Plastic Surgeons

If you're considering any type of cosmetic procedure, consumer watchdogs and medical organizations recommend you check up on your doctor first. What's the best way to find a qualified surgeon? According to Dr.

Clue: This brainiac earned 74 Jeopardy! wins as well as a spot on Barbara Walters' list of the 10 most fascinating people of the year. Answer: Who is Ken Jennings? The trivia mastermind and famed "Jeopardy!" champion is back in print with a new book that reveals parents may not know as much as they think they do. " Because I Said So!: The Truth Behind the Myths, Tales, and Warnings Every Generation Passes Down to Its Kids " humorously debunks such commonplace parental admonitions as "It's too dark to read in here, you'll hurt your eyes!"

"Trout pout" ? overly plumped lips that are ubiquitous on Hollywood's red carpets ? can afflict any woman who has tried to enhance naturally thin lips. But a technique from Europe that's rolling out across cosmetic surgery practices in Beverly Hills and beyond aims to counteract the billowy, bee-stung lips that are the result of having fillers, collagen and fat injected into the area. PermaLip, an Food and Drug Administration-approved implant that looks like a clear-colored piece of elastic, is now being used in practices in Florida, Texas, New York and California.

Shatarka Nuby just wanted to be pretty. She longed to fill out her jeans, to look curvier in her bikini, so she sought out a man with a syringe who said he could sell her the body she wanted for $1,000. In her bedroom in South Florida, witnesses later told police, Nuby handed Oneal Ron Morris a wad of cash and stretched out on her stomach. Morris plunged a syringe filled with clear liquid into Nuby's hips and buttocks, the onlookers said. Her skin began to rise under the needle.

It was with a great deal of pride that I read of the extraordinary feat of microvascular surgery performed by two of my colleagues, Drs. John Gross and Bala Chandrasekhar, in "Ghastly Accident Tests Skill of Doctors, Victim's Pluck" (May 6). As a president of the 400-plus-member California Society of Plastic Surgeons Inc. (CSPS), a medical society of physicians who are board certified in plastic surgery, I would have welcomed the designation of both doctors as plastic surgeons rather than simply doctors or surgeons.

In the fall season opener of "Nip/Tuck," the sleek Los Angeles office of McNamara/Troy sat forlorn and empty, a voice-over reminding that when times are tough, one of the first things to go is the luxury of elective cosmetic surgery. That same scene could be played out in plastic surgeons' offices all over, as people seem to be passing up big-ticket beauty procedures -- face-lifts, liposuction, breast augmentation -- and seeking less expensive ways to achieve beauty ideals. According to both the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, the number of cosmetic surgical procedures done in 2008 was lower than in 2007 -- by 9%, according to the ASPS, and 15%, according to the ASAPS.

The faulty breast implants made by the French company Poly Implants Protheses, or PIP, have grabbed headlines around the world in recent weeks, and it's no wonder. The prostheses are more prone to rupture than other models, and they contain an industrial grade of silicone never intended for use in a medical device. The scandal is also global in scope. Sold in 65 countries, the implants were re-branded by a Dutch company registered in Cyprus, offered on credit in Venezuela and smuggled into Bolivia, where they were bought by medical tourists.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reported Monday that chin implantation -- a.k.a. the "chinplant" -- was the fastest-growing cosmetic plastic surgery procedure in 2011.  "The chin and the jawline are among the first areas to show signs of aging," Dr. Malcolm Z. Roth, the organization's president, said in a statement. "People are considering chin augmentation as a way to restore their youthful look just like a facelift or eyelid surgery. " Overall, chin implants were up 71% over 2010, with procedures split more or less evenly between men (who had 10,593 of the surgeries)

It's difficult for battered women to overcome the trauma of their experiences. "Every time they look in the mirror, they see some of the results of that relationship," said Roxann Smith of Ocean Park Community Center in Santa Monica, which operates Sojourn Services for Battered Women. Plastic surgeons, such as Michael Niccole, founder of CosmetiCare Plastic Surgery Specialists in Newport Beach, can change that. And they do.

Dr. Bruce M. Achauer, director of the UC Irvine Medical Center's Regional Burn Center for 22 years and an internationally recognized expert on reconstructive surgery, has died of an unidentified bacterial infection. Achauer would have turned 60 on Monday. "It was very unexpected and shocking for all of us," said Victoria VanderKam, the Orange burn center's program director and nurse manager who had worked with him for more than 20 years. "Bruce was an extraordinary person.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reported Monday that chin implantation -- a.k.a. the "chinplant" -- was the fastest-growing cosmetic plastic surgery procedure in 2011.  "The chin and the jawline are among the first areas to show signs of aging," Dr. Malcolm Z. Roth, the organization's president, said in a statement. "People are considering chin augmentation as a way to restore their youthful look just like a facelift or eyelid surgery. " Overall, chin implants were up 71% over 2010, with procedures split more or less evenly between men (who had 10,593 of the surgeries)

Like it or not, plastic surgery is here to stay. Sure, some people will tout the virtues of self-acceptance and aging gracefully and lament that the rise of cosmetic procedures (including fillers, Botox and the like) signifies the swift decline of civilization. But in reality, as long as people see a benefit -- be it in their work, personal or sex lives -- from looking younger or correcting perceived flaws, plastic surgery will continue to be a solution. According to statistics from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 13,828,726 cosmetic procedures -- including the minimally invasive as well as the surgical -- were done in the U.S. last year.

When Margaret first met her boyfriend, she weighed 105 pounds and wore short crop tops. But after 13 years together, the 55-year-old retiree from Torrance developed a "muffin top" that she just couldn't eliminate. So she did what so many other women do to get their bodies back: She had lipoplasty on her waist, hips and upper and lower abdomen in September. One week later, her boyfriend had lipoplasty for himself. "He hadn't thought about getting anything done, but after hearing how I would look afterward, he decided he should probably go ahead and have a little something done too," said Margaret, who asked that her last name not be used for privacy reasons.

It turns out plastic surgery really does make you look younger, one study has found - on average, in the case of one Canadian doctor's patients, 7.2 years younger. Some plastic surgeons “tend to use the terms more youthful and more refreshed, but precise quantification of these attributes has remained elusive,” a team of cosmetic surgeons wrote in a study published Monday in the Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery (italics theirs). Hoping to come up with “an objective measure of surgical success” - and not have to depend solely on patient-reported satisfaction to assess the success of cosmetic surgery procedures - the researchers, from the University of Toronto in Canada and the NorthShore University Health System in Evanston, Ill., asked first-year medical students to view pictures of 60 patients (54 women and six men , age 45 to 72)

The faulty breast implants made by the French company Poly Implants Protheses, or PIP, have grabbed headlines around the world in recent weeks, and it's no wonder. The prostheses are more prone to rupture than other models, and they contain an industrial grade of silicone never intended for use in a medical device. The scandal is also global in scope. Sold in 65 countries, the implants were re-branded by a Dutch company registered in Cyprus, offered on credit in Venezuela and smuggled into Bolivia, where they were bought by medical tourists.

Bernard G. Sarnat Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, research scientist Dr. Bernard G. Sarnat, 99, a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon and research scientist who advanced the study of facial deformities, died of respiratory failure Oct. 21 in Los Angeles, his family said. Trained as a doctor and a dentist, Sarnat researched the biological circumstances that lead to facial deformities. His findings influenced the development of reconstructive surgical procedures, according to Pete E. Lestrel, author of a 2008 biography of Sarnat.

Two plastic surgeons on Saturday offered to help the family of a missing 14-year-old boy whose face was severely scarred in a fire. The offer was greeted with words of joy by the aunt of Francisco Vargas Jr., an eighth-grader at South Junior High School in Anaheim, who has been missing since April 28. "That's wonderful. We think those are fine offers. Unfortunately, we only wish that Francisco was here so he can finally get the help he wanted," said the boy's aunt, Inez Mendoza. The doctors, Dr.

How would you like a fat lip? What used to be a threat from bullies is now a promise made by plastic surgeons. Use a sexier adjective if you prefer: succulent, voluptuous, pouty. But however you describe them, full lips are all the rage these days. And if you don't happen to come by them naturally, plastic surgeons have several techniques to give them to you anyway, temporarily or permanently. "Women come into my office with pictures of actresses and say 'Those are the lips I want,' " says Dr.

Five years after allowing silicone breast implants back on the market, the Food and Drug Administration said further studies showed the decision was sound. The FDA was criticized by consumer groups in 2006 for approving the implants after a 14-year hiatus because of widespread fear that they caused a range of illnesses. During that period, women seeking implants for cosmetic reasons had been limited to the less-natural-feeling saline implants, which stayed on the market. But research by the two manufacturers of the implants, released in a report Wednesday, indicates that they have a "reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness" when used properly, the FDA said.

"Trout pout" ? overly plumped lips that are ubiquitous on Hollywood's red carpets ? can afflict any woman who has tried to enhance naturally thin lips. But a technique from Europe that's rolling out across cosmetic surgery practices in Beverly Hills and beyond aims to counteract the billowy, bee-stung lips that are the result of having fillers, collagen and fat injected into the area. PermaLip, an Food and Drug Administration-approved implant that looks like a clear-colored piece of elastic, is now being used in practices in Florida, Texas, New York and California.