When you meet with your surgeon for a consultation, one of the things that will come up in determining whether surgery is right for you is whether or not you smoke. This is because smoking increases the risk of complications after major surgery, and thus might make you ineligible for a given procedure.

But all might not be lost to those who have tasted tobacco – a new study shows that the risk of complications for people who were once smokers, but have been smoke-free for at least a year, is nearly the same as a non-smoker’s.

Going cold turkey may allow you to undergo procedures you otherwise couldn’t

The study followed 125,000 current smokers, 78,000 former smokers, and 400,000 people who had never touched a cigarette, and kept track of complications in these groups, such as heart attack, pneumonia, blood clots, and death 30 days post-op. Current smokers showed a higher likelihood of fatal complications (17 per cent) than non-smokers, but those who quit a year before had about the same risk as non-smokers, according to the study’s findings. The study was limited, however, in that patients who were smoke-free for less than a year were not within its scope.

If you’re a smoker, and have considered cosmetic surgery before but were discouraged against it by your surgeon, this news could be just the push to help you quit. If you’re considering any kind of invasive surgery, or even non-invasive procedures like Botox, talk to your surgeon about your risk factors, and what you can do to help put out that butt forever.

• Photo Credit: No smoking by khawkins04, on Flickr

According to a new study, yes, women who have had a breast augmentation are happier now that they have bigger breasts. But why? Is it simply because a fuller bra can just instantly make a woman’s life better? Not necessarily. The real connection here is self-confidence.

The study surveyed a group of women who had received breast implants and asked questions about their life with their new breasts. 61% of the women said that they were now having sex more often and 34% even went as far as to say that their entire life had benefited from the implants.

The connection is not necessarily that increasing breast size will make you happier, but rather that breast enhancement can dramatically improve self-confidence and in turn have a positive effect on a woman’s sex life, relationship, and overall happiness.

Inland Cosmetic Surgery would love to help give you the confidence boost that you deserve. If you are experiencing issues with self-confidence because you are uncomfortable or unhappy with your breast size or shape, contact board-certified Dr. Haiavy for your breast augmentation consultation. Here at Inland Cosmetic Surgery, we pride ourselves in providing our many patients with their ideal bodies and the confidence they need to take on their lives.

MemoryShape gets the OK from the FDA

When it comes to breast augmentation, one size (or shape) doesn’t fit all. There are many different types of implants to choose from, and differences range from shape, size, the type of material it’s filled with, and even where in your body they’re placed. Well, a new type of implant has joined the family.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently gave the green light to Mentor Worldwide LLC to sell their make of silicone implant, the MemoryShape, on the American market. The product has been approved for breast augmentation in women aged 22 or older, and for breast reconstruction surgery in women of any age. It’s been available in other markets for years, but this is the first time it’s been made available to American customers.

This approval stems on the ongoing 10-year study on the product, now in its sixth year. The study follows 955 reconstruction and augmentation patients, and in that time, the study has shown a low rate of “adverse effects,” and the FDA is satisfied that there’s a reasonable assurance of the product’s safety as compared to other implants that have received the stamp of approval.

With MemoryShape on the market, there are now five FDA-approved silicone implants available in the U.S., as produced by three manufacturers: Allergan, Sientra, and of course, Mentor. This is only good news for the patient, as variety means more options, and competition means prices could even out a bit in the long run.

If you’re interested in breast augmentation, the first thing on your to-do list isn’t to pick out the implant you like best – it’s to seek out a consultation with your surgeon, who can best advise you on what the best options are based on what you’re looking for.

The two treatments aren’t interchangeable

When discussing issues of wrinkles and slowing the signs of aging, we often recommend asking your surgeon about the possible benefits of injectables like Botox or wrinkle fillers. While it’s true that both are treatments designed to fight wrinkles, they’re not the same, and they each fight wrinkles in specialized ways.

How Botox Fights Wrinkles

Botox is like Kleenex – it’s the brand most associated with the product, but not all of that product on the market is part of that brand. The key ingredient in Botox, botulinum, is a neurotoxin that is available under other brands, like Dysport and Xeomin. But no matter what brand you go with, they all attack wrinkles the same way – by treating active, or newer, wrinkles. Facial muscles can play a big part in facial wrinkles, and Botox and its cousins paralyze those muscles in order to achieve subtle changes that reduce the wrinkles, but still allow you to emote and use your muscles.

How Fillers Fight Wrinkles

Fillers, meanwhile (such as Juvederm or Restylane), are more adapted to combat “firmly established” wrinkles – wrinkles with seniority. They can also be used to enhance or alter the appearance of soft tissues, such as adding volume to lips and cheeks.

So, which one’s for you? The best person to tell you that is your surgeon. They’ll be able to tell the difference between old and new wrinkles, and which treatment they feel will yield the best results for you. Book a consultation with your surgeon now, and one way or another, you can safely say “so-long” to your facial folds.

The Latest Options for Fuller Lips

To “pay lip service” means to insincerely express agreement, allegiance or respect. Don’t confuse this with lip augmentation, as we sincerely believe it can treat your thin or flat lips.

Options for Lip Augmentation

Fillers are the most common option for lip augmentation. The best fillers for lips include Juvederm and Restylane, in addition to fat transfer using your own tissue. If you want a lip enhancement with immediate results and no downtime, fillers are probably right for you.

Injectable fillers plump up the lips and give you a full and youthful look, which is an excellent enhancement for women whose lips have gotten thinner with age. We inject the filler into the lips, taking extra care to maintain their natural lines and borders. By using a numbing cream, dental block, or filler that contains lidocaine, we can make the procedure very tolerable. The results typically last 6-12 months.

Lip Implants, made with Goretex and other materials, are an alternative option that can provide longer-lasting results. They are placed within the lips through a small surgical incision inside the mouth.

Before and After Lip Augmentation

Lip enhancement shapes and restores volume to the cupid’s bow, inner lip, and outer mouth, while correcting pesky lipstick lines. Contact us for more details!

Wrinkles that travel from each side of the nose to the corners of your mouth are known as nasolabial folds, nasal labial folds, or simply “smile lines.”

Nasolabial wrinkles are often the first lines that people seen around the mouth. Many are bothered by them and seek a treatment to remove or erase them.

Nasolabial folds are caused by a combination of factors, such as:

• Muscle tension (smiling)
• Loss of facial volume
• Lack of bone structure in cheeks
• Sagging or overhang in the cheek tissue

The severity of these conditions varies widely, so the treatments vary and need to be tailored for each patient.

Don’t expect to find a skin care product that can treat nasolabial folds. Although products that have antioxidants and Retinoids can help with overall skin health and anti-aging, these are designed to work at the topical level. To effectively treat the nasolabial folds, we need to replenish the volume of the tissue from within and/or smooth out the cheek area.

The most common treatments for nasolabial wrinkles are injectable products like Juvederm, Radiesse, or Restylane. These products are sold by the syringe, so the cost of treatment depends on the dosage required. During a consultation, we can advise you about the dosage and treatment cost needed to achieve your goals.

Photo by SuperFantastic on Flickr

Gold in skincare products can accelerate the signs of aging, according to a new study.

Everyone likes gold, right? Many cultures have many positive connotations with aurum – we celebrate weddings with golden rings, award our best olympic athletes with golden medallions, and sometimes, we even eat it. But as the old adage goes, all that glitters is not gold.

Well, except in skin care products – if it glitters, it very well could be gold. Gold particles are often added to give a glittery appearance to the user’s skin. Harmless enough, right?

Actually, no, harmless it is not. A new study published in the journal Nanotoxicology concluded that gold nanoparticles can actually cause quite a lot of problems when they penetrate the cell walls of certain cells, hindering mobility, cell division, and collagen contraction.

What does that mean for you? Well, it means your skin could age faster, heal wounds more slowly, and even lead to diabetes in some cases. This is just one of the many examples of why it’s so important to do your homework when it comes to shopping for skin care products – not every ingredient in every product is actually helpful for fighting aging. In some cases, such as this, they might even be counterintuitive.

If you’re interested in combating the signs of aging the right way, consult with your cosmetic surgeon about recommended skin care products, or other anti-aging treatments like Botox or wrinkle fillers. If you go about things the right way, your anti-aging efforts will be worth their weight in gold.

• Photo Credit: NBP Gold by covilha, on Flickr

As we approach beach season in Rancho Cucamonga, it might be time to laser that peach fuzz from our faces.

It sneaks up on you, I know. You wake up one morning, look in the mirror and realize that your peaches-and-cream-complexion morphed into something like the peach itself – complete with a fine layer of fuzzy hair covering it.

Once you become aware of it, you might notice excess hair on other women’s faces, especially as they get older. Another small indignity of aging, right? The hair on our head and brows thins over time and in return we get more … facial hair.

So what are we supposed to do about it? There are many options:

• Shaving is always an option, but obviously that’s only going to work for a day or so at a time before we have to do it again. If you shave the hair on your legs, underarms, and face then you’ll probably spend lots of time shaving.
• Cream hair removal products can be found in the drugstore, but they’re also temporary and tend to have an unpleasant smell. Of course, it has to be done over and over and over ….
• Some women dye their facial hair, but this is clearly not a reasonable solution. The color seldom looks natural and it grows out and has to be colored again and again.
• Electrolysis is another option, but this is one-hair-at-a-time removal and it’s a time consuming, somewhat painful process.
• Waxing works. Hairs can be removed from under the skin surface, giving you weeks of bare skin before it must be repeated.

Laser Hair Removal

Then of course, there’s laser hair removal.

With advanced laser hair removal systems, we can now treat lighter hair, such as the strays that show up on our checks, necks and chins or around our eyes. Several laser treatments will be needed to account for the varying growth cycles of facial hair, but once the treatments are over you will have smooth skin once again, and time to spare.

Laser hair removal is a relatively comfortable with topical anesthetic that can be applied beforehand. It can sting a bit, but the tradeoff for a short time spent in mild discomfort is certainly offset by the convenience of not having to shave and the beauty of soft, smooth skin.

Many say the best part is saving that 75 or 100 hours of your time by not having to shave. Not to mention saving money on shaving gel, razor blades and soothing lotions. It’s far better to have the peach fuzz off your face and leave it to the actual peaches where they belong.

Photo by chucknado

What’s safe while there’s a bun in the oven?

A lot of things are suddenly off-limits to expectant mothers once they become pregnant, until that baby’s out in the world and eating strained peas from a jar. Anything from obvious no-nos, like alcohol and caffeine, to less obvious things such as Vitamin A and oxybenzone (often found in sunscreen), could prove harmful to your still-growing bundle of joy.

So, is something like skin care out of the question?

It’s definitely advisable not to start any new treatments or procedures while pregnant, as your body is in a constant state of flux, and you never know how your body might react to any new stimuli.

That said, you don’t need to totally abandon the possibility of skin care during your pregnancy. Hyaluronic acid, a chief ingredient found in injectable fillers like Juvederm, isn’t considered harmful since it’s something the body produces anyway, and some doctors even recommend it during pregnancy – dry skin is a common problem among pregnant women, and hyaluronic acid supplements help skin attract and retain moisture.

But what about Juvederm injections? Well, they’re not necessarily dangerous – due to its large molecular size, hyaluronic acid is not systemically absorbed, and thus very unlikely to reach your baby. But it might be wise to err on the side of caution until your pregnancy is over – after all, your baby’s well-being is your first concern. Your surgeon can give you a better idea if it’s safe for you to get an injection while pregnant or breastfeeding, or what alternatives are available in the meantime. Be sure to set up a consultation if you have any questions.

Surgery, fillers, or topical options?

Laugh lines are among the most prominent, and least loved, signs of aging – it’s only a small comfort that they’re supposed to mean you’ve had a happy life so far. Nasolabial wrinkles, also known as “laugh” or “smile” lines, are the lines that seem to connect the edges of your lips to the edges of your nose. Some people take pride in their laugh lines, but plenty more would see them vanish.

If you’re one of the latter, you might be asking: what’s the best way to accomplish that?

It basically comes down to three options: surgical, injectables, and external skin care. Surgical options, such as facelifts or facial implants, are the longest-lasting but also the most expensive. Plus, being surgical procedures, there’s an element of risk involved. Injectable options like Botox and wrinkle fillers like Juvederm are less risky, but also more temporary, and will still cost a pretty penny. For the more frugal, there’s creams with retinol, like Retin-A. Retinoids are effective in preventing collagen loss, a chief culprit in the formation of laugh lines.

With all of these options, what’s the best choice? When it comes to the maximization of results-per-cost, and the minimization of risk, the injectable option comes out on top. Juvederm won’t last as long as a surgical option, but it can last upwards of 12 months before it needs topping off – at around $450 per cheek, that could work out to just $900 per year to keep laugh lines at bay. Basically, the injectable option yields the best results at the best price, with minimal risk to you.

However, only you can truly know what’s right for you, be it surgery, injectables, topical treatments, or even just letting yourself age naturally. Well, you and your surgeon – book a consultation and see what they think about your options. Hopefully, you’ll leave their office smiling.