Dr. Samir Pancholi, a Las Vegas cosmetic surgeon, says that he often performs breast augmentation and breast lift surgery in the same session and liposuction with fat grafting techniques when performing the Brazilian butt lift.

Breast Surgeries

Patients who have lost the shape and fullness of their breasts, such as massive weight loss patients and postpartum women, are often good candidates for a combination of a breast lift and breast implants.

The breast lift, also known as mastopexy, results in a more ideal positioning of the nipple and breast, but it does not adequately address the lack of fullness of the breast in those patients, Dr. Pancholi says.

“In order to achieve a more voluptuous-looking breast…I often combine a mastopexy with breast implant surgery. The breasts are not only higher up but also have a fullness to them because of the implant,” he says.

Buttock Enhancements

By combining liposuction with fat grafting techniques when performing a Brazilian butt lift, the rounded shape of the buttocks can become more enhanced.

Dr. Pancholi says he typically performs liposuction to remove fat at the waist and upper and lower back, which causes a slight hollowing of the area and results in an accentuated curve of the buttocks. Then for a more enhanced curving effect, he takes the fat harvested during liposuction and injects it into the buttocks.

Benefits of Combination Procedures

In the past, patients might have had one breast surgery and then had the other six months later, but combining them can have benefits.

“Combining the two makes much more sense in terms of having one surgery, one recovery, reduced cost and achieving the final result without a second surgery,” according to Dr. Pancholi.

There are other areas of the body where surgeons are performing multiple procedures at one time. The New York Times recently reported that a California surgeon has combined eyelid surgery and a brow lift to create an “All-in-One Eye Lid and Brow.”

Though the term “best cosmetic surgery procedures” may seem subjective, hundreds, if not thousands, of research studies and trials are conducted each year on procedures and non-surgical treatments. Researchers are often on the lookout for treatments that provide optimal results, with minimal side effects for the patient. The better the results of the study, the more likely the product or treatment may be included among the best cosmetic surgery procedures.

In his review of 98 studies, Dr. Murad Alam of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and surgeon at Northwestern Memorial Hospital found the best cosmetic surgery procedures, based on his research.

Botox and other botulinum toxin-based injectables:

Dr. Alam said that based on the two decades of research and findings on Botox-like treatments, they are safe and effective for patients to use.

Tumescent Liposuction:

When tumescent liposuction is performed, special fluids that are used help the surgeon to safely remove fat cells. Dr. Alam added that tumescent liposuction minimizes the chance for excessive bleeding, improving the patient’s comfort and overall health and safety.

Dr. Alam looked into additional treatments, some of which are relatively new on the market. While he found that treatments that freeze fat or shrink it with laser light, and treatments that tighten skin are safe for use, he was not able to confirm the long-term benefits of each treatment.

To find the best cosmetic surgery procedures for you, Alam suggests talking it over with your surgeon and confirming what will best meet your needs.

For more about the best cosmetic surgery procedures in Owensboro, please email Dr. Edds.

1. See a professional and ask how to use the right skin care products in the proper order at the proper times. Don’t buy trendy new skin care products with shiny packaging. Instead, simplify and do it right: one aesthetician, one set of products chosen just for your particular skin, and one place to return to for periodic facials and replenishing of products. Call it skin care monogamy.
2. Get more sleep. Lack of sleep can contribute to dark rings under your eyes, more pimples and dry skin.
3. Undergo a series of non-invasive microdermabrasion treatments to soften those fine lines and wrinkles, minimize blotches, stimulate collagen production and give your face a youthful glow. A quick session every month can help maintain that fresh look.
4. Commit to using sun block to protect your skincare investment. There are great sun protection products now that won’t clog pores, make the skin feel greasy or cause unwanted breakouts. To prevent premature aging, blotchy skin and decrease your risk of skin cancer, use it regularly according the directions.
5. Join the health club, or get outside and walk, run or swim—or mix it up and do all three. Vary your routine and work your body from head-to-toe.
6. Take your daily multivitamin and calcium supplements before the expiration dates lapse. While you’re at it, drink plenty of water.
7. Share your commitment to living healthy with at least two strong, honest, and supportive close friends or family members so that you can be held accountable for your actions and decisions.
8. Stop smoking, tanning and engaging in high risk behaviors that take a toll on your face, not to may mention shorten your life.

For more tips on how to improve the health of your skin, please email Owensboro cosmetic surgeon Dr. Edds.

Pamela, who had suffered from crippling migraines for most of her 47 years, says she chose to undergo the migraine headache surgery, as a means of reclaiming her life. Before, Pamela suffered from migraines on an almost daily basis, but after the surgery, the headaches have ceased.

She says her “life began at 47.”

The migraine headache surgery worked for Pamela by removing the corrugator facial muscle, located on the inner part of the eyebrow. For facial function, this muscle allows the brow to make a frowning shape. Though Pamela’s facial functions have changed from the surgery, she now says she has nothing to frown about since the surgery worked to treat her migraines.

While the form of migraine headache surgery Pamela underwent is still not widely performed and may not work to treat all types of migraine headaches, results from the procedure are positive.

Still, limited research has been published about this type of migraine headache surgery, and many other non-surgical options are available.

Before looking into alternative treatments for her migraines, Pamela used prescription medications to treat her condition. Additionally, Pamela saw success when using Botox injections to limit movement of the corrugator muscle and diminish the occurrence of migraine headaches.

Many cosmetic surgeons use Botox to treat not only facial wrinkles and folds, but also for patients who suffer from migraine headaches.

To learn more about applications for Botox in Owensboro, please email cosmetic surgeon Dr. Edds.

Many people say they notice differences in their skin when they’re stressed out, which can persist for weeks and months, even years. Parenting, work and your social life can be stressors for many busy people, adding to your “epidermal anxiety” and preventing you from looking your best.

Our bodies are reacting to external challenges. Stress creates an adrenaline surge that elevates the level of a hormone called cortisol in the blood. Cortisol tells fat cells to dump sugar into the bloodstream for energy – which is great if you need to outrun a raging elephant but not so great on your body or your skin. Over time stress can damage your body in ways that are not so attractive when you examine yourself in the mirror. Many of us also deal with stress in ways that cause more harm. We sleep less, drink more and eat all the wrong foods.

While all these issues can be resolved, first you have to de-stress. Until that time comes, here are 5 professional tips on how to get by:

1. Keep your hands away from your face, stop touching and stop popping those pimples! Keep your hands busy with a pencil or squeeze one of those strengthening balls. For goodness sake, get rid of that magnifying mirror.

2. Go visit your doctor or cosmetic physician and pick up a few acne fighters.

3. Get yourself a facial, even if you’re on a budget. Treat yourself to some downtime; even bring your teenage kid in for a facial with you. A twofer! It will be therapeutic and quite relaxing for you both.

4. If you or your kids are using benzoyl peroxide be sure not to use it at the same time as you’re using bleaching products (Hydroquinones) or copper peptides. You can use both products, but not at the same time.  Use one in the morning and the other in the evening.

5. If you’re using high quality skin care products, try an Obagi Blue Peel. Because a peel removes the built up dead skin on the surface of your face, it allows therapeutic products to penetrate and get the job done more quickly and more effectively. Even a rejuvenating mask or anti-acne mask will give you a great head start on de-stressing your “epidermal anxiety!”

For more details on how to improve the health of your skin, email Owensboro cosmetic surgeon Dr. Edds.

Skin Care Products

Use antioxidant moisturizers that contain water-binding and anti-inflammatory ingredients like these:

• Amino acids and fatty acids
• Ceramides
• Sodium PCA
• Glycerin

Your lips are particularly vulnerable during this time of year.  Keep them soft and smooth with high quality lip balm. Look for ingredients that don’t block out moisture. Some of the best products contain ingredients like hemp oil, shea butter, Vitamin E and Beeswax. It’s also great to have SPF protection in the mix.

Extra Skin Care Steps

• Remember your sun protection!
• When your skin starts to feel tight, it might be time to reapply moisturizer.
  Exfoliate scaly areas with glycolic or salicylic acid for better penetration of moisturizer.
• Get a humidifier in your home.

To learn more about protecting your skin during the winter, join the mailing list of Owensboro cosmetic surgeon Dr. Edds.

Around the globe, and especially in Spain, the beauty industry is actually growing. While some industries, like construction, are seeing decreases in demand, salon and beauty shop owners are seeing an influx of returning and new customers.

Many people credit a need to feel good about oneself as the reason for a boom in the beauty industry.

Salon manager Patricia Marquez knows the importance of personal care to her clients, saying, “A person needs to feel handsome, to feel comfortable with themselves. If they don’t look good it doesn’t matter what they do.”

Perhaps it is this desire, or even need, for personal upkeep that is causing the beauty industry in Spain to grow by 3% this year.

Even in times when other industries may be struggling, the “Lipstick index” still applies. The “Lipstick index,” as described by Estee Lauder founder Leonard Lauder, shows that even during an economic crisis, his customers bought more lipstick.

It’s safe to assume the “Lipstick index” applies to non-invasive cosmetic surgery stateside, as well. In an effort to look and feel their best, even if money may be tight, patients often choose non-invasive cosmetic surgery as a means of beauty upkeep.

Popular Options for Non-invasive Cosmetic Surgery

Injectable fillers like Radiesse and Juvederm can fill lines around the mouth, while Botox treatments can diminish crow’s feet near the eyes. Treatments like an Obagi Blue Peel can also improve a patient’s overall complexion at a lower cost than more involved procedures.

To learn more about non-invasive cosmetic surgery and treatments to fit your needs, please email Owensboro cosmetic surgeon Dr. Edds.

A chemical peel, like an Obagi Blue Peel, is a solution that can be applied to your face in your cosmetic surgeon’s practice that works to restore youth to the skin and remove surface impurities. By sloughing away dead and damaged surface skin cells, the chemical peel kick-starts your skin’s own rejuvenative processes. This allows fresh, clear skin cells to emerge.

What Are the Benefits of a Chemical Peel?

The many benefits of a chemical peel can apply to patients of varying ages and skin types. Patients most often choose chemical peel treatments for:

• Facial lines and wrinkles
• Uneven skin tone and texture
• Acne or blemishes
• Facial scarring

On top of these cosmetic benefits, chemical peels have added bonuses. The benefits of a chemical peel also extend to its cost-effectiveness. While injectable fillers can also be used to fill lines or depressed scars on the face, they must be retreated every six to 12 months. Meanwhile, the benefits of a chemical peel can last years on average.

Patients and surgeons understand the benefits of a chemical peel, like their ease of use. Because of the positive perception of chemical peels, they are a highly popular cosmetic treatment, following Botox and injectable fillers.

Chemical peels are prepared using different components and in varying strengths. Thus, chemical peels can be customized to meet the needs of many patients.

Unlike some other treatments, the healing time for chemical peels can be minimized, as needed. Though some other treatments may require several months of recovery, a patient can heal from a light chemical peel within a matter of several days. Medium or deep chemical peels, like those with phenol, may have healing times of several weeks.

To learn more about the benefits of an Obagi Blue Peel in Owensboro, please email cosmetic surgeon Dr. Edds.

The new hyaluronic acid dermal filler, which is called Belotero Balance, has been approved to treat moderate to severe facial wrinkles and folds. This includes nasolabial folds, the lines that run from your nose to the edges of your mouth.

Belotero Balance joins Merz Aesthetics family of non-surgical injectables, including Radiesse. Radiesse is a popular filler comprised of calcium-based microspheres in a water gel that works to restore lost volume in the face. Though its uses are similar to Belotero Balance, the new hyaluronic acid dermal filler works differently.

Like similar hyaluronic acid dermal fillers, Restylane and Juvederm, Belotero Balance works to restore lost volume to your skin by increasing its hydration. Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring hydrating component in your skin and these dermal fillers work to mimic it. When injected into the skin beneath the site of a wrinkle, a hyaluronic acid dermal filler provides a sort of scaffolding for depressed areas of skin, supporting them and improving the appearance of youth on the face.

To test the effectiveness of Belotero Balance, it was compared in a split-face study with a collagen-based filler. Using a scale that rates wrinkle severity, Belotero Balance was shown to provide a greater reduction in the appearance of nasolabial folds over 24 weeks. In fact, at the six-month mark, Belotero Balance still showed a greater correction of the wrinkles than its counterpart.

To learn more about your hyaluronic acid dermal filler options in Owensboro, please email cosmetic surgeon Dr. Edds.

While previously, patients were instructed to get a breast implant MRI three years after surgery and every two years going forward, that requirement is no longer in place.

“Women should feel assured that the FDA continues to believe that currently marketed silicone breast implants are safe,” said Dr. William Maisel, chief scientist for the FDA’s Center for Devices.

While there are some types of damage that a breast implant MRI can detect, such as ruptures that may not otherwise be visible, patients may not be at a greater risk. Additionally, the cost of a breast implant MRI may be too high and deter women from undergoing regular testing.

The discussion of how to track the performance of breast implants, aside from breast implant MRIs, continued. One idea favored by many is to keep a registry of all breast implant patients, though the cost of such a venture could be cost-prohibitive.

Given this new confirmation of the safety of silicone breast implants, the responsibility of tracking may come down to each individual patient. While not required, a breast implant MRI may be the only way to discover a rupture. You should discuss your breast implants with your cosmetic surgeon if you have any questions about safety or maintenance. He will be able to provide you with specific information about the devices used and how to monitor them.

To learn more about options for breast augmentation in Owensboro, please join the mailing list of cosmetic surgeon Dr. Edds.