Natural Is In, “Fake” Is Out

I recently appeared on The Today Show to provide commentary for a segment on the trend toward natural-looking plastic surgery in Hollywood. It’s still very common for celebrities to turn to plastic surgery to enhance their look, but moderation is in and the emphasis is on surgical results that look natural and believable. Fake, overdone breasts and lips, for example, are on their way out.

I’ve seen a similar trend among my patients in Los Angeles. With breast augmentation, for example, the majority of my patients tell me that they want to increase their breast size, but they don’t want to be overly large. The stereotype about breast augmentation patients wanting huge breasts is definitely not the reality – most of my augmentation patients simply want to look proportionate, not unnatural. “Boob jobs” are out – breast enhancement is in.

Facial rejuvenation is another area where I’m seeing a lot of emphasis on natural-looking results. It can be very obvious when a person has had too much facial plastic surgery and one of the comments I hear consistently from my patients is that they don’t want to look like they’ve “had work done.” Men and women want to correct sagging skin and reduce the appearance of wrinkles, but they don’t want their faces to look too tight or lose the ability to make natural facial expressions.

Plastic surgery is about enhancing your appearance so you look like the best version of yourself, not a completely different person. I work with each of my Los Angeles breast augmentation, facial rejuvenation, and body contouring patients to choose the procedure and technique that will deliver results that are dramatic, but still natural-looking. Hollywood is on the right track – natural is beautiful.

Tags: los angeles breast augmentation
Posted in Breast augmentation

Breast Augmentation Size – A Highly Personal Choice

Across the country, many people think that in Los Angeles, breast enhancement means “super-size me,” and for some women, this is true. However, I see many patients who only want a subtle change in their breast size, and they will come to their consultation wondering if a more “subtle” augmentation is possible. My answer: definitely. I perform breast enlargement for women of all shapes and sizes, and sometimes it’s the smallest changes that produce the biggest benefits for my patients.

If you are a petite or very slender woman, you may not feel comfortable with large breasts. I see patients almost weekly who have very small breasts and only want a little cleavage, or would like to fill out a bathing suit just a bit more. Sometimes these women have been considering breast enhancement for a long time, but weren’t aware that small breast implants are available in Los Angeles. Others have consulted with plastic surgeons who have tried to convince them that there is no point in having breast augmentation without going significantly larger. In my opinion, a good plastic surgeon approaches each breast augmentation as a unique procedure, customized to meet each individual’s expectations.

My goal is to make each patient as happy with her surgical outcome as possible, so I listen closely and discuss all of her options. If it is clear that the patient wants only a subtle enhancement, I work with her to choose the size, shape, and profile of implant that will best achieve her goals. Breast enhancement is about improving the way a woman feels about herself, and that means achieving her personal ideal, not someone else’s.

Tags: los angeles breast enhancement, breast augmentation in los angeles, breast implants in los angeles
Posted in Breast augmentation

The Laser Bra: Comparative Cost

Today I thought I’d take the opportunity to answer several of the cost-related questions that my staff and I are often asked about the Stevens Laser Bra, the method of Beverly Hills breast lift and reduction I perform at my Southern California office.

1) Do Laser Bra breast reductions cost more than regular breast reductions?

No. My Laser Bra breast reduction procedures do not cost any more than my regular breast reduction procedures. To be even clearer: the procedure cost, anesthesia fee, and operating room fees are the same with the laser method and the standard method.

2) Is the cost increased if I decided to have a breast lift at the same time as my breast reduction?

No. For all women who choose the Laser Bra breast reduction, a breast lift is always performed at the same time. There is no increased cost for the added benefit of the lift.

It’s reasonable to be cost-conscious in everything you do, and that includes cosmetic surgery. The Laser Bra offers significant advantages over traditional breast lift and reduction (including improved longevity of results) without any added cost, making it a strong value for women considering these procedures. For more information about the Laser Bra and answers to frequently asked questions, you can visit our Laser Bra FAQ page.

Tags: beverly hills breast lift, breast lift southern california
Posted in Breast

Addressing Concerns about the Expense of Combined Procedures

It is not uncommon for people to decide they’d like to make broad changes to their appearance that cannot be accomplished with a single procedure. This is often the case when women decide that they would like to rejuvenate their appearance after childbirth with a Mommy Makeover. For moms from Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, abdominoplasty, breast lift, face lift, and liposuction are high on the list of Mommy Makeover component procedures.

When people consider combined procedures, one of their major concerns is often cost. They think that having more procedures means spending more money. However, there are a few things that patients should take into consideration:

• When the procedures are performed at the same time, as they are with a Mommy Makeover, they cost less than each of the procedures would cost if they were all performed separately.
• When procedures are performed together, you are under anesthesia for less total time than if all were performed separately, and you do not have to go through multiple recovery periods. And, as several of my journal publications have shown, the risk associated with combining abdominoplasty and breast surgery is not significantly different than when performing each procedure alone.

If cost is still a concern, you may want to consider cosmetic surgery financing as an option. You can read more about cosmetic surgery financing here. Most patients feel that the great improvement in their appearance is well worth the expense of having combined procedures all at once.

Tags: beverly hills abdominoplasty
Posted in Abdominoplasty,Body Contouring,Breast,Facial Cosmetic Surgery

Health Benefits of a Breast Reduction

You’ve heard it before: the grass is always greener on the other side. This may seem like the case when it comes to breast size. Women with smaller breasts often want larger breasts and women with larger breasts often want to downsize. But there’s an important differentiation here, one that often goes unnoticed – while some women may want larger breasts for aesthetic reasons, women with overly large breasts often consider breast reduction for health benefits as well. This added dimension makes breast reduction a very special, and very beneficial, procedure.

Healthy Outside

Large breasts can put a strain on the neck, back and shoulders. This can cause chronic pain, chaffing, and painful grooves on the shoulders from bra straps. It can also cause serious breathing problems. With surgery, women find it easier to exercise and participate in other activities. Even posture can improve as a result. Pain is reduced and breathing is easier.

Healthy Inside

Large breasts can also be emotionally detrimental, often drawing unwanted and unsolicited attention from others. Breast reduction helps free these women from the emotional strain of large breasts and can help them feel confident without hiding their figure underneath baggy clothing. Breast reduction can also be performed along with a breast lift procedure to create perkier, more youthful-looking breasts.

My Los Angeles breast reduction patients are among my most satisfied patients. The benefits of breast reduction surgery are dramatic, almost immediate, and long-lasting.

Tags: los angeles breast reduction
Posted in Breast Reduction

Laser Bra for Breast Reduction

Many of the women that I see at my practice are considering breast reduction after weight loss or breastfeeding. For these patients, excess breast tissue is not the sole concern. What they’re also seeing is a change in the position of their breasts, causing them to droop or sag. When this is the case, more than a traditional breast reduction is needed. For a large number of these patients, I suggest a procedure I refer to as the “Laser Bra,” a specialized breast lift and breast reduction technique.

How the Laser Bra Works

During a traditional breast reduction procedure, excess tissue is removed and discarded. The reduced breasts are then exposed to the effects of gravity and can begin to droop and sag with time as they did before. During the Laser Bra procedure, the excess skin is treated with a laser and then sutured internally to the chest wall. This laser-treated tissue provides support for the reduced and lifted breasts (an internal bra). For this reason, breast reductions and breast lifts performed with the Laser Bra technique provide longer-lasting results that look and feel natural.

More Info

Not every surgeon performs laser-assisted breast reduction and, for those that do, not all have the experience or training to perform it effectively. That’s why I recommend that you carefully review your surgeon’s credentials and determine if they truly understand and can perform the Laser Bra procedure. For more information about this technique, you can view my post on Cosmetic Surgery Chronicle or visit my breast reduction Web site. As the surgeon serving Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, California women, I’m happy to respond to questions both locally and from women across the country considering breast enhancement surgery, so please feel free to get in touch.

Tags: breast reduction surgeon beverly hills california
Posted in Breast

Larger Breasts, Smaller Fat Deposits

The desire for larger, fuller breasts is very common among the women I see at my practice. As a response to the demand for breast enlargement in Los Angeles, a variety of techniques have been developed. Of course, you have your traditional saline or silicone implants, new “gummy bear” implants, and a variety of other methods. And, as a part of the push for new ways to enlarge breasts, some surgeons have been trying fat transfer.

The Procedure

It’s actually pretty simple. Here’s how it works: fat is removed via liposuction from your butt, thighs, or other areas with excess fat deposits. That fat is then purified before being injected into your breasts.

The Facts

Sure, the thought of “natural” breast enlargement sounds appealing, but is it too good to be true? The truth is:

• The technique has been used with relative success after a breast lift or breast reconstruction or in conjunction with breast implants to provide a fuller, more natural appearance.
• A study that used fat transfer as the primary method of breast augmentation showed that women only saw a very slight increase in breast volume.
• The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) currently does not endorse this breast enlargement technique and is awaiting results from additional studies before reconsidering their position on the procedure.

The Future

I don’t want to completely rule out future potential for the use of fat transfer for breast augmentation. But, the fact remains that there are a lot of things to get sorted out before this technique enjoys widespread application, such as whether or not fat transfer could affect the results of mammograms, whether or not injected fat will actually survive the transfer, and if the injection of fat cells could actually encourage the growth of cancer cells.

There’s a lot to be said for the use of traditional breast enlargement methods. After all, my patients are thrilled with the beauty of their results from breast augmentation with implants.

Tags: breast enlargement los angeles
Posted in Body Contouring,Breast

Can Breast Reduction Catch Breast Cancer?

There are many reasons why women consider Los Angeles breast enhancement procedures. In the case of breast reduction, these reasons may include back, neck or should pain, self-consciousness, and the inability to participate in physical activity without discomfort. The improvements made with breast reduction surgery can be vast and wide-ranging, giving many women better quality of life.

And there’s something new for women with overly large breasts to consider, something that could be the extra incentive they need to choose breast reduction. A new study presented at Plastic Surgery 2009 indicates that the testing of tissue removed during breast reduction can lead to increased breast cancer detection, especially for women over 40.

Breast reduction is not, by nature, a breast cancer treatment. But, here’s where it can help:

• One of the key factors for breast cancer survival rates is early detection. Testing of breast tissue removed through breast reduction may catch cancerous or precancerous cells that might otherwise have gone undetected. This, in turn, can lead to earlier treatment before the cancer has become more advanced.
• Additionally, breast reduction may make mammograms easier to read and interpret because there is less excess breast tissue.

To learn more about whether you are a candidate for breast reduction and about the potential for breast cancer detection, you should schedule a personal consultation with a qualified Los Angeles plastic surgeon.

Tags: los angeles breast enhancement, los angeles plastic surgeon
Posted in Breast