- Baby boomers keep cosmetic procedures on the rise

- Facelifts, eyelid lifts among anti-aging surgeries up in 2009

Chicago – The baby boomer generation may be well into their 50s and 60s, but that doesn’t mean they’re ready to concede their looks just yet. In fact, many “boomers” are determined to maintain their once-youthful appearance.

According to a recent survey by the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, anti-aging procedures such as facelifts and blepharoplasty (eyelid lifts) are on the rise. So are botox and fillers. The bottom line is that baby boomers are aging but they don’t want their looks to do the same.

Before and after blepharoplasty

“The baby boomers are getting older but they still feel young and they want to look that way too,” said AACS President Mark Berman, MD. “With anti-aging procedures, people tend to feel much better about themselves afterward.”

Facelifts rose 44 percent from 2008 to 2009 in procedures by AACS members, totaling 34,455 in ’09. Blepharoplasty procedures went up 42 percent, from 42,602 to 60,507. Similarly, non-invasive anti-aging procedures such as Botox (up 157 percent) and fillers (up 245 percent) rose exponentially.

In procedures performed by AACS members, the average age of facelift patients is 54.1 years. The average age for blepharoplasty is 52.3 years. In addition, the average age of patients receiving Botox is 46.6 and fillers is 46.8.

“I think this might come as a surprise to the public when they see just how many baby boomers are trying to slow down the aging process,” Berman said. “As a surgeon, these numbers aren’t surprising because we see older patients all the time.”

Source: American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery

For more information about plastic surgery procedures don’t hesitate to contact Sublimis – Medical Tourism.

More than 17 million cosmetic procedures performed last year in USA

Chicago – A procedural survey conducted by the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery says more than 17 million cosmetic surgery procedures were performed in the United States in 2009.

The total number of procedures from this first-time study far surpasses any number that has previously been reported in the U.S. This is the first nationwide survey of its kind done by the AACS. In addition to the annual polling of its own members, the AACS also surveyed random physicians across the country to find out who is performing cosmetic surgery procedures.

The total number of procedures performed by AACS members has increased by eight percent since 2008.

“The cosmetic surgery industry continues to grow at a rate many people never thought it would reach,” said AACS President Mark Berman, MD. “With the aging of the baby boomer generation, I don’t think we’ve come close to hitting the ceiling yet. That 17 million is only going to expand.”

Among AACS member practices, the biggest increase in invasive procedures in the last five years are in blepharoplasty (eyelid lift), abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) and rhinoplasty (nose). For less-invasive procedures, the biggest increase over that five-year period is in laser resurfacing, chemical peels and fillers.

For AACS members, rhinoplasty surgeries jumped from 12,460 in 2008 to 21,730 in 2009, a 74 percent increase. Facelifts were also up this year, from 20,478 in ’08 to 34,455 in ’09, a 44 percent spike.

“As the economy recovers slowly but surely, we are seeing patients come back and feel better about doing some things for themselves that maybe they’d been putting off for a while,” Berman said.

Feel free to contact us for more information about cosmetic surgery procedures in Argentina.

Model Estimates Risks and Benefits of Bariatric Surgery for Severely Obese

Chicago — A computerized model suggests that most morbidly obese individuals would likely live longer if they had gastric bypass surgery, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. However, the best decision for individual patients varies based on factors such as age, increasing body mass index and the effectiveness of surgery.

An estimated 5.1 percent of the U.S. population is morbidly obese, often defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or higher, according to background information in the article. Available evidence suggests that dietary, behavioral and pharmacologic treatments frequently do not result in meaningful weight loss for individuals in this group. Bariatric surgery appears to be the only effective therapy for promoting clinically significant weight loss and improving obesity-related health conditions for the morbidly obese. However, the procedure is not without risk, including in-hospital death.

Daniel P. Schauer, M.D., M.Sc., of the University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center, and colleagues used two nationally representative surveys and a recent large observational trial to construct a model estimating the benefits and risks of gastric bypass surgery for individuals with morbid obesity. The model included data from almost 400,000 individuals nationwide to estimate the risk of death from obesity and its complications; data from 23,281 patients undergoing bariatric surgery to calculate in-hospital death rates following the procedures; and outcomes from participants in a seven-year study to determine the effects of surgery on survival and to calibrate and validate the model.

Read the rest of this entry »

Nasal Plastic Surgery: Rib Cartilage Grafts Results in High Patient Satisfaction

Chicago — Rib cartilage from human donors is well tolerated as a grafting material in nasal plastic surgery and yields positive functional, structural and cosmetic results, even in complex cases, according to a report in the November/December issue of Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

“The search for the ideal nasal implant remains an ongoing effort,” the authors write as background information in the article. “We desire a substance that is readily available in large quantities; resists infection and absorption; is completely integrated into host tissues; causes little patient morbidity [illness or injury]; and can be molded, shaped or carved with ease.” The patient’s own cartilage is often the preferred choice, but is sometimes too thin, there is an insufficient quantity or it may cause problems at the site from which it is removed. Irradiated homologous costal cartilage—donor tissue from human ribs that has been treated with radiation to decrease the chances of an immune response or resorption once placed in a donor—could serve as an alternative.

Russell W. H. Kridel, M.D., of the University of Texas Medical School at Houston and Facial Plastic Surgery Associates, Houston, and colleagues reviewed the medical charts of 357 patients who underwent primary or revision rhinoplasty (nasal plastic surgery) using autologous costal cartilage as the principal graft material between 1984 and 2008. The patients were an average of 37 years old and were followed up for an average of 13.5 years (and for a range of four days to 24 years). The 1,025 homologous costal cartilage grafts and 373 other grafts used were evaluated for warping, infection, resorption (being absorbed back into surrounding tissues) with or without infection, mobility and extrusion (forcing out). Forty-two patients also completed a satisfaction evaluation.

The total complication rate related to irradiated homologous costal cartilage grafts was 3.25 percent, including 10 warped grafts, nine infections, five cases of infective resorption, five non-infective resorptions and three cases of graft mobility. Among the nine cases of infection, two patients received grafts using homologous costal cartilage alone and seven in combination with other materials, so the infection rate related to the use of homologous costal cartilage alone was two of 1,025 (0.2 percent).

“Not only did very few complications occur following the use of 1,025 irradiated homologous costal cartilage grafts in 357 patients after 386 rhinoplasties over 24 years (rate, 3.25 percent), but the rate of complications was no greater than rhinoplasty complication rates when autologous [the patient's own] cartilage grafts are used,” the authors write.

During an average follow-up of 7.9 years, 94.2 percent of patients reported being satisfied with the results, considering categories such as their appearance, ability to breathe and quality of life. The irradiated homologous costal cartilage was not associated with any allergic reactions or systemic diseases and also proved to be reliable in patients with autoimmune diseases and in those with complex cases involving repairs of perforated septal tissue.

“The results indicate safety and reliability and justify the convenient use of irradiated homologous costal cartilage grafts for primary and revision rhinoplasty without creating donor site morbidity,” or damage to the area from which an individual’s own cartilage is harvested, the authors write. “Irradiated homograft cartilage grafts should be considered as an alternative or even a primary grafting material when the patient does not have adequate quantities of septal or auricular [ear] cartilage remaining to provide the correction or when the shape or quality of such an autologous cartilage does not adequately provide the structure required.”

Source: JAMA and Archives Journals

For more information about nasal plastic surgery don’t hesitate to contact us.

- Before and after rhinoplasty

Cosmetic eyelid surgery can boost quality of life for patients

New research released at world’s largest ENT meeting

San Diego, CA – Cosmetic surgery that repairs droopy eyelids, also known as blepharoplasty, has an overall positive impact on patients’ quality of life (QOL).

In a paper presented at the 2009 American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO in San Diego, researchers administered a retrospective questionnaire survey of 26 adult patients undergoing bilateral upper and lower lid cosmetic blepharoplasty. The authors used the Glasgow Benefit Inventory (GBI), which is a validated QOL questionnaire that aims to assess the impact of an otolaryngologic intervention on a patient. Patients undergoing surgery for non-cosmetic indications, or those who had additional cosmetic procedures performed, were excluded.

Before and After Blepharoplasty Procedure

Blepharoplasty (BLEF-uh-ro-plas-te) is surgery to repair droopy eyelids by removing excess skin, muscle and fat. Eyelids stretch and lose elasticity as people age. As a result, excess fat may gather above and below the eyelids, causing sagging eyebrows, drooping upper lids and bags under your eyes. Besides making patients look older, severely sagging skin around the eyes can also impair vision.

Results of the questionnaire indicated that the procedure had a positive impact on QOL for almost all the outcome measures used in the GBI. The authors noted that most patients who undergo a blepharoplasty procedure do so to feel better about their appearance and improve their self esteem. They note that this study is the first to confirm that patients do receive the QOL benefits that they are hoping to achieve with the plastic surgery.

For more information about having a blepharoplasty abroad do not hesitate to contact us.

Weight loss Before and After Photos: Gastric Bypass

In general defined, gastric bypass surgery describes any bariatric procedure that alters the digestive tract so that certain parts are “bypassed”. The food when passes through this altered tract, the body absorbs from it less calories than usual. The gastric bypass is the operation more commonly used to neutralize obesity.

Here are some photos before and after a gastric bypass surgery. For more information feel free to contact Doctor Norman Jalil.

Plastic Surgery Before and After Photos: Rhinoplasty

Also called nose job, the rhinoplasty is one of the most common plastic surgery procedures. It is use to:

• reduce or increase the size of your nose.

• change the angle between your nose and your upper lip.

• change the shape of the tip or the bridge.

• narrow the span of the nostrils.

See some of our rhinoplasty before and after pictures below and don’t hesitate to contact us to get a FREE QUOTATION!

- Before and After Rhinoplasty

- Before and After Rhinoplasty

- Before and After Nose Job

- Before and After Nose Job