Friday, October 27, 2006
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand is looking a bit droopy lately. It's nothing a breast lift (mastopexy) couldn't help. Unfortunately, breast lifts are not perfect surgeries since they create significant scars on the breast. The scars usually go around the areola, vertically down to the under-breast crease, and sometimes under the breast as well. The scars usually fade with time, but it can take 1-2 years.
Some patients get breast lifts with implants (augmentation mastopexy), but the implants are only necessary if the patient wants her breast to be larger.
I do believe that Star Jones and Carnie Wilson both had breast lifts with implants. I wouldn't recommend implants for Barbra. Her breasts are big enough!
Photo credit: kurlander.blogspot.com
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Tara Reid on Awful Plastic Surgery
Tara Reid was on the Today show today talking about her plastic surgery experience. It's a nice interview. She is really doing the public a service to let them know that there are people out there doing plastic surgery who are not real plastic surgeons. Even in my geographic vicinity, there is a plethora of doctors who perform plastic surgery who have no formal plastic surgery training at all. It's extremely frustrating to see so many of their complications. Most of them could have been prevented had the surgery been performed by a competent plastic surgeon certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. There's a reason I don't perform tonsillectomies, treat diabetes, or remove cataracts. I don't perform surgeries I haven't been properly trained to do. I wish other doctors in town would do the same.
Here is a link to the Today show site. Scroll down to find the link to the video of the interview.
Here is a link to the Today show site. Scroll down to find the link to the video of the interview.
Demi Moore
Demi Moore has reportedly had her knees done. According to the Daily Mail, the star has reportedly been unhappy with how her knees looked and recently had them surgically altered. Here is their story (abridged):
Despite her enviable figure, Demi Moore, 43, always had one or two things she wanted to hide away - her knees.
After her flaw was pointed out to her, the mother of three - who is very conscious that actor husband Ashton Kutcher is 15 years younger than her - asked her plastic surgeon to see what he can do.
"Demi went to Brian Novack, who has already done work on her," a source close to the actress said. "He is a fantastic surgeon and his clients don't look like they've had surgery. Demi couldn't stand it that there was any part of her that is not perfect.
"She is also sensitive about her age, although Ashton has told her a million times he doesn't care about what she looks like because he loves her.
"A lot of her friends were trying to talk her out of having more surgery. Worrying about her knees, of all things, is just silly. She's lucky that's the only part of her left to sag!"
Knees are one of the hardest areas of the body to have done because there is nowhere to conceal the scarring.
"If you cut away skin there is going to be scarring," said plastic surgeon Alex Karidis of the Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth in North London. "If you have a neck lift you can hide the scarring behind the ear, but the knees are one of the most exposed areas of the body.
"I would always advise my clients against having knee surgery because it is impossible to hide. And even though the scarring might not be as bad as the sagging, it will be a telltale sign that you have had surgery."
The surgery added another £5,000 to the £220,000 tally of improving her body. Among the work she has allegedly had is liposuction to her hips, thighs and stomach, estimated to have cost £16,000, a £9,500 breast implant operation and £20,000 of work on her face.
After a string of film flops in the late Nineties and a difficult break up with her husband of 11 years, Bruce Willis, Miss Moore has enjoyed a comeback since having the main work done nearly four years ago.
What cosmetic surgeons believe Demi has had done:
• Liposuction to her hips, inner and outer thighs and stomach - £16,000
• Beast implants for 1996 film Striptease - £11,000
• Subsequent operation to reduce her breast implants and have a breast lift - £9,500
• Brow lift - £3,600
• Chemical facial skin peel - £10,000
• Collagen injections (per course) - £200
• Teeth veneered and laser whitening - £6,200
• A long-term diet and fitness routine, including nutritionist, personal trainer, yoga instructor and kick-boxing champion - £165,000
• Knees surgery - £5,000
Total: £226,500
I haven't checked the exchange rates in years, but last time I was in the UK, a U.S. dollar was worth about half a British pound. That puts the total amount she's estimated to have spent around $400,000! I would doubt some of the amount above, as a chemical peel should not cost 10,000 pounds and liposuction 16,000 pounds. If that was the case, I would retire at age 40!
Monday, October 23, 2006
Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan has expressly denied having a breast augmentation. According to Showbiz News:
The 'Georgia Rule' actress - was reported to have had her breasts surgically enhanced after recently being photographed with a fuller cleavage - is fed up with the constant speculation about whether she has gone under the knife to boost her bust.
She is quoted as saying: "I like my breasts the way they are. I read that I had breast implants and that I'd had my lips done too, which is such b*****t."
The 'Mean Girls' star - who has previously been dogged by anorexia rumours - insists she has never been happier with her body.
She said: "I feel great. I like having a shape."
I'm likely one of the plastic surgeons she has read about. The photos I've examined from national magazines are pretty convincing, especially in regards to the lips. Breast augmentation, however, can be difficult to determine due to all the nice push-up bras nowadays.
It's like that 90's song by C&C Music Factory: Things That Make You Go Hmm....
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Sharon Osbourne
Sharon Osbourne is planning to have her gastric band removed. A gastric band is a band placed around the stomach to make it smaller. This causes the person to feel full quicker, and therefore eat less.
According to the Associated Press:
Osbourne, who has written a memoir, "Sharon Osbourne Extreme," had surgery in 1999 to have the gastric band put inside her, but intends to shed it in December (when she returns to the U.S. from Britain). Though the band is designed to limit food intake by squeezing down the stomach's capacity, she packed on 15 pounds this year, she says, "from overeating."
"I keep trying to eat more and more ... I'm a pig," says Osbourne, who has indulged in "chocolate, French fries and junk food" instead of sticking to the nutritious diet required of gastric-band patients.
What happens when she eats too much? "You throw up...then you eat more," she says.
Hopefully she can keep her appetite in check after the band is removed. The gastric band is a nice alternative to gastric bypass surgery. The recovery isn't as difficult, the surgery is reversible (as far as I know), and it doesn't seem as risky as gastric bypass. Weight loss doesn't seem to occur quite as fast as with gastric bypass as well, which may actually be a good thing.
I have operated on several people who have had gastric banding, lost a lot of weight (80-120 lbs), and then needed a tummy tuck to remove excess skin. There are some plastic surgeons who focus solely on treating people with massive weight loss.
Story and photo credit: www.washingtonpost.com
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Eva Longoria
From chinadaily.com:
Eva Longoria has said she would never have plastic surgery - because she has a phobia of needles.
The Desperate Housewives star does not have a moral issue with cosmetic alterations, however, and does not necessarily look down on those who choose to do it.
"It's not that I'm against people who do it, but I'm terrified of needles," she told Maxim. "I've seen those shows with the operations. The sound of the chisel! Aaah! I almost passed out. No thank you. Egg white omlettes, some exercise and some eye cream is fine for now."
She looks great and shouldn't have any plastic surgery done anyways. When women who look like her come to my office I tell them to take care of their skin (Obagi products are amazing) and consider non-invasive treatments like lunchtime lasers, or maybe some Botox.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Dave Navarro
Dave Navarro...hasn't had any plastic surgery that I can tell. I have a lot of respect for Mr. Navarro and call myself a fan. He's a guitar legend and one of the key members of Jane's Addiction. He also has a pretty rad (80's term) goatee. One thing I have learned as a plastic surgeon is that men often wear goatees to cover up a small chin or a double chin. In the same way, women often wear bangs to cover up wrinkles of the forehead. I believe that Dave Navarro is no different. He does appear to have a smallish chin, termed microgenia, which is hidden by his goatee. A chin augmentation would be great for him, as it would give him a much stronger jawline. I would place a large size solid silicone implant through the inside of the mouth. This creates no visible scars, and heals very quickly. Then he could shave off the flavor-saver and get on with rocking out with his new band, Panic Channel.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Dr. Youn on Ashlee Simpson in In Touch Weekly
Has Ashlee Simpson had more plastic surgery? The latest issue of In Touch Weekly focuses on this, and presents some of my comments on her possible latest work. We all know she had a rhinoplasty, which is confirmed by her surgeon, Dr. Raj Kanodia. He, like me, is an alumnus of the Dr. 90210 TV show. For the record, there is a distinct possibility she has had a chin reduction procedure (called a genioplasty) and an endoscopic browlift.
A genioplasty is a fairly invasive, painful surgery which I do not perform regularly. It basically entails breaking the chin and setting the bone back to make it look smaller.
An endoscopic browlift is a procedure I perform quite often. It is a minimally invasive surgery in which the surgeon makes small incisions in the scalp and uses fiberoptic cameras to release the forehead and pull it upward. It is contrasted with the sometimes ghastly old-fashioned forehead lift, where an incision is made across the scalp, from ear to ear. It can be very visible in some people, especially if they go bald.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Tara Reid's Surgeon - Dr. Steve Svehlak
Tara Reid and her plastic surgery "nightmare" is the cover story of the latest US magazine. She goes in detail about the various problems with her first plastic surgery, with the following quotes from USmagazine.com:
On why she had plastic surgery in the first place:
“I got my breasts done for the first time because my breasts were uneven. I was a 34-B, but the right one was always bigger than the left. I weigh 110 pounds now, but I always used to fluctuate by 10 pounds, so my skin was kind of saggy. I figured, I’m in Hollywood, I’m getting older, I’m going to fix them.”
On what went wrong:
“First of all, I asked for big Bs, and he did not give me big Bs. He gave me Cs, and I didn’t want them. At all. Right after the surgery, I had some bumps along the edges of my nipples, but the doctor said, ‘Don’t worry, it’s going to be better.’ But after six months of ‘it’s going to get better,’ it started to get worse and worse.”
On being intimate:
"Guys I was dating would be like, ‘What’s wrong with them? They look really bad. You know, you should really get them fixed.’ So embarrassing. I mean, you definitely need to turn off the lights, that’s for sure.”
On getting lipo:
"I got lipo because even though I was skinny, I wanted – I’m not going to lie – a six-pack. I had body contouring, but it all went wrong. My stomach became the most ripply, bulgy thing.”
A very good friend of mine (and former associate during my time in Beverly Hills), Dr. Steve Svehlak was identified as the surgeon who fixed her previous unsatisfactory work. She states that he helped "get her confidence back."
Liposuction which is performed overly aggressively or in the wrong tissue plane can create unsightly bulges and depressions. It is most often seen in the tummy and outer thigh areas. I have corrected many of these myself, usually coming from local cosmetic surgeons who are not board-certified plastic surgeons. I believe that the attempt to create a "six pack" using liposuction (called "etching" makes no sense at all. Some surgeons will try this to make the fat look like muscle. Unfortunately, fat is not muscle and will sag with time. No one wants to have a saggy, fat-filled six pack. Eventually that six pack of Heineken bottles will turn into a six pack of Milwaukee's Best in a can. It is bound for ultimate failure.
Anyone on the West Coast who is interested in a world-class plastic surgeon, visit Dr. Svehlak's website at sunsetcosmeticsurgery.com. He's a great guy and outstanding surgeon. Let him know I sent you. OK...enough of the plug.
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Lil Kim...Big Mess
What the heck is going on with Lil Kim's face? It seems that the recently parolled rapper has lost more than a few months of her life while spending time in prison for perjury. She appears to have also lost her mind. Her face looks distinctly like Priscilla Presley's now, except even worse. Her brow is overly elevated (the result of a possible endoscopic browlift), her nose has been whittled down to become Jackson-esque, and her cheeks resemble that of a blowfish. She appears to have had either excessive fat grafting or massive cheek implants, placed by a cosmetic surgeon who either didn't know what he or she was doing, or unfortunately didn't care. She used to be such a pretty woman too. She appears to me to be a classic case of Body Dysmorphic Disorder combined with a plastic surgery addiction. Somebody needs to stop her before she is mistaken for an alien.
Photo credit: dlisted.com
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Dr. 90210
The new season of the E! Dr. 90210 television show began this week...and I have no part in it! While they were only in my old L.A. office for the first season, they have returned to my former office this season to focus on two young guys who took my place: Dr. Gary Motykie and Dr. John Diaz. Dr. Motykie is the one who actually filled my spot when I decided to leave L.A. to return to my home state of Michigan two years ago. Both are good guys who have a great mentor in Dr. Richard Ellenbogen, one of the top Beverly Hills plastic surgeons over the last twenty-five years. I have a feeling that Dr. Diaz and Dr. Motykie's single, footloose-and-fancy-free lifestyles will showcase better than my current married with a small child lifestyle. Ah.. life goes on...
To view a clip from my appearance on the first season of Dr. 90210, click here.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Kimberly Stewart
In Touch Magazine is reporting that Kimberly Stewart appears to have had her breast implants removed. I seem to remember her having them removed some time before??
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Pamela Anderson
Click for photo link
What is going on with Pamela Anderson's nipples? I believe it is a result of scar tissue from peri-areolar (scar around the areola) breast augmentation surgery. With the alleged numerous breast implant surgeries she has had, it makes sense that she may have developed some scar tissue around her areolas and nipples. This can cause the nipple to project downward or look a bit odd. Peri-areolar breast augmentation is not my favorite way to perform the surgery (although I do it that way in patients who desire it), but it is a very popular technique on the West Coast.
Photo credit: celebritysmack.blogspot.com
What is going on with Pamela Anderson's nipples? I believe it is a result of scar tissue from peri-areolar (scar around the areola) breast augmentation surgery. With the alleged numerous breast implant surgeries she has had, it makes sense that she may have developed some scar tissue around her areolas and nipples. This can cause the nipple to project downward or look a bit odd. Peri-areolar breast augmentation is not my favorite way to perform the surgery (although I do it that way in patients who desire it), but it is a very popular technique on the West Coast.
Photo credit: celebritysmack.blogspot.com