Facial Feminization Surgery Gaining Popularity

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Nat

Facial Feminization Surgery Gains Popularity

According to a recent ABC News article, a new type of facial cosmetic procedure known as facial feminization surgery is gaining popularity.

This new procedure allows patients to soften the contours of their face, specifically making them appear more feminine. It may include a wide range of individual surgeries, including hairline adjustment, jaw reshaping, eyebrow shaping, and cheek adjustments. These procedures have been popular with both female and transgender patients.

Facial Feminization Surgery Includes Work on Eyebrows, Cheeks, Jawline, Hairline to Make Women Look More Womanly

According to Dr. Jeffrey Spiegel from the Boston University Medical Center, “It’s true, women can be mistaken for men and there is an evolutionary explanation for why we look different. We are hard-wired to find a good fertile mate.”

In addition to genetic differences, women’s faces may become more masculine as they age, with lower and flatter eyebrows, hollow cheeks, and fuller jaws. “Why are some women more attractive than others?” Dr. Spiegel asks. “A big part is as women age and lose their fertility, they lose their femininity.”

The facial feminization surgery process is subtle but powerful. Women’s eyes and mouth are more reflective of flight than the male facial features, and to fix this the eyebrows are arched during surgery. The lips are moved higher for more visible teeth. Chins are decreased in size and tapered for a more feminine appearance.

Other techniques include some highly technical jaw-narrowing procedures made popular in Asia. Shading may also be increased around the eyes. Each procedure is designed differently to give the patient the best result for their personal goals.

In Dr. Spiegel’s opinion, “I think the ultimate goal of any surgery, regardless of whether you are transgender or not, is to do something for yourself – to come from a place where you try to be happy for who you are and not try to please other people. If you chase for other’s approval, you will fail.”

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Brazilian Poor Receive Free Rhinoplasties and Other Cosmetic Procedures

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Nat

Free Rhinoplasties, Cosmetic Surgery for Brazilian Poor

As discussed in a recent Huffington Post article, Brazilian lower income patients have been receiving an increasing number of cosmetic procedures, including rhinoplasty, liposuction, Botox, facelifts, and many others.

The surprising feature of this news is that these Brazilians are receiving their cosmetic surgical procedures at deeply discounted rates or completely free of charge. These procedures are being performed as a result of an effort in the cosmetic surgery community to provide a boost in morale and self esteem for the poorest of the poor in Brazil.

Thousands of Low-Income Brazilians Receive Rhinoplasties and Other Cosmetic Surgical Procedures

Since 1997, over 14,000 free rhinoplasties, liposuctions, filler injections and other cosmetic procedures have been performed at just one of the 220 clinics that offer free and discounted procedures to Brazilian patients who are unable to pay for them. If other clinics not documented in the article offered even half that number, it would mean that over one million free cosmetic procedures have been performed since 1997.

According to Dr. Nelson Rosas, one of the doctors who performs free procedures such as Botox, this has a dramatic effect on the patients. In his words, “what’s a wrinkle? Something minor, right? But when we treat the wrinkle…we’re actually treating something very important: The patient’s self esteem.”

Brazil is the second largest consumer of cosmetic surgery in the world, giving them an adequate customer base to help support this high level of non-profit cosmetic surgery, which includes rhinoplasties, liposuction, breast augmentation and breast lifts.

The benefits of these free procedures are having a profound effect on the psyche of the Brazilian poor, providing hope and beauty in difficult times. In the words of Dr. Ivo Pitanguy, another Brazilian cosmetic surgeon performing free procedures, “The poor have the right to be beautiful, too.”

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Fat Transfer Process Increasing in Longevity and Effectiveness

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Nat

Improved Fat Transfer Results

As reported in a recent Cosmetic Surgery Times article, a new matrix known as Selphyl has been introduced into the fat grafting process, and a clinical study has shown it to produce healthier, more effective and longer-lasting results.

The crucial development in this procedure shows that the addition of a matrix known as Selphyl to the fat transfer helps grow more blood vessels in the injection area. The additional growth of these blood vessels makes the fat transfer process more effective by allowing the fat to survive longer. This leads to longer-lasting results with a decreased need for revisionary procedures.

Selphyl Matrix Gives Longer-Lasting Fat Grafting Results

The fat grafting procedure has proven to be highly effective due to its use of natural body fat as a facial filler. By the utilization of a natural body substance, the chance of rejection is eliminated and the likelihood of infection is greatly reduced over other facial injectables.

The fat grafting process involves the removal of fat from trouble areas using liposuction. This removed fat is then purified and processed to create a filler that is easily accepted by the body. This filler is then injected into the target facial areas at specific depths and locations to fill out sunken areas of the face.

One of the few drawbacks of this procedure is the variability of the injected fat cell survival. Typically 30-50% of the fat injected is absorbed by the body, necessitating overfill in order to compensate for the expected loss. The introduction of Selphyl into the fat grafting procedure helps decrease the absorption and make the procedure more consistent. This makes fat grafting easier to plan for without unnecessary overfilling.

The Selphyl matrix is injected as a 1:2 mixture with the harvested fat cells. Selphyl is made up of a biocompatible platelet-rich fibrin matrix that has been shown to increase neovascularization and total cell number. Fat grafting may be used in conjunction with a variety of procedures, including facelifts and hand rejuvenation surgery.

The study was reported in the American Journal of Cosmetic Surgery.

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Minimal Breast Augmentation Incisions with New Procedures

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Nat

Minimized Breast Augmentation Incisions

A recent article in the popular cosmetic medicine magazine New You has detailed a number of innovations in the breast augmentation field that may contribute to much improved incision lines or incisions in less critical areas such as the belly button. These new technologies and procedures may result in minimal scarring, fewer complications and the shortest recovery period possible.

As the first national magazine devoted completely to anti-aging medicine and aesthetic procedures, New You is a quarterly publication dedicated to providing the best possible information on the safety, effectiveness and various costs of aesthetic medicine.

New Procedures Give More Discreet Breast Augmentation Incisions

With more than 300,000 American women electing to have breast augmentations last year, the surgery remains one of the country’s most popular cosmetic procedures. Yet the wide range of possibilities such as choosing between saline implants or silicone implants can make it a difficult decision to navigate.

Though traditional incisions at the nipple and the breast crease are becoming smaller and smaller as technology progresses, many new procedures allow for the same outcome as but place the incision far from the breast area. This alternative has been quite appealing for some patients.

The arm pit incision, or transaxillary method, utilizes a three to five centimeter incision concealed within the natural lines of the armpit. One benefit of this procedure is the ability to use a camera to visualize the chest muscle.

Another popular new incision location is within the belly button. Also known as the trans-umbilical or TUBA breast augmentation, this procedure requires the creation of a tunnel between the belly button and the breasts for the delivery of a rolled-up saline implant.

Other developments include incisions placed in the areola of the nipple and the addition of a breast augmentation to a mommy makeover procedure. In the mommy makeover procedure, the implants are inserted through the pubic bone incision used for the tummy tuck.

Some doctors are supporting these new techniques as a way to minimize complications as well as recovery time and scarring. According to breast augmentation expert Dr. Cuzalina, “some doctors believe there’s a lower rate of infection when the incision is away from the breast.”

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