Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a good January 1st! I spent it in relatively quiet fashion with my wife and son. I thought I'd write about some of the big events in plastic surgery over the last year. Here's a countdown, off the top of my head, of the significant events of 2006 in celebrity plastic surgery:

5: Kenny Rogers shows up on American Idol with the same bushy beard, but a new set of overly-tight eyelids. He later admits that his plastic surgeon was too aggressive with his surgery, and that he needs a revision. Unfortunately, the main technique to correct this is with a skin graft.

4: The famed Celebrity Cosmetic Surgery Blog begins its ascent of the blogosphere, starting with a post on Melanie Griffith. as far as I know, it is now the most visited blog by a plastic surgeon in the United States. Thanks!

3: The world's first face transplant occurs in Europe, with steadily improving results. The woman had most of her face mauled by a dog, and appears to have healed relatively well. This is in contrast to the world's first genitalia transplant, which was not so successful.

2: Ashlee Simpson undergoes a rhinoplasty and becomes the talk of the tabloids and blogs. While her image may have improved, her music is another story.

1: Silicone implants are approved by the FDA. This allows millions of women access to a product which is arguably superior to the saline implants which were used almost exclusively over the last 12 years. While the approval is definitely controversial, it allows both doctors and patients a choice we did not have a couple months ago.

That's it! I'm sure you can think of other big events which should be on this list, but these were the ones that immediately jumped out at me. Feel free to post any other ideas!

Thanks for reading.
Michigan-based Plastic Surgeon
Anthony Youn, M.D.: