|
New 3D Imaging Technology Previews Plastic Surgery Results
Thursday, April 19th, 2012
See what you’ll look like after the surgery, before you have it.
When you sit down with your doctor for your consultation, he or she can tell you what you can realistically expect from a procedure, or even show you before-and-after photos of people who have undergone the same procedure. What they can’t do is show you images of what you will look like after the procedure, with photo-real accuracy, right?
Wrong.
WABC-TV in New York reports that new 3D imaging technology called the Vectra 3D camera is being used by plastic surgeons around the country to scan their patients features onto a computer screen, and show them in three dimensions what they very likely would look life after undergoing their desired procedure.
The Vectra works by scanning the patient with a special camera that renders a likeness of them in a computer program. The image can be manipulated to be seen from multiple angles. Then, the doctor can adjust the image based on various factors, and comes up with a photo-realistic after image showing what effect the surgery will have.
This is great news for doctors and patients alike. Patients who are concerned with how they will look after surgery will get to see the results before they commit, and doctors have a new tool to better inform their patients.
“People come in and they’re really afraid. They say I don’t want to look like ‘blank.’ And they’re really afraid of having too much,” says Dr. Paul Loverme, a plastic surgeon and Vectra user.
Currently, about 150 practices use the Vectra across the country.
Tags: before and after, new technology, News, Plastic Surgery
Posted in In The News, New Technology | Comments Off
The Silicone Breast Implant Turns 50
Wednesday, April 4th, 2012
The procedure that started it all, performed in 1962
This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the day Timmie Jean Lindsey, a mother-of-six from Houston, Texas, became the first recipient of the silicone breast implant.
It may be hard to fathom now, with breast augmentation being the second-most popular form of plastic surgery in the United States and abroad (after liposuction), but it all started with a single patient. And she was only there for a tattoo removal.
While at the hospital to get a tattoo removed from her breast, her doctors, Frank Gerow and Thomas Cronin, offered her the chance to volunteer for a new procedure they had invented to enhance her bust size. After haggling a bit and getting a free ear lift out of the deal, she agreed.
Two hours later, history was made.
Cronin and Gerow initially conceived of the silicone breast implant to help women who had undergone mastectomies, but they had no idea that they had just stumbled onto a plastic surgery revolution.
“Sure it was a little bit exciting, but if I’d had a mirror to the future I’d have been dumbstruck,” said Thomas Biggs, who worked with Gerow and Cronin as a junior resident in 1962.
When Cronin presented his implant to the International Society of Plastic Surgeons in 1963, his discovery was met with much ardor. “The plastic surgery world was absolutely set on fire with enthusiasm,” says Biggs.
There had been many attempts, non-surgical and surgical, to enhance busts in the past, but the silicone implant appeared to be the first viable solution, with minimal side effects. Fifty years later, updated technology has made the implant even safer.
Timmie Jean, now 80, still has those historical implants inside her body. While time and gravity have taken their effect on her body like it would any aging woman, she’s proud to have a piece of history inside her.
“It’s kind of awesome to know that I was first,” she says.
Tags: breast implants, silicone implants
Posted in Breast Augmentation, Breast Implants, In The News | Comments Off
Celebrity News – Miss Piggy Abused Botox
Thursday, March 29th, 2012
How not to follow in the felt diva’s footsteps
In a recent appearance on Anderson Cooper’s talk show, famed Muppets starlet Miss Piggy spoke with Dr. Sanjay Gupta about her crippling Botox addiction.
“I’m 99% Botox,” Miss Piggy revealed to a stunned audience, “but that may be underestimating it.” Miss Piggy went on to disclose she is incapable of expressing herself facially, her expressions frozen as they are forever.
While Miss Piggy clearly went far more overboard than any non-felt patient is likely to, Dr. Gupta warned the audience about the risks of Botox abuse.
“If you use too much of it you can actually make your eyelids droop, you can cause headaches, you can cause other problems,” said Dr. Gupta. However, these affects are temporary (In humans. The same can’t be said for Muppets).
However, Botox isn’t all about side effects and risks. Botox is considered to be a safe, temporary treatment for frown lines, skin bands, crows feet and other skin imperfections. It’s a minimally invasive procedure, and may be more desirable than a full surgical facelift for those whose wrinkles are less severe.
Botox, or Botulinum Toxin, can be used by a trained professional to target any of the 43 muscles in your face, treating only the desired areas, while leaving your natural facial expressions intact. No anesthetic is needed, and there’s no recovery time needed. If you think Botox might be right for you, consult a certified plastic surgeon.
Tags: botox, botox cosmetic, botulism, Miss Piggy, Sanjay Gupta
Posted in Botox, In The News | Comments Off
New Silicone Breast Implant Competitor
Friday, March 23rd, 2012
More choices available to patients and physicians
If you’re in the market for breast augmentation surgery, then good news! The FDA has just approved the California company Sientra to offer a range of silicone gel implants on the market.
Last year, breast augmentation was the most in-demand form of plastic surgery for women, clocking in at 300,000 procedures in 2011. It used to be that if you wanted to shop around for the silicone implant that was right for you, you really only had two companies to choose from – Mentor or Allergan. Now that Sientra has entered the race, it can mean only good things for patients and physicians.
Primarily, a third competitor means more options for the patient. More options means more diversity. Not all implants are the same, and not every implant will be the right fit for every person. Sientra’s implants could be the best fit for women who aren’t as compatible with Mentor’s or Allergan’s, and that could mean more women may consider undergoing the procedure who may not have before.
Furthermore, this will give physicians more choice in the implants they recommend to their patients. While a patient can and should do their homework on what sort of implant is best for them, the doctor ultimately hold a lot of sway in the decision. Their evaluation will influence which implant they recommend. With another competitor, doctors can now recommend implants that better suit their patients needs, based on the individual characteristics of each company’s implants.
Lastly, this could save you, the patient, money. Allergan and Mentor no longer have a duopoly in the market, and implant prices may lower to compete with a new competitor.
Between more diversity for you, more options for your surgeon, and all possibly for a little less coin, rejoice! New competition can really change the landscape of breast augmentation for the better.
Tags: new competitor, silicone implants
Posted in In The News | Comments Off
Figures Looking Good for Plastic Surgery – 13.8 Million Procedures in 2011
Thursday, February 23rd, 2012
13.8 Million Procedures in 2011
The economy is on a slow-but-steady rise, and consumer confidence starting to return. As a result, cosmetic procedures have enjoyed their second year of growth in a row.
According to a report issued by the American Plastic Surgery Society, surgeons across the country performed 13.8 million procedures in 2011. This is a 5 percent increase from 2010, which itself was a year of growth.
“Consumer confidence was up, auto sales rose 10 percent, so it is not surprising that we would also see increased demand for plastic surgery procedures,” said ASPS President Malcolm Z. Roth.
The report by the ASPS breaks down the numbers further, providing insight into prevalent trends in the industry.
“We are seeing notable increases in surgical procedures, such as facelifts, that reflect the demands of an aging boomer population,” said Dr. Roth. Chin augmentation, a popular procedure among men, nearly doubled, and lip augmentations went up by nearly 50 percent. However, the real action is in minimally-invasive procedures, such as laser hair removals (up 15 percent) and microdermabrasion (up 9 percent), with the number of procedures in the millions.
While consumer confidence goes a long way, Dr. Roth credits a lot of hard work from the industry in part for the promising trend.
“While insurance coverage for breast reconstruction is mandated by law, continued strides to provide coverage for other reconstructive procedures has contributed, in part, to the sizable gain that we are seeing with these procedures.”
For more information, read this year’s study, as well as the 2010 and 2009 studies.
Tags: plastic surgery statistic 2011
Posted in In The News, Plastic Surgery | Comments Off
New Jersey Will Phase Out Tax on Cosmetic Procedures
Tuesday, February 7th, 2012
Good news if you live in New Jersey and are looking to get a little work done - the hotly-debated tax on cosmetic procedures signed into law in 2004 is going to be repealed.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed a bill to phase out the six percent tax on cosmetic procedures in three stages.
The tax will be reduced to four percent this year, down to two percent next July, and finally eliminated altogether by July 2014.
Initially conceived as a way to generate additional revenue for the state, the legislation has come under fire by the New Jersey Society of Plastic Surgeons (NJSPS) and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) for being counterintuitive and costing more money than it brings in.
The tax adds a little over $10 million a year in revenue, but that number falls far short of the numbers legislators expected to rake in.
Furthermore, the tax loses money by encouraging what Allergan CEO David Pyott calls “surgical flight.” Potential patients chose to travel to neighbouring states for surgery to avoid taxes, and some practitioners followed suit and relocated their practices out of state. Independent reports found that between 2005 and 2008, for every dollar made from taxes, three were lost.
The bill was almost rescinded in 2006, but then-Governor Jon Corzine vetoed the legislation.
The president of the NJSPS, Dr. Chris Godek, is pleased that the tax is finally being abolished. “We’re happy to finally have erased a tax that was unfair on several different levels – including bias against women – and which caused major unforeseen problems, such as the flight of residents across state borders for procedures,” says Dr. Godek.
According to Plastic Surgery Portal, a procedure like breast augmentation costs an average of US$4000. At the current rate of six percent, an extra US$240 is added to that cost in NJ. Under this new legislation, that number will drop to US$160, and then US$80, before it is finally waved entirely. The bill also applies to dermatological and ophthalmological procedures, in a time of financial difficulty for many Americans.
Tags: new jersey cosmetic surgery tax
Posted in In The News | Comments Off
Dr. DiBernardo Discusses CoolSculpting on Fox News
Friday, February 3rd, 2012
New Jersey Plastic Surgery’s own Dr. Barry DiBernardo was on Fox News NY talking about how CoolSculpting works for spot fat reduction in just an hour with minimal discomfort.
Posted in CoolSculpting, In The News | Comments Off
Sundance Film Interviews Models about Beauty, Cosmetic Surgery
Thursday, January 5th, 2012
The new film About Face by portrait photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders takes a peek behind the modeling industry and the quest to continue looking young.
Through candid interviews, the film documents the experiences of models from the 70s and 80s.
“The divergent attitudes among the women about everything from the business of modeling, to aging and plastic surgery, are fascinating and priceless. ”
An excerpt from the film trailer asks Carmen Dell’Orifice: “What is it about plastic surgery and facelifts – what is your sense of that whole world?”
She says “Well, if you had the ceiling falling down in your living room,would you not go an have a repair?”
About Face has several screenings at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, January 19 – 29 in Park City, Utah.
Tags: cosmetic surgery in film
Posted in In The News | Comments Off
ISAPS: Patients Have A Right to Safe Surgery
Tuesday, November 8th, 2011
In response to an increase in complications associated with medical tourism, the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery has issued a strong worded editorial about the risks involved in medical tourism.
“We see travel agencies brokering surgery for their clients with surgeons they have never met,” writes Catherine Foss at ISAPS: “The patients have no assurance that their surgeon is properly trained or qualified to perform the procedure they will undergo, and all too often, little attention is paid to post-surgical care.”
The ISAPS statement doesn’t condemn traveling for surgery outright, but warns against traveling for surgery “just to save money.”
Meanwhile, countries around the globe are tightening regulations to prevent unqualified practitioners from practicing surgery. According to ISAPS, Denmark is one country among many that has recently taken action, implementing strict regulations for private surgery clinics. Unfortunately, in many countries, including the U.S, there are still unqualified people who market themselves as plastic surgeons.
Members of ISAPS have been leading the way to address this problem and promote safe plastic surgery worldwide. At last years ISAPS congress, Dr. Foad Nahai introduced the “Patient Safety Diamond.” According to this concept, there are four factors that strongly influence safe surgery. They are:
- The patient should be a good candidate for the requested surgery.
- The surgeon must be properly trained and credentialed.
- The procedure should be appropriate for the patient.
- The surgical facility should be an accredited and proven safe venue with properly trained staff and emergency preparedness.
More Resources
- Read the full article from the ISAPS to learn more.
- ISAPS.org: See the guidelines for traveling to undergo surgery
- World Health Organization: View the 19-question Surgical Safety Checklist that reduced surgical complications in a recent study
Tags: safe plastic surgery
Posted in In The News | No Comments »
Results from Ulthera Treatments Can Achieve Incredibly Smoother Skin
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011
Ulthera continues to got noticed for delivering measured results for patients, according to television news from WTHR in Indianapolis. An Ulthera treatment is able to promote collagen production and tightening of the skin. It creates a subtle smoothing and requires little to no downtime.
What Can an Ulthera Treatment Correct?
Ulthera is FDA approved to treat loose skin on the face and neck and can correct a variety of issues. Commonly patients may undergo this treatment to correct:
- skin crepiness
- fine lines around the eyes
- nasolabial folds
- marionette lines
- a downturned mouth
In this clip, a 61 year old who wore glasses to hide the aged look around her eyes, chose to undergo an Ulthera treatment to combat aging. She says she wasn’t happy with how she looked and also struggled with jowls on her lower face and a “turkey neck.”
The patient is pleased with the results and says the procedure was fairly comfortable, comparing the sensation to the snapping of a rubber band. She says she more often wears her glasses on her head than over her eyes and notes that other people have taken note of the benefits she gained from her Ulthera treatment. She says she is often told by people that her skin looks “incredible.”
To learn more about how an Ulthera treatment can minimize aging on the face and neck without surgery, we encourage you to contact New Jersey Plastic Surgery for a consultation and join our mailing list to learn about Ulthera specials.
Tags: Ulthera treatment
Posted in In The News, Ulthera | 24 Comments »
