50th Anniversary of Silicone Breast Implant Procedure

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Nat

50th Anniversary of Breast Implants

Breast implants have been rising in popularity since the first silicone breast implant procedure in 1962, according to a recent article in Cosmetic Surgery News.

Over those 50 years, the breast implantation procedure has gone from just one patient in 1962 to over 1,600,000 patients in the United States alone. It is the second most popular cosmetic procedure in the world, coming in just slightly behind liposuction. And it’s still growing.

First Woman to Receive Silicone Breast Implants in 1962 Still Wearing Them Proudly

Timmie Jean Lindsay is still “quite proud” of her silicone implants as an 80 year old woman, and says that she has “never once regretted” being the first woman to undergo silicone breast implants.

Breast augmentation in 1962 was in its infancy. Other proposed (and failed) methods of breast augmentation had included paraffin injections, glass balls, ground rubber, ivory, ox cartilage, gutta-percha, and various polyethylene products. Flap techniques had been tried and silicone had been injected into the breast tissue but not placed within a sac.

In 1961, Dr. Thomas Cronin and Dr. Frank Gerow developed a thick silicone gel encapsulated in a teardrop-shaped rubber sac. Following successful testing, they asked Timmie Jean Lindsay if she would be willing to be the first recipient of these historical implants.

Lindsay had first come into their offices to have a tattoo removed near her chest, and it was the doctors who approached her with the idea. Hesitant at first, she said that she’d rather have her ears adjusted. Dr. Cronin and Dr. Gerow told her that they would perform both the ear surgery and the breast implantation for free, and she agreed.

Their courage and the success of that first procedure helped shape the future of breast surgeries, including breast augmentation, breast reconstruction, breast reductions and breast lifts. The long-term success of that procedure and its ever-increasing popularity have had a dramatic affect on world since 1962.

Posted in Breast Augmentation, In the News | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Poor In Brazil Receiving Cosmetic Surgery for Free

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Nat

Free Rhinoplasties, Cosmetic Surgery for Brazilian Poor

According to a recent Huffington Post article, there has been a rise in the number of impoverished Brazilians receiving a wide range of cosmetic surgery, including rhinoplasty, liposuction, Botox, breast augmentation and 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, Other Cosmetic Surgical Procedures

Since 1997, over 14,000 free rhinoplasties, liposuctions, dermal 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.”

Posted in Breast Augmentation, Cosmetic Surgery, In the News | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Selphyl Injection Gives Longer Lasting Fat Grafting Results

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Nat

Improved Fat Transfer Results

One of the most efficient cosmetic procedures available is fat grafting, which has just become more effective, according to a clinical trial discussed in a recent Cosmetic Surgery Times article.

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.

Posted in Botox and Fillers, Facial Surgeon | Tagged , | Leave a comment

New Techniques Contribute to Less Noticable Breast Augmentation Incisions

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Nat

Minimized Breast Augmentation Incisions

New techniques in the breast augmentation field may contribute to greatly decreased incision lines or incisions in less visual areas such as the belly button, according to a recent article in the popular aesthetic medicine magazine New You. The article discusses some of the latest developments and trends that may allow for 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.”

Posted in Non-Invasive, breast implants | Tagged , | Leave a comment