Results of the study were based on a questionnaire conducted of 3500 (1862 respondents) young women in northern Norway.

Respondents who were interested in rhinoplasty, breast augmentation, and liposuction were motivated by “complex psychological factors.”   Researchers found correlations with lifestyle factors such as divorce, history of teasing, education, self-image, body dysmorphic disorder, and the so-called Big-Five personality traits.

Survey questions about tummy tuck surgery revealed some unique findings.  Most participants who were interested in the procedure were interested in it exclusively. Having children and having a desire to repair the bodily changes occurring after childbirth were consistently correlated with interest for a tummy tuck.

Click here to read an abstract of this study

Are you and your best friend local celebs?  Write your very own version of “True Hollywood Story” and explain why the two of you are best friends, then submit the story with a photo for a chance to win.  Four pairs of friends will walk away with complimentary VIP Fraxel and Thermage treatment packages.

Check it out here on the Fraxel Facebook page.

A proclamation by Barack Obama issued in this press release recommends several steps to help achieve these goals:

• Lead healthy lives and set an example for your children.
• Take advantage of preventive care with routine screenings and checkups.
• Practice simple everyday activities like using sunscreen, exercising regularly, and eating healthy.
• Emphasize the role of women in promoting the vitality of our children and communities.

The federal government also offers several online resources for promoting the goals of women’s health week, including the Whitehouse Council on Women and Girls, womenshealth.gov, and girlshealth.gov.

The intricate nature of this procedure, commonly known as revision rhinoplasty, was discussed last weekend during the annual meeting of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.

A panel of notable plastic surgeons held two discussions over the weekend, covering  aspects of rhinoplasty such as:

• Correcting a short or crooked nose
• Using grafts or sutures to shape the nasal tip
• Alternative treatment methods
• Treating nasal, nostril and alar base deformities
• Correction of suboptimal rhinoplasty results

Read more about the meeting and the rhinoplasty discussion on www.surgery.org

Researchers at the George Washington University Cancer Institute studied 581 breast cancer patients who were treated at 7 hospitals and clinics between 1997 and 2009.

Findings

Diagnosis: To get a definitive diagnosis, insured black women and uninsured white women had to wait over twice as long.

Insurance: Contrary to the researcher’s expectations, insurance coverage did not even the field.  Insurance coverage was not correlated with quicker diagnosis in black women.

Treatment: After diagnosis, black patients had to wait twice as long as white patients to begin breast cancer treatment.

• Read more about this topic on womenshealth.gov
• More information on breast reconstruction

Nutrition

Patients of bariatric surgery are often at risk for nutrient deficiency. According to nutrition doctor Ingrid Kohlstadt MD, nutrients like Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Protein, Various B vitamins, omega-3s, and omega 6 fatty acids all have potential for deficiency in a bariatric surgery patient. Ask your doctor about maintaining proper nutrition – immediately after your surgery as well as during the years that follow. [Ingridients.com]

Post Bariatric Body Contouring

After massive weight loss, skin does not contract to a normal level. To remove folds of loose skin, a comprehensive surgical approach is often needed. A complete lower body lift treats sagging skin on the buttocks, abdomen, waist, hips and outer thighs in one procedure or in staged procedures. Incision patterns vary, and may include a circumferential incision around the body to remove the “belt” of excess skin and fat.

Other procedures are performed to treat localized problems. Brachioplasty (arm lift) can treat sagging skin in the arms and thighplasty can remove excess tissue in the upper thighs. [Post Bariatric Body Contouring]

Exercise

Trainers for the American College of Sports Medicine recently gathered for the 14th annual Health and Fitness Summit, where they discussed the best exercise programs for bariatric surgery patients. They recommended aerobic exercise as the core focus for these patients because it is good for easing into an active lifestyle.

To quicken fat loss and improve your range-of-motion, resistance training and flexibility exercise should be gradually and cautiously integrated. [American College of Sports Medicine]

Fraxel laser treatment

• Your skin can be damaged over time by both environmental hazards and lifestyle habits.  Fortunately, Fraxel laser treatment actually awakens your skin cells, so they revitalize themselves naturally.

• Fraxel is FDA approved to treat sun spots, acne scarring, melasma and eye wrinkles.

• Only a small fraction of skin is treated at a time.  The surrounding area is not affected.  This way, the skin can heal much faster than if the entire area were treated at once.

• The laser penetrates through skin like light through glass, reaching into the dermis below to create thousands of tiny, microscopic areas of thermal damage. Your body’s own wound healing response is stimulated to produce new collagen production and replace damaged skin layers.

• Fraxel treatment uses topical anesthesia in Dr. Maddali’s San Francisco office. 30-45 minutes are all we need for a typical facial treatment.

Age/Sun Spots

• It’s hard to escape the damage caused by decades of harmful sun exposure. To reduce the appearance of sun spots, Fraxel treatment awakens and revitalizes the subsurface cells in your skin.

• Sun spots (also known as age spots or liver spots) are flat, uneven patches that appear on sun-exposed parts of your body.  The most common areas are the face, chest, hands, shoulders and arms.

• Your skin reacts to sun exposure by producing pigment called melanin.  The purpose of the melanin is to shield your skin from UV rays. This increased pigmentation can cause darkened spots – making you look much older than you really are.

Acne Scarring

• Acne scarring can make a negative impact on one’s self-image, particularly if you are entering adult life while carrying these outward symbols of your teenage years. Fortunately, a Fraxel treatment can reduce or soften the appearance of acne scars and improve your appearance significantly.

• Scars happen when acne advances to the point of injuring the tissue.  This discolored fibrous tissue has abnormal collagen function.  It may appear as a red raised area or indented mark. For treatment, the top layer of skin must be removed and the production of new collagen must be stimulated.

• Traditional acne scar treatments blended topical agents, abrasion therapies, surgery and conventional lasers. Most of these treatments get moderate results and can be aggressive, resulting in a long, painful recovery period.

• The FDA approved Fraxel for treating acne scars once research showed that Fraxel could be more effective than traditional acne scar treatments. The powerful, yet precise laser effectively encourages the skin to create new collagen to replace the scarred epidermis.

Melasma

• Pregnancy can take a toll on your skin. With stretch marks, melasma and hormonal changes, it can leave some lasting reminders that most women would prefer to erase.

• Melasma is a common disorder estimated to affect about 6 million women in the United States. Melasma typically appears as brown spots and darkened pigmentation on sun-exposed facial areas, notably the cheeks, forehead, upper lip and nose.  Melasma is most common in women of childbearing age and among male and female adults of dark-skinned races.

• Fraxel is effective in treating persistent melasma that has been unresponsive to treatments like bleaching creams, microdermabrasion, selective photothermolysis laser and light therapies, and laser ablation.

• Think of your skin as a wall made up of tiny tiles. If you have melasma, every third tile on this wall would be brown in color. With Fraxel fractional resurfacing, every brown tile is “zapped” and eliminated making your skin more uniform.

Wrinkles around the Eyes

• Your wrinkles may signify a life rich with laughter and experience, but most people would prefer to keep the memories and lose the crow’s feet! With Fraxel, we can naturally rebuild and restore your skin in this area, reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

• The skin around your eyes is much more delicate than other areas of the body and tends to age more rapidly. The tiny wrinkles that develop (crow’s feet) develop from years of contracting the muscles that display our emotions when we smile, squint, contemplate, show surprise or laugh.

• There are countless cosmetic strategies for reducing crow’s feet, including Botox, chemical peels, injectable fillers, collagen, dermabrasion or traditional laser treatment.  If Fraxel is not an ideal treatment for you, one of these therapies may be a better solution.

Learn more about Fraxel Laser Treatment in the San Francisco Bay Area

The campaign is intended to educate women on the impact of small appearance changes, providing tips on how to keep your look fresh with non-invasive treatments like Juvederm injectable gel.

Become a fan of Juvederm on Facebook to receive Dayna’s tips on health, fitness and how you can maintain your best appearance.

The numbers for 2009 show a mere two percent decrease in cosmetic treatments compared to 2008. Given the economic situation in most U.S. markets during 2009, that’s positive news.

Of the nearly 10 million cosmetic procedures performed in the U.S., non-surgical treatments like Botox and Juvederm increased slightly while a moderate (17 percent) decrease was seen in surgical procedures like the tummy tuck, liposuction or breast augmentation. While cosmetic surgeons were surely affected by the recession, many around the country are seeing strong demand return in their communities and are therefore very optimistic.

• In Virginia, plastic surgeon Dr. Christopher Hess says his practice saw an increase of 11.5 percent from 2008 to 2009.
• In the Pacific Northwest, Seattle plastic surgeon, Dr. Robert Grenley says despite the bump in the road that occured in late 2008 and early 2009, his plastic surgery practice has seen its busiest winter quarter in 24 years. “Patients who desire to have cosmetic surgery are finding a way to have it done” says Dr. Grenley.
• At Boston Plastic Surgery, Dr. Fouad Samaha says the past few months have brought a “strong resurgence in patient interest and volume that appears to be well ahead of economic indicators.”  Samaha says he believes the resurgence is “testimony to the high level of motivation that people have for self-improvement, feeling better about their appearance, and increasing their self-confidence.”

From the statistics and talking to plastic surgeons, it seems that the latest non-surgical treatments and breast enhancements are the recession-proof offerings keeping doctors busy.

For the Second Year, Breast Augmentation is Top Cosmetic Surgery

For the second year in a row, breast augmentation was the most frequently performed cosmetic surgery, with 311,957 estimated procedures nationwide. Doctors have suggested several reasons for the procedure’s continuing popularity:

In a Wall Street Journal article, Dr. Renato Saltz cites the reintroduction of silicone gel breast implants as a factor pushing breast augmentation procedures to the top. A younger group of patients also appear to be heavily favoring the procedure. For patients 19-34 years old, it was the most chosen surgery, while patients age 35-50 actually chose liposuction more frequently.

More statistics for 2009 will be released in the coming weeks from other professional groups. We look forward to comparing them and continuing this discussion of plastic surgery trends.

Read the ASAPS press release

Research on 351 women found that those “who consistently breast-fed their children had waist circumferences that were an average of 2.6 inches smaller than women who had never breast-fed.”

Read more on womenshealth.gov