Liposuction and Your Heart
June 28, 2013 - Rhys Branman, MD
Liposuction is one of the most popular cosmetic surgery procedures performed around the world. While it has recently been reported that abdominal liposuction can trigger an increase in visceral fat, the fat that is around organs, especially the liver, this can be compensated for. Liposuction removes only subcutaneous fat, but visceral fat, is significantly more dangerous than subcutaneous fat. Visceral fat has been correlated with heart disease. However, the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism has reported that the increase of visceral fat can be prevented with exercise! The study that provided the evidence for this included 36 women who... 
We all know by now there is an obesity problem in the United States. People are eating junk food and too much of it. This is terribly unhealthy and often what drives patients to seek liposuction. The problem is that liposuction is not a weight loss tool. Generally it is not very helpful to perform liposuction for obese people. Your cosmetic surgeon will tell you to lose weight, and try to get close to your ideal weight before liposuction. Of course this is not easy at all. It means changing your diet and exercising. It is a vicious circle for... 
Did you know that over 84,000 patients over 65 years of age sought cosmetic surgery in 2012? Although many of these procedures were eyelid surgeries (blepharoplasty), which of course have a sound medical basis to help vision, many were also facelifts, breast reductions and even the occasional breast augmentation. One such example is the 80 year old Phyllis Porter, whom Good Morning America reported on. She had a facelift, an eyelift, lip augmentation, and breast implants, as well as a chemical peel! You just do not expect that of an 80 year old woman, and while Ms. Porter is probably... 
Have you begun to notice strange, new patterns and lines appearing on your legs? As we age our veins can become more visible in the form of varicose veins and spider veins. Varicose veins are puffy, enlarged veins that swell and become raised above the skin surface. Varicose veins are caused by venous insufficiency. The one way valves that prevent blood from flowing back to our feet have become weak or damaged. Spider veins are similar to varicose veins but much smaller. These are capillaries that form red or bluish networks of "spider web" looking lines on the... 
The Allergan Company's BOTOX® may soon have a new competitor. Johnson & Johnson is introducing a similar product next year. Since BOTOX® was approved by the FDA in 2002 for cosmetic use, smaller drug companies have not been able to compete with Allergan's amount of sales. Allergan is a name known and trusted by many, and of course, people are reluctant to switch from a product they are familiar with. Even Dysport® took a while to be picked up on the market, because patients preferred the brand name of BOTOX®. The company that produces Dysport®, another favored comparable product, had... 
Did you know Mommy Makeovers were on the rise? Here are the statistics: women had nearly 112,000 tummy tucks in 2010, up 85% since 2000; 90,000 breast lifts, up 70% since 2000; and 296,000 breast augmentations, up 39% since 2000. What does this mean? This varies regionally too it seems. 34% of women in the South Central part of the United States, our area right here around Arkansas, say they would undergo a Mommy Makeover. Women in the North East, however are not so hot on the idea. And younger women are more prone to elect Mommy Makeovers it... 
Most of you are familiar with BOTOX® as a cosmetic drug to reduce wrinkles. Small injections of BOTOX® reduce muscle activity by blocking nerve impulses that cause excessive muscle contractions. BOTOX® also blocks nerve impulses causing hyperactive glandular activity, which is why BOTOX® can be used for excessive perspiration. The FDA approved the use of BOTOX® for cosmetic use to reduce wrinkles of the forehead in 2002. Before that BOTOX® had been approved for treatment of strabismus (eye muscle problems) and blepharospasm (spasms of the eyelids) back in 1989. Finally, in 2010, BOTOX® was FDA approved for preventing migraine headaches... 
Do any of you watch the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills? You may remember back in 2010 that Charlotte Markey of Rutgers University reported her study, which revealed that reality television shows gave women a more favorable view of cosmetic surgery. That study focused on shows like Extreme Makeover. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills show is about the lives of women rich enough to constantly travel, have cosmetic surgery, and throw huge parties, focusing on appearances and social class achievements. Oddly, none of them actually live in Beverly Hills, but other areas around Los Angeles. From Brandi Glanville's, recent... 
Gynecomastia is enlargement of the male breast. It can be emotionally devastating. Men, particularly adolescents often experience feelings of shame, embarrassment, and humiliation. There are many reasons men may develop gynecomastia; however, in most cases the cause is unknown or related to obesity. For some patients requiring surgery, liposuction works well if there is little or no ptosis (drooping or hanging). However, those who do not respond to liposuction and have an excess of glandular tissues in their breasts surgical excision is required. The goal in the management of gynecomastia is to obtain the correct diagnosis, control the patient’s symptoms... 