Summer is approaching and so is the chance to restore and enhance your body. Exercise alone can’t correct for sagging due to age, heredity, prior pregnancies or fluctuations in weight. But there are several cosmetic procedures that can help create a trimmer silhouette and redefine your shape. Some of these include: Arm, body, thigh, or buttock lifts; mommy makeovers; body contouring after weight loss; and tummy tucks. Arm, thigh, and buttock lifts each involve reducing pockets of fat in the specified area; tightening and smoothing supportive tissue; and removing excess sagging skin. Meanwhile, a tummy tuck, or abdominoplasty, removes excess [...]

Now can be the right time to make changes that would allow you to look and feel your best this summer. To achieve the body of your dreams, there are many ways to reduce fat pockets and reshape problem areas to fit into your favorite summer clothes or swimsuits. Sometimes diet and exercise is not enough to reduce small pockets of stubborn fat. Liposuction is the best-known procedure for fat reduction, offering long-lasting results, evident within weeks of recovery. Performed through traditional surgery or assisted by laser or ultrasound, liposuction can address love handles or fatty areas anywhere on the [...]

Breast enhancement is often associated with implants, but there is more than one way to improve your silhouette. There are two primary procedures utilized to improve the bustline: breast implants, also known as augmentation, and breast lift surgery, also known as mastopexy. Different factors come into play in deciding which surgery will provide the look you want. Implants primarily focus on the size and firmness of the breast, while a lift addresses the breasts’ positioning on the chest. Three different factors are considered when deciding which surgery to choose, or if both are necessary. These, include: Nipple position in relation [...]

How often should breast implants be replaced? The answer varies since the longevity of an implant is dependent on many different things, including the implant type, the patient’s body, and even the surgeon. There are two basic types of implants: Saline and silicone. Saline implants are filled with sterile saltwater. They're inserted empty, and then filled once they're in place. Silicone implants are prefilled with silicone gel. While both saline and silicone breast implants are designed to last safely for many years, they are not considered lifetime devices, and both will likely need to be redone at some point. The [...]

Reaching a weight loss goal can be a significant achievement, improving health and appearance. But after losing the excess weight, some people find that they now have excess skin or that it has lost its elasticity and didn’t snap back into shape. Others realize they have some stubborn areas they would like to improve. To improve body shape and remove excess skin, body contouring procedures can be the answer. Some of the more popular options, include: Tummy tucks, which can remove excess abdominal skin and repair overstretched belly muscles. Breast lifts, which can raise the bust line while improving breast [...]

While a flat and toned tummy is a goal for most people, diet and exercise can’t always deliver results without some help. Even with healthy lifestyle habits, it’s difficult to obtain a slim and smooth stomach for anyone who has genetically determined pockets of fat or stretched abdominal tissue from childbearing or obesity. Body contouring can be the answer, but the question remains: Tummy tuck or liposuction? Tummy tuck surgery, known medically as abdominoplasty, tightens the abdominal muscles and eliminates the excess fat and skin from the midsection. For patients with loose abdominal skin or a stretched abdominal wall, a [...]

Patients with textured breast implants should check with their plastic surgeons to to see if their brand is associated to a Food and Drug Administration action. The FDA asked breast implant manufacturer Allergan to voluntarily recall unused BIOCELL® textured products and the company agreed.[1] The implants are considered a risk for a rare form of cancer known as BIA-ALCL, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Patients should verify with their plastic surgeons if they have the implant brand or if they have symptoms associated with the cancer.  “The FDA does not recommend removal for patients without symptoms due to [...]

Baby boomers entering a new phase of life are looking to reshape themselves as they reshape the post-55-years-old dating world. Whether it’s surgical or non-surgical, the cosmetic procedures are selected to help baby boomers feel and look better and gain confidence when they’re meeting potential partners. About 20 million boomers – Americans born between 1946 and 1964 -- are currently using dating sites in hopes of finding a mate. Many are currently single, census figures show. One in four boomers are divorced or never married. About one out of every six Boomers lives alone. Research shows this group is increasingly [...]

Liposuction, tummy tucks, male breast reduction and face lifts are the most common cosmetic procedures men have performed. Cosmetic surgery is no longer something just for women. Men are increasingly considering cosmetic surgery as an option to maintain or improve their looks. Men have cosmetic surgery for career advancement, worried that the job position they seek will be given to a younger looking man. Men dating find themselves competing with younger looking men and fathers do not want to be mistaken for grandfathers. Economists have found that looks do matter in the workplace and can result in higher pay and [...]

Summer is nearly here, meaning the clothes are getting skimpier and more skin will soon be showing. Increasingly, people are preparing for this season with cosmetic surgery. Breast augmentations, liposuction and abdominoplasty – known as tummy tucks – have surged in popularity, according to the most-recent statistics from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. There are also increases in the numbers of people choosing body-sculpting procedures such as buttock augmentations and thigh lifts. It’s a trend that shows no signs of slowing. For instance, twice as many people underwent breast lifts and tummy tucks in 2018 compared to a decade [...]

Having a plastic surgery procedure abroad might sound like an attractive financial option – until you find out that bargain surgery was more than you bargained for. More cosmetic surgeries and minimally invasive surgeries were done in the U.S. -- 17.5 million in 2017 – than in any other country. Still, some people are risking their lives and their financial security by looking for cheap alternatives overseas. An entire tourism industry has sprung up in recent years offering packages that pair holidays with cheap cosmetic surgeries. Medical tourism, which includes all types of surgeries, is growing as much as 25 [...]

Once you’ve decided to undergo cosmetic surgery, your next – and most -- important decision is selecting a surgeon you can trust. It’s imperative to make sure than any plastic surgeon you consider is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, which is the only plastic surgery board recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties. The ABPS certification assures that a surgeon has completed rigorous training of at least six years following medical school with a minimum of three years of plastic surgery residency training. The certification also ensures that the surgery will be performed in accredited, state-licensed [...]

While demand increases each year for elective plastic surgery, regulatory oversight of who can perform popular cosmetic surgeries has changed little over the decades. In most states, including Texas, it is legal for any physician who holds a medical license to legally do any procedure. That means doctors in any specialty area and whose training typically ranges from a one-year fellowship to a weekend course can represent themselves as cosmetic surgeons. The practice has become known as “physician drift”. Researchers at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine recently studied how physicians portrayed themselves on Instagram while advertising for business. They [...]

For 20 years, the U.S. Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act has required that providers insure breast reconstruction for women who have undergone a mastectomy. Signed into law in October of 1998, the act represented a paradigm switch in the availability of breast reconstruction for cancer survivors. The law requires that group and individual health plans must provide insurance coverage after mastectomy, regardless of diagnosis. It also assures that surgery is covered for all stages of cancer. And it covers patients who need surgery on the unaffected breast to produce a symmetrical appearance. Because of the law, reconstruction has become [...]

People can mistakenly think that plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery are the same thing. But there are vital differences in the experience, expertise and credentialing ofphysicians allowed to perform plastic surgery and those who do cosmetic work. Plastic surgery has its roots in the reconstruction of the body, necessary due to major trauma, disease or deformity. Today, an important aspect of plastic surgery reconstruction is an increasing desire for aesthetic change. As this interest continues to grow, patients need to understand the expertise of their surgeon. To qualify as a plastic surgeon, a medical doctor who has graduated from an [...]