Bad Plastic Surgery in Mexico

There is a fascinating slideshow on MSNBC detailing one woman's experience having plastic surgery at a clinic in Mexico. It's a bit graphic, so be prepared. Unfortunately, more and more people are going to other countries to have work done, since it is often cheaper to do it outside the U.S.
One of the plastic surgeons I used to work with was once doing a rhinoplasty on a patient who had had it done previously in the Phillipines. He ended up pulling a plastic toothbrush handle out of her nose, which the Fillipino plastic surgeon apparently put in.
It's worth it to pay a bit more for safety. Always find a Board-certified Plastic Surgeon who works only out of respected hospitals or accredited surgery facilities.

Story credit: cosmeticsurgerytruth.blogspot.com

Celebrity breast surgery

Dr. Rob Oliver has a nice post on celebrity breast surgery in his blog Plastic Surgery 101. He comments on the different ways to fix problems with poorly done cosmetic breast surgery. I do agree with just about everything that he writes, although I am still unsure about the "Pinwheel" thing.

Charlie's Angels at the Emmys

I got a chance to watch the Emmy Awards last night. I don't watch a lot of TV, but am hooked on a few reality shows, in addition to Scrubs and Lost. Therefore, I wasn't much into the awards last night. What did catch my attention, however, was the reunion of Charlie's Angels. Wow. Back in the day, I thought Farrah was gorgeous. Now, the three of them appear to be examples of both good and bad plastic surgery.
I think that Jaclyn Smith (60 years old) looks fantastic. She looks like an older Katherine McPhee. Although I haven't seen her (or a photo of her) in a few years, it appears that she's had a facelift with fat grafting (my specialty - the Volumetric Facelift). That's why I think her face looks the "softest" of the three. Her skin is tight, but not too tight (see Kate Jackson) and she doesn't have the gauntness of Farrah.
I've always said that good plastic surgery is so good that you can't tell it's been done. She doesn't have any of the telltale signs of plastic surgery that I could see last night, except that her age gives her away. In my opinion, that's good work.

Photo and story credit: perezhilton.com

Cindy Crawford

Cindy Crawford has recently admitted to using plastic surgery to help her maintain her beautiful looks. She told Gala magazine that, "I'm not going to lie to myself: past a certain age, creams work on the texture of your skin but, in order to restore elasticity, all I can really count on is vitamin injections, Botox and collagen."
She also admits, "I have a very simple, healthy life, which works miracles. I drink a lot of water, watch what I eat and exercise. 'But I owe the quality of my skin to my cosmetic surgeon."
It's refreshing to hear such a prominent supermodel admit to needing help to look the way she does. It is too bad that more celebrities don't come out and admit the work they've had done, as I do believe that plastic surgery is more common than most people think. Although it is not for everyone, it doesn't have the stigma today that it had 20 years ago. This is most obvious on the coasts and in larger, more "hip" cities such as Miami and Las Vegas, not to mention my hometown of Greenville, Michigan...

Story credit: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=402085&in_page_id=1773

Jack Russell from Great White

It's been a quiet weekend for celebrity plastic surgery, so I thought I'd slip in a recent story which I haven't yet. Jack Russell, the lead singer of the 80's hair band Great White has admitted to having a facelift to the TV show Extra. He wanted to get rid of the "turkey neck" and stated: "Most of my friends go ;Have you lost weight?' `Yeah, about 10 pounds in the face.'"
If I were him, I'd focus on two other things too. First would be doing everything I could to continue to support the families of the nearly 100 people who died in the tragic nightclub fire of 2003. Second would be changing my name to something a little less canine-sounding. Maybe Doc Sund?
In all seriousness, some people think that facelifts tighten the skin of the entire face. Actually, traditional facelifts only tighten up the lower face and the neckline. They do nothing to the forehead, and usually only a minimal amount to the cheeks. I call these traditional muscle-tightening facelifts "lower facelifts" to differentiate them from the Volumetric Facelift, which also treats the cheeks and under the eyes.

Photo credit: vh1.com
Story credit: http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/great%20white%20star%20has%20a%20facelift_25_05_2006

Breast implant saves a life

This has nothing to do with celebrities, but I thought it was a great story to tell. A 24 year old Isreali woman was recently struck with shrapnel during the Hizbullah/Israeli conflict. Pieces of the shrapnel were found imbedded in her silicone breast implants, just inches from her heart. A hospital spokesman announced that the implants "saved" her "from death."
Who says plastic surgery can't save a life?

Story credit: plasticsurgery101.blogspot.com

David Copperfield

According to Newsmax.com, David Copperfield alleges that he's found the fountain of youth. He bought a cluster of small islands in the Bahamas for $50 million, and states that things which are nearly dead come into contact with the water and are restored back to life. They appear to bestow perpetual youth. He's inviting biologists to study it, but has not invited visitors to drink from or swim in it. I wonder if it was Dick Clark who sold it to him prior to his stroke last year? Maybe this solves the dilemma of how Keith Richards can still be alive and playing guitar...

Story credit: http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2006/8/15/200630.shtml by way of plasmetic.com

Prince Harry

It looks like Prince Harry has found out what a breast implant feels like. The former Swastika-wearing prince was photographed at a London nightclub trying to get to second base. What a tool.

Story credit: celebritysmack.com

Nicole Richie

Photo removed at general request by x17online.com

Nicole Richie needs to eat some more food. I am all for being in shape, but she is WAY too skinny. There are some people who naturally have such a revved up metabolism that they are really thin like this. Nicole, however, has been heavier and I am afraid she is anorexic, eating only roots and shrubs. Somebody should help her! HELLO? Lionel?

Story and photo credit: celebrity smack blog and x17online.com

Liposuction at Home = Death

Liposuction at home = Death. A report out of Boston reveals that a Brazilian man and his wife were caught performing liposuction in the basement of a condominium after one of their patients died. Apparently, these two wackos were convincing people in the community to have liposuction by them, claiming that he was a plastic surgeon.
It is an utter shame that there are people in the community who mascarade as plastic surgeons and take advantage of naive patients in order to make money. While this story is shocking, unfortunately there are physicians in most large metropolitan areas who mascarade as Board-Certified Plastic Surgeons in order to convince them to pay for plastic surgery in their offices. Here, in the metro Detroit area, there is a worrisome trend toward businesspeople starting up cosmetic surgery practices where they hire doctors to perform surgeries on people at severely reduced prices. Unfortunately, these doctors are usually not real plastic surgeons, and often perform "hack jobs" on unsuspecting patients. They often call themselves "Cosmetic Surgeons," which is a generic term for anyone who performs cosmetic surgery. The "cosmetic surgeon" could be a dermatologist, OB-Gyn, or even an ER doc. "Cosmetic surgeons" are not the same as "Plastic Surgeons." If you have interest in this topic, check out Dr. Rob Oliver's post on Plastic Surgery 101.

Extreme Makeover and the Swan

I was excited to see the first episode of the new Extreme Makeover this past Thursday night on ABC. Unfortunately, ABC cancelled it at the last minute and instead broadcast reruns of Gray's Anatomy. Bummer. Although I am partial to E!'s Dr. 90210, I do hope ABC finds a spot on their schedule for this show. I am not as fond of the Swan, which I thought was more of a freakshow. This was filmed during the time I was practicing in Beverly Hills. At the time I heard rumors of major complications in some of the Swan's contestants, who had apparently been overoperated on. This information never made it to the show's broadcast. Although I haven't heard official word about this, I do believe that the Swan's propensity to make everyone look the same (Overarched eyebrows, long curly hair, big lips, large chest, and tiny waist) was a bit disturbing. It is important to retain some of the characteristics that make each of us unique, otherwise everyone will end up looking like Brad Pitt and Pamela Anderson (or Burt Reynolds and Joan Rivers).

Gwyneth Paltrow

Gwyneth Paltrow has commented that she's considering plastic surgery due to the damage her two childbirths have caused. The Sun claims Paltrow has told pals, "My stomach is rippling, my breast don't feel good. I've been trying to work it out. I want to do something about it....It is such a lot of hard work. And I've been breastfeeding, which has been causing me so much problems. My breasts feel so sore."

A large percentage of the women who have plastic surgery have it done to correct changes caused by having children. Pregnancy itself can result in loose skin and muscle of the tummy, which can be corrected by a tummy tuck. Breast feeding can cause the breasts to decrease in size and sag. This can be corrected by a breast lift, with or without implants. Unfortunately, none of these surgeries is scarless, although if done properly the scars can be well-hidden.

Celebrities, even the most glamorous of them, are normal people just like everyone else. I recommend my patients to wait at least 6 months after breastfeeding to have breast surgery, and 6 months after childbirth for a tummy tuck.

Story and photo credit: uk.news.yahoo.com

Barbara Streisand

Barbara Streisand was reportedly seen leaving a plastic surgery clinic recently. Can anyone guess what she may have had done? I strongly doubt a rhinoplasty, as it would be too obvious. A facelift would be a possibility though. Damn, I miss L.A.!

Story and photo credit: dlisted.com

My Free Implants - What the?

Do you want free breast (or even butt) implants? A new website, myfreeimplants.com, hooks up women who want implants with rich men who would like to buy a set for them. There are currently over 200 women signed up looking to meet desperate men with money. What an odd society we live in.

Story credit: plasmetic.com

Shannen Doherty

Shannen Doherty is very upset with rumors that she's had plastic surgery. In fact, she is so distraught, that Sky Showbiz is reporting that she has hired a lawyer to sue the magazine which printed the story. Awful plastic surgery also has a story on her possible plastic surgery as well. I'd comment on this, but I don't want the former star of "Our House" to sue me too.

Photo and story credit: Sky Showbiz