Facelift can create the illusion of a smaller lower jaw and may enhance a more youthful appearance

Arlington Heights, Ill. – Your face may be giving away your age, and it has nothing to do with wrinkles, sagging skin or droopy eyelids. A study in January’s Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery® (PRS), the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), found that as we age, the lower jaw continues to grow, creating a more square jaw line, ultimately making people appear older.

“The shape of the lower jaw plays an important role in the perception of youth and can be a tell-tale sign of someone’s age,” said Joel Pessa, MD, ASPS Member Surgeon and study co-author. “Across the board in many cultures, the smaller and more curved a man or woman’s jaw line, the younger looking they appear.”

The authors studied radiographic images of 16 patients (eight men and eight women) taken at youth (mean age 16 years old) and maturity (mean age 56 years old). They discovered the lower jaw in both men and women continued to grow with age, creating a larger, squarer jaw line.
According to the study, soft-tissue procedures, such as a facelift, can create the illusion of a smaller lower jaw and may enhance a more youthful appearance.

More than 104,000 facelifts were performed in 2006, according to ASPS statistics.

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facelift before and after

Some Patients Stop Needing Antidepressant Medication After Having Plastic Surgery

It has been proven that plastic surgery can improve self-esteem, but can it also act as a natural mood enhancer? A significant number of patients stopped taking antidepressant medication after undergoing plastic surgery, according to a study presented at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

“Plastic surgery patients are taking a proactive approach in making themselves happier by improving something that has truly bothered them,” said Bruce Freedman, MD, ASPS Member Surgeon and study author. “While we are not saying that cosmetic plastic surgery alone is responsible for the drop in patients needing antidepressants, it surely is an important factor.”

In the study, 362 patients had cosmetic plastic surgery — 17 percent or 61 patients were taking antidepressants. Six months after surgery, however, that number decreased 31 percent, down to 42 patients. In addition, 98 percent of patients said cosmetic plastic surgery had markedly improved their self-esteem.

All of the patients, who were primarily middle-aged women, had an invasive cosmetic plastic surgery procedure such as breast augmentation, tummy tuck or facelift. The authors did not identify any other major life changes that may have affected patients’ use of antidepressants.

“We have just begun to uncover the various physical and psychological benefits of plastic surgery,” said Dr. Freedman. “By helping our patients take control over something they were unhappy about, we helped remove a self-imposed barrier and ultimately improved their self-esteem.”

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Source: Sciencedaily.com

Breast Procedures Leave Women Extremely Satisfied

99% Would Have Surgery Again, Says Study Presented at ASPS Annual Meeting

Chicago – Breast augmentation, breast lift, combination lift/augmentation and breast reduction achieve high satisfaction rates; enhance self-esteem and quality of life; and 99 percent of women would have their surgery again, according to a first-of-its-kind study presented at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) Plastic Surgery 2008 conference, Oct. 31 – Nov. 5, in Chicago. The study found breast lift and lift/augmentation to have a high level of patient satisfaction that rivals breast augmentation and reduction.

“Many studies have shown breast augmentation and breast reduction are highly gratifying procedures for women, but until now we’ve had limited information on patient satisfaction for breast lift or combination lift/ augmentation. This data fills in the gap,” said Eric Swanson, MD, ASPS Member Surgeon and study author. “When the vertical technique is used in the augmentation/lift procedure, patient satisfaction is high.”

In this prospective study, 325 patients were interviewed about their breast procedures over a five year period, with a response rate of 81 percent. Almost all patients, 99 percent, would have their procedure again and 91 percent of patients reported improved self-esteem. Overall, patient satisfaction was 96 percent. The average result rating was 9.2 out of 10. According to Dr. Swanson, the high patient satisfaction rates for breast lifts and reductions in the study applied only to the vertical technique, which was used on all patients.

The study also evaluated preferred breast shape, discomfort level, and recovery. Most women preferred a convex breast shape, i.e., fuller contour at the top of the breast.

“Naturally, breasts are fuller towards the bottom, but our study found patients want more fullness on top, which is hardly surprising in view of the purpose of bras,” said Dr. Swanson.

Patients reported using prescription analgesics an average of 5.4 days, resumed driving in 5.8 days, returned to work in 7.5 days, and felt “back to normal” in 27.8 days. Pain rating was moderate overall, 5.4 out of 10, higher for breast augmentation (5.9) and lower for breast reduction (3.3).

Nearly 348,000 women had breast augmentations in 2007, making it the number one cosmetic plastic surgery procedure performed last year, according to ASPS statistics. In addition, more than 106,000 women had breast reductions and 104,000 women had breast lifts last year.

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Breast Implant before and after photos

Before and After a breast augmentation surgery

New Survey Reveals Americans Trust Their Faces To Facial Plastic Surgeons

New York, NY — No one can get away from aging, but the road divides when it comes to how to age; the smart way or the uninformed way.  A new study commissioned by the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS), the world’s largest association of facial plastic and reconstructive surgeons with over 3,000 members, and conducted by Kelton Research shows that the majority of people look for an experienced, certified facial plastic surgeon over generalists when it comes to facial plastic surgery.  Americans trust their faces to the expertise of facial plastic surgeons.

The majority of Americans siding with expertise are employing informed decision-making skills, reinforcing their desire to make smart choices.  In fact, 80 percent of Americans trust their faces to the surgical expertise and care of a facial plastic surgeon who specializes in cosmetic surgery of the head, face and neck over generalists.  According to the survey, Americans ages 18-64 are most reliant on facial plastic surgeons, as evidenced by the fact that 83 percent believe they are more qualified to treat their specialized areas than general plastic surgeons.

With the vast number of surgeons in practice today, it is more important than ever to make informed decisions when considering an elective procedure such as facial cosmetic surgery.  Informed decision making is especially crucial as more than half of patients (53 percent) have had multiple procedures in the same year.  Survey results reflect that parents take more interest in the surgeon’s years of experience than their childless counterparts (54 percent versus 46 percent).

Women have the utmost faith in facial plastic surgeons when it comes to turning back the hands of time as it relates to one’s face.  Eighty-three percent believe that facial plastic surgeons are more competent to treat their faces, heads, or necks than a general plastic surgeon; 78 percent of men agree.

The AAFPRS also reports that 85 percent of adult Americans would undergo a facial plastic surgery procedure if given the chance. This same survey reported a 27 percent increase in surgical and non-surgical activity among men and women since 2000.

But what, exactly, would Americans get done if they had the chance of having a free service by a facial plastic surgeon?  Twenty-six percent admitted to wanting an eye lift, followed by neck surgery (21 percent), hair transplants (16 percent), nose jobs (14 percent), facelifts (13 percent), chin augmentation (7 percent), and lip enhancement (3 percent).

Get any of these procedures done by our Doctors: Dr. Roberto Martinez Rinaldi and Dr. Marcos Martinez Ruiz

Rhinoplasty before and after photos

Increase in Self-Esteem After Breast Reduction

Study shows breast reduction can improve physical, social and emotional quality of life

New York, NY  – Findings from a study published in the July/August 2008 issue of the Aesthetic Surgery Journal show a marked improvement in quality of life for patients who underwent breast reduction surgery, indicating that benefits of the procedure go beyond the mere aesthetic result.

One hundred patients with breast hypertrophy were chosen to participate in the study, and randomly allocated into two groups.  One group was selected to undergo breast reduction, while the other was put on a waiting list and served as a control group.  At the beginning of the study, all patients were interviewed to collect demographic information, as well as to measure their self-esteem and functional capacity.  The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and Rolland-Morris (widely used self-esteem measures) were used for these quality of life measurements.  Pain intensity was also measured using a visual analog scale. These measurements were evaluated again six months after the surgery.

After surgery, a decrease in the score on the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale indicated a marked improvement in self-esteem in these patients versus those in the control group.  Functional capacity had also improved in this group of patients, who also reported a significant decrease in intensity of pain in the lower back.  It is reasonable to conclude that these improvements were brought about by the breast reduction surgery.

“Patients seek out breast reduction surgery for many reasons, not the least of which is to ease pain and discomfort associated with having larger breasts,” said Miguel Sabino Neto, MD, PhD, a plastic surgeon in São Paolo, Brazil and lead author of the study.  “However, there is also an emotional discomfort as well, including low self-esteem, social and sexual embarrassment, and frustration with difficulties in performing daily routines.  It was our goal to determine quantitatively whether these emotional issues improved, as well as the physical.”

According to statistics from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), 153,087 breast reduction procedures were performed on women in 2007.

“This study further demonstrates that the connection between the aesthetic results of plastic surgery and the emotional, social and physical quality of life of our patients cannot be underestimated,” said Alan H. Gold, MD, President of ASAPS.  “These findings will go a long way towards helping us to evaluate and better understand the impact of plastic surgery on patients’ lives, and serves as an example of our commitment to evidence based medicine and outcome studies in aesthetic surgery.”

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