training is in a non-surgical specialty. Would you want your plastic surgery performed by someone who has never had any formal surgical training? It can easily happen. That is why it is important for prospective cosmetic surgery patients to check on the credentials of any physician with whom they plan a consultation.

There are many physicians today practicing plastic surgery who have received their formal training in another specialty. These doctors may call themselves plastic surgeons or cosmetic surgeons but they may not be trained in plastic surgery. Many physicians who call themselves "facial plastic surgeons" are trained in otorhinolaryngology, a surgical specialty of the head and neck.

Physicians who call themselves " cosmetic surgeons" could be trained in any specialty, including a non-surgical specialty, or even be just plain general medical practitioners. Similarly, any doctor can call himself or herself a "plastic surgeon", regardless of training.

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Beauty and The Waist to Hip Ratio

According to The Evolution of Human Sociality by Stephen K. Sanderson, studies have shown that males prefer women with low Waist to Hip Ratios "in at least seven different cultures or ethnic populations," including the United States, England, Germany, India, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Guinea-Bissau. A WHR of 0.70 has been shown to be the predominant preferrence . Accoding to him, "Girls with lower WHRs show earlier pubertal endocrine activity, and married women with higher WHRs have more difficulty getting pregnant and give birth to their first child at a later age." In this case, it seems that beauty is once again related to fertility.

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Beauty and Fertility

Various studies have showed that the symmetry of a man's body relates to when he begins his sex life (earlier if his body is symmetrical) and how many partners he'll have (more if symmetrical). According to this study, symmetry could also mean more fertility.

One study showed some relationship between the number of children that a woman had, and the symmetry of her breasts. According to this study, the women with more evenly-sized breasts had more children, while the women with differently-sized breasts had fewer children.

It is interesting how symmetry can make any difference to one's fertility, fitness or attractiveness. Perhaps, like animals, symmetry in humans could also be a measure of general fitness, a strong immune system, robust genes, vigour and fertility.

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Beauty and Symmetry

A number of biologists and psychologists who have tried to define what exactly beauty is have found evidence that beauty seems to be related to symmetry, fitness and fertility.

Biologists studying the animal kingdom have discovered that animals that are more symmetrical are more likely to attract a mate. Scientists say that the preference for symmetry is a trait seen in many different animals such as swallows and zebra finches. In a study of horses, it was observed that horses that are more symmetrical run faster than those that are less symmetrical even if the differences measured were minimal. In this case. it seems symmetry is related to fitness and may be a good indicator of general health and strength.

In humans, it seems that symmetry is also a major factor in the average person's perception of what beauty is. Persons with symmetric facial features are more likely to be thought of as beautiful.

In a study done in the University of Louisville, when shown pictures of different individuals, Asians, Latinos, and whites from 13 different countries all had the same general preferences when rating others as attractive. The most symmetric faces were rated as the most attractive.

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Beauty and the Golden ratio

In ancient Greece, Helen of Troy, was the paragon of beauty, celebrated for her physical perfection. Philosophers tried to answer the question of what made Helen and other women beautiful. Plato wrote of so-called "golden proportions," in which, among other things, the width of an ideal face would be two-thirds its length, while a nose would be no longer than the distance between the eyes.

Although some research has pointed out that the golden ratio plays a part in what we perceive as beauty, researchers in modern psychological and biological research now believe symmetry is the answer the Greeks were looking for.


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Beauty, babies and symmetry

In an experiment with babies, when given a choice of looking at pictures of symmetric individuals and asymmetric ones, the babies preferred staring at the symmetrical faces. In another study, when several faces were averaged to create a composite picture, the composite (which was symmetrical) was judged more attractive by the panel of judges.

Another study, done by Victor Johnston of New Mexico State University, utilizes a program called FacePrints. Viewers are shown facial images of variable attractiveness and are asked to rate the pictures on a beauty scale from one to nine. Then the pictures with the best ratings are merged together, while the less attractive photos are taken out. Each trial ends when a viewer rates the composite a 10. All the perfect 10s in the study were super-symmetric.

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More Research findings: Beauty and Babies

There is evidence that our preference for beauty may be biologically ingrained. In an experiment done by Alan Slater, a developmental psychologist at the University of Exeter in south-west England, almost 100 newborn babies, an average of 2.5 days old, were shown photographs of pairs of faces which were matched in everything except attractiveness. The infants chose to stare at the face the psychologists judged as the attractive face rather than the unattractive one.

The research showed that while it has been suggested that humans determine their concept of attractiveness based on the "average" of all the faces they see, and that features that are most close to the human average in size and shape are the most attractive, it is interesting that the newborn infants, with their very limited exposure to various human features still chose to look at the more attractive of two faces.

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Study Proves People Who Have Plastic Surgery Make Better First Impressions

Many studies have shown that first impressions are greatly influenced by facial appearance but this interesting report published in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery is the first of its kind to scientifically validate that patients who underwent facial cosmetic surgery created a better first impression after they had the surgery.

Randomly selected observers were asked independently to view and grade before and after photos of patients who underwent facial cosmetic surgery. They did not know the pre- or postoperative status of the photo. The questions posed to the reviewers were based on first-impression studies used in the past.

Findings indicate that after facial cosmetic surgery, patients were graded as 31% more attractive, 27% better in social skills, 22% % more successful in dating, 19% better in athletic skills, 15% better in relationship skills, and 13% more financially successful.

Dr. Steven H. Dayan, the principle investigator of the study, explained, "There appears to be innate characteristics in all of us that attract us to definable standards of beauty. I am often told by my patients that following their cosmetic surgery procedure they have achieved a new job, an improved romantic relationship or greater personal success. I had always felt that it was secondary to a greater self confidence which had projected through, but I now have to consider that maybe there is more to it."

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Ways to Enhance Appearance

Although most would agree that physical beauty is not all there is, it seems unfair that it is given such heavy weight as shown by researches done about beauty. There are many ways to improve a person's appearance. Most important, I think would be to be in the best health as possible through regular exercise and proper diet. The benefits of these basics are numerous, clearer skin and better body shape, etc. It is certainly not necessary to follow the excessive thinness of many models in the fashion and beauty magazines but to have a healthy, well exercised body greatly enhances appearance. Of course there are also instances when no matter how hard people exercise, there is still stubborn fat that doesn't respond to exercise. Liposuction is an excellent option for patients like this.

Make-up and flattering hairstyles, colors and styles of clothing are also helpful ways to enhance appearance but there are also some enhancements that are possible only through plastic surgery.

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Beauty Research

Here are some interesting examples of findings in research studies made about beauty:

Attractive children are more popular. In general, their teachers give them higher grades and have higher expectations of them (resulting in improved performance in school).

Applicants looking for jobs have a better chance of getting one if they are attractive. They also have a better chance of receiving higher salaries. One study found that attractive men make about 12% to 15% more a year than unattractive ones. In another study, military cadets whose faces matched the "manly" ideal of strong jaws, bright eyes and sharply defined features tended to advance faster in their careers than men who fell short of the ideal.

Attractive people are often looked upon with favor because of the 'what is beautiful is good' stereotype - a common belief that physically attractive people have positive characteristics such as intelligence, competence, and moral virtue.

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