Cleveland Clinic doctors followed 216 women for three years, comparing their facelift results based on their varying age. 148 of the patients were under the age of sixty-five, while 68 of them were over the age of sixty-five. They tracked their progress, including results, complications and other facelift outcomes.

“Facelift surgery in the elderly has always been perceived to carry more post-operative risk,” says Dr. James Zins, Cleveland Clinic chairman of plastic surgery. [But] “according to our study and pre-operative screenings, patients over 65 had no statistically significant increase in complications.”

The best age for a facelift varies

“If you are healthy and cleared by your doctor for surgery, it is reasonable to have a facelift” writes Seattle area plastic surgeon Richard Rand on realself.com. For most patients, a facelift is considered some time between ages 40 to 60, when wrinkles and folds begin to appear on the lower face and neck. While younger people might address cosmetic problems in this area with neck liposuction or a chin implant, an older patient typically has loose skin that needs to be tightened.

Age alone should not be considered a predictor of facelift risk, according to the study authors, who stress that good screening is a critical aspect of a safe facelift. “Careful screening of the elderly patients, and excluding those with significant co-morbidities, led to the low complication rate, ” explains Dr. Zins.

In a recent blog post, Michigan facelift surgeon Steven Ringler explains other factors that are more important than age, including “general health of the patient, skin quality, wrinkles, laxity of the face, jowls, environmental damage, genetics, realistic expectations about what a facelift can and cannot accomplish.”

Researchers and authors of “The Safety of Rhytidectomy in the Elderly,” say that more research is needed to determine if there should be an age limit for facelift in patients over 65 years of age. The average age of their elderly group was 70 years.

Read the study abstract in PRS Journal

View more Houston facelift photos

Wendy is the latest Obagi patient to be featured in their “Watch the Transformation” series.

“The Nu-derm has made a big difference in my skin,” she explains. Better skin tone, less visible crow’s feet, minimized fine lines, fewer wrinkles. Most of all, she says she appreciates the fact that she doesn’t need to use makeup anymore.

A decision has been reached about stem cells in cosmetic surgery, from a special task force assigned by members of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. At the annual Aesthetic Meeting in Boston, they presented a systematic review of the medical literature, which concludes that stem cells do have “tremendous potential” in aesthetic surgery, but the data (on safety and efficacy) is limited. Therefore, marketing claims about cosmetic stem cell therapies should be reigned in.

“There are encouraging data from laboratory and clinical studies to suggest that the use of adult stem cells is a very promising field,” said J. Peter Rubin M.D., “but as our comprehensive review of the current scientific literature shows, the data available today do not substantiate the marketing claims being made to patients seeking aesthetic surgery and aesthetic medical treatments.”

Findings and recommendations from the task force include the following guidelines.

• Terms like “stem cell therapy” should only describe treatments that use stem cells for a specific purpose, not for treatments (like fat grafting) that happen to incorporate stem cells in their technique.
• Marketing for stem cell therapies in cosmetic surgery is not currently supported by adequate clinical evidence.
• Further research is encouraged, so more data can be collected on the benefits of stem cell applications in plastic surgery.
• Any stem cell based procedure should be performed in compliance with FDA regulation.
• Patients should exercise “extreme caution” when they encounter any physician who is promising results that sound “too good to be true.”

Felmont F. Eaves III, MD, ASAPS President, explains: “While we remain enthusiastic about the future potential of stem cell therapies in aesthetic surgical procedures, unsubstantiated claims for such therapies will harm patients and tarnish the reputation of the industry,” but “this joint position statement will provide guidance for our members, the public and the media.”

One such mom, Dana Van Gray underwent breast augmentation and a tummy tuck at age 38, one year after having her last child. She said she felt the need to seize the opportunity and said the positive change in her body improved her attitude. “I feel good so I can be a better mom to my kids,” Van Gray said.

A “mommy makeover” is not a single plastic surgery procedure, but actually several surgeries that can help a woman regain her pre-pregnancy shape.

• Breast augmentation (sometimes with a lift) restores volume to breasts that may have begun to sag after breastfeeding.
• Tummy tuck surgery removes excess skin and tissue that can hang around the midsection.
• Liposuction removes stubborn fat in specific areas of the body.

The ASPS recommends that new mothers wait six months to a year before undergoing any of these procedures and that they lose weight before surgery.

Dr. Phillip Haeck, ASPS President, says that more and more, the women who are electing these procedures are not older women, but younger mothers like Dana. He attributes this to improving attitudes toward cosmetic surgery and an openness about the desire to change what diet and exercise may fail to achieve.

Moms can get a mommy makeover in Houston.

Blair Underwood from L.A. Law appears on the show, saying, “I am good right now with the 6-pack, but I hear there’s a plastic surgery you can do to work out the 6-packs when I am older. If there’s a plastic surgery for a man, let the brother know.”

Can liposuction really accentuate a man’s abdominal muscles? According to Dr. Ordon, a technique called “etching” can work in this manner. “We turn the instrument up, we bring it more superficial, to the skin, and actually etch out a six-pack,” he explains.

An advisory panel on plastic surgery devices voted to expand approved indications for the popular wrinkle filler, which could allow Restylane to be marketed for lip augmentation purposes.

Restylane is already approved for non-surgical correction of facial wrinkles – typically the nasolabial folds on each side of the mouth. The filler was one of the first hyaluronic acid based products to receive FDA approval (in 2004). Expansion of its approved indications would make Restylane the first HA filler approved for lip augmentation.

Jonah Shacknai, CEO and Chairman of Medicis, says his company is “pleased with the panel’s recommendation,” and they believe the recommendation “reflects confidence in the robust clinical data provided by Medicis.”

Read more about lip augmentation in Houston

“There is not much difference between the 350cc and 375cc implants,” writes Dr. Basu.

Dr. Basu considers two factors when selecting implants for breast augmentation patients: dimensional planning and a gel implant sizing system.

What is Dimensional Planning for breast augmentation?

In dimensional planning, the measurements of your chest wall and breasts are taken. Based on these measurements, the doctor can recommend a breast implant size. This will give you a unique breast implant that is suited for your body frame. Even your fitness levels and other relevant criteria are taken into consideration. But ultimately, the patient decides what she is comfortable with.

The Gel Implant Sizing System

During a preliminary consultation for breast augmentation, patients are provided with an option to “try on” a variety of implant shapes and sizes. You can also visualize the possible outcomes of your surgery, so you can find your ideal size. This way, your preferences are known and you can pick breast implants that will “fit” just rig,t to provide a soft, natural and full appearance.

“Radiographic follow-up of breasts treated with fat grafting is not problematic and should not be a hindrance to the procedure,” concludes study author Dr. Michaël Veber, of University of Lyon-Léon Bérard Cancer Center in France

An article about this research was published in the March issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery journal.

During fat grafting for breast surgery, a surgeon removes small amounts of fat from one part of the body (such as the hips or thighs via liposuction) and then transfers it to the breasts.

To determine if fat grafting for breast augmentation, what the authors call “lipomodeling,” caused any problems with mammogram screenings for breast cancer, the researchers reviewed mammograms performed 16 months (on average) after lipomodeling in 31 women.

In over half of the cases, the mammograms showed no abnormalities. Some women’s mammograms showed small calcifications or cysts that were thought to be caused by the fat transfer procedure, and a few women had other abnormalities related to scarring from their breast surgery. However, the authors concluded none of these changes were considered likely to raise suspicions of breast cancer on routine mammograms.

In 20 women, researchers evaluated mammograms performed before and after fat transfer. They found no significant differences in the mammographic results from before to after breast surgery. Overall, breast density remained stable over time and “radiographic follow-up was not more difficult after lipomodeling.”

The authors suggest that women undergoing lipomodeling have a complete evaluation — including mammograms — before and after the procedure.

Known as “the Maestro” he was a surgeon who realized the value of social reintegration after complex reconstructive surgery. As a Royal Air Force plastic surgeon, McIndoe transformed his profession as he treated pilots who were badly burned during World War II.

The brilliant surgeon developed new techniques during a period when little was known about severe burn treatment, reconstructing hands and faces that had been disfigured. According to Time Magazine, McIndoe would “take charred, featureless living remains and remake them into presentable human beings.”

When pilots with burn injuries were transferred to his East Grinstead hospital in the weeks following the Battle of Britain, McIndoe was one of only four plastic surgeons in the country.

McIndoe knew that physical reconstruction was only part of the battle, and that his patients needed to be prepared for the world beyond the hospital. So he arranged for his patients to be invited to events and to attend theater and film openings. The recovering war heroes no longer hid because of their injuries, and thanks to McIndoe’s efforts, East Grinstead became known as “the town that didn’t stare.”

His patients even formed their own drinking club, the Guinea Pig Club, named after the experimental nature of McIndoe’s treatments.

By the end of the war there were over 600 members, and the club still meets today to offer help to burn patients. Sir Archibald McIndoe died in 1960, but his legacy lives on in the tradition of reconstructive plastic surgery, which continues to help injured soldiers, accident victims, and many others who have suffered from a debilitating disorder or disease.