The American Society of Plastic Surgeons released their annual procedural statistics report yesterday, showing a 5 percent increase in cosmetic procedures for 2010. According to the ASPS, 13.1 million procedures were performed in the U.S. last year, including plastic surgery and minimally invasive cosmetic treatments. 5.3 million reconstructive procedures were performed as well, showing a…
There are many ways to explain the causes behind America’s growing interest in cosmetic surgery. Theories range from broad cultural perspectives to more personal or psychological motives. In a new book by sociologist Laurie Essig, the author offers up yet another theory behind the nip-and-tuck movement: Reganomics. American Plastic: Boob Jobs, Credit Cards and Our…
My oldest brother, an electrical engineer for a NASA contractor, and I were having a conversation recently about the fact that so many engineers and scientists are moving to the U.S. from India, China, etc. to fill the void left because so few Americans are going into these fields. Since I’m not directly in these…
Breast reduction surgery is one of the most common procedures we do in plastic surgery. In fact it has one of the highest patient satisfaction rates of any of our procedures. In one study almost 90% of patients were very satisfied with their surgery and 94% would encourage others to have it. The benefits of…
all cancers, whether breast, brain or blood, start when a single cell’s DNA gets a mutation or is damaged. This means that a normal gene, that produces a protein that goes on to provide a certain function, becomes abnormal. This abnormal gene produces an abnormal protein. Now our cells are really smart and there are other proteins that detect abnormal genes and remove them or even signal for the entire cell to be destroyed. However, it’s often these removing genes, known as tumor suppressor genes, that are abnormal…..
This is a guest post by Michelle in Denver, who had a breast augmentation many years ago. She is now considering a revision surgery, so she did some research on the subject. Do breast implants really need to be replaced every ten years? Breast implants do not have an expiration date and there is no…
So you’ve met the parents. Now I guess if you twist my arm I’ll talk about myself. Remember this wasn’t my idea! As I’ve said, I’m the youngest of four. The “baby” of the family is the end of reproductive life of the mother. So my theory is that the youngest gets spoiled because the…
Like many cancers, the treatment for breast cancer has gone through its evolution. Surgical treatment in the beginning and well into most of the 20th century consisted of the radical mastectomy. This procedure involved removal of the breast, pectoralis major muscle and all of the lymph nodes of the axilla or armpit through a large…
Today I had a consultation with a lovely couple. The wife and patient is a 31-year-old mother of two young children. During a breast self-exam (which I hope all women do but know they don’t so do it) she noticed something very slightly different in one of her breasts. She saw her doctor, who sent…
Okay I have my bottle of wine, a Valium and the encouragement from my therapist who says that talking about my mother is therapeutic. Hmmmmm. I’m just kidding, mixing Valium and wine-that’s just crazy. Don’t get me wrong, this is no celebrity “I blame my mother for everything,” sob story. My mother did the best…