Plastic surgery for men

I don’t think we talk about plastic surgery and men enough. Men can be just as concerned with how they look and feel as women can be. As a matter of fact, 35% of my patients are male. The biggest question I get is “What’s the most popular procedure?” In my experience, it’s been the blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery). This is also popular for women, don’t get me wrong, but it’s definitely a popular one for men. It can make a world of difference. Having the procedure done can completely rejuvenate the eyes — the patients look more awake and alert. The pain is usually very mild and the recovery is relatively rapid. Check out some before and after photos here.

Other popular procedures for men are the gynecomastia surgery (male breast reduction) and liposuction of the waist. Gynecomastia surgery is often a last resort for men who have tried dieting and working out with weights, with little improvement. I’ve had male patients that have been so insecure about the way they look that they hadn’t taken their shirts off in public for over 10 years. Some men have never even let their wives see them without a shirt. The only solution for men with excessive breast tissue is to remove it surgically, either with liposuction, direct excision, or both. I try to minimize the size of the incisions, but frankly, many of my patients don’t really care about the incisions as long as their contour is improved. Gynecomastia surgery is one of the most rewarding procedures, with great emotional benefits.

Liposuction in men is most commonly performed around the waist, where it’s more difficult to lose fat under the navel. In many patients, liposuction higher on the abdomen can allow the stomach muscles to be more visible for a “six pack” look. I’ve found men are particularly interested in returning to work as quickly as possible, so we use pre-operative ultrasounds and other treatments to help the swelling go down quickly. Our new Tickle Lipo machine allows me to perform the procedure in the office, with minimal downtime (1 or 2 days!).

I understand that men can have fears and reservations about plastic surgery. Men also approach the decision to have plastic surgery differently — women are generally more social and are able to have conversations with friends and family about it. Men, on the other hand, are much less likely to do this. I feel like if we talk more about this, it will help men be a bit more open about how they feel. What are your thoughts?

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Christmas and community health – Five nonprofits to look out for this holiday season

We had special guest, Valerie Ingram, on our show this week. We really want to focus this holiday season on community health and how the nonprofit sector, especially when it comes to health issues, can help bridge the gap between what people can do for themselves and what government can do for them.  It’s more important than ever that we support our community nonprofits.

Here are 5 to watch out for:

1. Solace – Santa Fe Rape and Crisis Center offers counseling and shelter for abused women and children.  A bit of holiday info:

• There is a 25% increase in hotline calls during the holidays…mainly due to increased stress.
• For every dollar you donate, 90 cents goes towards direct services.

Solace’s hotline number is 800-721-7273 and their website is www.findsolace.org

2. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern New Mexico – This year, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern NM is serving 600 children and are still have 50 children on the waiting list: 42 boys and 8 girls. They are in serious need of volunteers and funding in order to match a big to a little.

Their phone number is 505-983-8360 and website is www.BBBS.org. They take donations online.

3.  Women’s Health Services – This is a huge one. For 35 years, Women’s Health Services has been championing the need for research on gender-specific health care and clinical application, mainly because disease manifests itself different in men and women.  Therefore, doctors need to be trained in both.

• Serve men, women, and uninsured.
• Many insured patients because of the excellent care they provide.
• 50% of funding has to be raised.

Donations can be made at www.whssf.org

4. Pandemonium Productions – Let’s talk about the arts for one minute. Pandemonium Productions is focused on keeping funding going for the arts.  They take hundreds of students to the theatre, and for them, every dollar counts. You can donate online at www.pandemoniumprod.org

5. Artworks – Artworks brings artists into classrooms to not only teach PreK-8^th graders about art, they also take kids to the museums and to live performing arts. Since so much funding has been cut out of the arts at school, these nonprofits are doing everything they can to keep these important educational resources accessible. You can learn more about them at http://www.santafenm.gov/index.aspx?NID=811

All of these nonprofit programs are so important to our community and our community growth. Please watch the videos below to learn more about how you can help, not only this holiday season, but all year round.

Have a safe and happy holiday from all of us over at my office!

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Breast Augmentation Alternative

For years, medical investigators have been looking for alternative ways for women to have natural breast enlargement without the use of implants. I’m actually one of the investigators…so I wanted to share this with you and get your thoughts…share ideas. Okay, have you ever heard of tissue expansion? There’s currently a product on the market called Brava. Here’s a bit about it.

Brava is the first clinically proven approach to breast enlargement that actually grows a women’s natural breast tissue, without surgery, pills or creams. Our bodies have a natural mechanism for healing and growth — when body tissue is placed under sustained tension, it will grow. The principle is known as tissue expansion. Physicians in various reconstructive procedures have used it for over 30 years.

So, basically, the BRAVA system applies a three-dimensional pull, which places the breast under tension, therefore allows the tissue to replicate.

Now, this is definitely a pretty long, drawn out process which takes weeks… and you need to wear the bra like suction device for at least 10 hours a day.

After the breasts are expanded with the suction bra (it looks like you are wearing two basketballs), liposuction is done and your own fat is transferred into the expanded breast. They can be enlarged about a cup size, and the result is soft, natural, and long-lasting (the first patients were done 5 years ago and their breasts are still augmented).

So for about a 50% increase in price over implant surgery, you’d get lipo as well.

What do you think? Anyone interested? Or are implants easier to comprehend.

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Breast augmentation guest post – A patient journey

Everyone has his or her own reasons for undergoing plastic surgery. Most are very personal. I recently wrote about a mother-daughter duo I was going to be operating on in the coming months. The daughter is going to be sharing her journey and experiences leading up to her surgery and then after. Today is a guest post from her.

So it begins…

I’ve never really been happy with my breasts. Well, not since I had my daughter. It’s interesting because as you know, most women have one breast that is slightly larger than the other. That’s the case with me, but it seems like there was a much bigger difference in them after giving birth.

My breast size has pretty much always been a 34 B or so. When I was pregnant, my right breast ballooned to a D cup and my left one went to a C cup. My right breast was the one that was producing most of the milk. I actually could only nurse proficiently on the right side. There was such a noticeable difference – clothes on or off – that I purchased a silicone thingy for my bra so it wouldn’t be as bad. I hated it. Period.

So, fast-forward almost 7 years…I’m now 32 years old, a successful business owner, an entertainer, and recently divorced. I’ve always wanted to have a breast augmentation but could never have done it before. Mainly because I was in a relationship where everything else (bills, stepdaughter needs, HIS wants, etc…) came before any way that I felt. So, I have now made the decision to have it done.

I’ve been following Dr. Ronel for quite some time…Almost a year. I pretty much think he’s brilliant. (which btw…he has nothing to do with what I’m writing.) After reading one of his more recent guest posts about a patient’s 57-year old breasts, I decided that was not going to be me. Like, I’m 32. I’m single. I’m in a band that is becoming a household name…I’m going to be happy with everything about my life, including my breasts. Period. That post kinda sealed the deal for me. Plus, I’ve been saving up for it.

Okay…that being said, my mom just lost 60 lbs. She’s been overweight my entire life. I remember thinking when I was little, ‘stop eating potato chips.’ But everyone has his or her demons. I obsessively work out. She would eat to rebel. I never understood that. One day, she just woke up and decided she was going to really put forth an effort to lose weight.

She looks great now, but the years of abuse to her body through food, has taken a toll. She’ll be having a tummy tuck, a thigh life, and breast augmentation and lift just days after I have my procedure done. We’re also coming in from out of state. My surgery is in less than two months, so I’ll be keeping you posted on what I’m having done, how it’s being done, and how I’m feeling emotionally. I hope you follow along.

Cheers.

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Lap Band Availability

Let’s talk about weight loss and weight loss procedures…other than pills and exercise. In the past week, the New York Times published a story on weight-loss surgery and how it may be open to more than just obese people.

“An advisory committee to the Food and Drug Administration will consider on Friday a request by Allergan, the pharmaceutical company, to significantly lower how obese someone must be to qualify for surgery using the company’s Lap-Band device, which restricts intake to the stomach.”

According to the article, current guidelines say weight loss surgery is appropriate for people who have failed to lose weight through diet and exercise. Also, BMI (Body Mass Index – a calculation that measures how heavy you are for your height) plays a role in that it has to be 40 units or above…unless you’ve had health problems, then it can be 35 or above.

Allergan wants to lower the threshold for the Lap-Band to a B.M.I. of 35 with no associated health problems and to 30 with such problems.

For instance, a person who is 5 feet 6 inches and has diabetes would have to weigh 216 pounds to qualify now. Under the proposed lower threshold, that person could weigh 30 pounds less, or 186 pounds.

So what’s the difference in weight loss surgeries?

Banding is a less radical operation than the main alternative, the gastric bypass. It is also reversible and costs less — from $12,000 to more than $20,000, compared with $20,000 to more than $30,000 for a bypass. But banding also leads to a weight loss of about 20 percent on average, less than that of bypass.

What does this mean for the future of weight loss?

It’s still too soon to tell. Lap band surgery is not without risk, and should be performed by highly trained specialists – if all of a sudden, millions more people are eligible for the surgery, there may be such a demand for it that non-specialists will start to do the surgeries. Sound familiar?

On the other hand, I suspect that as more people lose weight, there will be a lowering of the incidence of diabetes and heart disease.

What are your thoughts? Would you consider a lap band surgery if you were eligible?

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China’s Obsession

Some of you may have heard the tragic story about the death of aspiring Chinese pop singer, Wang Bei, during plastic surgery last month. It’s gotten a lot of nasty media attention for multiple reasons.

1. Why would this beautiful 24 year-old want to have a “facial bone-grinding surgery” because she was so naturally beautiful? Some wonder if this tragedy is casting a light on an “obsession with beauty that sees millions go under the knife in China each year.”

2. According to one article, her death has also “fueled concerns about the dangers of plastic surgery in a country where three million people have operations each year to improve their appearances, according to figures published by state media.”

I’m not over in China, but many articles I’ve read are claiming that China has become somewhat obsessed with plastic surgery, ranking the 3rd highest country in the world (not above the US that is). I just don’t know — it’s completely natural for people to want to look their best and feel their best, but I’m a firm believer of having a balance. I don’t think anyone can answer for why Bei felt she needed to change her facial structure. It’s not for anyone to judge.

I feel the biggest concern lies in the training of the surgeons who are doing these procedures: According to one article, “Surging demand for cosmetic surgery has led to untrained doctors carrying out operations, ‘which is risky and irresponsible’, said Zhang Huabin, a professor of plastic surgery at southern China’s Guangdong Medical College.”

This is just one more case in emphasizing the importance of knowing the background of your surgeon. People’s lives are at stake and it is irresponsible to perform surgeries if you’re not truly certified. It’s happened here too. If you want to know more about the differences between board-certified surgeons and all others, here’s an informative blog.

Also, if you’ve ever considering going out of the country for a more “affordable” surgery, I would look at this article. Above all, safety needs to come first.

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