Everyone knows that alcohol can have a detrimental affect on a person’s health. Excessive consumption of alcohol is associated with an increased risk of liver problems, heart disease, certain cancers, and a range of other medical conditions. Drinking alcohol can also have a serious affect on your appearance, whether you drink too much for a special occasion or consume alcohol on a regular basis. Our plastic surgery patients that strive to maintain a healthy lifestyle, stay in great shape, and look as good as possible should avoid drinking alcohol to avoid the beauty-related problems that develop when a person drinks too much.
Short Term Cosmetic Effects of Alcohol
People that don’t normally drink, but decide too have a few too many cocktails for a special event may notice that the area around their eyes looks hollowed out and the eyes themselves look red the day after drinking too much. Other short-term signs of drinking include:
- Hollowed out or puffy eyes
- Red and tired looking eyes
- Pale or grey-toned skin
- Facial redness
- Bloating in the face or body
These signs usually disappear after you stop drinking, rehydrate your body, and get a full night of rest.
Long Term Cosmetic Effects of Alcohol
When people drink excessively on a regular basis, the short-term cosmetic effects of drinking become more permanent. Men and women will find that their eyes constantly look exhausted, the initial bloating will have resulted in weight gain, and skin tone suffers. The long-term cosmetic effects of alcohol consumption include:
- Premature facial wrinkles
- Skin laxity
- Facial blemishes and redness
- Dark under eye circles
- Redness of the eyes
- Lackluster skin tone
- Weight gain in the face and body
The amount of alcohol that a person drinks has a direct affect on their health and appearance; the more a person drinks, the more likely it is that they will suffer from the beauty-related problems associated with drinking. If you drink too much alcohol, see your doctor to learn about the alcohol recovery programs that are available to you.
Silicone implants were cleared of their suspected association with breast cancer when the FDA approved them for use in women over 22 years of age in November of 2006.
However, last month, the FDA announced that they have detected a link between all types of breast implants and anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), an aggressive and rare form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Only about 3 percent of lymphoma cancer patients have ALCL.
The FDA is aware of 60 cases of ALCL in women with breast implants that live throughout the world. It is estimated that five to 10 million women have undergone the breast augmentation procedure worldwide. Though breast implants may increase a woman’s chance of developing ALCL, it is still extremely rare. The FDA is currently seeking more information about the possible relationship between breast implants and ALCL.
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons released U.S. plastic surgery statistics for 2010, and the number of surgical and non-surgical procedures that patients underwent has increased. Patients underwent 1,555,614 cosmetic surgery and 11,561,449 non-invasive procedures in 2010, compared to 1,521,409 cosmetic surgery and 10,972,592 non-invasive procedures in 2009.
The top five cosmetic surgery procedures in 2010 include:
- Breast augmentation: 296,203 procedures
- Rhinoplasty: 252,261 procedures
- Eyelid Surgery: 208,764 procedures
- Liposuction: 203,106 procedures
- Tummy Tuck: 116,352 procedures
The top five non-surgical procedures of 2010 include:
- Botulinum Toxin Injections: 5,379,360 treatments
- Soft Tissue Fillers: 1,773,328 treatments
- Chemical Peel: 1,144,865 treatments
- Laser Hair Removal: 937,602 treatments
- Microdermabrasion: 824,706 treatments
There were a few cosmetic surgery procedures that a handful of patients underwent. Only 806 patients underwent butt augmentation, 418 had calf augmentation, and just 222 patients had pec implants placed.
If you are interested in undergoing plastic surgery, contact the practice of Mark Deuber, MD, today.
Women that wish to undergo breast augmentation surgery generally play an important role in making decision about the type of implant that will be placed during the procedure.
For many, the most important choice they make is the implant size. Although this decision is usually made with the help of a plastic surgeon, selecting the appropriately sized implant is not an exact science. Some women may have difficulty conveying their goals, some women may change their mind after surgery and wish that they had gone larger or smaller, and some women may need two different sized implants placed in each breast.
In order to decide which size is right for you, patients should spend time discussing their aesthetic goals and perceived flaws with their surgeons. Women should also spend some time trying on different sized implants in the doctor’s office so you can see which sizes feel comfortable and provide the desired appearance. Finally, if your breasts are asymmetrical, your surgeon can determine how to balance out the breasts by choosing two implants of different sizes.
When patients undergo breast augmentation surgery, the procedure can be personalized to the women’s cosmetic goals and physiology.
The implant that each woman has placed will vary based on the type of filler, size, shape, and profile that she chooses. Breast implant profile refers to the forward projection of the implant. The breast implant manufacturers, Allergan and Mentor Corp., offer breast implants in the following profile sizes:
- High Profile: high profile implants have more forward projection than moderate and low profile implants. High profile implants are ideal in small-framed women that want large implants.
- Moderate Plus Profile: moderate plus profile implants are only offered by Mentor Corp., and offer a profile that projects more than the moderate profile, but less than the high profile implant.
- Moderate Profile: moderate profile implants are the standard profile implant that have been available to consumers for decades.
- Low Profile: low profile implants are ideal for women that want to fill out their breasts but do not need much forward projection.
Although the FDA restricts use of breast implants in women that are not yet over the age of 18, plastic surgeons do perform the procedure on a small number of teenage patients. According to the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, 2,953 breast augmentation surgeries were performed on patients under the age of 18 in 2009. This accounted for less than 1 percent of all breast augmentation procedures performed that year. In about 40 percent of patients, plastic surgeons performed bilateral breast augmentation solely for cosmetic reasons. In the remaining cases, plastic surgeons performed breast augmentation to correct certain breast conditions.
- Severe asymmetry: 24 percent
- Severe underdevelopment: 12 percent
- Tubular breast deformities: 10 percent
- Poland’s syndrome (congenitally absent breast): 10 percent
- Other reasons: 4 percent
Many women suffer from breast asymmetry (the condition in which the breasts are two different sizes), tubular breasts (the condition in which the breasts have a tubular shape), and underdevelopment. These issues can cause self-confidence problems for young girls and teens. Poland’s syndrome is a rare birth defect in which an individual is born without the pectoralis muscle in one breast. All of these breast conditions can be corrected with breast augmentation surgery.
Many brides-to-be undergo cosmetic treatments before their weddings. Some limit their beauty treatments to a new professional hairstyle, manicure, spray tan, or teeth whitening.
Other women choose to undergo plastic surgery procedures before their weddings in order to look their best. A new E! reality show is scheduled to hit the air that highlights many engaged women’s desire to undergo breast augmentation, liposuction, and other cosmetic surgery procedures.
The new show, aptly titled Bridalplasty, features women who have recently become engaged and have wish lists of plastic surgery procedures they would like to undergo. The brides-to-be compete against one another in various wedding-themed challenges. The winner of each episode gets to undergo one plastic surgery procedure of her choice, and is not allowed to reveal the results of the procedure until it is time to walk down the aisle.
All brides want to look their best on their wedding day. If you are interested in undergoing cosmetic surgery before your wedding, contact the practice of Dallas plastic surgeon Mark Deuber.
Many potential plastic surgery patients have unrealistic expectation about what certain procedures can correct and what it can’t.
Many patients, for example, think that liposuction is a miracle procedure that will not just remove unwanted fat from the body, but also reduce the appearance of cellulite and stretch marks. While liposuction is an effective fat removal treatment, it does not treat other body flaws.
Does Liposuction Treat Cellulite?
Liposuction does not reduce the appearance of cellulite. In fact, liposuction surgery could actually make cellulite look worse; once excess fat is removed, doctors have no way of telling if the patients skin will contract in the weeks following treatment. Younger patients typically have better skin tone that will shrink back after surgery. Those that have lost skin elasticity may notice excess skin in the abdominal area after surgery. Patients that have sagging skin in the abdominal area after liposuction may want to consider undergoing tummy tuck surgery or laser skin tightening.
Does Liposuction Treat Stretch Marks?
Liposuction is designed to removed excess fat from the body, not reduce the appearance of scars. Patients that are searching for a stretch mark removal treatment may want to consider microdermabrasion or laser stretch mark removal.
Non-invasive procedures continue to grow in popularity among Americans that wish to undergo cosmetic treatments with minimal downtime.
One popular non-surgical treatment currently on the market is laser skin tightening. The laser skin tightening treatment can be performed on almost any area of the body to reduce skin wrinkling. Surgeons often perform the procedure on patients’ stomach areas to minimize the appearance of mild dimpling and tighten loose skin.
During laser skin tightening treatment, infrared laser light is applied to the skin to heat underlying collagen. This causes the skin to contract and tighten. While laser skin tightening can be performed on patients with mild wrinkling of the skin, several treatment sessions may be needed to produce desired results.
Tummy tuck surgery can reduce the appearance of moderate to severe skin laxity. During treatment, excess abdominal skin is removed and muscles tightened, resulting in a smoother appearance. The tummy tuck procedure offers more noticeable results; however, the procedure is typically more expensive than laser skin tightening.
About 115,000 patients underwent the tummy tuck plastic surgery procedure in 2009, according the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Many of these patients had their belly buttons altered is some way during the procedure.
Though not as popular or well known as other cosmetic surgery procedures, belly button plastic surgery allows surgeons to change the appearance of the belly button in several different ways:
- Innie vs. outtie: A plastic surgeon can turn an outtie belly button into an innie, and vice versa.
- Shape and size: You may be unhappy with the size and shape of the belly button that you were born with, or your belly button may have changed due to weight gain, pregnancy, age, or other factors. A plastic surgeon can adjust the size and shape of your belly button during surgery so you feel more confident in your appearance.
Belly button plastic surgery can be performed in conjunction with the tummy tuck procedure or abdominal liposuction, or as a standalone procedure.