Hype. Spin. Puffery. Exaggerated claims. Call it what you will – there is a lot of it out there in the world of cosmetic surgery. Unlike most other fields of medicine, the commercial influences on cosmetic surgery and aesthetic medicine have changed the traditional doctor-patient-medical supplier relationship – and not for the better.Where does the […]
Here’s some interesting data from a press release from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons: “Faced with news of difficult economic times, and a belief that hiring is based on looks, millions of American women are looking at cosmetic medical procedures to give them a competitive edge in the workplace. In a new telephone survey […]
A common question around here from patients is whether they can combine surgeries – say, a tummy tuck with liposuction and a mastopexy – as one might be wanting to do in a “mommy makeover”. To answer this, we have to look at things from 2 different angles: 1) legal – what do the Florida regulations permit, and 2) medical – […]
Over the last few months, I have seen an alarming increase in the number of patients that come in for a second opinion about poorly-performed liposuction (done elsewhere, I might add.) All of these casse have been performed with new high-tech liposuction machines, either laser-assisted (like the SmartLipo) or ultrasonic (like the VASER). I’ve seen […]
A very common question during augmentation consultations is about the various advantages and disadvantages of silicone breast implants and saline breast implants. In this chapter of PSB- the Plastic Surgery Blog, we’ll talk about silicone breast implants. The next installment will discuss saline breast implants. Currently, about 80% of our patients select the silicone gel implants. […]
True story: I was walking around downtown Orlando recently, and I came across an old-time barber shop. “Haircuts for men and boys”, the sign said, “eight dollars”. Seemed like quite a deal. About a block further down the same street, I came across another barber shop. This one had a sign in the window, “We […]
In this era of smoothing forehead wrinkles with Botox and lasers, has the forehead lift, AKA brow lift or upper facelift, been relegated to the dust-bin of surgical history? Hardly! The browlift is still an extremely useful and powerful operation for rejuvenating the forehead, the eye area, and upper face. Why do a browlift? Well, […]
Capital One is pulling out of the health care financing market — removing one financing option for medical services. As of April 10, 2009, Capital One is not accepting any new installment loan applications for cosmetic surgery, or any other medical expenses.If you already have an approved Capital One loan, you’re OK – that won’t be affected. […]
Injection of liquid silicone – used for soft tissue augmentation – has a long and very controversial history. Liquid Silicone is notFDA approved for cosmetic indications, like plumping up wrinkles, lips or other body parts, but is approved for the treatment of retinal detachments by ophthalmologists. The legality of cosmetic silicone injections is, to say the […]
DHEA supplements are widely claimed in the lay press to help with a huge number of diverse conditions: anti-aging, cardiovascular disease, chronic fatigue & fibromyalgia, body building, obesity, osteoporosis, sexual dysfunction, and lupus – just to name a few. Most of this excitement was based on positive results seen in early scientific studies done in […]
