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Archive for July, 2010

PSP Podcast Episode 1: Beginnings in Body Contouring

Monday, July 26th, 2010

A few weeks ago, we posted about Dr. Cuzalina’s participation in a PSP Podcast series titled “Body Contouring: Looking into the Future.”  Although the previous post was about episode 3, the first podcast in the series is also worth a listen.

Jeffrey Frentzen, editor of Plastic Surgery Practice, asked 3 experts about their beginnings in the body contouring cosmetic surgery.  Participants included Dr. Cuzalina of Tulsa Surgical Arts, Greensburg cosmetic surgeon Michael Kluska and plastic surgeon Dr. Steven R. Cohen of San Diego.

The question posed for this episode was, “How did you become interested in body contouring and what were the first tools you used when working in this area?”

Dr. Cuzalina said the following:

Two years into my practice I met a doctor in Oklahoma who was doing 14 gastric bypass surgeries a week.  We became friends and he’d seen some of my other work on tummy tucks so he began referring me patients.  All of a sudden, I was inundated with all these patients who had open gastric bypass surgery.  At that time with the vertical scar down the middle of their belly, the common solution was to do the inverted T tummy tuck, what’s known as the “fleur-de-lis.”  It worked very well, and it [the surgery scar) was ok because you already had a vertical scar so you can get some really nice tightening around the abdomen.  You end up doing a lot of surgery because they all need not only their belly, but their breasts, arms, thighs and everything done.

Listen to the podcast to catch the rest of the series and hear responses for the other surgeons who participated.  Click here to read more about body contouring surgery in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Is Beauty A Significant Career Advantage? A Newsweek Special Report

Sunday, July 25th, 2010

A “special report” was recently published on Newsweek.com, which explores the pursuit of good looks and the advantages that beautiful people have in the workplace and in other areas of life.

The report explores a dilemma such as this:  Do we judge a person on his or her personality, character, or competence in the workplace?  Or do we allow a sort of beauty-bias to affect our judgment?  Writers for Newsweek uncover many examples of the latter and theorize about their causes and consequences.

“Looking good is no longer something we can ignore or dismiss as frivolous or vain,” argues reporter Jessica Bennet.  Questions of fairness aside, the statistics support her argument:

  • “A good-looking man will make some $250,000 more than his least-attractive counterpart, according to economist Daniel Hamermesh.”
  • “Fifty-seven percent of hiring managers told Newsweek that qualified but unattractive candidates are likely to have a harder time landing a job.”
  • “More than half of those hiring managers advised spending as much time and money on “making sure they look attractive” as on perfecting a résumé.”

More surprising statistics are cited throughout the report, but what’s more interesting are the biological and psychological explanations for the beauty advantage.  Is our bias an appreciation of the Platonic ideal form?  Are we unconsciously surrounding ourselves with attractive people in order to produce healthy offspring?  It’s unlikely that a single answer can satisfy our curiosity on this topic.

For many people in our generation, it comes down to an individual choice: how far will you go in your pursuit of beauty?  In the continuum of choices you can make to change your appearance, it’s not always clear where to draw the line.  Many people are quite satisfied with little more than a stylish wardrobe or haircut, but not every person begins their pursuit with the same beauty advantage.

Model Experiences Complications After Augmentation With Extra Large Implants

Monday, July 19th, 2010

Sheyla Hershey, a Brazilian model who underwent breast augmentation to have the largest breasts in the world, is experiencing complications after her most recent surgical procedure.  Fox news reports that Hershey has a staph infection in both breasts, which could be life threatening if it reaches the bloodstream.

According to Dr. Cuzalina, complications like this are uncommon but often problematic.

Any infection in a breast implant is unwanted by both patient and surgeon.  They are fortunately very rare (just less than 3 in 1000 patients), but a breast implant infection is difficult to deal with when they do occur and almost always require implant removal.  Having massive implants just complicates the problem further due to the excess skin after removal.

Certain infections such as methocillin resistant staph (MRSA) are becoming more common in today’s society and require more aggressive treatment.  Patients should let their surgeon know if redness or unusual pain occurs along with fever combined with a general feeling of extreme malaise during the first few weeks following breast augmentation.

In an interview with her local television station, Ms. Hershey expressed regret for choosing extremely large breast implants and suggested that reaching her goal of having the world’s largest breasts wasn’t actually satisfying.  Demonstrating her daily routine on video, it’s clear that she’s a very dedicated and strong-willed woman.

“Sheyla takes her craft seriously,” says the model’s official website.  After 32 surgical procedures on her breast, lips and buttocks, she seems very comfortable going under the knife and talking about it publicly.

Fox News has a series of video interviews with Sheyla Hershey and you can read regular updates about her status on her website, sheylahershey.net

From Collagen to Fibroblasts: the Evolution of Dermal Fillers

Friday, July 9th, 2010

The last two years have seen a decrease in the use of collagen-based dermal fillers—and it shows in the announcements by two leading makers, Allergan and Johnson & Johnson, that they will no longer produce their respective collagen products (the human-derived CosmoDerm and CosmoPlast, the bovine Zyderm and Zyplast for Allergan; the porcine Evolence for Johnson & Johnson). For more than two decades, collagen has been the preferred filler for many cosmetic surgeons. Considering the origins of donor tissue, it is understandable that questions could arise. Plus, collagen-based fillers require skin allergy testing and are relatively short-lived compared to the next generation of fillers.

As in many markets, money drives the evolution of new products, and dermal fillers are no exception. The popularity of non-animal hyaluronic acid (HA) dermal fillers (known as replacement fillers because they replace lost volume) and PLLA and PMMA fillers (known as stimulatory fillers because they stimulate collagen and fibroblast production) has been strong in the recent past. Radiesse, Juvéderm, Perlane, Restylane, and Sculptra currently dominate the US market. Dermatologists report HA, PMMA, and PLLA fillers as being more versatile, longer-lasting, bulkier, and better for deep-volume filling than collagen.

But what about fine and thin line use, such as for foreheads or smokers lines around the mouth? Collagen was usually considered better for those applications. But Restylane Fine Lines is one HA product that makers hope to take over what used to be collagen territory.

What will the world of dermal fillers look like in the future?  Change is certainly underway. Although fillers that indirectly stimulate fibroblast production are holding sway, direct injection of fibroblasts with Human Dermal Fibroblasts (HDFs) may be a trend. UK dermatologists are currently testing Valveta, a filler derived from the foreskins of male babies that is reputed to repopulate skin with healthy young cells and be long-lasting, if not permanent.