Ten Plastic Surgery Procedures to Avoid in 2009

Plastic surgery has reached far beyond just a medical sub specialty. Plastic surgery is becoming pop culture with the reality TV shows and rumors of celebrities that have had cosmetic surgery. Some of the procedures that seem to get the most attention are "fringe" plastic surgery procedures.

There are a number of procedures that have an excellent track record of safety, effectiveness, and patient satisfaction. In my opinion procedures like breast augmentation, abdominoplasty, face lift, blepharoplasty, and liposuction would fit into this criteria.

There are other procedures that are being done on a routine basis that are in principle at the least silly and possibly even dangerous. This is the authors current top ten list of plastic surgery procedures to avoid:

1. Lipodissolve and mesotherapy - this involves the injection of a non-standardized mix of chemicals which claims to dissolve the fat away. The amount of fat dissolved is unpredictable and usually little to none. The broken down fat cells and cholesterol are reportedly excreted as waste. There is some concern that this could deposit in the arteries leading to premature heart disease. Mostly, this is a waste of money with little proven benefit.

2. Buttock augmentation - I am not talking about correcting irregularities with fat grafts. I am talking about implants used to add buttock fullness. High risk of infection and implant complications. I think the fad will end quicker than the pain from sitting on these implants.

3. Permanent Fillers - Never, ever let anyone inject silicone into your face. Temporary fillers (Radiesse, Restylane ...) or natural fat injection is O.K.

4. Injection for Breast Augmentation - Injection of soft tissue fillers to increase the breast volume. The procedure is expensive and the duration of effect can be short lived. Risks include breast lumps that can be difficult to rule out breast cancer.

5. Transumbilical breast augmentation (TUBA) - The scar for breast augmentation is almost never an issue after surgery. The scar around the belly button is visible in a bra or bikini. The revision rate is very high and the implants tend to sit too wide and move unnaturally with exercise. Silicone implants cannot be used. If a revision is required, a much longer incision on the breast is needed. This is marketing hype and has no place in breast augmentation.

6. Cosmetic Leg Lengthening Surgery - The bones in the leg are broken and lengthened over time. Actually a very rare procedure.

7. Pectoral implants - Similar to buttock implants.

8. Laser lipo or smartlipo - No proven advantage to tumescent liposuction but there are disadvantages. Disadvantages include the cost of the technology and the generally poorly trained physicians currently using this technology. Very few plastic surgeons have embraced this technology as the studies have not demonstrated advantage. This may change in the future if studies can demonstrate improved safety, efficacy or both as compared to traditional techniques.

9. Phenol peels - Very deep chemical peel that can make a patient look like a pale burn victim. There are much better alternatives including laser therapy and moderate peels such as TCA peels.

10. Physicians without proper training - This is truly most important. Pick a board certified plastic surgeon and you are on the right step. To become board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, a plastic surgeon must first complete intensive training in an accredited training program. Thereafter, the surgeon must pass rigorous written and oral examinations given by the board. The American Board of Plastic Surgery is one of only 24 accredited specialty boards recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) and is the only board recognized by the ABMS to certify a surgeon in plastic surgery. There are a number of other boarding organizations that include "facial", "aesthetic" or "cosmetic" in the title. These are not recognized by the ABMS and do not have the same training requirements.

Contact the American Board of Plastic Surgery at (215) 587-9322 to verify a physician's board status. You may also contact the American Board of Medical Specialties at 1(800) 776-2378 or http://www.abms.org

About the Author

Dr. York Yates is a board certified Utah plastic surgeon. Offers online and in-office opinions and information about cosmetic surgery, reconstructive surgery and hand surgery. Reproduction allowed only with inclusion of author information.

Scarless Breast Augmentation

Breast augmentation is one of the most popular cosmetic surgeries performed in the United States, second only to liposuction. Breast augmentation is a procedure with a high satisfaction rate and thousands of women undergo this procedure every year.

Before having breast augmentation, there are many important decisions to be made like: why do I want this surgery, can I afford it, who is going to perform it, what do I want my results to look like and how big do I want to be? And now there’s another question you probably didn’t know to ask: where do I want my incision to be?

Patients now have the option of scarless breast augmentation, also called trans-umbilical breast augmentation or TUBA. In traditional breast augmentation, the implant is placed through one of several incisions: in the crease of the breast, around the areola or in the armpit. With TUBA, the incision is made in the umbilicus, or belly button, so that there are no visible scars on or around the breast. Because of the elasticity in the belly button, the scar will be unnoticeable to anyone who doesn’t know you have it.

The Procedure
TUBA is an endoscopic procedure, meaning that the cosmetic surgeon uses a small scope to see the inside of the body and where he is placing the implant. The implant is folded up and inserted through the incision in the belly button and then up to each breast. After the implant is in place, it is filled with sterile saline solution. Your cosmetic surgeon will adjust the volume of saline according to what you two previously discussed and what looks good on your body shape and type and then seal the breast implant.

Although trans-umbilical breast augmentation has been around since 1991, its popularity is emerging now and there are many advantages over traditional breast augmentation:

· Less time under anesthesia

· Recovery time is shorter

· No visible scarring

· Less post-operative pain

· Less post-operative wound care

· Less downtime

· Less risk of infection

· Less invasive

· Loss of nipple sensation is less

In addition to the advantages, there are very few disadvantages. Only saline implants can be used at this time and TUBA cannot be combined with a traditional breast lift, a procedure often performed at the same time with traditional breast augmentation.

Misconceptions

Doctors who do not perform this procedure sometimes downplay the advantages of TUBA. Because they are misinformed, they also say things about scarless breast augmentation that simply are not true. Following are a few of the more common misconceptions:

· Placing implants via TUBA voids the manufacturer’s warranty. This is absolutely false – all warranties are still in effect.

· TUBA breast implants can only be placed over the muscle. The truth is that TUBA breast implants can be placed over or under the muscle just like the traditional methods of breast augmentation.

· The doctor is performing “blind”. Again, this is not true. The doctor uses a camera to guide the implant to the correct places, either above or under the pectoral muscles.

· The risk of infection is higher. – False. Studies have shown that the risk of infection is actually lower with TUBA.

At this time, there are few cosmetic surgeons who have training in scarless breast augmentation. If you are considering scarless breast augmentation, be sure to find a doctor who specializes in trans-umbilical breast augmentation so that you receive the most accurate and up-to-date information on the procedure.

If you are considering breast augmentation surgery in Dallas or anywhere in Texas, please contact Dallas cosmetic surgeon Dr. Vasdev Rai who specializes in TUBA breast augmentation surgery.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vasdev_Rai