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This was published on April 2, 2010 on the Los Angeles Times online

By Shari Roan

Cosmetic procedures like Botox, facial fillers and liposuction are big money-makers for physicians. Not surprisingly, doctors other than plastic surgeons and dermatologists also offer cosmetic treatments. According to a new study, nearly 40% of doctors offering liposuction in Southern California had no specific surgical training.

The study, published in the April issue of the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, examined 1,876 cosmetic practitioners from San Diego to Los Angeles. Only 495 of them were trained in plastic surgery. Primary care physicians made up the fourth-largest group of liposuction providers following plastic surgeons, dermatologists and otolaryngologists.

There is no law to prevent doctors from offering these services, especially in a doctor’s office (doctors need to apply for privileges to perform services in hospitals). Many non-surgeons take a course or participate in some form of limited training to perform liposuction or inject fillers. But such training is not required and is often inadequate, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

Though providing Botox or facial fillers is unlikely to be dangerous, liposuction can result in serious complications, the authors state. “We feel that the provision of such a potentially hazardous treatment by physicians with no training in surgery poses a genuine threat to the safety of patients.”

Further, the authors state, aesthetic franchises have sprung up that have no association with one particular provider, making it more difficult for patients to know just who is responsible for their care.

“The practices are often named after a geographic location with a cachet of affluence,such as Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills or La Jolla. In these practices, the practitioners are employees of the owner of the clinical facility, and are pushed to produce revenue. The divorce of the practice from the name of the responsible physician has the potential to have a profound impact on the doctor-patient relationship and how patients select a provider,” the authors state.

Still, the authors say more legislation is not what’s needed, calling government meddling ”a guest who may never leave.” They suggest more effort to educate the public on who is or isn’t qualified to perform various cosmetic procedures.

I vote for whichever method — education, legislation or perhaps both — will protect consumer health and safety regardless of professional turf wars.

The numbers of women presenting to Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute complaining of sagging, droopy and deflated breasts, not to mention bulging tummys with extra fat and skin, continue to climb.  Very few of these women ask for a mommy makeover, but they all share one common goal: to restore their pre-baby body!

Mommy makeovers, or post-maternity breast and body reshaping, are individualized for every patient, but can include tummy tuck (abdominoplasty), breast augmentation, breast lift, breast lift with breast implants, breast reduction, and liposuction.  No two patients are the same, so the specifics of the mommy makeover vary from patient-to-patient.

Through the end of April, enjoy 10% off surgeon’s fees for all mommy makeover procedures.  Call 214.827.2814 to schedule a consultation today!

Many patients have asked me if they can smoke cigarettes up to the time of their cosmetic surgery.  The procedures most often in question are breast lifts with or without implants, breast reductions, tummy tucks and facelifts.  Simply put, smoking and these procedures can be recipes for disaster.  I strongly encourage smokers to quit smoking before these surgeries, as tobacco, nicotine, and carbon monoxide, all of which are within cigarettes, can impede wound healing.  In operations which involve lifting and tightening large amounts of skin, this can result in skin separation, or worse yet, skin loss.

Most board-certified plastic surgeons are selective in the procedures that they will offer to tobacco users.  Some procedures that do not require a significant amount of skin lifting, such as rhinoplasty, liposuction and breast augmentation, are thought to be somewhat safer to perform in smokers than procedures that require more skin manipulation.  For that reason, most plastic surgeons will perform these surgeries in smokers, but will still extend significant disclaimers and warnings.

Virtually everyone knows that smoking can cause pulmonary problems, heart disease and lung cancer.  For those reasons alone, I encourage all patients to quit using tobacco products.  In regards to cosmetic surgery, tobacco usage can cause significant problems with healing.  Because cosmetic surgery is elective, it only makes sense to quit tobacco usage prior to surgery to minimize this potential risk.

This is taken directly from a press release from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

New York, NY and Arlington Heights, IL – What people find beautiful about themselves may be different than what they find appealing in another person. That’s just one finding from a recent consumer survey conducted on the BeautyforLife website (a joint venture of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.) Visitors were asked “What aspect of physical beauty do you find most appealing in another person?” In their 20s, 30s, and 40s, respondents look for a fit, well proportioned body; youthful skin ranked at the top for respondents in the 50s and 60s. When considering “Which part of your body are you most concerned about?” respondents ranked their abdomen/hips number one in their 30s. But surprisingly, respondents listed the face, not their body, as the most popular choice in the 20s, 40s, 50s and 60s.

“It is always important to understand what our patients are most concerned about at different stages of their lives. We want to be equipped to help our patients make the right decisions to maintain their beauty at every age—no matter which type of cosmetic medical procedure they are interested in.” said ASAPS President Renato Saltz, MD.

Additional results were revealed when answering “Which part of your body are you most concerned about?” While respondents primarily chose their face, significantly more respondents are concerned about their abdomen/hips than their breasts (chest)—with the disparity increasing throughout the decades:

1. 30s - 37% chose abdomen/hips as their top concern while only 18% chose breasts
2. 40s - 32% selected abdomen/hips and only 10% breast
3. 50s - 25% chose abdomen/hips compared to 7% breast
4. 60s - 23% indicated concern about their abdomen/hips, while only 7% selected breast

Community members were also asked to consider “The most important reason to maintain your physical appearance.” “To boost self-confidence” was the top choice across all decades, with “To attract potential partners” a close second for the 20s. In the 30s and 40s, the second-most popular choice shifted to “To increase professional opportunities,” which remained the number two choice in the 50s, but by a much smaller percentage. In the 60s, increasing professional opportunities fell to third behind “To help make friends.”

“The survey on the BeautyforLife website has provided interesting data about patients’ attitudes, motivation and perception. Our goal is to provide useful tools for prospective patients to help them first decide if a cosmetic medicine procedure is right for them and then to provide information on how to choose an appropriate provider,” said Dr. Richard D’Amico, past president of ASPS.

Another question asked members to contemplate “The most important factor in maintaining beauty.” While adherence to a healthy diet, regular exercise and skin care were popular choices, approximately one in five members felt that a cosmetic medical procedure was most important in the 50s and 60s.

This survey was conducted by The American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, via their Beauty for Life program—a series of patient education tools.

About ASPS
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons is the largest organization of board-certified plastic surgeons in the world. Representing more than 6,700 physician members, the Society is recognized as a leading authority and information source on cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery. ASPS comprises more than 94 percent of all board-certified plastic surgeons in the United States. Founded in 1931, the Society represents physicians certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery or The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. For more information, please visit the ASPS website at www.plasticsurgery.org.

This is a news release directly from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

New York, NY (July 16, 2009) – Have you seen the commercial for in-office procedures that will make your face wrinkle-free or sculpt your stomach, with no downtime and no scars?  Lifestyle Lift, Lunchtime Lift, Thread-Tox, and Smart-Lipo, are just a few of the brand-name surgical procedures being marketed to the public as a cosmetic quick fix with a clever name.Brand name surgical procedures generally fit under two categories; first, those that are legitimately assigned the name of the person that has popularized the technique, for example Saldanha’s lipoabdominoplasty or Furnas’conchal setback technique, (either through the efforts of that same person or others assigning his or her name to it) and second, those that are simply created by someone to market a the procedure to the public.  The first situation is usually a very legitimate situation and is often in the scientific literature, but not in the public domain.  However, the second situation has become very popular for cosmetic surgery procedures.  But are highly marketed procedures really the right choice when deciding on aesthetic surgery?

“In the wrong clinical setting, the results may not come close to the promises made in the advertising,” says J. Peter Rubin, MD, a plastic surgeon in Pittsburgh, PA.  “What is really indispensible for the best results, however, is not a specific procedure but the judgment of a board certified plastic surgeon who can match the right patient with the best procedure for them.”

“These named procedures are used by the marketing entity to popularize the technique so that patients ask for it whether it fits their situation or not.  This is a problem that can be very dangerous,” said Dr. Al Aly, a plastic surgeon from Iowa, and a member of the Aesthetic Society’s Body Contouring Committee.  “A procedure is only as good as the hands that perform it.”

“Patient safety and efficacy need to be the top priorities, not commerce or marketing,” says Robert Singer, MD a plastic surgeon from La Jolla, CA and a past-president of ASAPS.  If you decide a procedure is right for you, make sure you have done your homework, that the procedure has been fully explained, you know exactly who will be performing your procedure and that they are qualified to perform the exact procedure you are undergoing, and that you have thoroughly read and signed informed consent documents.

Facial surgery and body sculpting procedures are often marketed to the public with brand names.   “One does not have to be a plastic surgeon to know intuitively that one facelift technique will not be appropriate for all individuals undergoing a facelift,” says Sherrell Aston, MD, past-president of the ASAPS and member of the Society’s Facial Surgery Committee.  “The human anatomy and the aging process vary significantly from person to person. The so-called minimally invasive surgical procedures have gained popularity in all surgical specialties. For many procedures the work that is performed through the small incisions is rather extensive, and requires significant expertise on the part of the surgeon. A short incision facelift can give an excellent result, when properly performed for the appropriate patient.”

“The issue of untrained or inadequately trained practitioners, some of whom are not medical doctors, performing cosmetic plastic surgery is an extremely serious patient safety concern,” says Salt Lake City, UT plastic surgeon and president of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), Renato Saltz, MD. “For ultimate patient safety it is essential that the media and the general public be better educated about what constitutes appropriate training to perform operations such as facelifts, rhinoplasty, liposuction, abdominoplasty, breast surgery and cosmetic eyelid surgery.”   The demanding residency program that all plastic surgeons must complete before they can be considered for certification by the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS) ensures that they not only acquire general surgical knowledge and experience but, additionally, that they master the principles, ethics and practice of plastic surgery.

Source: The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

http://www.surgery.org/press/news-release.php?iid=531

Having a child usually is the one of the most magical and emotionally-fulfilling experiences of a woman’s life.  Unfortunately, the physical toll that pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding can have on a woman’s body often is devastating. Even with proper diet and exercise, it usually is nearly impossible to restore a youthful, pre-pregnancy body.

Women come in with a litany of complaints, including loosening and bulging of the abdominal wall muscles, stretching and loosening of the skin of the breasts, thighs, and abdomen, and extra fat of the belly, back and thighs.  For those women out there who want a firmer, tighter body, even after childbirth, there is the Mommy Makeover. This cosmetic procedure is individualized for each patient.  One patient may need a breast lift and a tummy tuck; another may opt for liposuction and breast augmentation.  No two patients are the same, so the mommy makeover combines the best of several popular procedures to restore a youthful, pre-pregnancy body.

Through the end of October 2009, we are offering 10% of all surgeon’s fees on breast and body contouring surgery.  Call today (214-827-2814) to schedule a consultation!