Cosmetic Surgery Center, Dallas | Dr. Rai

How do Sunscreens and Sunblocks Work?

2010-08-17T10:30:00.000-05:00

Sunshine has three types of ultraviolet (UV) radiation – that is, beams that are beyond the violet end of our visible spectrum:

UV-A – that pierces below the skin surface and leads to sun damage and skin cancer;
UV-B – that burns and tans your skin; and
UV-C – that does not reach our skin because the earth’s atmosphere absorbs it. Sun protection therefore need only concern itself with UV-A and UV-B rays.

Sunscreens

Sunscreens filter the ultraviolet radiation with a combination of organic and inorganic chemicals. Some radiation still reaches below the skin surface but not all of it. A sunscreen can use any of these organic molecules to absorb UV rays:

PABA (para-aminobenzoic acid) – which absorbs UVB rays. PABA began to be used in the 1970s but was found to cause some allergic reactions (in about four percent of the population) and now is not used so often. It has the advantage of adhering well to the skin surface so that it is not easily rubbed or washed off.
Cinnamates – which are the most often-used ingredients for UVB absorption; they also stabilize other chemicals and make them more water-resistant.
Benzophenones – which absorb UVA rays; but one of them, oxybenzone, is thought to be toxic by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) in Washington, D.C. It has not had a safety review since the 1970s.

Sunblocks

Sunblocks do not filter the light – they scatter it and prevent it from penetrating the skin at all. They work against both UV-A and UV-B radiation and the effective ingredient is usually zinc oxide or titanium oxide as reflective particles. To prevent the sunblocks from looking white on the skin, as did the “zinc cream” of decades ago, microsized particles of zinc or titanium oxide are used, as they are not visible on the skin.

What is the SPF Level?

The SPF (sun protection factor) number is a multiplier. It tells you how long you can stay in the sun before you get burned. SPF factors relate only to UV-B radiation because UV-A rays do not burn the skin – they cause skin damage and potentially skin cancer. So using a sunscreen with a high SPF will not protect against those two dangers, only against burning.

SPF factors need to be interpreted based on your own skin’s natural protection – that is, its amount of pigment (melanin). For example, if you know that you can be in the sun for 20 minutes before being burned, an SPF of 10 will allow you to stay out for 10 times 20 minutes which is 200 minutes. That means you need to test your own skin without any sunscreen or sunblock to see how long it takes to get a burn.

SPF numbers are calculated by the product manufacturer based on an assumption that you will apply the product generously. If you apply less than one millimeter’s thickness, the SPF drops.

Most sun protection products indicate on their label whether they offer broad spectrum protection or not – that is, protection from both UV-A and UV-B, or just from one of those. The EWG offers a sunscreen guide on its website to help you choose the best broad spectrum product for yourself or your child.

If, like many, you have already sustained sun damage and would like to learn more about how your skin can be rejuvenated with a chemical peel or a laser resurfacing procedure, please contact our office in Dallas, Texas today. Dr. Rai will be happy to give you a free consultation.

Fraudulent Plastic Surgery Patients

2010-08-10T09:00:00.000-05:00

News reports have been coming out for years about occasional plastic surgeons found to have defrauded the public, but more recently, there have been stories about patients defrauding their plastic surgeons.

A recent example is a woman in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, who received a BOTOX® Cosmetic treatment and cheek and lip fillers from a Dr. Shino Bay Aguilera. She refused to have any topical anesthetic for her 50 needle shots and directed the doctor as to exactly where to place the injections. She also refused to have her “Before” photo taken, on the basis that it would violate her modeling contract.

After being treated for two and a half hours, she told the clinic staff that she would return from a nearby ATM with a cash payment, and she left her purse behind, supposedly as security. She never returned. Her bill came to $3,300. In reference to not taking her photo, Dr. Aguilera said:

"I dropped the ball on that one. It will never happen again. Now she was very attractive, but she wasn't model material."

Luckily, a video surveillance camera caught her image and police are looking for her. They are not commenting until the investigation is over except to say that they are doing a photo lineup and think they know who the woman was.

Two Other Cases

In another case that happened in May of this year, one Shatarka Nuby wanted to have breast enlargement and liposuction of her upper arms. She worked with an accomplice posing as her cousin. Her bill came to $9,000 and the accomplice paid it with someone else’s credit card – a stolen identity.

According to reports of court documents, the credit card owner was a young woman who dropped a college application containing personal information in a Tamarac, Florida mailbox. The school never received her application and she later found that five credit cards had been opened in her name. One already had charges of $19,550. Another had been used in the plastic surgery fraud and police found that Nuby’s “cousin” had a driver’s license in the college student’s name. Nuby has a history of credit card and driver’s license fraud. She is being held in federal custody and could be given up to ten years in jail.

In September 2009, one Patrice Thomas also pleaded guilty to the charge of identity theft. She had paid for her tummy tuck with another person’s credit card, the bill coming to $5,000. She was sentenced to five years’ probation but news reports do not say whether she is required to reimburse the credit card owner.

People who engage in these fraudulent practices are certainly a minority. Dr. Aguilar opined that the apparent increase in cosmetic surgery patient fraud could be attributed to the poor economy and efforts to get a job by looking more youthful. Regardless of the reason for it, credit card fraud is inexcusable and identity theft is a disaster for the victim.

At The Cosmetic Surgical Center, Dr. Rai and his team try to help you with plastic surgery costs. We work with CareCredit and MedicalLoan to help you get good loan terms, as we do not think that financing should ever stop a person from enhancing their appearance and self-confidence.

To schedule a free consultation with Dr. Rai, please contact our Texas office today. We serve Dallas and Fort Worth and hope to be working with you soon.

How About a Foot Facelift?

2010-08-03T14:46:00.000-05:00

Most women would probably agree that high heels look and feel more elegant than flat shoes. Some women love to wear very high heels, and that becomes part of their self-image, so that they wear such shoes at work and at play. After a while, discomfort and pain become issues.

Some women have been asking podiatrists to improve their feet by making them narrower to fit into narrow shoes more comfortably, or by amputating or shortening a toe for a better foot shape.

Controversial Plastic Surgery for the Feet

Some podiatrists have obliged and there are facilities nationwide that will provide cosmetic foot surgery. As an example, in Beverly Hills, California, there is a cosmetic foot surgery clinic founded by a podiatrist that offers these surgeries.

The Cinderella Procedure – offered as a bunion prevention procedure and involves making the feet more narrow;
Foot-Tuck Fat Pad Augmentation – which takes fat from your abdomen and injects it into the balls of your feet to give you extra cushioning in your high heels;
Toe Shortening – done per toe and designed to prevent hammertoes, where the toe joint becomes fixed in a bent position. This can cause corns on the joint and displacement of the fat pad beneath the foot. Hammertoes could be caused by wearing high heels daily, especially if they are a bit too small for your feet.
Toe Lengthening – which can be done to correct an overdone toe shortening;
Slimming the Pinky Toes – which helps a woman fit into narrower shoes.

However, many podiatrists and orthopedic surgeons oppose such procedures and the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) has put out a press release explaining why they are not a good idea.

Downsides of Cosmetic Foot Surgery

The AOFAS warns that surgery should never be performed on a foot that is functioning well and not in pain. Our feet carry our entire weight, which puts them under a lot of daily stress. Each foot has 26 bones and 30 joints that connect to, and are supported by, tendons, nerves, and skin. Our feet are designed to give us painless walking and running and if they are providing that, any cosmetic surgery will jeopardize it.

All surgery brings risk and before having any surgery, cosmetic or otherwise, you should always weigh the potential benefits with the potential risks and known downsides. A cosmetic foot surgery done to facilitate the wearing of high heels could give you:

Infection
Nerve injury
Large scars
Post-surgical pain
Complications that might prevent comfort in any walking and in any type of shoe

By all means, wear high heels at times; but why do it to the point where your feet develop problems? If your feet are pain-free and functioning well, it’s a case of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. Incurring surgical risks could bar you from ever wearing high heels.

Dr. Rai is always interested in new procedures and has been keeping himself updated on all new plastic surgery ideas over the years. But only when a new procedure is tested and proven to be beneficial does he add it to our offerings here at The Cosmetic Surgical Center.

If you would like to know more about our cosmetic surgery offerings for both males and females, please contact our Dallas, Texas office today for a free consultation.

Dermaroller™ Therapy for Skin Rejuvenation

2010-07-27T16:08:00.000-05:00

There is a new procedure for skin rejuvenation that uses a handheld device called a Genuine Dermaroller™. When it is rolled over the skin, it makes thousands of microscopic punctures.

The skin responds as if it were injured and produces more collagen and new tighter skin cells. This is the same reaction as happens after a laser skin resurfacing or a chemical peel – in a sense, the skin is, in fact, slightly injured by these procedures, and with its self-healing response, it creates younger-looking skin.

The roller is about the size of a reel of packaging tape and is on a stylish-looking handle. Special training is required for a cosmetic practitioner or doctor to perform this therapy.

The Genuine Dermaroller™ Procedure

A topical anesthetic is first given to numb the skin being treated and after it has taken hold, the procedure lasts 20 to 30 minutes. The tiny punctures, called needle-columns, are about 0.1 mm wide and extend into the skin’s middle layer, the dermis. Usually, four treatments are given with six-week healing periods in between.

At first, the skin is red as extra blood flow suffuses the treated area. For the next six weeks, you can see the improvement as your skin works on regenerating itself.

Genuine Dermaroller™ Results

This treatment helps reduce scars caused by chickenpox or acne, improves sun damage, smoothes out wrinkles and stretch marks and reduces the size of any blemishes. It improves the texture and quality of your skin and improvement continues throughout the six-week period after each treatment. It can be used on the delicate skin around the eyes.

One of its advantages is that it does not cause any increased photosensitivity in the skin. This makes it an easy summertime treatment, unlike peels and laser treatments, which require protection from the sun.

Another advantage is that the tiny skin punctures allow better absorption of skin nutrients and moisturizers.

Dermaroller™ in the U.S.

Dermaroller™ treatments are available in the U.K. and China and the device comes in several home use versions that you can use on yourself under the supervision of a trained practitioner. The U.S. FDA has not approved any type of Dermaroller™ at this point. Some are being sold online as having FDA approval but as best this writer can determine, they are simply registered with the FDA, not approved by it. Registering a product with the FDA is an administrative process and involves no testing or analysis.

At The Cosmetic Surgical Center, Dr. Rai offers a variety of skin rejuvenation procedures that are definitely FDA-approved. If you would like to know more about them, please contact our office in Dallas, Texas for a free consultation with Dr. Rai.

Cosmetic Surgery Takes Off in India

2010-07-20T12:33:00.001-05:00

India is one of the countries to recently jump on the cosmetic surgery train, according to recent news reports. Cosmetic surgeons in Delhi have reported receiving hundreds of inquiries about many procedures, and this has been especially true since May of this year.

The new school year starts in July. Many of the people interested in improving their appearance are freshman university students – “freshers”. One young woman, who had a dimple created on her right cheek by a plastic surgeon, is quoted as saying:

I'm not nervous about starting college. I'm going with a new look and a new confidence. Personality is important but when you first meet someone it is how you look and how you present yourself that counts. So obviously everyone wants to look beautiful."

Most of the new patients are female and their focus is on facial enhancement. Popular procedures so far are rhinoplasty, lip enlargement, and neck liposuction to correct a double chin.

There are some male patients too, most of whom are interested in male breast reduction (gynecomastia treatment).

Driven by Competition

One B Narayanaswamy, a director of market researching company called Ipsos, sees this rush for plastic surgery as being motivated by two factors:

Role models in the entertainment industries, many of whom readily acknowledge that they have had plastic surgery; and
The fierce competition in India for the limited number of attractive jobs.

"You get any possible advantage you can,” he says. “So much depends on networks, not merit, that you need to make the right friends, go to the right parties and get the opportunities you might otherwise not get. If you have the money to pay for getting that advantage then you do."

Indian cosmetic surgeons are also attracting people from other countries. One Dr Amit Gupta, of Cocoona International Centre, in Delhi, says:

"I get dozens of telephone calls and end up doing eight or nine operations a month. Multiplied across all the clinics in the city you are looking at a pretty major amount."

Meanwhile, Dr. Rai in Dallas, Texas, offers a full array of cosmetic surgery, including many non-invasive procedures. If you would like to know more about a particular procedure that interests you, please contact our office today for a free consultation with Dr. Rai.

Cryolipolysis™ for Fat Reduction?

2010-07-13T13:24:00.001-05:00

In Europe and Canada, there is a device to reduce fatty tissue by freezing fat cells. In the U.S., this device is currently FDA-approved only for skin cooling, but a company called Zeltiq™ is working to get approval for fat removal. Zeltiq is based in Pleasanton, CA and operates worldwide.

How Cryolipolysis Works

Body cells respond to heat and cold at varying temperatures, depending on what type of cells they are. Fat cells have their own range where they become damaged by cold and die. Cryolipolysis, also called CoolSculpting, uses a cup-like device against the treatment area, attaching it with mild suction. The cold sides of this cup lower the temperature of fat cells while leaving other cell types unaffected.

There is some mild discomfort because of the cold but apparently after about ten minutes, it fades, probably because the area is numb with cold by then. A few days after the procedure, the treated fat cells begin to shrink in a process called apoptosis, and then are absorbed by the body and excreted by the liver. You now have an improved body contour.

Side effects are minor and related to the cold temperature of your treatment. The skin may be red for a few hours; there may be some bruising and tenderness; you may feel some tingling or reduced sensation. These are all short-term conditions.

Who is a Good Candidate for CoolSculpting?

Like liposuction, this procedure is not a way to lose weight. The best candidates are people with just small areas of unwanted fat. It has been effective for love handles and “man-boobs”, and would probably be good for the upper arms or beneath the chin. You would want to be in good general health.

Currently, the CoolSculpting device is in clinical trials with the goal of producing enough quantifiable data to succeed in a commercial launch in the U.S.

At The Cosmetic Surgical Center, we offer Ultrasonic Liposuction as well as traditional tumescent liposuction, both of which can recontour the body with dramatic and pleasing results.

If you would like to schedule a free consultation with Dr. Rai, please contact our Dallas, Texas office today.

Chinese Plastic Surgeons Visit Korea For Ideas

2010-07-07T11:54:00.000-05:00

Plastic surgery has become very popular in China and this week 50 Chinese surgeons went to South Korea to learn how they could improve their services. This group was from a plastic surgery hospital in Chengdu (Sichuan province) and they were part of an economic delegation. Other delegation members were business leaders, especially from electronics and logistics, wanting to create exchanges with Korean industries.

The goal of the surgeon group was to get ideas about technology for a huge international medical complex being built in Chengdu. Its mission will be to attract high income earners in China and medical tourists from other countries. The Chengdu surgeon who heads up this burgeoning complex told a reporter:

“Korea’s cosmetic surgery technology is famous worldwide and cosmetic surgery technology in and of itself has become a (Korean) brand. Through this visit, we want to open cooperation with Korea’s leading medical facilities in cosmetic surgery and talented doctors.”

Lee Yeong-jun, chief of the Korea Investment-Trade Promotion Agency (KOTRA) Business Center in Chengdu, said,

“Many Chinese are interested in Korean cosmetic surgery technology due to the influence of Korean dramas. For this reason, many Chinese cosmetic clinics hang signboards reading ‘joint venture with Korea’ and ‘Korean medical doctors in residence.’”

Chinese Cosmetic Surgery Growing

According to news reports, China’s cosmetic surgery industry is expanding at the rate of 20 percent each year and in 2010 four million people are estimated to have some type of cosmetic surgery procedure done.

In search of ideas, the Chinese surgeons visiting Korea had their camcorders and digital cameras with them and snapped pictures of medical equipment and the interior design of Seoul hospitals. The Koreans are also promoting their own cosmetic surgery offerings and the Korean KOTRA executive general manager stated:

“Many ordinary Chinese are still unaware of the excellent level of Korea’s cosmetic surgery technology. We will step up our promotional campaigns not only in major cities but also in inland regions of China.”

In the U.S., despite the struggling economy and continuing layoffs, there is still a healthy demand for non-invasive cosmetic surgery procedures such as the ever-popular BOTOX® Cosmetic and facial fillers. Dr. Rai offers both of these as well as chemical peels to rejuvenate the facial skin.

If you would like to know more about cosmetic surgery and which procedure would meet your personal improvement goals most effectively, please contact our Dallas, Texas office today for a free consultation with Dr. Rai.

Two Women Arrested for Fake Cosmetic Surgery Practice

2010-06-24T13:46:00.000-05:00

On Monday, police arrested two sisters, Alejandra and Guadalupe Viveros, and charged them with practicing medicine without a license. They were running a business out of their home in Los Angeles. Guadalupe Viveros states that she is a Mexican doctor but she has no license to practice in the U.S.

Police received several complaints about these two women and are conducting further investigations which may lead to more charges. The sisters were giving people facial fillers of some kind, but the substance they were using has not yet been identified. There are many brands of facial filler and all are designed to plump up wrinkled areas to give them a smoother and more youthful appearance.

Some of the people who went to the women’s home for cosmetic surgery treatments later complained that they had become infected. Others complained that the gel-like substance injected into them hardened into a plastic lump beneath the skin. Police do not yet know if these patients knew what was being injected into them or if they were told that it was something like collagen.

Collagen injections have mostly been discontinued by legitimate cosmetic surgeons. Instead, more effective fillers are used such as Radiesse and Restylane. Dr. Rai offers both of these fillers, as well as Sculptra and several others.

The moral of this news story is that you should always check a cosmetic surgeon’s credentials before accepting any treatment. The overwhelming majority of cosmetic surgeons are legitimate – fully trained, board-certified, and members of professional organizations. You can read about Dr. Rai on the Training and Credentials page.

But occasionally somebody tries to present themselves as being more qualified than they are and if you trust them with your body and your physical appearance, you could regret it later.

If you would like to meet Dr. Rai and learn more about facial fillers or any other cosmetic procedures we offer, please contact us today. We serve the Dallas, Texas area and hope to be working with you shortly.

Cosmetic Surgery or Not?

2010-06-21T12:36:00.000-05:00

Joan Collins is a British television actress who has won various awards and had a long career. She started at the age of 18 and became famous when she starred in the soap opera Dynasty during the 1980s. She is now 77.

Collins is in the news today for making an unbelievable claim. She says she has not had any cosmetic surgery. Photos of her show hardly any wrinkles or sagging – no under-eye bags, no turkey neck, no wrinkled eyelids or forehead lines, no nasolabial folds or smoker’s lines. She claims her good looks are the result of her lifestyle and genes:

“I spend a lot of time keeping my face out of the sun and taking care of my skin and wearing make-up. The secret is discipline, certainly, and portion control, though I do have indulgences. I was also given a very good set of genes, so I decided I was going to do the best I could to make the best of them for as long as I could.”

It is certainly wise to protect your skin from sun damage and to avoid over-eating. And yes, skillfully-applied makeup can help you look younger. A skillful photographer will also use artful lighting to hide wrinkles.

Good genes do help, and it is true that some skin types develop fine lines at a younger age than others. Also, the amount and distribution of fat in the cheeks can lead to more sagging, or earlier sagging, and prominent cheekbones can help preserve a youthful look.

But these things alone do not prevent the signs of aging. Collins wears her (youthfully shiny and brown) hair forward over her forehead and in front of her ears, which suggests an attempt to hide facelift scars.

A facelift rejuvenates the lower two-thirds of the face by lifting it and anchoring it in a tighter position. Incisions are made in the hairline on each side of the face, running down in front of the ears and curving back up behind them. Natural creases and the hair camouflage the resulting scars. A facelift smoothes out the throat, the nasolabial folds (laugh lines), and general cheek sagging.

Eye makeup and false eyelashes can help keep the eyes looking young, but they do nothing for eyelid sagging. Blepharoplasty is a cosmetic surgery procedure that removes excess fat and skin from the eyelids and gives the eyes a more alert and youthful look. Scars are very thin and they are well-hidden in the eyes’ natural creases or inside the lower eyelid.

BOTOX® Cosmetic smoothes out forehead lines and crow’s feet. Collins claims she has had no BOTOX® Cosmetic treatments, as the idea frightens her. She dislikes needles and thinks that BOTOX® is a “poison”. The proteins that BOTOX® is derived from do come from a bacteria that can cause botulism if they are ingested in large amounts. But nobody eats BOTOX® -- it is injected in a tiny amount to a specific muscle and never enters the digestive system.

Although Collins denies having any cosmetic surgery, there is no reason these days to hide it. It is widely accepted as a good way to preserve your best youthful features, and in this slumping economy, many are using it to look better in job interviews.

If you would like to know more about any of the plastic surgery procedures we offer, please contact us for a free consultation. Dr. Rai is always happy to answer questions and suggest which procedures might be best for you.

Using Your Lunch Hour Well

2010-06-18T16:55:00.000-05:00

You have probably heard about “lunchtime procedures”. They are short, non-invasive procedures that could be done on your lunch hour and you could return to work afterwards. In this stumbling economy, this type of procedure is reported to have increased in popularity. Since many people have been laid off, competition for the fewer available jobs is more fierce and some have been turning to lunchtime procedures to improve their appearance for job interviews.

What divides surgeries from lunchtime procedures is use of the surgical knife. When the skin is incised, as it must be for major surgeries such as a tummy tuck, facelift, or breast augmentation, there is a longer recovery period while the skin repairs itself, bruising and swelling subside, and internal tissues re-assemble themselves.

When the skin is not incised, as when a laser is used, or an injection, there is no need for any such recovery period.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the most popular five non-invasive procedures are, in this order:

BOTOX® Cosmetic injections
Laser hair removal
Microdermabrasion
Chemical peels
Laser skin resurfacing

At The Cosmetic Surgical Center, we offer BOTOX® Cosmetic and do indeed have many people coming for that easy and quick procedure. In about ten minutes, you can have your frown lines smoothed out, or forehead lines or crow’s feet, and return to work looking years younger.

We also offer chemical peels and you can choose how strong a peel you want. A stronger one penetrates the skin more deeply and requires more self-care afterwards, but you could easily go back to work after a mild or moderate peel. This is an effective way to rejuvenate the facial skin.

Please contact us in our Dallas, Texas office if you would like to schedule a free consultation with Dr. Rai. You can ask all your questions and have them clearly answered.

Surgery Complications vs. Side Effects

2010-06-16T17:20:00.000-05:00

When you have a plastic surgery done, or any surgery, there are always some side effects. They are not the same thing as complications, although the two terms are often confused and used synonymously.

What Are Side Effects?

Side effects are part of the body’s recovery process and are temporary. They are things like:

Bruising
Swelling
Mild to moderate pain, easily controlled by an over-the-counter or prescription painkiller
Seeping of blood or fluid from an incision
Limited movement, depending on what surgery you had

Side effects are expected to happen and Dr. Rai will give you advance information about them and how to minimize them for better recovery.

Side effects vary somewhat according to what procedure you had. For example, if you had a rhinoplasty, you would probably have one or more splints in the nose with a dressing over them while the bone heals in its new position. This would give you some facial discomfort and would be visible to anyone who looked at you. That means you might stay home from work for longer than if you had liposuction on the upper arms where sleeves would hide any bruising.

If you had a tummy tuck, you would wear a compression garment around the abdomen to help reduce swelling, whereas if you had eyelid surgery, there would be some bruising around the eyes but your abdomen would be untouched and you could move around sooner and more comfortably.

What Are Complications?

Complications are more serious problems that are known to be possible, but are not expected as a matter of course like side effects. They are things like:

Sudden excessive bleeding
An incision coming open
Infection
A blood clot in the legs
A fatty clot in the lungs (pulmonary embolism)

Complications can be life-threatening or harmful to your surgical results and your physical appearance. They can often be treated or mitigated by a follow-up procedure, such as re-suturing an opened incision, or by prescribing a new medication such as a second antibiotic to treat an infection.

Learning about side effects and complications is part of patient education and the more you know and understand about your procedure and its possible dangers, the better you can be at coping with something unexpected.

Dr. Rai and his qualified team always have time to answer questions and we hope you will always ask about anything that isn’t clear to you.

If you would like to schedule a free consultation with Dr. Rai, please contact us today. We serve the residents of Dallas, Texas, and we look forward to meeting with you.

Benefits of Breast Reduction

2010-06-12T13:07:00.000-05:00

Are you tired of carrying a heavy weight around on your chest? Do your bra straps bite into your shoulders and do you tend to get back aches? Our culture is obsessed by big breasts but there is a limit to how big “big” should be.

Beyond back pain, large breasts can cause neck pain and shoulder pain. It can also be hard to find clothing that fits, since a dress that fits your bust size may be loose and baggy for your lower body and one that fits your lower body may be far too tight over the bust.

Extra-large breasts also interfere with physical activity, making it uncomfortable to run or jump and therefore hard to participate in sports.

If you naturally have very large breasts and would like them to be a bit smaller and lighter, breast reduction is the procedure to have. You can see the results some of our patients achieved by looking at our Breast Reduction Before and After Gallery.

How is Breast Reduction Done?

The procedure takes three to four hours. An incision is made around the nipple and downwards to the chest wall (a “keyhole” incision”). Unwanted fatty tissue and breast tissue are removed and the nipples may be relocated higher on the breasts. This removes that downward angle that heavy breasts so often have and creates a more youthful, “perky” look.

Dr. Rai may insert a drainage tube on each side before he sutures the incisions and applies bandages.

For recovery, you will need at least a week off from your job or normal activities. Two weeks could be better. Dr. Rai will give you printed instructions for how to care for yourself during recovery and you will have a series of follow-up visits so he can monitor your progress.

At first you will feel tired and will want to rest or sleep. You will have a pain medication to minimize discomfort and an antibiotic ointment to prevent infection. Swelling and bruising will fade in a few weeks. There will be scars where the incisions were, as this is unavoidable and one important thing to avoid is heavy lifting. It can increase your scarring.

If you would like to learn more about breast reduction and whether you are a good candidate for it, please call or email us today for a free consultation. We serve Dallas and Fort Worth in Texas and hope to work with you soon.

How Lasers Work For Skin Care

2010-06-10T12:16:00.000-05:00

When you have a chemical peel done, the chemical gives you the equivalent of a sunburn. The top layer of skin gets red and then peels off. The skin grows new cells that are tighter and give you a younger look. You can choose a mild chemical peel, or a moderate or deep peel. The chemical solution is set to one of those strengths and will penetrate to a certain depth accordingly. Laser skin resurfacing works in a similar way.

The skin has three main layers:

The top layer called the epidermis;
The middle layer called the dermis; and
The lowest layer called the subcutaneous layer. It is a fatty layer that insulates the body and is not always classified as a third skin layer.

The epidermis has five sub-layers and new skin cells are produced in the lowest of them. They work their way upwards until they reach the visible skin surface, by which time they are dead. The skin sloughs them off and more new cells rise to take their place. It takes two to four weeks for new cells to make that trip upwards

The dermis is several times thicker than the epidermis and is 60 percent water. It is made of fibrous connective tissue densely packed, mainly collagen and elastin fibers. They support the skin surface and give the skin its elasticity. As we age, we produce less collagen and elastin, which is a contributing cause to wrinkles.

When you Have a Laser Resurfacing Treatment

The laser heat penetrates to the lowest epidermis layer and stimulates production of more new cells. At the same time, it creates a mild burn on the skin surface, like a sunburn, that leads to the skin peeling off. The laser has a shrinking or tightening effect that leads to the new cells being tighter. When they rise and replace the peeled-off cells, they give you a smoother and more youthful appearance.

Laser resurfacing and chemical peels are two ways to rejuvenate the skin. Another way is use of a facial filler. These give temporary results lasting anywhere from four to twelve months, depending on which filler you choose. Repeat treatments are necessary for long-term results. Results of a laser resurfacing can last longer, perhaps two years. But a series of treatments gives better results than just one treatment.

If you would like to know more about the ways you could improve your facial skin, please contact our Dallas, Texas office today for a free consultation.

Cosmetic Surgery on the Rise in Iraq

2010-06-04T13:06:00.000-05:00

Now that calm and peace are spreading in Iraq, Iraqis are turning more to personal improvements including cosmetic surgery. The election results have been confirmed by a manual count with no fraud discovered, and a coalition government is in the making. The U.S. is hoping to start withdrawing troops in August.

The years of conflict and violence have yielded what seems to be a blessing in disguise – Iraqi surgeons have gained a great amount of experience in plastic surgery, having worked on so many people injured by bullets and explosions.

In a Baghdad Clinic

A news report on one Dr. Abbas al-Sihn in a well-to-do part of Baghdad called Mansour, describes his clinic as “besieged by scores of patients eagerly waiting their turn to apply for elective aesthetic procedures which they hope will improve their looks and perhaps their lives”.

Dr. Sihn estimates that the demand for plastic surgery has risen about 50 percent. He says:

"I'm currently doing about 50 operations a week, but that number will go up sharply in the summer, when students are on holiday."

His patients are not just women – they are both genders and all ages, even children, although children are there for reconstructive surgery to repair either an injury or a congenital deformity. The adults are mostly there for cosmetic improvement. He does the surgeries in a nearby hospital and does less invasive treatments in his clinic.

The most popular cosmetic procedure is rhinoplasty. Dr. Sihn says:

"The majority of girls think when they are getting surgery for the nose, for the face or for the eyes, that they will become more attractive and get married earlier."

Many of them also want to look like “magazine girls” and movie stars. Dr. Sihn attributes the increased interest in cosmetic surgery to the improved security situation in Iraq. “"When there's peace, there's life – because of peace, they want to live more," he says.

One of the benefits of rhinoplasty is that the same procedure can correct for defects or injuries at the same time as it reshapes the nose for better facial symmetry or balance.

If you would like to know more about facial cosmetic improvements, such as facelifts, eyelid surgery and cheek implants, please contact our office today for a free consultation with Dr. Rai. We serve the areas of Dallas and Fort Worth in Texas and we hope to meet with you soon.

A New Type of Facelift

2010-06-02T13:29:00.000-05:00

In July this year, the sixth Annual Facial Cosmetic Surgery International Multi-Specialty Symposium will be held. According to news reports, there will be a presentation of a new type of facelift called the Simoni Lift™.

This is a mini-facelift that requires only local anesthetic and takes about an hour. It is offered by one Payman Simoni, M.D., who practices in Beverly Hills, California. It is reputed to improve turkey neck and laxity in the jowls, cheeks and facial skin and is said to have a short recovery time. It is the type of procedure often referred to as a “weekend facelift”.

Dr. Simoni wanted this procedure to avoid use of general anesthesia for increased safety and so that you could go home right after it was finished. People do not generally have allergic reactions to local anesthetic, but it can happen with general anesthesia.

How is a Simoni Lift ™ Done?

First, your skin quality is evaluated, and the amount of fat and excess skin in the neck area. You will have better results if your skin still has some elasticity.

The anesthetic is mixed with epinephrine, which shrinks blood vessels to reduce bleeding. There are two incisions, much as in a traditional facelift, which run from within the hairline, in front of each ear, and back up behind each ear. Excess fat and skin are removed, muscles are tightened, the skin is redraped, and the incisions sutured.

Simoni Lift™ Recovery Period and Results

Swelling and bruising are reduced because only local anesthetic was used. With a bit of makeup, you can get around within a few days, although you should stay fairly quiet. After four to seven days, you can return to work.

Any discomfort can be well-controlled with pain medication and if you experience any strong pain, you should call your cosmetic surgeon. For perhaps a month, you may have decreased feeling in your face but it should return to normal.

As with all cosmetic surgery procedures, the Simoni Lift™ does not halt aging; it merely puts the clock back. We all age differently, depending on genetics and lifestyle, but it is estimated that you would not need any further facial rejuvenation for ten to fifteen years.

Meanwhile, at The Cosmetic Surgery Center, Dr. Rai offers endoscopic facelifts which are very effective in giving you a more youthful and relaxed appearance. There are also cosmetic surgeries to improve areas of the face, such as blepharoplasty to rejuvenate the eyes and cheek implants to create a firmer facial outline.

Dr. Rai is always happy to answer questions and explain how a procedure works. If you would like to schedule a free consultation, please call or email our Dallas, Texas office today.

Skin Structure and Care: Part 4: Chemical Peels

2010-05-27T13:58:00.000-05:00

This space has been looking at ways to rejuvenate the skin and previous blogs have been on May 17 (skin structure), May 21 (BOTOX® Cosmetic), and May 25 (Radiesse).

A chemical peel is a kind of deliberate skin injury but of course it is done carefully and according to your preference. You can choose to have a mild peel, moderate peel, or strong peel, which affect the skin to different depths. There is method behind this apparent madness. When you remove the surface skin cells, the skin responds as if it were injured. The dermis produces new cells and when they rise up to form a new surface layer, they are smoother and tighter than the ones that were removed.

Basically, a chemical peel is like a sunburn. The skin does not peel off immediately. First the skin becomes red, as if you had spent a day at the beach. Then it peels and by the end of a week, you have new skin. This is a great way to treat skin imperfections like:

Fine lines around the eyes and mouth
Age spots and freckles
Mild scarring
Roughness caused by sun damage or heredity
The dullness that comes with aging
Some types of acne

Chemical peels do not treat sagging or severe wrinkles. For that, you might consider laser skin resurfacing or cosmetic surgery such as a facelift, forehead lift, or blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery).

The Chemical Peel Procedure

Dr. Rai can do your chemical peel here as an outpatient procedure. You would first discuss the options and determine whether to have a mild, moderate, or deep peel. If you choose a moderate or strong peel, you may have an anesthetic applied before the peel is done.

The skin is first cleaned and excess oil is removed. The hair and eyes are protected. Then a chemical solution is applied. You feel it as warm and after a short time perhaps a little stinging. During your recovery period, you will need to protect yourself from the sun and depending on the type of peel you had, you might have a bandage over the treated area as protection and to improve the effectiveness of your peel. Dr. Rai will explain how to care for yourself post-procedure and you may have some follow-up visits.

If you would like to know more about methods of skin rejuvenation, and which one would be best for your particular skin, please contact our Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas office today.

Skin Structure and Care: Part 3: Radiesse and Collagen

2010-05-25T13:08:00.001-05:00

On May 17, this space discussed skin structure – the three layers and what they each do. On May 21, we discussed BOTOX® Cosmetic and how it works. Today let’s consider one of the facial fillers called Radiesse®.

As the name implies, facial fillers rejuvenate the skin by filling it with something. Unlike BOTOX® Cosmetic, which is injected past all skin layers and into a specific muscle, facial fillers are injected into the skin’s second layer, the dermis.

The Collagen Matrix

Among many other structures, the dermis contains a network of protein fibers that give support to the skin surface. One type of fiber is collagen and the other is elastin. Together, they give the skin strength and elasticity, but as we age, the body produces less of these proteins.

That weakens the fiber network, creating little gaps in it. The skin sinks into them and now you have some wrinkles or fine lines. Of course, there are other contributing causes for wrinkles, such as sun damage, dryness and tobacco use. No facial filler can change a person’s lifestyle.

But Radiesse® is designed according to the reasoning that if we reinforce the collagen matrix, the skin surface will be smoother. Better yet, if we can stimulate the skin to produce more collagen, the youthful results could last longer.

How Radiesse® Works

Radiesse® consists of a water-based gel with tiny microspheres made of calcium hydroxyapatite (CAHA). Its volume gives immediate results, plumping up the treated area, and as the body gradually absorbs the gel, the microspheres remain and fill gaps in the collagen matrix.

Radiesse® also causes the skin to create more collagen to continue filling gaps. In this way, Radiesse results last significantly longer than results from other fillers – as long as a year or more. That means you need fewer repeat treatments for ongoing results.

Please watch this space for the next part of this series on other dermal fillers and how they work. You can also refer to our page on Facial Fillers for more information.

If you would like to arrange a complimentary consultation with Dr. Rai, please contact our Dallas, Texas office today.

Skin Structure and Care: Part 2: BOTOX® Cosmetic

2010-05-21T12:04:00.001-05:00

On May 17, this space talked about the skin’s layers and what each one does for us. When you have some understanding of how the skin is structured, you can more easily understand why it starts to look older and how it can be rejuvenated.

In this youth-worshipping age, many people are unhappy when the years start to show on their skin. At The Cosmetic Surgical Center, we have many people coming for procedures like facial fillers and BOTOX® Cosmetic. Both of these can smooth out lines and wrinkles, but they work in completely different ways

Small facial lines are one of the first signs of aging. They may appear first as glabellar (frown) lines or crows’ feet and by age 45 or so, they have increased their repertoire to include nasolabial folds, smile lines, and laugh lines.

Treating Frown Lines

As you can deduce from their names, one of the biggest contributing factors to wrinkles is repeated facial expressions. When we use those same muscles hundreds of times daily, they shape the skin over them. BOTOX® Cosmetic addresses this aspect of facial wrinkles. It works by paralyzing the muscle where it is injected so that it cannot receive messages from the brain telling to contract.

It is not injected into the tiny muscles of the skin’s middle layer, the dermis. It is injected into larger muscles beneath the skin’s subcutaneous tissue. To smooth out frown lines, Dr. Rai injects into the Corrugator supercilii, a diagonal muscle beneath the eyebrows that pulls the forehead skin inward to form glabellar (frown) lines. After such an injection, the Corrugator supercilii cannot contract for three or four months, which keeps the skin above it relaxed. Repeat treatments can extend this so that your frown lines are much less visible.

Treating Forehead lines

BOTOX® Cosmetic is also very effective in smoothing out horizontal forehead lines. It is injected into the Occipitofrontalis muscles that wrinkles the forehead and raises the eyebrows. Now the forehead skin remains relaxed, and again, repeat treatments will gradually discourage this muscle from contracting so often, giving you a more youthful-looking forehead for the longer-term.

BOTOX® Cosmetic is the most popular non-invasive cosmetic surgery procedure and has been for several years. It is a quick and easy procedure and there is no downtime afterwards. It can also be used for crows’ feet, fine lines around the lips and perhaps other wrinkles, depending on the individual case.

Please watch this space next week for how facial fillers work. If you would like to schedule a free consultation with Dr. Rai, please contact our Dallas, Texas office today.

Skin Structure and Care: Part 1

2010-05-17T16:26:00.000-05:00

Our skin is our largest organ. It has many functions:

Insulation (from fat below the skin surface)
Protection from the elements for body structures
Minimizing water loss
Body temperature regulation (through sweat glands and dilation and constriction of its blood vessels)
Sensation of touch, heat, cold, pain, itch, and pressure (through sensory nerve endings in the skin)
Production of Vitamin D (through exposure to the sun’s UV radiation)
Expression of emotions (through blushing, paling and goose bumps. Goosebumps are the tightening of little muscles at the base of each hair. It makes the hair stand up like a bird fluffing up feathers or a porcupine raising its quills.)

We tend to take all of these essential functions for granted and instead focus on what our skin looks like. Much of cosmetic surgery focuses on the skin and on maintaining its youthful appearance with procedures like chemical peels. To get a good idea of how these procedures work, it is best to first understand the skin’s layers.

Two Main Skin Layers

1. Epidermis

The visible skin is an unstable top layer with five sub-layers. It is continually discarding cells and replacing them with new cells that rise up from its lowest sub-layer. This relates to the skin function of protection from the elements. The top layer refreshes itself for continued strength against wind, chemicals, temperature changes, radiation, physical impacts, and the other onslaughts it receives on a daily basis. Also in the epidermis is melanin, a pigment that determines the skin and hair color.

2. The Dermis

The dermis has two layers and holds many structures that enable the skin to perform its many tasks. Here are the sweat glands, oil glands, nerves, blood vessels, tiny muscles, and hair follicles (roots). The dermis also has collagen and elastin fibers that intertwine to support the epidermis and provide elasticity for the skin. When the skin is injected with a facial filler, it is the dermis where those support substances are placed.

Subcutaneous Tissue

Beneath the dermis is a fatty layer with connective tissue, blood vessels, and nerves. The fat here insulates the body and works to regulate the skin and body temperature. Some consider this as a third skin layer and other consider it as separate.

Please watch this space for more on the skin and how we can help you keep yours clear, smooth, and youthful-looking. If you would like to schedule a free consultation with Dr. Rai, please call or email us today. We serve Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas and hope to meet with you soon.

Cosmetic Surgery Still Flourishing

2010-05-14T13:52:00.000-05:00

The American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (AACS) is a not-for-profit organization that provides consumer and professional information and conducts meetings and conferences for cosmetic surgeons and others. Recently they did a large survey of cosmetic surgery procedures done in the U.S.

The survey found that despite the sagging economy, over 17 million procedures were performed in 2009. That is more than has ever been reported before in a single year. The survey included questions about both invasive and non-invasive procedures. Results showed that of the invasive procedures, those most popular over the past years are:

Abdominoplasty (tummy tuck)
Rhinoplasty (nose surgery); and
Blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery).

Dr. Rai at The Cosmetic Surgical Center offers these procedures and has extensive experience with them. Tummy tucks remove sagging skin from the abdomen, along with some fat just beneath the skin, and when your recovery period is over, you will have a slimmer silhouette with the scar hidden in the bikini line.

Rhinoplasty can reshape the nose in virtually any way you would like. You and Dr. Rai can discuss how best to reshape it to give your face better balance. If you have a deviated septum, that can also be corrected in the same procedure. Blepharoplasty removes excess skin and fat from the eyelids to give your eyes a more alert and rested appearance.

With the Boomers’ Help

The AACS noted that it is primarily the baby boomers who are causing the rise of cosmetic surgeries found in their survey.

Economists have commented in the effects of the boomer generation for years. Because it is such a large generation, they have stimulated the economy ever since they were babies. They started by promoting the diaper and baby food industries, then the children’s toys industry, and at each stage of their lives, they have expanded the corresponding industries until now they are promoting cosmetic surgery. As a group, they are unwilling to accept aging and are doing what they can to restore their youthful appearance.

Please call or email our Dallas, Texas office if you would like to have a free cosmetic surgery consultation with Dr. Rai. Our staff is friendly and we are all happy to answer questions.

Choosing a Facial Filler

2010-05-12T12:27:00.000-05:00

We hear a lot in the news about BOTOX® Cosmetic and how popular it is, but not so much about the advantages of facial fillers, also called dermal fillers. They do not work the same way as BOTOX® Cosmetic. Instead of temporarily paralyzing the muscle used for frowning, for example, and thus helping to smooth out the frown lines, fillers provide bulk beneath the skin.

Facial fillers work in different ways to plump up the skin. One group of fillers is based on hyaluronic acid, a substance found naturally in the body. It attracts water, bonding to it and holding it to itself.

When used in a filler such as Restylane, Captique, or Hylaform, hyaluronic acid pulls water to the treated skin area. This has the effect of “swelling” the area – giving it a fuller and more youthful look. There is no problem with the body rejecting the filler, as our bodies are familiar with hyaluronic acid.

Another group of fillers uses collagen, another substance found naturally in the body. In youthful skin, collagen, a fibrous protein, occurs in a matrix with elastin, another protein, that gives the skin its elasticity. This matrix supports the skin surface, keeping it smooth. As we age, the body produces less collagen and elastin, so the matrix develops gaps and the skin begins to sink into them – this is one of the causes of wrinkles.

Cosmoderm and Cosmoplast are collagen-based facial fillers that restore strength to the matrix and help to rejuvenate the skin’s appearance.

Yet another approach is taken by fillers that use tiny particles. An example is Radiesse. It uses tiny spheres of calcium hydroxyapatite in a water-based gel. When Dr. Rai injects it beneath the skin surface, the gel immediately plumps up the skin. Over a few days, the body absorbs the gel but then the microspheres take over the job. They fill in gaps in the collagen/elastin matrix and help it keep the skin surface smooth.

Another filler in this group is Sculptra, which uses poly-lactic acid. It forms crystals that add thickness to the skin’s middle layer, the dermis, and also stimulate the skin to produce more new cells.

All filler treatments need to be repeated for long-term benefit. Each individual treatment lasts from about four to 12 or 18 months, depending on which filler is used. Dr. Rai can advise you on which one would do the best job for you.

Please contact our Dallas, Texas office today if you would like to have a free consultation with Dr. Rai.

Saline vs. Silicone For Breast Augmentation

2010-05-06T14:28:00.000-05:00

Having looked at the choices associated with breast augmentation on April 14, the advantages of saline implants on April 30, and the advantages of silicone gel implants on May 3, let’s now consider the downsides of each implant type. If you are considering breast augmentation, it is part of your education and preparation to learn about the disadvantages as well as the advantages of each pre-surgery choice. No implant type is perfect absolutely, but one may be pretty near perfect for you individually.

There are four choices of incision location for breast augmentation but only three are possible if you choose silicone gel implants. The TUBA approach places an incision in the navel and does an endoscopic procedure to position the implants. This can be done with saline implants which are inserted empty and folded up small, and it gives you no little scars (discreet as they are) on your upper body. If you want silicone implants and do not want any incision done in the navel anyway, this is not a disadvantage.
In the remote possibility of an implant shell rupture, saline solution will immediately leak out and be absorbed by the body harmlessly; but your breasts will be asymmetrical and you will need to replace that implant as soon as possible. If a silicone implant ruptures, there will be no leak of silicone contents, as it will retain its shape without the shell. However, you will not realize there has been a rupture, perhaps until you go for a mammogram or a breast examination.
For most people, silicone implants more closely resemble breast tissue than saline implants.
If, after your breast augmentation, you decide that the implants are too big or too small, saline implants can be easily adjusted but not silicone implants. They are inserted pre-filled and must be replaced.
Silicone implants are less likely to wrinkle after placement. If you are slender, saline implant wrinkles can show through the skin, looking unnatural.

Both types of implant can obstruct your mammograms unless you have them done by a technician trained in doing X-rays for breasts that have implants.

Both types are susceptible to capsular contraction. The body naturally produces connective tissue around the implant as a kind of immune response. This is not a problem unless that tissue becomes too tight, squeezing the implant and making the breasts feel hard. Dr. Rai can address this problem should it occur.

When done by a properly qualified surgeon with extensive experience, breast augmentation is a very safe and effective cosmetic surgery procedure. Part of having a happy outcome is doing your homework beforehand, so that you know what to expect and how to minimize your chances of any complications. Be sure and follow Dr. Rai’s instructions for pre- and post-operative self-care.

To schedule a free consultation with Dr. Rai, please contact our Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, office today. We look forward to working with you.

Advantages of Silicone For Breast Augmentation

2010-05-03T14:26:00.000-05:00

On April 14, 2010, this space considered the choices associated with breast augmentation and on April 30, we looked at the advantages of saline implants. Today we will look at the advantages of silicone gel implants.

Keep in mind that silicone gel implants were restricted by the FDA for 14 years to reconstructive use only. That was in response to a media panic about possible harm should the silicone leak out of a ruptured implant shell.

Fourteen years of intensive research found no links whatsoever between silicone gel and any systemic disease, and it found that all the claims were baseless. In that time, though, many companies worked on making a shell that would not rupture and gel that would not move if the shell did rupture. The result was improved silicone implants being FDA-approved in November 2006.

1. Silicone gel is cohesive – it sticks to itself, unlike saline solution, which is a fluid. It is made from silicon (with no “e”), the second most common element on Earth after oxygen. We all have silicone in our bodies from common household items like hand lotion, dish detergent, laundry detergent, and hairspray. It does no harm. Silicon is found in sand, rock, and crystals. The gel in your implants will keep its shape in the very unlikely event that the shell ruptures.

2. Most people feel that silicone makes for a more realistic-looking breast augmentation. These implants have more of the look and feel of breast tissue. Not being a fluid, the gel does not slosh around during vigorous activity, and does not have a “water balloon” feel.

3. Silicone gel has far less chance of rippling, as can happen more easily with saline implants. In a slim woman, such ripples can show through on the skin. Rippling implants need to be replaced.

4. Silicone gel causes less tissue stretch. Saline implants gradually stretch the breast skin and other soft tissue in the breast, which can cause the implant pocket to expand, the implants to “bottom out”, and the breasts to droop.

5. If you have any chest irregularity like scoliosis, silicone implants drape more smoothly.

The choice between implant types for breast augmentation is really a personal one based on your preferences and lifestyle. Dr. Rai can help you make the decision by giving you more information, but he leaves the choice to you.

To learn more about breast augmentation and how it can best be done for you, please call or email our cosmetic surgery office today. We serve Dallas and Fort Worth in Texas and hope to meet with you soon.

Advantages of Saline For Breast Augmentation

2010-04-30T09:13:00.000-05:00

On April 14, this space looked at the choices associated with breast augmentation. One of the choices is between saline or silicone gel implants. How do these implant types differ? What are their advantages and disadvantages? In this post, we will look at the advantages of saline implants. Please watch this site for more information.

Advantages of Saline Implants

1. Saline implants have a very simple substance inside them – saline solution. It is just salty water made to the same strength of saltiness found in the body. All body fluids have salt and when an injured hospital patient needs extra fluids for any reason, saline solution is administered through an intravenous line directly to the bloodstream. Since it matches the body’s saltiness, it can be used however the body needs it.

Saline solution is therefore a very safe element in breast augmentation, even if the implant leaks. The body will absorb the saline solution and be none the worse for it. Keep in mind that leaks are rare in any case.

2. If you were to be that rare case where a leak does occur and you had saline implants, the leak would be very obvious because the implant would reduce its size and you would see that change. Your breasts would look asymmetrical. You would not feel any pain or discomfort however. Dr. Rai could correct the situation by replacing that one implant.

3. When you are considering incision locations for your breast augmentation, you can add one more to the list if you also choose saline implants. That would be the TUBA (TransUmbilical Breast Augmentation) incision in the navel. Since saline implants come empty and are filled after placement, they can be positioned from the navel incision through use of an endoscope.

Dr. Rai would use a narrow flexible tube with two canals inside it: one for a fiberoptic light and the other for surgical instruments. He can see his work on the computer monitor and can move the folded implant to its proper position without creating any scars on the upper body.

4. After your breast augmentation, if you decide that you would like the implants to be a slightly different size, that can be done if you had saline implants. Since they are inserted empty and filled after placement, they can also be filled more or slightly emptied through the same little incision used for inserting and filling them.

Deciding to have breast augmentation is a major decision, since it is major surgery. It is advisable to think about all the pros and cons of each breast augmentation choice. Next post we will look at the advantages of silicone gel implants.

If you would like to schedule a free consultation with Dr. Rai and learn more about how breast augmentation could best be done for you, please contact our Dallas, Texas office today.

Cosmetics and Cosmetic Surgery in Iran

2010-04-27T02:00:00.001-05:00

If we rely on news reports, we might assume that Iranian women stay covered up and live in a self-effacing way. But a recent study done by an Iranian think tank and published in a monthly Iranian marketing magazine found that Iranian women are among the world’s top consumers of cosmetics and increasingly enthusiastic consumers of cosmetic surgery.

There is an Iranian tradition called “hijab” that requires that women cover themselves entirely with loose-fitting clothes and keep their hair covered. Also, it is forbidden to wear makeup in Iranian government offices.

But according to one Eldad Pardo, a professor at the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, Iranian culture has always had a strong appreciation of beauty.

"I'm not at all surprised there is this interest in cosmetics in Iran," he said in an interview. "Iranian culture and particularly Persian culture has always been exceptional in their emphasis of beauty, aesthetics, art, fashion, design and poetry, much more than anywhere else in the Middle East.”

Despite attempts by religious police to enforce hijab, women and girls between about 15 and 45 years of age, along with many Iranian men, are making Iran the second-largest market for cosmetics in the Middle East. Urban centers are filled with women and girls sporting elaborate makeup. Products like anti-wrinkle creams and face masks, as well as good quality shaving creams are apparently easy to bring into the country and are widely used.

Iranians are also leading in rhinoplasty, and this has been in news reports since at least early 2005. In a 2006 report, a university student named only Hussein was scheduled for nose surgery and told a reporter:

"Now it's really normal but of course 10 years ago if you were a boy and had a nose job everyone would laugh at you and make fun of you. But now it's not like that -- lots of people are doing it.”

Women are thought to have led the way in rhinoplasty popularity, since when following the strict dress requirements, only their nose was visible. Now many men have cosmetic surgery and in Tehran there are over 3,000 plastic surgeons operating thriving businesses.

At The Cosmetic Surgical Center, Dr. Rai offers nose surgery for both males and females, as well as blepharoplasty, of course, BOTOX® Cosmetic, and many other choices.

To learn more, please contact our Dallas, Texas office today for a free consultation with Dr. Rai.

Skin Improvement for Springtime

2010-04-22T17:50:00.000-05:00

Are you planning some fun events for Spring? You could use non-invasive cosmetic surgery treatments to rejuvenate your skin and give your face a younger and smoother appearance. Do you have acne scars? Some sun damage? Any mild or moderate discoloration?

There are different ways to rejuvenate the skin. One is to remove the top surface and let it regrow with tighter cells that give a smoother and younger appearance. This can be done with a chemical peel or laser skin resurfacing, both of which procedures stimulate the skin to produce more collagen. Collagen is a fibrous protein found throughout the body and in the skin’s middle layer, it forms a matrix with elastin to support the skin surface and keep it smooth.

Another way to rejuvenate the skin is to use a facial filler. There are many to choose from and each works in a somewhat different way. Some are based on hyaluronic acid, a substance also found throughout the body. It attracts water and bonds to it. When a filler using hyaluronic acid is injected beneath the skin surface, it has the effect of plumping up the area because of the extra water attracted and held there. Restylane® is a popular example of a facial filler based on hyaluronic acid.

Radiesse® is a filler that works a different way. It consists of a gel filled with tiny spheres of calcium hydroxyapatite. The gel gives immediate support to the skin, creating smoothness, but the body soon absorbs it. Then the microspheres take over, contributing to the collagen matrix under the skin surface, and filling any age-related gaps in it from decreased production of collagen.

Of course, there is also BOTOX® Cosmetic, which works yet another way, by temporarily paralyzing the muscle where it is injected. For three or four months, that muscle will be unable to receive messages from the brain telling it to contract. BOTOX® Cosmetic works well for frown lines and horizontal forehead lines. In some cases it is also good for crows’ feet and laugh lines, and also the fine lines that develop around the lips.

At The Cosmetic Surgical Center, we offer all the above procedures for facial rejuvenation and we invite you to contact us for a free consultation with Dr. Rai.

Baby Boomers Anxious About Aging

2010-04-16T12:16:00.000-05:00

The American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (AACS) has released statistics for cosmetic surgeries done in 2009. They show that, despite the current recession, baby boomers are worried enough about the years marching on that they are having more facelifts and eyelid surgery.

The number of facelifts performed in 2009 by AACS members went up 44 percent and the number of eyelid surgeries (blepharoplasty) went up 42 percent. Most of these procedures were done for people in their 50s.

"The baby boomers are getting older but they still feel young and they want to look that way too," said Mark Berman, AACS president. "I think this might come as a surprise to the public when they see just how many baby boomers are trying to slow down the aging process."

Numbers also went up for non-invasive procedures too, as BOTOX® Cosmetic procedures increased by 157 percent and facial fillers increased by 245 percent. These non-invasive procedures were done for people in their 50s but also for many in their 40s, so it was not only anxious Boomers but also some of the GenX people aging right behind them.

The most popular plastic surgery procedure of all was liposuction, a perennial favorite for many years. The AACS always groups the top five procedures separately, and in the 2009 top five, besides facelifts, eyelid surgery, and liposuction, the other two were forehead lifts and abdominoplasty (tummy tucks).

In comparing men and women, the AACS found that about 15 million women had cosmetic surgery in 2009 as against about 2.5 million men. Breast enlargement is usually in the top five procedures but was not in 2009.

Dr. Rai at The Cosmetic Surgical Center offers all the procedures in the AACS top five, and many more besides. We offer all the non-invasive procedures as well.

If you are in Dallas, Texas, and would like to learn more about any plastic surgery procedure that interests you, please contact us to schedule a free consultation with Dr. Rai.

Issues to Consider Before Your Breast Augmentation

2010-04-14T11:46:00.000-05:00

According to the most recent statistics from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, breast augmentation is still at the top of the list and over 300,000 were done in 2009. Many women having breast implants are baby boomers hoping to keep their young 1960s bloom.

However, you do not have to be worrying about your aging looks to benefit from breast enlargement. As long as you are over 18 (for saline implants) or 22 (for silicone gel implants), have good general health, and a reasonable desire to have larger breasts, you could be a good candidate.

Dr. Rai would be the one to determine your candidacy after he examines you and studies your health history. However, you would have a great deal of input into how your procedure was planned. There are some important breast surgery decisions to be made before any procedure is scheduled.

What size implant do you want? Bigger is not necessarily better. Implants are not sized like bras, with 34-A or 36-C and so on. They are sized by how many cubic centimeters of fluid or gel they contain. Dr. Rai would help you translate cc’s into the right size implant to augment what you already have and end up with the shape you want.
What shape implant? They come in round or teardrop shapes and each has advantages and disadvantages.
Silicone gel or saline implants? Saline is the name for salt water that has the same saltiness (salinity) that our body fluids have. Saline solution is used in many medical procedures and is a standard substance. Silicone gel is specially made for breast implants and these implants come already filled, whereas saline implants are empty when inserted. Therefore incisions must be a little longer for silicone implants.
Where to place the incisions? You have four choices of incision location, all of which will give you a discreetly hidden scar. The transaxillary location is in the armpits; the periareolar location is around the outside of the areola; the breast crease location is below the breasts; and the TUBA location is in the navel.
Where to place the implants? There are two choices here. Either they can be below the breast tissue but above the pectoral muscle; or they can be below both. Each has its advantages and disadvantages and your lifestyle would be a factor in this decision. Again, Dr. Rai will help.

There are good reasons why the best cosmetic surgeons prefer well-informed patients. The better you understand your procedure, the more likely you are to comply with your pre- and post-surgical instructions and the more gratifying your surgical outcome is likely to be. Dr. Rai is always willing to answer questions and explain how a procedure works or why one would be better for you than another.

To learn more about breast enlargement, please contact our Dallas, Texas office for a free consultation with Dr. Rai.

An FDA Campaign Against Fat-Melting Injections

2010-04-08T13:02:00.000-05:00

The FDA has begun a crack-down on a procedure offered by some plastic surgeons called Lipodissolve. It is a non-surgical alternative to liposuction. A chemical is injected to dissolve fatty tissue in relatively small areas, usually in the arms, legs or abdomen – love handles, saddle bags and muffin tops, for example. These injections are also made in facial areas to reduce fat pads beneath the eyes or chin.

They use two chemicals called PC (phosphatidylcholine) and DC (sodium dioxycholate), which are found naturally in the body. These chemicals work as part of the person’s metabolism, breaking down fat.

Lipodissolve is also called mesotherapy, lipolysis, and lipostabil. Typically, each cosmetic surgery clinic or spa has been mixing its own chemicals – compounding the injection formulation. Since each spa or clinic makes its own compound, the ingredients vary and may include multivitamins, enzymes, plant extracts, antibiotics, hormones, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications.

Reports of Skin Problems

The FDA has been receiving reports of these injections causing scars and hard lumps on the skin, and of skin deformities after the procedure.

Rather than being delivered by a qualified cosmetic surgeon, they are often being done by beauty care specialists who may or may not have any medical training. Neither the chemicals in the compound nor the compounds themselves have been approved by the FDA and in a letter to a MedSpa in Madison, IN, the FDA said,

“The claims made for your lipodissolve products are false and misleading in that they are not supported by substantial evidence or substantial clinical experience."

The FDA has sent warning letters to about six other spas that offer these fat-melting injections and plans to send more. They cite the spas for making unsubstantiated claims about lipodissolve therapy. Some of the claims are that these injections can increase the skin’s production of collagen and that they can improve skin tone and elasticity.

Studies Not Done

Fat-melting injections do break down fat cells, but one question is where that fat goes. No studies have been done to show where it goes, and it could potentially cause serious harm if it goes into the liver or blood vessels. There are also no studies on where the injected medication goes and how it affects the body’s organs.

Nor are there any studies on the side effects, the best combination of ingredients, or best dosages. According the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), infection, inflammation, disfigurement, and tissue death have all been reported after lipodissolve, especially when the treatment was done by a beauty specialist rather than a physician.

This is a big case of:

Caveat emptor!

Buyer beware. Dr. Rai regards new cosmetic treatments and surgical techniques as potentially beneficial, but not until they are proven so does he begin to offer them here in The Cosmetic Surgical Center. If you would like to know more about liposuction and whether it would be a good option for you, please contact our office for a free consultation with Dr. Rai.

Cosmetic Surgery for Men

2010-04-05T11:06:00.001-05:00

All the surveys done each year about who has had what cosmetic surgery procedure and how many procedures of each type were done annually all repeat one fact: that more men are having cosmetic surgery each year. At The Cosmetic Surgical Center, we offer many procedures for men – males can have facial work and body work done using the same general procedures as are done for women, but done a little differently for men.

Standards of beauty for a male body of course differ to some extent from female standards of beauty, and liposuction can be tailored accordingly. In itself, liposuction is a neutral process – unwanted fat cells are broken up using various techniques, and then removed from that area, leaving the skin to shrink naturally over the new contour.

Men develop abdominal fat and extra fat on the upper back and neck just as women do, and these areas can be treated in similar ways. Men also value a muscular-looking chest. Liposuction can done in a way that works on smaller areas of fat within the chest, picking out the contours. This can be done on the abdomen also, creating that “washboard” effect.

Gynecomastia is the term for enlarged male breasts and this can be addressed by liposuction also. The unwanted tissue is not all fat, however; there is a usually an amount of actual breast tissue contributing to the enlargement. Dr. Rai can remove it using different techniques combined with liposuction.

We also offer male eyelid surgery to remove excess fat or skin that are causing drooping eyelids and an older or sleepy look. If you would like a stronger jawline, we offer chin implants to give more definition and balance to the lower face.

As always, BOTOX® Cosmetic is a good option for smoothing out frown lines or horizontal forehead lines. In the slumping economy, non-invasive procedures have become a lot more popular than major surgeries.

Regardless of how you would like to improve your male facial or body contours, we have procedures that can be customized to give you outstanding results. Ple

Cosmetic Surgery Conference Today in Phuket

2010-03-31T14:10:00.000-05:00

Phuket is a small island off the coast of Thailand, where the country extends down in a narrow isthmus to the Malay Peninsula. It is a province of Thailand and a beautiful holiday spot.

Today, about 300 cosmetic surgeons are gathered there to discuss nose surgery – rhinoplasty. They are at the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort and Spa in Karon. There are physicians and other medical personnel from the US, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, India, and Brazil. They are discussing facial analysis, best ways to plan nose surgery, how to do modifications after a surgery, and how best to avoid complications.

This is an annual event and originally Phuket was chosen for the 2005 conference. However, that massive tsunami happened and the conference was moved to Chiang Mai. Now Phuket is in the spotlight of the cosmetic surgery world.

In recent years, Phuket has been growing as a center of medical tourism. Since prices are lower there than in western countries, people can afford to stay there for a holiday while they recover from surgery, at least for the initial recovery of a few days.

Prompapa Wongtem is the secretary of the Thai Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons. She promotes medical tourism in Phuket, saying:

“Phuket is an international destination with a growing reputation for cosmetic surgery and recovery in a pleasant environment. ‘You can change your sex, have corrective surgery of all kinds and visit a dentist here with confidence.

Apparently, about 2,000 people go each year for some type of cosmetic surgery or dentistry and they boost the local economy with their spending. There are lots of activities to entertain you, beaches for surfing and swimming, fine restaurants, and hundreds of fascinating shops.

However . . .

If you have just had nose surgery, would you be happy dining out with splints in your nose and your face bandaged? If you just had liposuction, would you feel like surfing? If you just had breast enlargement, would you want to stroll along the white sand at sunset wearing your swimsuit over the special bra bandages?

There is also the question of any later complication arising. What if it turned out that one of your implants leaked and needed replacing? Or that you developed an infection on the way home or your nose started bleeding?

Follow-up care and monitoring are crucial for good surgical results. Surely you would do better to have your plastic surgery done at home, recover fully in good hands, and then have your vacation to celebrate?

To learn more about the many ways Dr. Rai can rejuvenate and enhance your appearance, please contact our Dallas, Texas office for a free consultation.

Facial Lines: Types and Treatments

2010-03-29T14:15:00.000-05:00

In our youth-obsessed culture, the word “wrinkle” is a BAD word. Nobody wants wrinkles. They must be hidden, smoothed out, eliminated with daily routines, special products, and cosmetic procedures. But everybody gets wrinkles. There is no way to stop aging, and the best thing to do is to try and age gracefully.

If it helps you to age gracefully, why not minimize the appearance of wrinkles on your face? You don’t have to deceive yourself into believing that you are actually 21. Surely a well-groomed and gracious 40 is just as appealing, if not more so.

The face develops several kinds of wrinkles and Dr. Rai at The Cosmetic Surgical Center offers non-invasive treatments to deal with all of them.

Crow’s Feet

Crow’s feet are often the first wrinkles to appear, perhaps even in a person’s twenties. They are fine radial lines that run between the eyelids and the temples and become more visible when you smile or laugh. They form more quickly if you are in the sun a lot and squinting against bright light. Good quality sunglasses and sunblock help to prevent them, or at least postpone their appearance.

Crow’s feet can be smoothed out with BOTOX® Cosmetic injected into the muscles on each side of the upper face. Alternatively, you could have a facial filler such as Restylane®. There are many facial fillers that use different methods to plump up the skin and Dr. Rai also offers Sculptra®, Radiesse®, and others. The effects of both BOTOX® Cosmetic and facial fillers last for several months to perhaps a year and these are non-invasive treatments that can be repeated for more long-term results.

Laugh Lines

Laugh lines are also called nasolabial folds. They run downwards between the nose and corners of the mouth. Like all facial wrinkles, they are partly caused by repeated facial expressions, in this case, laughing. But the pull of gravity helps too, in making the cheeks sag.

Laugh lines can be quite deep and can look more like facial folds than fine lines, but they can be smoothed out by facial fillers much as crow’s feet can. Radiesse or other facial fillers may not entirely smooth them out, but they will certainly make them more shallow, and this helps to counteract the downward contours of an aging face.

Smoker’s Lines

Smoker’s Lines are fine vertical lines that develop around the lips. They are called Smoker’s Lines because if you smoke, you are repeatedly pursing your lips, which encourages these little lines to form. However, anybody can get smoker’s lines, and most people do, especially women.

Smoker’s lines can be treated with BOTOX® Cosmetic and with lip fillers such as Captique, Hylaform, and Cosmoderm.

There are other ways of smoothing out facial wrinkles also, such as autogenous fat grafts, where your own fatty tissue is taken from another part of the body and injected into facial areas. There are also facial implants, such as chin implants and cheek implants, which give long-term results. These are cosmetic surgeries rather than non-invasive procedures.

Each face is different and Dr. Rai can examine you to determine what your best facial rejuvenation choices would be. If you would like to set up a free consultation with him, please contact our Dallas, Texas office today.

Cosmetic Surgery Prospering in China

2010-03-26T12:52:00.000-05:00

As China has become more capitalist and prosperous, there is now a second generation of wealthy families whose young members are going for cosmetic surgery. In a recent interview, a Chinese cosmetic surgeon answers some interesting questions. He is Ding Xiaobang, Director of the outpatient department of a plastic surgery hospital.

Do You See Any New Trends Emerging?

Yes, he said. Contrary to the myth that cosmetic surgery attracts older women who want to look younger and prettier, about 60 percent of his patients are young. They are good-looking members of the “rich second generation” and would turn heads on any street. But they want to look perfect.

They “use surgery like morning makeup,” he said. “Sometimes they even invite me to cafes or restaurants to discuss their surgery plans. Their makeup artists and private photographers are also there to let me know which part of the face is not yet perfect.”

Do Many of Your Clients Behave Mysteriously or Secretly?

Yes, said Ding. Actors and actresses who do not want to be recognized want to keep a low profile. They come to his clinic at dusk because not many people are around then. One in particular always sent her driver into the clinic to make sure nobody was there before she entered.

But it is not only celebrities who act strangely. He described a patient who arrived with her huofo, her “living Buddha”. She was planning to marry a billionaire in southern China whose family believed that a wife’s facial appearance could affect her husband’s fortune. “Peach blossom cheeks” in a wife were thought to be promising for a husband’s career so she wanted her cheeks improved. Her living Buddha’s job was to make sure no other parts of her face were changed, as that might break some taboos.

Becoming a Plastic Surgeon

Ding does not have the Chinese equivalent of board certification in plastic surgery. He learned on the job from his mentor, Zhang, who was very experienced in all types of surgery. In particular he recalled a nine-year-old girl whose heart was malformed. It was positioned above the ribs, beating just beneath the skin and Zhang positioned it more normally with bone protection. He was 81 at that time. Ding realized how dramatically plastic surgery could change a person’s life and decided to make it his career.

His first surgery was eyelid surgery for a young girl who was miserable at school because classmates mocked her. Her eyelid muscles were too weak to fully open her eyes. Ding was so nervous that his hands were trembling, but he successfully took a strip of muscle fiber from her forehead and used it for her upper eyelids. Her happiness after recovery confirmed him in his career choice.

Plastic surgery can indeed change your life. Would you like to know more about how Ultrasonic Liposuction can restore you youthful shape? Or how gynecomastia can streamline a male chest?

If you would like to schedule a free consultation with Dr. Rai, please call or email our office in Dallas, Texas, and we will be happy to set that up for you.

Look Natural After Your Cosmetic Surgery

2010-03-23T15:04:00.000-05:00

In Irish news this week, poll results report that 55 percent of the women polled would like to alter the shape or size of their breasts. The survey was a small one, done to celebrate a new chat show in Irish Information TV called MyFaceMyBody. It also reported that 42 percent of women polled would like to have liposuction to remove abdominal fat.

Poll participants included men also, of whom 40 percent said they were not bothered by the idea of breast implants and 23 percent said they preferred breasts that were augmented with implants to smaller natural breasts. That leaves 77 percent of men who would prefer natural breasts and 60 percent who are indeed bothered by the idea of breast implants.

About a third of the women thought that their partner would be glad to pay for a breast enlargement procedure for them, but two thirds were anxious that if they were to go ahead with such a procedure, the results would look fake.

In the early days of cosmetic surgery, when it was done privately for celebrities only, it was overdone in some cases, and it seems the public has not forgotten those images of windblown faces and out-of-proportion breasts. The idea of having cosmetic surgery appeals only if a prospective patient can be confident of looking natural afterwards.

Contribute to Your Own Surgical Outcome

Your plastic surgery outcome is largely in your own hands. There are two important steps that you can and should take to optimize your surgery results and they are:

Choose an experienced and fully-qualified plastic surgeon
Follow his or her pre- and post-op directions to the letter

We see stories repeatedly in the media of people who had cosmetic surgery done by non-board-certified doctors, by doctors ill-trained in other countries, and by cosmetic surgeons who run a factory instead of a quality medical facility. It is not surprising that surgical results have been unsatisfactory, even harmful, or that the doctors have been prosecuted.

Choose Your Plastic Surgeon Carefully

Dr. Rai has extensive qualifications and you can see the details of this on his Training and Credentials page. Not only is the initial training important, but so is the Continuing Education. That keeps a surgeon up to date with new ideas and technology, which increases your safety and satisfaction.

Look also to see what professional organizations your plastic surgeon belongs to. Those memberships keep him or her in touch with peers, which in turn can reassure you that the surgeon is competent and qualified. Many surgeons also have local affiliations that you can check into. Dr. Rai has contributed a great deal of leadership to the Medical City Dallas Hospital, serving as Chief of Section for Plastic Surgery and sitting on several committees.

When you choose a top-of-the-line surgeon, your post-surgery results will look natural and attractive. Your surgeon will have planned the procedure in partnership with you, informing you at each step what is done and why, and your satisfaction will be the greater for having a good working relationship with your plastic surgeon.

If you would like to meet with Dr. Rai and get some questions answered, please contact our Dallas, Texas office today and we will schedule a free consultation for you.

Cosmetic Surgery in Iraq

2010-03-19T22:35:00.002-05:00

As the U.S. presence in Iraq seems to be successfully creating peace and social order, Iraqi doctors are trickling back to their country and resuming their medical practices. Many of them are doing double duty, doing reconstructive surgery in government hospitals for war-wounded people and cosmetic surgery in private hospitals for those who are sufficiently healthy and affluent.

Interest in cosmetic surgery apparently cuts across all religious groups. Some people have consulted Iraq’s most respected Shiite religious leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. Evidently, his website gives some answers and guidance:

Hair implants are approved, since wigs can fall off when the person is praying
Liposuction is approved
Breast implants and breast reduction are approved as long as the woman has it done by a female cosmetic surgeon

But according to news reports, few people raise any religious questions or worry about the gender of their surgeon.

Since the ouster of Saddam Hussein and the end of economic sanctions, Iraqis have enjoyed more contact with the outside world. Many women bring photos of pop stars to show their surgeon how they would like to look. The most popular are apparently Nancy Ajram and Elissa, two Lebanese stars.

In an interview to a reporter, one woman who gave as her reason for wanting cosmetic surgery the fact that her mother-in-law-to-be disliked her nose.

"I am getting older and time is running out,” she said. “One should take care of oneself to look more beautiful." She is thirty years old.

Remaining Obstacles Being Overcome

There are still just about six cosmetic surgeons in practice throughout Iraq. Many doctors are still afraid of being kidnapped, as many doctors were kidnapped by insurgents a few years ago and many others went into exile voluntarily. They are gradually returning to Iraq but do not necessarily advertise their clinic address or work hours.

Also, Iraq does not have all the supplies needed for cosmetic surgery procedures. A woman who wants breast enlargement must import the implants herself and bring them to the surgeon. Patients must also buy their own BOTOX® Cosmetic, though this is easier, as it is sold in Iraqi pharmacies.

"Day after day, the number of clients is increasing," said Falah Abdul Hussein al-Shimmari, an Iraqi doctor who runs a Baghdad outpatient clinic. "Iraqis were deprived before of such cosmetic services because they were unable to travel. But after the war, there has been some openness to the outside world. People are becoming interested in having such plastic surgeries."

Are you interested in having a cosmetic surgery procedure? In this subdued economy, non-invasive procedures like facial fillers are still very popular and even more major procedures are still popular, such as breast augmentation, which never seems to go out of style.

To learn more about Dr. Rai and the services we offer, please contact our Dallas, Texas office for a free consultation.

A New Alternative to Liposuction

2010-03-16T15:27:00.001-05:00

When we gain weight, our fat cells are increasing in size to hold the extra fat. For the most part, we do not grow any new fat cells once we are adult. A new cosmetic surgery treatment is based on this fact. If there is increased fat cell size in the subcutaneous fat layer (just beneath the skin), it can be reduced with a laser.

This is therefore a non-invasive treatment with no pain, no incisions, and no recovery time required. It is called Zerona® and is offered by Erchonia Medical, Inc., a Texas-based company that makes lasers and other medical devices.

Zerona® is a body contouring procedure done in a series of treatments. The special low-level laser breaks up the subcutaneous fat cells (emulsifies them by breaking the cell walls). Rather than being suctioned out as is done in liposuction procedures, the emulsified fat moves into the little spaces between cells, joining the interstitial fluid that is already there. It then flows into the lymph system and is excreted by the body.

Zerona® Treatments

Each treatment lasts for 40 minutes. For best results, you would have three a week for two weeks. The laser is directed to whatever area you would like slimmer and more attractively contoured, such as the waist, hips, or thighs. Each treatment consists of 20 minutes of laser work on the front and 20 minutes on the back.

By the end of two weeks, your subcutaneous fat cells have shrunk down closer to their original size and you have lost at least three or four inches of circumference. Zerona® has been FDA-approved for reducing fat cells after being tested on the lower body only. But physicians are still testing Zerona® for its effectiveness on cellulite, and on upper body areas such as the upper arms and upper back.

At The Cosmetic Surgical Center, Dr. Rai offers both Tumescent Liposuction and Ultrasonic Assisted Liposuction (UAL), tailoring each procedure to the individual’s desires and needs. UAL is excellent for more detailed contouring results. It uses ultrasound to emulsify fat cells and then removes them by suction. It needs only very small incisions, since the ultrasound cannula and the vacuum tube are very narrow.

In fact, Dr. Rai has a whole separate website on Liposuction where you can read more detail about the ways it can be done.

If you would like to talk with Dr. Rai about the best way to improve your body contours, please contact our Dallas, Texas office today for a free consultation.

2009 Plastic Surgery Statistics

2010-03-11T12:05:00.000-06:00

The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery has released its 2009 statistics which give the numbers of how many times each procedure was performed, whether it was for a male or a female, percentages for each ethnic group, type of medical facility used, and what the total 2009 numbers are for each procedure. They do this every year and have been since 1997.

Since 1997, the total number of cosmetic surgery procedures has increased 147 percent. In 2009 it dropped, but only by two percent compared to 2008.

Most Popular 2009 Plastic Surgery Procedures

Breast augmentation – with 311,957 procedures done, compared to 355,671 procedures in 2008;
Liposuction -- with 283,735 procedures, compared to 341,144 in 2008;
Eyelid surgery -- with 149,943 procedures, down from the 195,104 procedures done in 2008;
Abdominoplasty – with 127,923 procedures, and in 2008 there were 152,434 with abdominoplasty being the fifth most popular procedure;
Facelifts – with 94,247 procedures, and in 2008, facelifts were not in the top five procedures. Rhinoplasty is the procedure that has dropped from the 2009 top five to make way for facelifts.

Most Popular 2009 Non-Invasive Procedures

As always, BOTOX® Cosmetic is the favorite non-invasive procedure, with 2,557,068 procedures done in 2009. This is more than the 2,464,123 done in 2008;
Facial fillers based on hyaluronic acid, such as Restylane -- 1,313,038 procedures compared to 1,262,848 in 2008, when it was third most popular;
Laser hair removal, which was not in the top five for 2008;
Microdermabrasion, which also was not in the top five for 2008;
Chemical peels, at 529,285 procedures, down from 591,808 in 2008 when it was in fourth position.

It is interesting to see how the annual numbers for major surgeries have declined while those for non-invasive procedures have increased. This may be because of the recession squeezing people’s budgets.

If you would like to learn more about any cosmetic procedure offered by Dr. Rai, please contact our Dallas, Texas office today for a free consultation with him.

Cosmetic Surgery to Help the Job Search

2010-03-09T12:12:00.000-06:00

There are those who think we live in a makeover culture these days. We no longer just get our nails “done” and our hair “done” – we get our face done, our breasts done, our lips done, and anything else that we think needs to be “done”. We get smile makeovers and race to try each new skin product.

One of the latest offerings is nicknamed Botox in a Bottle. It is a cream that freezes muscles temporarily, smoothing out wrinkles for the day. The real name is Glamoxy Snake Serum, based on its ingredient Syn-Ake that mimics the effects of the South-East Asian Temple Viper, whose bite causes paralysis. It is offered by the British company Rodial, Ltd. In the U.K., women are submitting massive numbers of advance orders for Glamoxy Snake Serum.

Look Better to Get a Job

In the present financial crisis it puzzles many that people are still willing to spend money on cosmetic procedures and products. However, part of the motivation in many countries is competition for jobs. As more and more companies retrench and lay off workers, more and more applicants show up for each remaining job opening.

The Los Angeles Times passes on a report of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery that more people are asking for cosmetic surgery to help them get ahead in the work world;
Canada’s Globe and Mail reports that more men are having BOTOX® Cosmetic and various laser treatments to look younger and fresher in their competitive work areas;
The U.K. Daily Mail reports that men now make up one in every five cosmetic surgery patients (used to be one in ten), and that many of them are big city bankers;
The Australian Sydney Morning Herald opines that cosmetic surgery will soon be as standard as teeth whitening and dyeing your hair;
In China, women are having eyelid surgery and leg-lengthening surgery to be more competitive in job interviews.

From teens to grandmothers, everyone feels their appearance needs improving and they are willing to act on that feeling. If you have some of that feeling yourself, it is wise to stop for a moment and look at it before rushing to act. Do you wish you looked like someone else? That is not a good reason to have plastic surgery because you are certain to be disappointed.

The only person you can convincingly look like is You. If you feel you need to look younger in order to land a job, that is very understandable, as ageism is certainly rampant. At The Cosmetic Surgical Center, we offer many ways to rejuvenate the face and body. Some are more invasive, such as breast implants, and others are non-invasive and simpler, such as facial fillers.

If you are in the Dallas and Fort Worth area of Texas, the first step is to contact our office for a complimentary consultation with Dr. Rai. You can ask your questions and learn a lot about your best options, so that when you do decide to have cosmetic surgery done, your expectations will be realistic and you will be happy with your outcome.

How About a Dimple-Plasty?

2010-03-05T12:04:00.000-06:00

Everyone loves a dimpled smile. For some mysterious reason, it looks cute and appealing and a dimple is regarded as a kind of beauty spot. Actually, a dimple is an inborn muscle defect, a small area where the cheek muscles did not fully develop and therefore create that little depression in the cheek contour when you smile.

In various countries, cosmetic surgeons have started to offer a dimple procedure to enhance a person’s smile. Men seem to be just as interested as women, and India seems to be something of a leader in this procedure.

How Are Dimples Created?

The procedure is short, taking 30 to 60 minutes and is done with local anesthesia on an outpatient basis. The plastic surgeon makes a small incision on the inside of the cheek and using a biopsy device, removes some of the fat in the proposed dimple location. More tissue is removed for a larger dimple and less for a smaller one. He then attaches part of the muscle to the skin. The incision is closed with absorbable stitches. Not every surgeon offers dimples on both cheeks, as it is difficult to make them symmetrical.

Recovery is short. There is a little swelling for a few days and you are prescribed an antibiotic to guard against infection. You would use a betadine mouth rinse also and would want to be on a liquid diet to avoid having to chew for a day or two.

At first, the dimple is there even if you are scowling, but as the cheek heals, it becomes visible only when you smile. The muscle is now pulling the skin inwards because of the closer muscle/skin attachment created by your dimple-plasty. Because the incision was inside the mouth, there is no visible scar.

You can return to your normal activities the same day if you wish and the results are permanent. Some cosmetic surgeons are also offering chin dimples.

Other Ways to Enhance Your Face

At The Cosmetic Surgical Center, Dr. Rai considers your safety a top priority and does not necessarily rush to offer the latest plastic surgery procedure just because it is new. Once a procedure is proven to be safe and effective he will offer it.

There are many ways to enhance your facial appearance. On our site, you can read about facial fillers as a way to enhance the cheeks and lip areas, cheek implants and chin implants as ways to change your facial contours, and lip enlargement or reduction to change your smile.

To learn more, please contact us today for a free consultation with Dr. Rai.

What is Your Basic Body Shape?

2010-03-01T16:06:00.000-06:00

Through our genetics, we all have a basic body shape. As the years go by and we develop our lifestyle, we may change our appearance by adding bulk but we always keep the basic shape. It will re-emerge when we lose weight.

There are thought by some to be six types of female body shape. Since fashions come and go, each type is in fashion sooner or later and then drops out of fashion. If your body type is currently out of fashion, you may be feeling unattractive and may even be trying to change your basic shape with diet, exercise, and/or cosmetic surgery.

Six Female Body Types

The “A” Frame or Pear Shape -- this type has extra weight in the lower body and a small waist, bust, and shoulders.
The “V” Frame or Cone Shape – this type is the opposite of the A Frame – it has thin legs and narrow hips with a large bust and wide shoulders.
The “H” Frame -- this type looks square-shaped with a large waist and shoulders
The “Ruler” Frame – This is a type is thin with equal-sized shoulders, waist, and hips and does not gain weight easily
The “8” Frame or Hourglass – this type has equal-sized bust and hips with a significantly smaller waist, and weight gain or loss is evenly distributed over the body
The “Oval” Frame or Apple – this shape has thin legs, a short height, and a large bust, with extra weight going to the waistline

The Hourglass type is the perennial female ideal, but regardless of which body type you have, you can look attractive if you feel that you are attractive and if you dress and move well. Exercise programs can be devised for each type, focusing weight training on the thinner areas to build up muscle for a better balance. Lessons in dance or martial arts can increase your balance, grace, posture, and general muscle tone.

Cosmetic Surgery Can Help

If extra weight is obscuring your natural body type, liposuction and/or a tummy tuck can help a great deal. Sometimes we have unwanted fat in smaller, specific areas and there are procedures to help with that too, such as an arm lift or neck liposuction. Of course, there is always the most popular cosmetic surgery procedure of all among women – breast implants – to balance weight on the lower body.

Keep in mind that one’s bones contribute a great deal to your natural body shape, and no cosmetic surgery can change that (except for rhinoplasty, which can change nasal shape). Well, actually, in China, there is a procedure to lengthen the legs. The leg bones are cut and steel extensions inserted which can add about four inches to a woman’s height. But according to news reports, the leg bones are then susceptible to breaking for the rest of your life. Perhaps it is well that this procedure is not legal in the U.S.

When choosing to have plastic surgery for a more attractive or balanced body shape, it is important to be realistic about the results and to have a goal of being more YOU rather than more like someone else.

Please contact our Dallas and Fort Worth office today if you would like to schedule a free consultation with plastic surgeon Dr. Rai.

Acknowledging Your Cosmetic Surgery

2010-02-25T11:58:00.002-06:00

British writer Virginia Ironside has a column out today called “Why I’m not so Fonda this bare-faced hypocrite”. She takes issue with Jane Fonda for advertising anti-aging face cream (on a six-figure contract) and speaking out against people having cosmetic surgery, yet having procedures done to banish her own facial wrinkles.

Apparently Fonda has had a necklift to smooth out the wrinkles around the chin and throat areas; and also had blepharoplasty to remove bags from beneath her eyes. Ironside quotes Fonda as saying on her blog:

“I just had some work done on my chin and neck and had the bags taken away from under my eyes, so I decided it would be a good idea to get a new haircut so people will think it's my new hair.”

Ironside is concerned about the women who bought the anti-aging cream Fonda advertised, expecting their faces to be as smooth as Fonda’s. Ironside herself has had a facelift and is proud of the results. She freely gives out the name of her cosmetic surgeon, but dislikes the statement that she “admits” to having a facelift.

“I don't even like the word 'admitting' because it sounds as if I've committed a crime,” she says. “The whole procedure cheered me up no end. And although I'm quite open about it, very few people ask if I've had a facelift because I was one of the lucky ones who had an excellent surgeon … What on earth is wrong with having cosmetic surgery? It shows you care about your looks, which means you care about other people.”

Fonda disapproved of cosmetic surgery for many years but about four years ago she changed her mind. She had breast implants, but then had them removed. Now she is 72, more concerned about her aging appearance, and more willing to acknowledge having cosmetic surgery.

Ironside scolds celebrities who have cosmetic work done but don’t acknowledge it, because “it makes other older women feel upset that their bingo-wings, faces like contour maps and turkey necks, are somehow their own fault.”

Since everyone ages and the face shows it, it is clearly not anybody’s fault. Our culture is obsessed with youth and has forgotten that age brings valuable experience and often a more tolerant and wider perspective on life.

Ironside is right about the importance of choosing an excellent surgeon. That is the first thing you can do to ensure a good surgical outcome. The second thing to do is follow your surgeon’s pre- and post-op instructions exactly. If you would like to talk with Dr. Rai and learn more about the plastic surgery procedures we offer in Dallas Texas at The Cosmetic Surgical Center, please contact us today.

Forehead Lifts For Men

2010-02-22T14:37:00.001-06:00

A forehead lift (brow lift) is a procedure to raise eyebrows that have started drooping over the eyes, and to smooth forehead creases and frown lines. These corrections give the face a more alert and youthful look.

Many times, a forehead lift is done along with eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty). Eyelid surgery removes puffiness and wrinkles from the eyelids so the eyes match the rejuvenated forehead. Increasingly, men are coming for these two procedures, as cosmetic surgery continues to become better-known to the public and more acceptable.

Typically, male eyebrows are set lower on the forehead than those of women. So as age causes them to droop, or as a frowning habit draws them lower and closer together, the change more often affects the man’s eyesight. A brow lift can restore the full visual field by shifting the eyebrows higher and out of the way.

Endoscopic vs. Traditional Forehead Lift

Male pattern baldness is a factor in male cosmetic surgery. Traditionally, a forehead lift requires an incision to be made behind the hairline, in a long curve above the forehead and down to the temples. From there, Dr. Rai lifts the eyebrows and removes excess skin to smooth out wrinkles. That has the effect of raising the hairline and does not work so well for males whose hairline is receding, as the scar is too visible.

Therefore Dr. Rai uses the endoscopic technique for men. An endoscope is a narrow surgical tube with a light at its tip and a second channel for surgical instruments. It is connected to a computer. Dr. Rai can see on the monitor what work he is doing beneath the skin. Because the tube is narrow, only two or three small incisions are needed instead of a long one.

An endoscopic browlift cannot remove as much unwanted skin as can a traditional browlift. It is best for younger men with less wrinkling. It is a less invasive procedure with a shorter recovery time. The small incisions leave small scars that are virtually invisible.

If you would like to know more about male plastic surgery and which procedures might best benefit you, please call or email our office for a free consultation with Dr. Rai. We serve the residents of Dallas and Fort Worth in Texas and we hope to meet with you soon.

When Cosmetic Surgery Changes Your Size ...

2010-02-18T15:32:00.001-06:00

In the Palm Springs, California area, there is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization called Desert Best Friend’s Closet. It has no physical facilities and only three team members but during their first year, the 2008-2009 fiscal year, they provided the right clothing for 296 adults and 487 children, at no cost to those recipients.

They rely on donations of clothing, help, and money. They do not serve their community directly, but donate the clothing they collect to local charities or government agencies. They began by finding fashionable prom gowns for high school girls who could not afford to buy their own.

“Every girl deserves to experience prom before she graduates high school,” says Connie Golds, the president and co-founder of Desert Best Friend's Closet. “It's a rite of passage.”

Once they were on a roll with prom dresses, they spotted another need: work attire for job interviews. This assisted new high school graduates and also older women returning to the workforce.

Then they realized that the students at an elementary school in the area were in need of school uniforms. “Gently-used” uniforms were donated by students at another school so over 200 children were now well-attired for school. Part of that project was finding and providing play clothing for more than 200 children at a local rescue mission.

Cosmetic Surgery Patients Step Up

Part of their expanding project was “Bras for a Cause”, where cosmetic surgery patients donated their pre-surgery bras and camisoles because their cosmetic procedures were going to require different sized clothing.

When you have breast implants or breast reduction, part of the preparation is determining what your new breast size will be and purchasing new bras.
If you have liposuction, the treatment area will be much reduced in size and your old shirts and jackets may no longer be wearable if you have liposuction on the upper back; nor will your slacks or jeans be wearable if you have it on the hips or buttocks.
After you have had a tummy tuck, you will not need your old skirts or dresses, but will have the pleasure of restocking your wardrobe with new ones.

Cosmetic surgery practices in the Desert area encouraged their patients to donate their pre-surgery clothing to Desert Best Friend’s Closet.

Future plans of this nonprofit group are to find a physical site where they can store donated items and run their organization; and to buy a truck for transporting large amounts of clothing.

It is not just your new shapely contours that can boost your self confidence after plastic surgery. Your fresh new wardrobe is part of that change. Perhaps you could further expand your good feelings by starting a similar nonprofit group in your own area, or by or donating to one if it exists.

If you would like to know more about any cosmetic surgery procedures offered at The Cosmetic Surgical Institute in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, please contact us today for a free consultation with Dr. Rai.

Your Weight and Your BMI

2010-02-16T14:13:00.000-06:00

Obesity has been increasing in Western countries for many years and is getting plenty of press coverage. Some cosmetic surgeons are offering gastric bypass surgery for those who cannot lose excess weight through diet and exercise. It is a way to reduce stomach size so that you feel full quickly and cannot eat more. We do not currently offer that but would not rule it out for the future.

If you want to assess your own weight, one way to do it is by calculating your Body Mass Index (BMI). The BMI (also called Body Mass Indicator) was developed by a Belgian statistician named Adolphe Quelet who lived from 1796 to 1874. It is now an internationally recognized way of measuring obesity.

It is not hard to get your own BMI with a calculator:

Multiply your weight in pounds by 703
Divide the resulting number by your height in inches squared

Here is an Example

Mary weighs 180 pounds and is 5 feet four inches tall (64 inches)

180 multiplied by 703 equals 126,540
64 squared equals 4096 – that is, 64 x 64
126,540 divided by 4096 equals 30.9 (rounded up one decimal point)

Mary’s BMI is 30.89. What does that mean? Here is the meaning of the BMI categories:

Below 18.5 Underweight
18.5 through 24.9 Healthy weight
25 through 29.9 Overweight
30 through 39.9 Obese
Over 40 Morbidly obese

So Mary is obese but not morbidly obese. Since she is at the lower end of the obese range, she could gain 30 more pounds and still be considered obese but not morbidly obese.

Considering Your BMI

Your BMI alone is useful but needs to be supplemented with other information. Do you have large or heavy bones? Developed muscles? (Muscle weighs more than fat.) Are you male or female? If you are at the low end of the healthy weight range and gain 30 pounds, you could still be in the healthy range, at the top end. Mary’s healthy range is about 110 pounds to 140 pounds.

If you gain 30 pounds, you should probably consider why. Was it just over-eating and/or lack of activity, or is something else happening? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has more BMI information and an automatic BMI calculator.

At The Cosmetic Surgical Center, we offer Ultrasonic Liposuction and tummy tucks for shedding unwanted fat. If you would like to know more about these procedures and whether they might be good options for you, please contact our plastic surgery office for a free consultation with Dr. Rai. We serve the areas of Dallas and Fort Worth in Texas.

An Iris Implant to Change Eye Color?

2010-02-11T18:08:00.000-06:00

Recently, a Syrian woman had an iris implant done to change her eye color from brown to green. Her plastic surgeon replaced her natural iris with one that had green synthetic fibers. She was evidently very satisfied with her outcome.

However, the Syrian health minister, one Rida Said, stated that this was a risky procedure and that the surgeon could no longer practice medicine. His license was pulled. Mr. Said said that it did not matter that iris implants were done in the Western world – it was too risky for the patient’s eyesight.

He has assembled a team of eye surgeons to decide whether this woman’s eyes were damaged. If they find damage, the surgeon and the facility he used for the plastic surgery will be punished.

However, to this date, there have been no conclusions drawn as to the woman’s eyesight because she has refused to allow the government surgeons to examine her.

More About Iris Implants

Iris implants are indeed done in the Western world. According to the Cornea Research Foundation of America, iris implants can be very effective for several groups of people:

Those born with iris defects or a missing iris
Those who have suffered an eye injury
Albino people who have no color in their eyes

Without the iris to control the size of the pupil, the person is easily blinded by bright light. Artificial irises are made of PMMA, the same plastic used for the implantable lenses that treat cataracts. It is an ophthalmic-grade silicone. They come in blue, green, and brown colors. Artificial irises can replace a defective natural iris or they can be placed in front of the natural iris to supplement function or complete the colored area.

Each iris is custom-made for the individual. They are very thin and have two flaps that hold them in place. The FDA is currently testing one called the Ophtec Artificial Iris made by a company called Ophtec, Inc.

When a surgical procedure is successful for health reasons, why should it not be done for cosmetic reasons? Certainly, eyesight is not harmed – it is improved -- by other eye surgeries, such as implantable contact lenses, LASIK, or corneal transplants.

At The Cosmetic Surgical Center, we offer eye surgery on the eyelids, called blepharoplasty. It removes unneeded and unwanted fat and skin from the eyelids, giving them a younger and more alert appearance. It is an effective way to rejuvenate the entire face. It has no effect on your eyesight.

If you would like to schedule a free consultation with Dr. Rai and learn more about our cosmetic surgery offerings, please contact our office today. We serve the Dallas and Fort Worth areas in Texas.

Cosmetic Surgery to Whiten the Eyes?

2010-02-08T12:10:00.001-06:00

A Los Angeles physician is offering a new procedure to whiten the whites of the eyes. It is called I-BRITE and is being offered by one Brian Boxer Wachler, M.D. who is an ophthalmologist rather than a cosmetic surgeon.

If you spend long hours reading every day, or working on the computer, or if you have spent years in the sun without wearing any sunglasses, you may be noticing that your eyes are not as white as they used to be. People may be asking you if you feel tired.

The white part of the eyes is called the sclera and it can become yellowed or red over time. There are tiny blood vessels in the sclera that nourish the eyes and remove waste products.

How I-BRITE Works

The I-BRITE procedure removes the conjunctiva in the area including the blood vessels and any yellow or brownish pigmentation. It is really the procedure called conjunctivoplasty, which is not new, but is used for cosmetic reasons in I-BRITE. The conjunctiva is the membrane that lines the inside of the eyelids and covers the sclera. You have probably heard of conjunctivitis, the name for an infected conjunctiva. That is treated with antibiotic eyedrops.

Sometimes little growths appear on the sclera and a conjunctivoplasty is done to remove them. That is medically necessary but in the case of I-BRITE, healthy tissue is being removed. The blood vessels need to be there to provide nutrients and oxygen necessary for eye health.

I-BRITE Risks

By removing the conjunctiva, you risk having little scars that could interfere with vision and you risk eye dryness because the conjunctiva helps to keep the eyes moist. You also risk an eye infection which could create scars.

“I think it's a market overkill," says ophthalmologist Dr. Allen Berg, who also practices in Los Angeles. "It would be, I guess, taking a sledgehammer to a flea."

I-BRITE takes about 30 minutes and is done with local anesthetic. You can return to normal activities the following day. The cost is between $3,000 and $5,000 per eye.

At The Cosmetic Surgical Center, we offer blepharoplasty, which is cosmetic surgery on the eyelids, but we do not offer any surgery on the eyes themselves. Blepharoplasty is an effective way to look less tired, as it removes droopiness and gives the eyes a more alert, youthful look.

If you would rather have a non-surgical procedure for the eyes, BOTOX® Cosmetic can smooth the skin around the forehead and eye area, removing frown lines and horizontal lines. This has a lifting effect for the eyes and gives your face a calmer and happier look.

Dr. Rai offers a great many cosmetic procedures and if you would like to learn more about any that you might be considering, please contact our Dallas, Texas office today. We will be happy to schedule a free consultation for you.

The New You Magazine Launching This Year

2010-02-05T12:48:00.000-06:00

The American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (AACS) is planning to launch a new magazine, called the New You Magazine, at the end of this year. It will be the official magazine of the AACS and will be on sale to the public. Its mission is to promote cosmetic surgery by disseminating correct information about it.

"We are going to educate the public about cosmetic surgery so that they will feel informed and comfortable enough to make a decision,” states the magazine editor, J.P. Faber. “Our goal is to remove the most common fears surrounding cosmetic surgery – as well as making it more attractive.”

Most people have a lot of questions about cosmetic procedures and some have reservations. The global market research company Synovate, Inc. did some research on what factors prevent people from going ahead with cosmetic surgery they are interested in. They came up with four main factors:

The cost
Fear of looking unnatural afterwards
Fear of pain
Fear of surgical complications

All four of these factors probably contribute to the popularity of non-invasive cosmetic surgery procedures such as BOTOX® Cosmetic and facial fillers. They cost less, give almost no pain or discomfort, have very few complications, and give excellent results.

A qualified and experienced plastic surgeon like Dr. Rai offers a wide array of procedures, both invasive and non-invasive, to suit all budgets and schedules. Patient education is always a high priority so that you will understand what is being done, why, and how to optimize your outcome.

When you have major surgery such as a tummy tuck or breast implants, it is crucial to follow your surgeon’s instructions both before and after your procedure. That is for your safety and you will be far less likely to have any surgical complications if you are faithful in following those instructions.

The New You Magazine will try to promote patient education and allay fears with accurate information.

“For every person who has undergone a cosmetic procedure, there are at least two more people who would like to,” says Faber. “Our job is to overcome their barriers to making that decision.”

The New You Magazine has a website, although it is not yet complete.

If you have been thinking about a plastic surgery procedure and would like to know more about it, please call or email us today for a free consultation with Dr. Rai. We serve Dallas and Fort Worth in Texas and we hope to meet with you soon.

Haiti Plastic Surgeon Helping in Relief Efforts

2010-02-01T12:27:00.000-06:00

One Margaret Degand, M.D. has been a plastic surgeon in Petionville, Haiti for years, offering such cosmetic procedures as breast augmentation, rhinoplasty, and liposuction to the Haitian upper class. The earthquake collapsed two big buildings near her clinic while she was working and people ran to her door with head injuries, broken limbs, and other urgent needs.

She got to work immediately.

"They were really badly wounded because they were big buildings with lots of cement. Really, I have never seen so many traumatized patients," she said. "They had scalp wounds. They were bleeding. One patient had four or five lesions."

During the first 24 hours, she worked non-stop, with other Haitian doctors who came by to help. “… we were one anesthesiologist, one orthopedist, me and one nurse to do the whole job," she said. She estimated that they treated about 120 people that day and about 1,500 since then. About 350 of the patients needed serious surgery. They were running out of supplies, but Degand’s daughter arrived from France with more.

Haitians Helping Themselves

During the three days that Haiti waited for international help, Haitians helped themselves. In a suburb of Petionville, a sports bar was converted to a help center, feeding people every day.

"We don't believe in sitting around and waiting for outside help. We can help ourselves," said Clifford Rouzeau, 43, one of three owners.

They used all their supplies and were unable to pay their employees, who nevertheless, dontated their time to prepare food and clean up. They plan to keep offering free meals as long as they can get enough food items to do it. They have been making spaghetti, rice and beans, and cornmeal. "It's a lot of work. Our kitchen is not designed for this," Rouzeau said.

Medical Workers Improvising

Haitian medical students in Cuba returned to help, and without any electricity, they used the light of their cell phones at night to see. They had volunteers cleaning wounds and emptying bedpans. Diapers were donated and delivered by someone unknown.

When the hospital ran out of alcohol for sterilization during surgeries, someone sent a supply of vodka. (Vodka is 98 percent pure food-grade alcohol, a type of alcohol that can be bought in U.S. liquor stores as grain alcohol. It is just as effective as the traditional isopropyl alcohol.)

"For sure, Haitians have been helping Haitians. Some patients have gone in and out of the operating theater eight times," said Dr. Degand. Many injuries have been complex and repeated surgeries have been necessary to save limbs. She has had her recovering patients sleeping on mattresses in a tent pitched in the middle of the street.

Humanity is resourceful when it has to be. Americans responded on 9/11 with similar courage and creativeness, running back into the collapsed buildings repeatedly to search for survivors. Some rescuers have sustained permanent lung damage because of breathing so much smoke that contained carcinogens like asbestos, benzene and dioxins.

If you would like to know more about cosmetic procedures that Dr. Rai offers at The Cosmetic Surgical Center, please contact us today for a free consultation.

Cosmetic Surgery Mainstream Worldwide

2010-01-29T12:05:00.000-06:00

Recent news reports are saying that the public is giving cosmetic surgery a green light these days. The American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (AACS) did a survey of people’s attitudes to it and released the results yesterday.

They found that 71 percent of survey participants think that society has become less judgmental about it than it was five years ago. Of those, 62 percent even said that they felt easier about having cosmetic surgery because of this change in social attitudes.

"This is a confirmation of what many of us have felt for a long time – that cosmetic surgery has become mainstream," stated Dr. Mark Berman, President-Elect of AACS. "A variety of factors have contributed to the normalization of our industry, but the bottom line is that people are not afraid to talk openly about cosmetic surgery anymore."

Not surprisingly, the survey found that breast augmentation is the most accepted procedure, with facelifts and tummy tucks next. As for non-invasive procedures, laser hair removal is the best-accepted procedure, with BOTOX® Cosmetic coming in second.

South Africa

In South Africa, the recession has affected many people, but healthcare financing companies are doing well. One company, First Health Finance, has received over 5,000 applications for cosmetic surgery during the past 18 months, and again, tummy tucks and facelifts are among them.

It is clear to the company personnel that some of those applications come from people who are in financial trouble, but they still want a loan for plastic surgery procedures. Most applicants are female, aged in their thirties, and white.

"Since the recession, there has been no downturn in patient numbers,” says one of South Africa’s prominent plastic surgeons, Dr. Saul Braun. “In fact, there has been steady growth since October 2008 -- the recession has had no influence whatsoever." Most of his patients are well-to-do and have not felt the recession’s bite. But he also noted a “remarkable growth in plastic surgery among the black middle class.”

In England

Actress Helen Mirren, aged 64, who played Her Majesty in the movie The Queen, gives cosmetic surgery her blessing. On a TV show this week, she said she does not plan to have any cosmetic procedures herself; but she says, “Go ahead ... if it makes you feel good."

In answer to the question of why women are going for cosmetic surgery in such a big way, she said:

"I don't think there's outside pressure; I think it's the pressure you put on yourself when you look at yourself in the mirror in the morning. You go, 'I don't want to look at that face anymore,' and I understand that, absolutely. I think people should be allowed to do whatever they want to make themselves feel happy."

Have you have been wondering about cosmetic surgery for yourself? Perhaps you have read a few pages on this site or others and have questions. If you would like to meet Dr. Rai and learn more about how cosmetic surgery procedures could enhance your appearance, please contact our Dallas, Texas office today.

Cryolipolysis™: A Future Alternative to Liposuction?

2010-01-26T12:05:00.000-06:00

A company called Zeltiq™ Aesthetics was founded in 2005 to develop non-invasive ways of removing fat from the body. Zeltiq is based on California. They have patented a method called Cryolipolysis™ that uses controlled cooling to cause the death of targeted fat cells. They are marketing it as a non-invasive alternative to Liposuction, requiring no incisions, stitches, or anesthetic.

According to a news report from yesterday, Cryolipolysis was conceived when someone noticed that children who suck on popsicles a lot develop cheek dimples. It was thought that fatty tissue was lost from the cheeks because of the cold popsicles being in contact with the cheeks so much. Zeltiq’s own press release credits two Massachusetts dermatologists and a Harvard-based research team.

How Cryolipolysis Works

A suction cup is used to take hold of an area of fat. It somehow cools that area down enough to kill the fat cells but does not harm the skin cells because they are more capable of surviving cold temperatures than are fat cells.

The suction cup is left in place for an hour. During this time, you can read, watch a movie, use a computer, or probably sleep, as you choose. The results are not immediately visible but after about two months you can notice the slimmer contour. From one treatment session, about one centimeter’s thickness of fatty tissue can be eliminated.

Not Yet FDA-Approved

At this point, Cryolipolysis is FDA-approved for certain dermatological treatments that require skin cooling, but is not approved for lipolysis. A handful of plastic surgery practices are offering Cryolipolysis however, which suggests that the FDA may be starting to test it for possible approval.

Since the FDA testing phases can last for several years and cost a great deal to the manufacturer, it may be a while before cosmetic surgeons nationwide are offering this procedure.

However, as usually seems to be the case, European countries are already offering it. In September 2009, Zeltiq™ Aesthetics announced that it had received the European CE Mark approval for Cryolipolysis. It was first performed in Hong Kong, where many people go from the Chinese mainland for their cosmetic surgery procedures.

At the Cosmetic Surgical Center, we offer several forms of liposuction, including the minimally-invasive Ultrasonic Liposuction. It can be done on small areas such as the neck and you can see the results in our Before and After Gallery.

If you would like to know more about the ways liposuction can be done, and whether one of them would be best for you, please contact our plastic surgery office today. We serve the Dallas and Fort Worth areas in Texas and will be glad to schedule a free consultation for you with Dr. Rai.

Adult Stem Cell Breast Augmentation Performed

2010-01-22T12:58:00.000-06:00

Last Thursday, this space discussed the use of stem cells in tissue rebuilding, with a liposuction procedure to obtain your own stem cells. For about ten years now, plastic surgeons have been working on ways to extract and use a person’s adult stem cells -- both for repairing tissue after a disfiguring accident or a surgery like mastectomy, and for cosmetic body enhancement.

In Boca Raton yesterday, a breast enlargement was performed without using breast implants. Instead, fat was taken from the woman’s hips and thighs using tumescent liposuction and the adult stem cells were extracted from it. They were processed and used to create two grafts which were then inserted back into the breasts.

This enlarged the breasts by one cup size. The adult stem cells in the grafts will adapt to their new environment and create new breast cells. This will maintain the new breast size indefinitely. The body does not reject the grafts because it is the patient’s own tissue. Please see our previous blog for more information.

Superior Volume Retention

Physicians involved with this procedure estimate that with the stem cells being specially processed for a graft, the fat volume retention rate will be about 80 percent more than in standard fat grafting procedures currently being done. This would be a great benefit for both reconstruction and cosmetic enhancement of the body.

This breast augmentation was done by a member of a network of physicians who have been working on adult stem cell services. They offer genetic profiling, stem cell collection and processing, and cryogenic storage of your stem cells for future use.

This stem cell breast augmentation is not yet available to the public. It is not specifically FDA-approved because the FDA is only looking at stem cell use for disease treatments. However, it is legal in the U.S. and is being done in other countries.

If you would like to know more about breast enlargement and how it could best be done for you, please contact The Cosmetic Surgical Center today for a complimentary consultation with Dr. Rai.

Chinese Touring to Taiwan For Cosmetic Surgery

2010-01-19T11:42:00.001-06:00

Taiwan cosmetic surgeons have been doing very well through medical tourism in recent years. Their patients have been mostly hopping over the Taiwan Strait from mainland China. The secretary-general of the Kaohsiung Aesthetic Medical Tourism Promotion Association, one Chen Chun-ting, says.

“The demand from China is much higher than what we'd expected, and the visitors just keep coming in. As China gets richer, more and more people are paying attention to their appearance and are willing to spend money in this area.”

Taiwan also has a President who is more friendly towards mainland China, President Ma Ying-jeou, who took office in 2008. During 2009, over 480,000 people came from the mainland to Taiwan for plastic surgery, which is nearly five times as many as came over during 2008.

Taiwan’s Competitive Edge

Taiwan competes for these cosmetic surgery patients with Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand, and those countries have been doing well with medical tourism also. However, since China and Taiwan share the same language and Taiwan is closer to the mainland, it has a competitive edge.

“Our main target has been mainland Chinese since cross-Strait ties improved," said Shih Chung-liang, head of Taiwan’s Bureau of Medical Affairs, part of the Health Department. Shih is expecting Taiwan’s medical tourism market to grow annually by about 20 percent.

People come for routine medical checkups also, not always for cosmetic surgery. Taiwan evidently provides better medical care all round compared to the mainland. A recent cosmetic surgery patient in Taiwan, Li Jinxun, who runs a construction firm, says, “I think the doctors in Taiwan are more skillful, the clinic is comfortable and the service is more cordial".

Chinese Citizens Becoming More Prosperous

China has been becoming more capitalist and more prosperous. One group of 30 Taiwan hospitals is predicting that its mainland clientele will double this year. The chief executive officer of that group, Wu Ming-yen, stated to a reporter that China now has about 100 million citizens with spending power equal to the average consumer in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

“China is picking up in surgical skills as its economy rises but it still trails behind Taiwan in services. Unlike China, most hospitals in Taiwan are private and very competitive," he said.

Dr. Rai has top-of-the-line surgical skills and offers a full array of cosmetic surgery procedures. If you would like to schedule a free consultation with him to discuss your best cosmetic surgery options, please contact our office today. We serve the Dallas and Fort Worth areas in Texas.

Stem Cells and Plastic Surgery

2010-01-14T14:27:00.000-06:00

If you have liposuction and fat cells are removed from your body, those cells can be recycled. They can be grafted or injected to another part of the body where more fat is wanted or needed. When that is done using the correct techniques, the stem cells in the fatty tissue can provide improved healing after an injury or disfiguration. An example is breast reconstruction after a mastectomy.

What are Stem Cells?

There are two types of stem cells in mammals:

Embryonic stem cells
Adult stem cells

Use of embryonic stem cells is controversial, potentially illegal, and perhaps unnecessary in any case. All research on stem cells has so far used only adult stem cells. It has opened many doors in healing work and disease treatment.

Adult stem cells have the ability to change themselves into specific cell types for different body areas, such as muscle cells, bone cells, or heart cells – an ability called plasticity. They can do this for your entire lifetime. They can be obtained from bone marrow, blood, liver, skin, pancreas, eyes, tooth pulp and the digestive tract. Regardless of where stem cells are collected, they can transform themselves into different cell types.

You can obtain your own stem cells and store them in a stem cell bank in case you should need them for treating a future severe injury or disease. You can also collect your child’s stem cells when baby teeth fall out and there is a bank that will extract those stem cells and store them until your child might need them.

Using Your Own Stem Cells

The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has not yet approved the use of adult stem cells for any disease treatment, although it is done in other countries. However, you can use your own stem cells for cosmetic enhancement, as this is not within the FDA’s “drug therapy” classification.

Cosmetic surgeons have been experimenting with fat extraction and reinjection for about ten years. They have successfully rejuvenated the face, using fat with stem cells as more than a facial filler – the stem cells help to create new facial cells, including new blood vessels for increased blood supply. Breast enlargement can be done in a similar way. The hands can be revitalized and a Brazilian Butt Lift can help create an hourglass figure by using stem cell fat transfers.

Before the fat is re-used, the stem cells are separated out, processed to increase concentration, and reinserted into the fat. When they are your own fat cells, the body does not react against them and it is a safe procedure.

Experienced plastic surgeons like Dr. Rai use only the safest and most reliable techniques and procedures. If you would like to schedule a complimentary consultation with Dr. Rai, please contact our office today.

Fillers to Cushion the Feet?

2010-01-11T13:24:00.000-06:00

The Harley Medical Group is a chain of cosmetic surgery clinics in the U.K. Recently their London facilities have been reporting that more women have been asking for dermal filler treatments in their feet.

This Foot Filler procedure began in 2008 among women who came for BOTOX® Cosmetic treatments and also asked for something to make their feet more comfortable in high heels. When you wear high heels all day at work, your feet can become sore and tired, especially if your job requires much standing or walking. During 2009, many more women asked for filler injections in their feet rather than change the style of shoes they wore.

Using dermal fillers such as Restylane or Sculptra for the feet plumps up the soles and thus gives more protection to the foot bones. However, since the entire weight of the body is pressing down on that treated area, the effects do not last very long – three months at the most. When you wear high heels, the body weight is pressing down on an even smaller area, just the toe areas. Foot Filler procedures are costing £240, which is about $400.

One wonders if a Foot Filler procedure requires buying a different shoe size. If the feet are more bulky, one’s current shoes might feel too tight and in spending £240 to relieve one discomfort, you might create a new one. Not to mention the added expense of new shoes.

How Dermal Fillers Work

Each brand of filler works differently. Restylane®, Captique™, and Hylaform use hyaluronic acid, which attracts water. It holds water in the injected area, beneath the skin, which creates a plumpness for rejuvenating the face. For feet, the water adds more mass between the foot bones and the ground.

Sculptra® uses polylactic acid crystals. They are dissolved in the injected Sculptra but as the body absorbs the fluid, the crystals remain in the skin’s middle layer, the dermis. Their presence stimulates new skin cell production, thickening the dermis and plumping up the skin surface for a more youthful look.

Radiesse® uses calcium-based microspheres. They are injected in a water-based gel and as the body absorbs the water, the spheres remain in the dermis, stimulating collagen production. This gives support to the skin surface, smoothing out lines and wrinkles.

If you would like to know more about the various facial fillers available, and discuss with Dr. Rai which one would work best for you, please contact The Cosmetic Surgical Center today and we will schedule a free consultation for you.

Dog Receives Cosmetic Surgery

2010-01-07T13:56:00.000-06:00

A Chinese Shar Pei is a breed of dog with very wrinkled skin. Last week in Sydney, Australia, an abandoned Shar Pei named Roland was given a facelift and a double blepharoplasty to smooth out his facial wrinkles and help him to see better. He had heavy folds hanging over his eyes that were partially blocking his vision and causing his eyelashes to turn inward, rubbing against his eyes and causing chronic pain and tearing.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) was trying to find a home for him and having some trouble because of his vision problem and the cost of correcting it. Roland’s surgery took 90 minutes and cost A$897. Shar Pei dogs are large with a broad, flat head and a blue-black tongue. Roland has thick folds over his whole forehead and down the sides of his face. Now he has a smooth forehead and cheeks with a long, well-healed incision line from each jaw up over the forehead.

“[Wrinkles impairing eyesight] is not uncommon in this breed,” said the RSPCA’s chief vet, one Magdoline Awad. “It is a congenital problem. What we have done is made him adoptable.”

What is Blepharoplasty?

Dr. Rai offers blepharoplasty for both males and females. It is eyelid surgery and is the most popular male cosmetic surgery procedure. It removes excess skin and fat from the eyelids to create a more wide-awake, alert appearance. It thus corrects drooping eyelids and puffiness beneath the eyes, although it does not help with dark circles or bags under the eyes.

In some cases, blepharoplasty may be done as an alternative to a facelift, when it is the eyes that are contributing most to an aging look. Incisions are made in the eyelid creases so that the resulting thin scar is not visible when the eyes are open.

Dr. Rai also offers a procedure called Transconjunctival Blepharoplasty for people who have excess fatty tissue in the eyelids but not drooping skin. A very tiny opening is made in the inside surface of the eyelid through the conjunctiva, the eyelid lining. That means that no scar is visible, even when the eyes are closed. It is often suitable for young people.

If you would like to know more about eyelid surgery and facelifts, please contact The Cosmetic Surgical Center in Dallas today for a free consultation with Dr. Rai.

Cosmetic Improvements For China’s Communist Officials

2010-01-04T12:47:00.000-06:00

Age is catching up with the Chinese communist party leaders and it is reported that each year, over 500 of them are having cosmetic surgery. They are going to the Plastic Surgery Hospital at Beijing’s Union Medical College.

“The officials have to go on television much more than before,” said one of the senior surgeons at that facility. “[They] have to make many more appearances in public. They want to make sure they have the strong features that government officials are supposed to have.”

The surgeon, one Dr. Chen Huanran, says that more than 200 cosmetic operations are done on senior communist party officials every year. “'The number of operations on officials has risen quickly in recent years,' he said. 'Now at least 20 per cent of my patients are government officials.'

One can safely assume that BOTOX® Cosmetic would be at the top of this communist list, and probably facial fillers would be up there too. Perhaps some of them are having a full facelift or male blepharoplasty. Turkey necks can be improved with a facelift or done as a standalone procedure. If the cameras are showing the full figure, perhaps some of the spare tires are being reduced.

The question has already been raised as to how they are paying for their procedures, since cosmetic surgery in China is not cheap. Evidently their publicly declared salaries are too low for such expenses so it is thought that taxpayers may be footing these bills.

However, you do not need TV cameras and public appearances to enjoy rejuvenating your appearance. Dr. Rai offers a full array of plastic surgery procedures. If you would like to know more about any particular procedures, please contact our friendly Dallas office to schedule a free consultation with Dr. Rai.

New California Cosmetic Surgery Law

2009-12-31T22:33:00.000-06:00

On Friday, January 1, 2010, California will have a new cosmetic surgery law called the Donda West Law. It has been working its way through the California House and Senate for about a year. It is named after Kanje West’s mother, who died after her cosmetic surgery in 2007.

Kanje West is a rapper and actor. His mother had pre-existing cardiac problems that were evidently not made known to her Beverly Hills cosmetic surgeon, who went ahead with a breast reduction, liposuction, and a tummy tuck in November 2007. Those procedures took eight hours and then she was sent home for recovery. However, the next day she was found in respiratory distress and was pronounced dead at a medical center that evening.

Pre-Existing Cardiac Condition

Those three procedures were major surgery, especially when done together for a woman aged 58. It appears from news reports that she was advised to recover at another facility where she would receive monitoring and proper care, but declined and instead went home. During the following day, she was in pain and having breathing difficulty but was walking around. She was left unattended near the end of the day and later found on her bed unresponsive.

After doing an autopsy, the coroner concluded that her breathing trouble “may have triggered the cardiac event” that caused her death and that she died from some pre-existing coronary artery disease and “multiple post-operative factors following surgery”.

Written Clearance Now Required Before Plastic Surgery

The new law will require that doctors do a physical exam within 30 days of any cosmetic surgery and sign off on a written clearance that the surgery will be safe. This law is designed to make sure that people do have a complete physical before any cosmetic surgery, because that could have prevented West’s death.

However, all reputable cosmetic surgeons already do a complete physical before they go forward with any cosmetic surgery. This law will make no difference to their surgery practice.

Dr. Rai offers a free consultation to all his new patients, where he listens to their goals and what they would like to have done, and evaluates whether it would be appropriate. A full physical is then done in a separate visit if he decides that cosmetic surgery is a possibility.

If you are interested in plastic surgery, whether major or minor, the first step would be to contact us for a consultation with Dr. Rai. We look forward to meeting with you and you can be very sure you will be in responsible and safe hands at our facility.

Tan Tax Replacing Botax?

2009-12-29T14:31:00.000-06:00

On December 15, 2009, this space reported on a planned cosmetic surgery tax of five percent. It was in a healthcare bill being considered by the U.S. Senate.

Now the Senate has replaced that tax with a ten percent tax on tanning salons. Apparently, cosmetic surgeons presented an effective opposition to that five percent tax, arguing that it would punish women unfairly, since most cosmetic patients are female. A very informative website was created to present the arguments against this tax.

Breast augmentation was the top cosmetic procedure in 2008 and Breast Lifts were close to the top at #6. Typically, men make up about ten percent of all cosmetic surgery patients, although that number has been rising.

Since the federal government is desperate to get more money somewhere, somehow, to cover their fantastical degree of spending over the past year, tanning salons are now targeted. They are fighting back, arguing that they already have heavily restricted access for teenagers and are already struggling in this poor economy. A new ten percent tax would put too much strain on their business.

Women Penalized Either Way

Salon owners are arguing that a tanning tax would punish women just as a cosmetic surgery tax would have, since most tanning customers are women. However, the tanning industry is not as large as the cosmetic surgery industry and they perhaps lack the lobbying power to fight effectively against this proposed tax. There are about 20,000 tanning salons nationwide, most being “Mom and Pop” businesses rather than large corporations.

One argument being presented in favor of a tanning tax is that it is linked to skin cancer and should be discouraged. This is a “sin tax” analogous to the cigarette tax, designed to discourage smoking but not to the point where no tax revenue would be collected.

However, if this is still a free country, it is the individual’s choice whether to smoke, get a suntan, or have liposuction, and not a government bureaucrat’s choice. Consumer education is the important thing so that when we make our choices, we know what risks we are taking, if any.

If you would like to learn more about the choices we offer at The Cosmetic Surgical Center, please call or email us today for a free consultation with Dr. Rai.

Dispute Over Missing Breast Implants

2009-12-23T16:45:00.000-06:00

In July 2008 in Taipei, a woman with a last name of Hung and an unknown first name had breast augmentation done. The surgeon was one Lee Chin-liang, the son-in-law of a TV show host.

Lee advised Hung to come in for a second surgery in September of this year and he would adjust the implants. After that six-hour procedure, Hung woke up to find that both her breast implants were gone. She gave a press conference in October about this and stated:

“I did not ask [him] to remove the implants, and the doctor refused to explain the situation to me until several days after the surgery.”

She also stated that Lee had refused to sign papers to transfer her to another hospital. She said she received dreadful treatment at his clinic and accused him of medical malpractice.

Lee scoffed at Hung’s statements, saying that he had removed the silicone gel implants because Hung had not massaged her breasts after the surgery and the implants had therefore contracted. He accused Hung of trying to extort NT$12 million (US$370,000) from him. Hung denied this and said that if Lee did not apologize she would take him to court.

City Government Stepping In

Also at the press conference was Taipei City Councilor Lee Wen-ying who said that Lee Chin-liang was in violation of the Physicians Law. Silicon gel breast implants had not been approved in Taiwan until October 2008 but the surgeon had implanted them in July. She said that Lee had failed to explain the breast implant surgery to Hung and suggested that the Taipei city government should look into this case to protect consumer rights.

In October 2009, Taipei’s Department of Health announced that they would look into this dispute. The surgeon is well-known in Taiwan. No doubt there will be more to this story.

Meanwhile, Dr. Rai also offers breast implants and always explains the procedure before he takes any action. Patient education is a high priority at The Cosmetic Surgical Center and we are all happy to answer questions at any time.

If you would like to know more about breast enhancement or any of our other cosmetic surgeries, please call or email us today to schedule a free consultation with Dr. Rai.

Breast Implants an Issue in Divorce

2009-12-21T13:47:00.000-06:00

A couple in North Dakota is divorcing in Isaacson v. Isaacson and in dividing up the marital assets, the husband wants to count the money spent on his wife’s breast implants. He wants the cost of one implant repaid to him.

The Judge stated that this was “absolutely nonsense” and said:

“I can't imagine people would actually waste time thinking that breast implants are marital assets. It just defies common sense. I don't know how you would expect me to award breast implants, if you want me to have them cut out and given to Mr. Isaacson."

Mr. Isaacson’s lawyer has argued that medical expenses should be considered marital assets when they paid for procedures that are "clearly cosmetic, elective, (and) non-necessary." Isaacson’s share would be $5,500. He is also asking for half of the cost of his wife’s LASIK surgery, another $1,000.

Where Might This End?

It seems to be human nature to push at every envelope. The North Dakota is considering whether they should include a breast implant as a marital asset and wondering how far this line of thinking might be taken by others. Justice Daniel Crothers asked last week, during the debate:

“Do we have any lines to be drawn? Is dental work a marital asset? Is a hip replacement a marital asset?”

In another case in New York, a Long Island surgeon demanded that his estranged wife return the kidney he had donated to her; or else pay him $1.5 million for it. He had donated the kidney in 2001 and claims that only 18 months later she had an extramarital affair. At the end of three years she filed for a divorce. Divorce experts do not think he can succeed in having a kidney classified as a marital asset.

Mrs. Isaacson’s attorney is claiming that Mr. Isaacson is just trying to embarrass his wife. However, his wife has a lot of company in choosing to have breast implants. According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), breast augmentation replaced liposuction in 2008 as the most popular surgery.

If you would like to talk with Dr. Rai about how cosmetic surgery could enhance your appearance, please contact our office today and we will be happy to schedule a free consultation for you.

The Botax and the Implant Imposition

2009-12-15T15:25:00.000-06:00

The U.S. Senate is currently considering a bill for what the media call “health care reform”, meaning the imposition of government-run healthcare. It includes a five percent tax on all cosmetic surgery – procedures such as liposuction, BOTOX® Cosmetic, and breast implants that are done to enhance one’s appearance rather than to repair an abnormality or reconstruct after an injury.

These are the procedures that insurance companies currently do not pay for, for the same reason. For example, rhinoplasty can be done for either cosmetic enhancement of the nose or for correction of breathing problems such as a deviated septum – and it can be done for both reasons at the same time. In other words, a rhinoplasty can give you both cosmetic and health benefits. There is an ongoing battle between cosmetic surgeons and insurance companies as to whether each rhinoplasty should be covered or not, or whether it should be partially covered.

The Senate’s bill would apparently classify all rhinoplasties as cosmetic, although without reading the bill, we cannot know that for certain. In the current declining economy, cosmetic surgeons have been suffering from reduced business to some extent, and are mostly opposed to any tax on cosmetic surgery.

Are You Among “The Rich”?

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), about 40 percent of cosmetic surgery patients are in the income range of $30,000 to $60,000. So it is not only “the rich” who have cosmetic surgery. It is anyone and everyone who saves up enough money for it, or who takes out a loan.

Also opposing this proposed tax are the American Medical Association (AMA) and the National Organization for Women (NOW). Most cosmetic surgery patients are women and this tax would unfairly penalize them. NOW’s president recently stated to a New York Times reporter that “in a society that punishes women for getting older,” this tax would punish them further.

As mentioned in this space on December 8, 2009, New Jersey has a breast enlargement tax and is now moving towards repealing it. It failed to generate the expected income for the government because it reduced cosmetic surgery in New Jersey. People went out of state for their procedures.

On a national scale, the same thing could happen. If the federal government taxes cosmetic surgery, many people may go to another country for their procedures. Cosmetic surgery tourism is already a thriving trade worldwide. In any case, according to Vivian Ho, a health economist at Rice University, whatever income a federal cosmetic surgery tax generated for Washington would be “a drop in the bucket”, since the bill’s price tag is $850 Billion.

If you would like to learn more about cosmetic surgery procedures (all currently un-taxed), please contact our Dallas, Texas office today for a free consultation with Dr. Rai.

BOTOX® For a Breast Lift?

2009-12-11T15:58:00.000-06:00

Before BOTOX® was used for cosmetic surgery purposes, it was used to treat spastic disorders (diseases that feature involuntary muscle movement; examples are Multiple Sclerosis and Cerebral Palsy). By injecting BOTOX® Cosmetic, those individual muscles are temporarily paralyzed, giving the patient relief from the recurrent, jerky movements. It is still used this way and was FDA-approved for that use in 1997.

In 2002, the FDA approved BOTOX® Cosmetic for treatment of glabellar (frown) lines. It is also used “off-label”, meaning for purposes not specifically approved by the FDA, such as horizontal forehead lines.

Off-label use is legal and frequent, as the FDA is far too busy to be able to test every new drug for every conceivable future use. Doctors make their own judgment calls in specific cases where they think use of a drug will benefit their patient in some way not specifically tested in FDA trials.

How BOTOX® Cosmetic Might Achieve a Breast Lift

At the annual meeting of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) in Seattle, physicians discussed using BOTOX® Cosmetic for a mild and temporary breast lift. The targeted muscle would be the pectoralis minor, a small muscle beneath the pectoralis major.

If this muscle is paralyzed, the back muscles would take over that loss by lifting the chest. Since the effects of a BOTOX® Cosmetic injection last just three or four months, and these treatments would cost between $1,000 and $2,000 for both breasts, this would be an expensive way to get any long-term breast lift.

But if you wanted a breast lift for a short time, such as a beach holiday or a cruise, it could be a good solution. There would be no scars and no downtime.

Some Professional Opinions

One plastic surgeon, Karol Gutowski in Evanston, Illinois, is skeptical.

"You can probably get the same effect by altering your posture," he said. “It would be very difficult to target the smaller muscle that is covered by larger muscle … [and] … "other muscles of the shoulder, back, and chest play a role, so it is very hard to believe that just weakening the pectoralis minor would give any type of effect."

He would give it “two thumbs down”. One of the past presidents of the ASPS, Walter L. Erhardt Jr., from Albany Georgia, also expressed doubt:

"I would go to the gym or take posture lessons before turning to BOTOX® Cosmetic for a breast lift," he said. "The results will be longer lasting and it will be a lot safer."

Other doctors do favor it though, and perhaps it will eventually become an accepted cosmetic surgery treatment.

Meanwhile, at the Cosmetic Surgical Center, Dr. Rai offers BOTOX® Cosmetic for smoothing out frown lines and horizontal forehead lines. This rejuvenates the face quite dramatically and repeat treatments can make it last indefinitely.

To schedule a free personal consultation with Dr. Rai, please call or email our Dallas, Texas office today.

Breast Enlargement Tax Failed in New Jersey

2009-12-08T12:59:00.000-06:00

In 2004, New Jersey implemented a six percent tax on breast enlargement that was proposed by Democrat Assemblyman Joseph Cryan. It has driven cosmetic surgery patients to other states for their procedures and has not generated anything like what New Jersey Democrats had expected.

In 2008 it generated about $9 million and cost an unknown amount to administer. It provoked intense controversy including the charge that it discriminates against middle-class women, who, according to the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, are the bulk of cosmetic surgery patients.

Cryan now wants his tax repealed.

“It was a real education,” he stated. “We essentially discouraged the business from happening at all.”

That is a basic principle about taxes: whatever you tax, you discourage.

New Jersey cosmetic surgeon Susan Hughes reported that her practice suffered a ten percent drop in business when people began going to Pennsylvania for their surgery.

“We became the tax collector,” she said in an interview. “Now you’re going to repeat that on a national level? You idiots!”

Many doctors felt similar anger agout it. The proposed national tax on cosmetic surgery does not specify procedures; it would apply to all cosmetic surgery.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, about 12 million people had plastic surgery in 2008, spending about $10.3 billion on procedures and products.

For now, there is no tax on cosmetic surgery and at The Cosmetic Surgical Center we offer a full array of procedures for both men and women. Breast implants are still the most popular female cosmetic procedure and for men, male liposuction is very popular.

If you would like to know more about a certain procedure, the best step to take would be scheduling a free personal consultation with Dr. Rai. Please contact our cosmetic surgery office today and we will be happy to set that up for you.

Understanding Surgical Risks

2009-12-04T11:52:00.000-06:00

Media outlets are making a big deal out of the death of the former Miss Argentina, Solange Magnano, after complications from her cosmetic surgery. She had a buttock lift or perhaps buttock implants and reports say that she died from a pulmonary embolism – a blockage in the lungs.

Gluteoplasty is a low-risk procedure and apparently Magnano approached it as a non-event. News reports are not claiming that there was any surgical error. It is not known yet how her recovery period was progressing, other than the embolism.

All Surgery Brings Risk

Whenever the skin is cut or broken, the body is at risk. Protection is one of the skin’s most important functions. That is why surgeons and their assistants observe strict sterile technique – it is to prevent bacteria or other parasites from entering the body while the skin’s integrity is temporarily violated.

The best cosmetic surgeons screen their patients carefully to make sure that the procedure will be appropriate and safe for each person. Dr. Rai always talks to his patients to make sure they understand the procedure they are planning to have, its limitations, probable results, and possible complications. Patient education is a high priority at The Cosmetic Surgical Center.

Before your surgery, Dr. Rai will give you printed instructions for how to care for yourself during recovery. He will write any prescriptions necessary ahead of time so that you can fill them and have them ready when you arrive home after your surgery.

How to Maximize Your Cosmetic Surgery Results

Take time to prepare for your recovery with measures like arranging for someone to walk the dog, bring in the mail, pick up children, do a grocery run for you, etc. You can get the house cleaned, laundry done, and childcare arrangements made ahead of time. These measures will enable you to rest properly after your surgery, which is very important, especially if you had major surgery such as a tummy tuck or breast enlargement.
Follow Dr. Rai’s recovery instructions to the letter. For example, get up to walk a little only as he directs. Rest is important but so is a little exercise because using the leg muscles helps prevent blood clots from forming. This is how the lungs can be blocked, by a blood clot breaking free and traveling in the bloodstream to the lungs. Change any dressings only according to your instructions and do not take a shower or bath before that is advised.
Protect your treated area from any impact. The body needs time to heal incisions and a blow or premature exercise could re-open incisions, causing bleeding and potential infection.
Call Dr. Rai as soon as anything unexpected happens. If you start to bleed too much, or feel extra pain, Dr. Rai will address that so as to prevent any problem from developing.

Of course, the very first thing you should do to give yourself a good surgical outcome is to choose a fully-qualified and well-experienced cosmetic surgeon. Please read about Dr. Rai’s training and credentials and if you would like to have a free personal consultation with him, please call or email us today.

Healthcare Bill Would Tax Cosmetic Surgery

2009-11-30T13:00:00.000-06:00

As you probably know, the Democrat-led Congress is trying to put U.S. health care under government control and last week the House passed a bill in this direction. Now the Senate is working on their plan. The plan backed by the White House would put a five percent tax on cosmetic surgery.

With all the frantic spending this past year by Congress, the government needs more income. That means more taxes and higher taxes on everybody. This cosmetic surgery tax is estimated to raise about 5.8 billion dollars over ten years that would help to pay for the 849 billion dollars the proposed healthcare plan will cost.

A Five Percent Tax on Cosmetic Procedures

You would not be able to have any type of plastic surgery such as liposuction or a rhinoplasty without paying the five percent tax – unless you were having it done to correct an injury, a disease disfigurement, or a congenital abnormality. In other words, if your procedure is done for cosmetic reasons, it will be taxed.

This new tax would start in January 2010. So far, the slumping economy has not affected cosmetic surgery demand. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, there were 12.1 million cosmetic surgery procedures done in 2008, although figures are not available yet for 2009.

If the economy continues to decline, the addition of this cosmetic surgery tax may finally lower the public’s interest in improving their appearance – especially if existing taxes are raised, such as sales and income taxes and if other new taxes are imposed. However, the government has not yet succeeded in taking over health care, and the cosmetic surgery tax is still just a desire on the part of Democrats in Congress and the White House. Time will tell how this plays out.

Meanwhile, there is no tax on cosmetic surgery. Perhaps you could give yourself a tax-free Holiday treat or buy a gift for a loved one. If you would like to know more about any of the procedures we offer, such as breast enlargement, facelifts, or male breast reduction, the first step would be to schedule a free personal consultation with Dr. Rai. To do that, please call or email our cosmetic surgery office today.

She Faked Cancer to Raise Funds for Breast Augmentation

2009-11-25T10:22:00.000-06:00

Charity organizations are rightly upset at the moment over reports that one Trista Joy Lathem deceived them and obtained over $10,000 in donations for breast enlargement. Lathem had married this past April but her marriage was having problems. According to a police affidavit, she decided to tell her husband that she had cancer, in hopes that this would “bring them closer together”.

She shaved her head and communicated with acquaintances and local community leaders that she had lost her health insurance and needed to complete her chemotherapy. Various benefits were held to raise money for her, bringing in the $10,000 from some businesses and about 24 individual donors.

News reports are not explaining how the fraud was discovered, but at some point she was exposed and according to the McLennan County Sheriff’s office, she has been arrested on a charge of “theft by deception”.

It appears that of the $10,000, she used $6,800 to have breast implants in hopes of saving her marriage. Her husband was apparently appalled and filed for annulment the day she was arrested. He denies knowing that her cancer claim was false and is now filing for custody of their two children – evidently step-children, since Lathem married him only in April.

One has to wonder how a new wife could convince her husband that she had a fatal disease, and was receiving drastic treatment for it, when that was all lies. Did he not want to talk to her doctor?

Background Checking Always Important

Charity spokespeople are suggesting that before donating money to individuals entirely based on the story told to them, the organizations do a little more checking. Background checking is also important for cosmetic surgeons, and in this space on November 10, 2009 we posted a story about criminals deceiving plastic surgeons in the Philippines.

Breast enlargement is major surgery, as are many of the cosmetic surgery procedures, such as facelifts and tummy tucks. Good communications between doctor and patient is essential for a good outcome. At the Cosmetic Surgical Center, Dr. Rai talks to his new patients in depth, learning what they would like to achieve, learning about their medical history, and answering all questions.

If you would like to learn more about any of the cosmetic surgery procedures we offer, please contact our Dallas, Texas office today for a free personal consultation with Dr. Rai.

Choose Your Plastic Surgery on Your iPhone?

2009-11-23T09:21:00.000-06:00

In the 1990s, not many plastic surgeons were promoting their practice on the Web, but Dr. Steven Denenberg blazed that trail. He noticed that of the few cosmetic surgery websites that were on the Web, none had any Before and After photos.

He launched his own site and added several hundred such photos to show viewers how he could change and improve a person’s appearance with each cosmetic surgery procedure. Such Before and After Galleries are now very popular, although not of equal quality. Our Before and After Photos are nicely organized by procedure and by gender.

New iPhone Application

Dr. Denenberg has continued his inventiveness on the Web by writing his own iPhone application for people to pick a facial cosmetic surgery procedure they might be interested in having and see Before and After photos of its results. For example, if you would like to have nose surgery, breast enlargement, or a male tummy tuck, photos on your own iPhone would be available any time you had the leisure and privacy to study them and imagine how such procedures might enhance your own appearance.

Dr. Denenberg is a physician, not a computer programmer. But he bought a stack of books on how to write applications and over six months, in his spare time, he coded this new application. He tested it and has now had it approved by Apple, the maker of iPhones. You can download it on to your iPhone or your iPod Touch.

You can also send Dr. Denenberg your own photos and he will send you some plastic surgery suggestions for how you could enhance whatever feature you are not happy with.

New Company to Serve Other Cosmetic Surgeons

Looking ahead, Dr. Denenberg has now started his own company that will develop iPhone applications for other cosmetic surgeons – or for cosmetic dentists, or anybody who would like to show photos to prospective patients.

Patient education is an important part of good plastic surgery outcomes. Dr. Rai is always happy to spend time answering questions and explaining how a given procedure might or might not be a good option for you.

If you would like to learn more about a cosmetic surgery procedure you are interested in, the first step is to contact our Dallas, Texas office for a free personal consultation with Dr. Rai. We look forward to meeting with you.

Irradiated Rib Cartilage Used in Rhinoplasty

2009-11-19T13:39:00.000-06:00

Doctors have been searching for the ideal grafting material to use in rhinoplasties and perhaps they have now found it. A person’s own cartilage has often been the best choice, but too often there is not enough of it, or it is too thin, or there may be a problem at the location where it is taken.

The ideal substance should be:

Readily available and in large amounts
Resistant to infection and to being absorbed by the body
Easily shaped and molded for each individual patient
Easily integrated into the patient’s facial tissue
Not likely to cause any injury or illness in the patient

A research team of people at the University of Texas Medical School and at Facial Plastic Surgery Associates in Houston recently studied the medical records of 357 patients who had had a rhinoplasty between 1984 and 2008. The surgeons had used irradiated rib cartilage from a donor in all cases, although they had mixed it with other substances in some cases. The cartilage was irradiated to help prevent any chance of rejection or resorption after it was placed.

Low Rate of Complications

Researchers found complications in just 3.2 percent of the cases. In a total of 1,025 grafts done over the 24 years, there were just ten instances of warping, nine of infection, ten of resorption, and three of graft movement.

This rate of complications is about the same as the rate when a patient’s own cartilage is used. The study found overall that irradiated rib cartilage was safe and reliable and eliminated the risk of possible problems at a patient’s own donor site if her own cartilage is used. It can also be used when a person’s own cartilage is inadequate.

The researchers concluded that irradiated rib cartilage should be considered when a rhinoplasty graft is needed, and perhaps even regarded as a primary grafting material.

The Best Nose Surgery

Dr. Rai uses only the highest quality materials and the most thoroughly tested technology. His first priorities are your safety and your good cosmetic surgery results. Rhinoplasty is an outpatient procedure designed to give you excellent facial balance and an attractive facial profile. Dr. Rai uses the closed rhinoplasty technique, as it gives more natural-looking results, and the incisions are made inside the nose, which leaves no visible scars on the face.

To learn more about how rhinoplasty is done, and whether it would be a good option for you, please contact our Dallas, Texas office for a personal consultation with Dr. Rai.

What Can I Expect From Cosmetic Surgery?

2009-11-16T13:43:00.000-06:00

We have all seen media photos of people like Michael Jackson who had too much cosmetic surgery, and nobody wants to look “fixed” or “done” after their cosmetic procedures. We just want to look more youthful, more attractive, or better proportioned, with no visible evidence of having had anything done to effect that improvement.

Looking Natural

If you choose a properly-qualified and experienced surgeon, you can expect to look natural afterwards. Part of achieving natural results is being a good candidate for the procedure you are having, and the best plastic surgeons screen their patients carefully. Dr. Rai will spend time with you, explaining how various procedures can meet your goals and why one might be better in your particular case than another.

Besides being a good candidate, choosing the right procedure is crucial. Some women come to The Cosmetic Surgical Center wanting breast enlargement, but after they learn more about their options, they realize that they really only need a breast lift to achieve the contours they want.

In other cases, discussion with Dr. Rai may lead a person to realize that a non-invasive procedure such as a facial filler is more appropriate for them than a facelift. This is a matter of good patient education, and Dr. Rai, along with his entire team, is convinced that the best cosmetic surgery patient is a well-informed one.

Looking More Like Yourself

Part of being well-informed is having realistic expectations for your cosmetic surgery. No surgery can change who you are; it can just change some aspects of what you look like. There are news reports of teenagers or young adults wanting plastic surgery to make them look like some movie actress or TV star; that is not a good way to approach cosmetic surgery, aside from the issue of how that teen will feel when the movie star has been discredited or gone out of fashion.

Recovering Well

A well-informed patient knows that the surgeon’s post-op instructions must be followed exactly. Dr. Rai gives you printed directions for your self-care during recovery, and you ignore them at your peril. They are designed to maximize your cosmetic results and your recovery comfort. There will be a series of follow-up visits so Dr. Rai can check your progress and catch any problems early. All surgery brings risk and by following your recovery instructions, you can reduce all risk and emerge with the enhanced appearance you wished for.

If you have had the right procedure done by a superior cosmetic surgeon, for improvement rather than transformation, and have managed your recovery according to directions, you are virtually guaranteed to be delighted with the results.

The first step towards enhancing your appearance and looking more youthful is to schedule a free personal consultation with Dr. Rai. Please contact our Dallas and Fort Worth office today.

ReGrow Your Breast After Mastectomy?

2009-11-12T17:52:00.001-06:00

In Melbourne, Australia, a three-year trial is beginning to test whether a cancer patient could grow new breasts after a mastectomy. This is the first time that such a hypothesis has been tested and only the second time that tissue engineering is done on a human being. It has been tried with pigs, which did grow new breasts in six weeks.

This experiment will implant stem cells from the woman’s own fatty tissue, and as they rapidly multiply, will shape them into a replica of the lost breast. The technique is called Neopec and if it is successful, may replace breast reconstruction and breast implants within a few years. The three-year trial is being done at Melbourne’s Bernard O'Brien Institute of Microsurgery, which previously succeeded in making working heart tissue.

How the New Breast Will Grow

First, a biodegradable, synthetic chamber will be implanted beneath the woman’s skin, in the correct shape to act as scaffolding for the new breast. Then an underarm blood vessel will be redirected through the chamber to a small piece of the woman’s fat, about five milliliters.

The cells in that piece of fat will multiply, nourished by the blood vessel, and continue to multiply until the fatty tissue reaches the edges of the implanted chamber. Then the chamber will degrade and will not have to be surgically removed. It is expected that this whole process will take between four and six months.

The chief surgeon, Dr. Phillip Marzella, has a team of doctors who have developed a gel called Myogel that will promote fat cell growth in the chamber, speeding up the process. It will gradually dissolve and be excreted by the body.

What are the Implications?

If this trial is successful, the implications for plastic surgery are enormous. Any defect in the body contour could potentially be corrected in a similar way, whether it is an accident injury or a congenital deformity, or just a contour that the person would like to change for cosmetic reasons. Perhaps women will be able to grow larger breasts naturally.

Meanwhile, there are many existing choices for how to change your body contours. Perhaps you would like to know more about Ultrasonic Liposuction or the male tummy tuck.

If you would like to schedule a personal consultation with plastic surgeon Dr. Rai, please call or email our Dallas, Texas office today.

Philippine Cosmetic Surgeons Needing Protection From Criminals

2009-11-10T13:24:00.000-06:00

A news item from Manila, the capital of the Philippines, reports that the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is urging the Department of Health to draw up a law to protect unsuspecting cosmetic surgeons from criminals on the run. There have been some cases where a wanted criminal has had cosmetic surgery done for a disguise, giving a false name to the surgeon.

The NBI Deputy Director, one Ruel Lasala, stated:

“Surgeons, doctors or medical staff become “instruments” of these unscrupulous hardened criminals to alter their faces to hide their identities as part of effort to avoid being caught by law enforcers. These medical practitioners may not be aware that one of their patients is a criminal who will give different names to avoid being detected.”

In a particular case, one Alvin Flores, “the notorious leader of the ‘Alvin Flores Armed Robbery Group’” obtained plastic surgery from Dr. Dominador Pedracio on September 30 this year. Flores gave a false name and told the surgeon that he was a closet gay and wanted to have a more feminine look.

In a single, 11-hour procedure, three cosmetic surgeons worked on Flores, doing rhinoplasty, eyelid surgery, and a facelift. Flores was then killed in a shoot-out on October 29. Flores’ lawyer tried to claim that the NBI had shot a different Alvin Flores, and that anyway his client was not accused of anything and was innocent. But Dr. Pedracio could tell that it was the same man – understandably, since only four weeks had elapsed since the surgeries.

Dr. Pedracio was required to testify to the NBI about the cosmetic surgeries he and his colleagues had performed for Flores. He told the NBI and reporters that he had not known that his patient was Flores and that he hoped some protection could be arranged for cosmetic surgeons in this sort of situation.

“We have to be shielded because in the first place we may be used again by these people who hired our services. And because we know nothing regarding their background, we accept them as our patients.”

Perhaps the Filipino cosmetic surgeons should screen their new patients more thoroughly, although the idea of having to produce your police record before having a nose job is repugnant. Cosmetic surgery is certainly popular worldwide these days, if not always for the best reasons.

If you would like to schedule a personal consultation with Dr. Rai, please call or email our Dallas, Texas office today.

Cosmetic Surgery Encouraged by “Lookism”

2009-11-05T13:39:00.000-06:00

Recently there were two surveys done of Australian men asking if they would consider cosmetic surgery. One was done for the Victorian Cosmetic Institute in Melbourne, Victoria and those researchers found that one out of three men would consider it. The other was done by the University of Sydney and found that “lookism” is on the rise.

Lookism is causing men to feel that they “can reinvent themselves and there is no stigma attached anymore to having work done,” according to Dr Chan of the Victorian Cosmetic Institute. Men are more than twice as likely as women to have cosmetic surgery done for professional reasons, believing that they can land a better job if they look good.

It was found that 41 percent of Australians over the age of 18 would have cosmetic surgery, and the main reason given in the surveys was that they want to “freshen up” because they feel past their “Use By” date. Even those in the 25-34 year old age bracket feel that they are “over the hill”.

Anyone over the age of 40 or 50 will probably laugh at that idea. But popular treatments for those young ages include BOTOX® Cosmetic, chemical peels, facial fillers, and liposuction. One must remember, too, that Australians spend a lot of time on their beautiful beaches.

At the Cosmetic Surgical Center, Dr. Rai works closely with all his patients, discussing options and making sure that each person fully understands the risks and benefits of any plastic surgery procedure they are considering.

If you would like to know more about any given cosmetic surgery procedure, please contact our Dallas, Texas office today for a personal consultation.

“Appearance Medicine” Booming in Australia’s Gold Coast

2009-11-02T13:11:00.000-06:00

On the south coast of Queensland is a beach called Surfer’s Paradise, bordered by big hotels Florida-style. Other beautiful surf beaches are nearby and a little north of this whole area, called the Gold Coast, the Barrier Reef begins.

The Gold Coast has become Australia’s “nip and tuck capital”, according to news reports. As this is a popular holiday area for tourists as well as Australians, one’s beach appearance is felt to be important and cosmetic surgery has flourished.

One woman in particular, one Pamela Noon, has done a lot to promote it. She produced advertisements and videos and set up an agency in Surfer’s Paradise where people come who want to have cosmetic surgery in that area. The current recession, which affects Australia and other countries as well as the U.S., has not reduced the demand.

Breast enlargement is at the top of the list and the trend is towards ever larger implant sizes. Also popular is liposuction (a “workout waistline”), and tummy tucks.

Noon herself, now aged 63, has had 150 cosmetic surgery procedures since she was 38. At that time, she was doing a TV program and invited a cosmetic surgeon on. He said, “Why don't you have your eyes done? You'd look better on camera.” She did, and since then has had:

Liposuction on six body areas
Two facelifts
Blepharoplasty
A brow lift
Rhinoplasty
28 BOTOX® Cosmetic treatments

She has also had some less-well-known procedures such as a “lip-flip” for fuller lips, a neck lift, and a temporal lift. Like many women, her hair is colored and she has it cut and styled every three weeks. In answer to the question: “Why not grow old gracefully?”, she said:

“Most people want to look good, whether in their grooming or make-up or hair-do. Cosmetic surgery is just taking it a little bit further."

Perhaps 150 cosmetic surgeries is taking it quite a bit further, but she is happy with her beach appearance and runs her agency with confidence.

If you would like to know more about the plastic surgery procedures we offer, please contact our Dallas, Texas office for a personal consultation with Dr. Rai.

Adult Stem Cells in Breast Enlargement

2009-10-29T22:31:00.000-05:00

Experiments have been done in using fat from elsewhere on the body to augment the breasts. Using liposuction, the fat is taken from places where it is unwanted, such as the abdomen, love handles, upper thighs or buttocks. This way of doing breast augmentation has caused concern that the grafted fat could interfere with mammograms, delay cancer diagnosis, or be absorbed by the body.

More recently, another way of potentially doing breast enlargement has been reported. It uses adult stem cells (not the controversial embryonic stem cells). Stem cells have the magical ability to transform themselves into other types of cell, such as red blood cells or bone cells, and they are found throughout the body. They are especially found in fatty tissue.

Natural Breast Augmentation

A pioneer in this procedure is one Todd Malan, M.D. in Scottsdale, Arizona. He has developed a procedure that uses a new way of taking the fat from elsewhere on the body, and a process that helps the transplanted cells live adaptively in their new location, developing into breast tissue cells.

The fat cells taken from the body are processed to separate out regenerative cells and stem cells, which are then washed and enzyme-activated. Then they are re-combined with the fat cells and injected into breast fat. They supplement the fat already there and add new volume. Typically, this procedure gives the woman a one or two cup size increase (250 to 500 cc). To conclude the procedure, a pressure splint is used to hold the fat in place while it heals and promote its regeneration.

So far, there has been no rejection of the stem cell fat and no inflammation. The breasts have a natural, smooth feel and mammograms can be successfully performed.

This procedure is far from being FDA-approved and available to the general public. But perhaps it will offer a new way to permanently increase breast size. It can be done along with liposuction for a general body re-contouring and a whole new look.

If you would like to know more about the options involved with breast enlargement, please call or email The Cosmetic Surgery Center today for a personal consultation with Dr. Rai. We serve Dallas, Texas and look forward to meeting with you.

Christmas Shopping For a New Look

2009-10-26T14:26:00.000-05:00

Just as there have been “lunchtime” cosmetic surgery procedures for some time now – such as facial fillers or BOTOX® Cosmetic treatments – now the U.K. has come up with “Tweakenders”.

A company has been set up that organizes groups of women who would like to combine their Christmas shopping with a little cosmetic improvement for themselves. Because the U.K. has government-run medical care, prices are high and waiting lists are long; and this makes it practical to travel elsewhere for your cosmetic surgery.

The company, called Let’s Face It Together, was created by a prior cosmetic surgery patient who, eleven years ago, could not afford the U.K. prices and therefore traveled to South Africa for her plastic surgery.

She provides the service of bringing a cosmetic surgeon from London, about 115 miles away, to Norwich, where she is based, to consult with prospective traveling patients. That surgeon advises the women on options, realistic expectations, and prices, to help them decide which procedures would be best.

The current group being assembled is planning a trip to Antwerp in Belgium, where cosmetic surgery prices are about half what they are in the U.K. So even allowing for the cost of travel, the women still save significant money.

According to news reports, these trips are very friendly, with participants sharing plans and concerns and generally having a fun holiday. Said one previous participant who had breast augmentation done in Antwerp:

· “It takes some of the fear out of it. I don't worry about the risks. I know so many people who have had work done. For me, it's just like going to the hairdresser.”

And What About Follow-Up?

A cosmetic surgery procedure is not finished when you leave the surgeon’s facility that day. Nor is it very safe to regard it as like getting a hair cut. The recovery period is crucial to safety and good results. It would not be wise to run around doing Christmas shopping during your recovery period from procedures like breast augmentation or a facelift – you would not feel like doing that, in any case. They are not “tweakend” procedures, although it is true that minor cosmetic treatments can be done in an hour or so during a work day.

Plastic surgeon Dr. Rai always sees his patients in a series of follow-up visits so he can check on your healing progress and catch any problems early before they become painful or health-threatening. Your safety is of the highest importance at The Cosmetic Surgical Center.

If you would like to schedule a personal consultation with Dr. Rai, please call or email our Dallas, Texas office today.

Moob Reduction, Anyone?

2009-10-23T15:18:00.001-05:00

In the U.K., Moob Reductions have increased by over a thousand percent during the last five years, according to the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) recent annual conference.

The medical term for over-developed male breasts is gynecomastia although this term is also used to refer to the procedure for removing the excess tissue. Dr. Rai at the Cosmetic Surgical Center offers this increasingly popular procedure. Over-developed male breasts can occur at any age, although it happens most often over the age of 50 or so.

Gynecomastia is often related to overall weight gain, with excess fat being responsible for the large shapes. It can also be caused by an increase of glandular tissue which may be tender or painful. In these cases, weight loss will not reduce the breast size.

In cases where large weight loss has been accomplished, there can be sagging tissue on the chest, known as chest ptosis. In adolescent boys, it is not always caused by obesity, but by hormonal changes, and will usually disappear by the time they are adults. Each case of gynecomastia is individual – a unique combination of fatty tissue and glandular tissue.

Other popular male cosmetic surgery procedures are liposuction and abdominoplasty.

If you would like to schedule a private consultation with Dr. Rai, please contact our cosmetic surgery office today and we will be happy to set one up at a convenient time for you.

New California Law Re Cosmetic Surgery

2009-10-21T18:26:00.000-05:00

California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has finally been persuaded to sign into law a requirement that before having any cosmetic surgery, a person must obtain medical clearance from another licensed physician. That must be done 30 days before having the cosmetic surgery.

Where did this come from? Apparently, the family of one Donda West, the deceased mother of one Kanye West, a “hip hop” performer, decided that West’s death should not be “in vain”. They persuaded an Assembly Member to help them get a law passed to prevent everyone else from doing what their mother had done:

Have cosmetic surgery despite having a pre-existing coronary artery disease

West had a routine abdominoplasty, but her heart condition and some post-operative complications led to her demise.

One has to wonder why West’s cosmetic surgeon did not notice her pre-existing condition. Any reputable cosmetic surgeon will check a new patient’s health history and do a thorough medical examination. A tummy tuck is major surgery, even though it can be done as an outpatient procedure with local anesthetic and a sedative.

Bill Rejected on the First Round

The West family entered their idea in a contest called “It Ought to Be a Law” and their entry was chosen as the winner. In 2008, it was introduced as a bill and was passed by the California house and senate. But Schwarzenegger vetoed it, along with 130 other bills he was presented with that day. He cited California’s severe and ongoing budget crisis as the reason:

“I am only signing bills that are the highest priority to California," he said at the time. "This bill does not meet that standard and I cannot sign it at this time.”

In February this year, the bill was re-submitted and because of the Assembly member’s persistence, it was approved by lawmakers. On Monday this week, Schwarzenegger signed it. He also signed a law that authorizes $50,000 fines for paparazzi photographers if they snap celebrities and their children during “personal or familial activity”.

Apparently California’s budget problems are now solved and these two matters are of “the highest priority to California”.

Dr. Rai is a properly-qualified surgeon with extensive plastic surgery experience and many professional memberships. He is never careless in screening his potential patients. If you would like to schedule a personal consultation with him, please call or email our office today. We serve the Dallas, Texas area and we look forward to meeting with you.

Cosmetic Surgery For Prisoners?

2009-10-15T13:23:00.001-05:00

In 2002, one Daryl Strenke was helping his ex-girlfriend’s father with work on a new campground near the Polk County/Barron County line in Wisconsin. His ex-girlfriend, Sam Verby, was in her new trailer nearby. Strenke started yelling at her to come out and talk to him. She invited him into her trailer to talk.

He entered and from ten feet away fired his 12-gauge shotgun at her head, killing her. He then shot himself in the head and severely injured the lower part of his face. Doctors later restored some function and he can eat and speak, but he is disfigured and cannot eat or speak normally.

Strenke was convicted of second-degree intentional homicide and is serving a 30-year prison sentence. The Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) is planning to treat him to a series of cosmetic surgeries to restore a more natural-looking facial appearance. In response to this news, Verby’s father stated:

“… he did it to himself. And being that he murdered my daughter, I have no sympathy for him.”

However, Strenke’s mother has stated: “It doesn't matter who they are or what crimes they've committed. Prisoners are still human beings and still deserve medical care."

State Representatives Opposing Cosmetic Surgery For Prisoners

Strenke has already been given medical care to restore function. The idea of prisoners being given further surgery for purely cosmetic reasons, at taxpayer expense, especially in this unstable economy, has upset many people, including State Representative Ann Hraychuck, who was the Polk County sheriff at the time of this incident. She stated:

"I do understand that institutions are responsible for providing necessary medical treatment …[but]… I can't imagine the Department of Corrections secretary would OK any kind of surgery that isn't absolutely necessary."

Another State Representative, Brett Davis of the 80^th District, has written a letter to the Wisconsin DOC requesting data on how much they have spent in the past five years on cosmetic surgery for prisoners. His letter states, in part:

“I would ask that you not only consider reversing this [Strenke] decision, but also review the process in which elective surgeries are performed with tax dollars.”

If a convicted murderer has intentionally shot his own face, are taxpayers obliged to pay for his cosmetic surgery? Perhaps the prison staff is pushing this, from discomfort at looking at Strenke’s disfigurement.

Insurance companies do not cover cosmetic surgeries for the exact reason that they are not medically necessary. We pay for our own rhinoplasties, chin implants, and lip surgery, perhaps borrowing for it, or at least budgeting.

At the Cosmetic Surgical Center, we are committed to working with you on financing and we work with MedicalLoan to help you obtain advantageous terms and conditions. If you would like to know more about cosmetic surgery affordability, please call or email our office today for a complimentary consultation with Dr. Rai.

South Africa Requiring Proper Qualifications for Plastic Surgery

2009-10-14T12:51:00.000-05:00

In Pretoria, South Africa, this week, the laws have been tightened on who can perform plastic surgery. Until now, there was a loophole in the law that allowed general practitioners to perform plastic surgery that they were not qualified to offer. There had been facelifts performed, and other cosmetic procedures, that lead to disastrous consequences.

The Health Professionals Council of South Africa (HPCSA) is now requiring that only those actually trained in plastic surgery be allowed to provide it. This category may include other specialists than plastic surgeons, such as eye surgeons. South Africa has a Medicines Control Council that issues recommendations conforming to the HPCSA’s ethical standards, and the Registrar, one Boyce Mkhize, is urging physicians to practice according to those standards.

Mkhize has stated that any doctor found working outside his or her scope of practice will be investigated and could incur a penalty, whether a caution, a fine, suspension, or being entirely struck off the roll of qualified physicians.

Other Restrictions Imposed

Mkhize has also announced that no more jejuno-ileal bypasses can be performed. That is an intestinal bypass that shuts off part of the digestive system so that less food will be absorbed. It was popular in the U.S. also, during the 50s, 60s, and 70s, but was discontinued because of the many problems that stemmed from it. In too many cases, bacteria caused infection in the closed-off intestinal loop.

Restrictions in the U.S.

It has long been the case in the U.S. that only a qualified plastic surgeon can perform plastic surgery. To become qualified, a physician must do extra training and be certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. Cosmetic surgery is a form of plastic surgery – it is basically plastic surgery done for cosmetic reasons instead of health reasons.

Dr. Rai is fully qualified and stays current with new cosmetic surgery developments. For more detail, please see his Training and Credentials page. You could also view the video on our Home page for more about his approach to each patient’s needs and goals.

If you would like to know more about the plastic surgery we offer at the Cosmetic Surgical Center in Dallas, Texas, please call or email our office today and we can schedule a complimentary consultation for you with Dr. Rai.

More Hispanics Seeking Plastic Surgery

2009-10-08T15:19:00.000-05:00

On October 2 there was a news report featuring one Petra Bonilla, a young woman in New York who wanted rhinoplasty. She saved up the surgery cost and had the procedure done to modify the way her nose tip hung down too much. However, when the bandages were removed she was appalled to find that the tip had simply been removed rather than recontoured.

A few months later, she decided to try again and this time she did more research into potential cosmetic surgeons. She found one who specialized in ethnic surgery and the results this time were more to her liking.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), ethnic cosmetic surgery increased in 2008 to more than three million, eleven percent more than in 2007, but Caucasian surgeries dropped two percent to about 8.8 million. It is thought that the Caucasian patient base peaked earlier this century and is slipping because of the recession, but the ethnic patient base is increasing so quickly that the recession is not neutralizing it.

Perhaps it is all just part of cosmetic surgery becoming more widely accepted worldwide. In Brazil, it is regarded as trendy to be wearing a nasal cast to work after having a rhinoplasty.

Procedures Modified For Ethnicity and Gender

Since different ethnic groups have different facial and skin characteristics, it is natural that their surgeries might need to be done slightly differently. Some cosmetic surgeons specialize in Asian plastic surgery.

If you know that you have a particular type of face or skin, that should be part of your research when you choose your plastic surgeon. Bonilla had excellent results when she factored that into her search.

At the Cosmetic Surgical Center we offer plastic surgeries tailored to both males and females, as there are gender differences in the patient base as well as ethnic differences. Some procedures are very similar whereas others are modified according to the patient’s gender. For example, male liposuction often removes fatty tissue from the chest, chin, neck and waist, but female liposuction more often removes it from the abdomen, thighs and upper arms.

If you would like to know more about the plastic surgery procedures that would best suit your body type or facial type, please contact our office today for a free consultation. We serve both Dallas and Fort Worth in Texas.

Cosmetic Surgery Surging in India

2009-10-05T13:14:00.000-05:00

Coming up on December 3, 2009 is the 15^th World Congress of the International Confederation for Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery (IPRAS) and it will be hosted by Delhi. There will be many thousands of plastic surgeons and physicians in related fields such as burn surgery and micro-surgery, all sharing ideas, test results, and new implements, for the benefit of the rest of us.

Cosmetic surgery has taken off in recent years in India. The Chairman of IPRAS, Rajeev B. Ahuja, says: “Peer pressure and advertisements promising ‘picture perfect’ looks after cosmetic surgery, drive most men and women to go under the knife.”

Some of the most popular procedures in India are

Rhinoplasty – reshaping of the nose to give the face better balance and if necessary to also correct a deviated septum;
Gynecomastia -- male breast reduction, which can remove both unwanted fatty tissue and the more fibrous breast tissue;
Liposuction – for both men and woman, to remove excess fat that does not respond to exercise and good diet; and
Abdominoplasty -- tummy tucks to remove extra skin and fat from the abdomen after childbearing or significant weight loss.

Like most of the world, Indians are also interested in non-surgical options as well as the more major surgeries. BOTOX® Cosmetic is the most popular such procedure in the U.S., according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), and it leads in India as well.

Choose Your Plastic Surgeon Carefully

It seems to be a universal rule that whenever a service is popular and will be paid for out of pocket, unqualified people jump to offer it along with the properly qualified physicians such as Dr. Rai. It is always important to choose your cosmetic surgeon with full knowledge of his or her training and background.

India is experiencing that same risk of unaccredited hands wielding the “knife” (actually a laser in many procedures). Bona fide Indian physicians are finding that many new patients actually just need information and advice. In the words of Ahuja:

“There are a large number of aspirants who just require counselling. Very often a plastic surgeon may also need to play the role of a psychiatrist.”

Have you been considering a cosmetic surgery procedure? If so, self-education is one of the first steps towards an excellent outcome, and choosing a well-qualified plastic surgeon is another. To move forward with both of those steps, you can schedule free consultations with possible surgeons.

To schedule your free consultation with Dr. Rai, please call or email our cosmetic surgery facility today. Bring all your questions. Our office serves Dallas and Fort Worth in Texas and we look forward to meeting with you.

Losing Those Last Pounds

2009-09-29T12:18:00.000-05:00

Have you been sticking to a diet and exercise regimen and being successful? You might be finding that although you lose a lot of weight you are not happy with some areas where the fatty tissue is stubbornly remaining.

Exercise helps in losing weight partly by speeding up the metabolism and partly by using up more calories. When we do a regular gym workout we can build up the muscle tissue to good effect in many areas, such as in the arms or on the male chest.

But some areas tend to retain fat and this becomes frustrating when you are trying to create a slim and shapely body profile. Some examples of those areas are:

Under the chin in everyone
The love handles in everyone
Upper female arms
Upper female thighs
Lower abdomen if you have had babies

Ultrasound-Assisted Liposuction (UAL)
When you come to the Cosmetic Surgical Center in Dallas Texas, Dr. Rai can talk with you in a personal consultation about this issue. UAL is a way of doing liposuction that can help solve the problem. This procedure uses ultrasound to vibrate the cannula that removes fatty tissue. You cannot hear it vibrating as ultrasound is outside the human hearing range. But that subtle vibration helps to break up the fat cells, liquefying them for easier removal.

UAL can be done on smaller areas, like beneath the chin, and can give you a more sculpted look. Please see Liposuction Questions for more information.

If you would like to learn more about liposuction or any other cosmetic surgery procedures, please call or email our cosmetic surgery office for a free consultation with Dr. Rai.

BOTOX® Rivals?

2009-09-23T12:34:00.000-05:00

On September 11, 2009, the FDA accepted a review application from Merz Pharmaceuticals, LLC for premarket approval of Belotero® Balance. This is the start of the approval process for marketing a product in the U.S.

Belotero® Balance
Merz Pharmaceuticals is a German company and Belotero® Balance has already been approved in the U.K., Switzerland, Austria, and Russia. It is a dermal filler and is based on hyaluronic acid. At the Cosmetic Surgical Center, we offer several other dermal fillers based on hyaluronic acid: Restylane, Captique, and Hylaform.

Hyaluronic acid is a substance found naturally in the body and its great asset as a basis for facial fillers is that it bonds very easily with water. It attracts water so that wherever the filler has been injected will plump up with the extra water in the skin. That creates a smooth and more youthful appearance.

Although some news reports are speculating that Belotero® Balance could be a new rival for BOTOX®, the two products work differently. BOTOX® is not a filler. It does create more smoothness in the skin and a more youthful look, but it does that by temporarily paralyzing the muscle where it is injected. When that muscle cannot contract, the skin does not crease.

Dysport™
On the other hand, another drug was recently approved by the FDA that is a rival to BOTOX®. It is called Dysport™. It works in the same way as BOTOX® and is based on the same botulinum toxin. It is given in different doses however, and is not directly exchangeable with BOTOX®.

Both BOTOX® and Dysport™ are used for smoothing out frown lines and horizontal forehead lines. Belotero® Balance may also be approved for that use, and perhaps, like Restylane and other hyaluronic acid-based fillers, for treating laugh lines, nasolabial folds, and thin lips

Meanwhile, if you would like to know more about the different ways of rejuvenating your facial appearance that are already FDA-approved and proven to be effective, please contact our cosmetic surgery office today for a personal consultation with Dr. Rai.

Faces Too Transformed?

2009-09-21T12:38:00.000-05:00

When we travel abroad and then return home to our own country, we assume that we’ll be allowed in. However, recently 23 women coming home to China were stopped by customs officials. On comparing the passport photos of these women with their live faces, the officials saw too much discrepancy.

The China Daily reported this incident, saying that the women had gone to South Korea for facial cosmetic surgery. They ranged in age between 36 and 54. Some of the surgeries they had had were:

Rhinoplasty – to make their nose higher at the bridge
Blepharoplasty – to make their eyes look larger
Chin surgery – to have a slimmer chin. It is not clear from news reports what this surgery was; perhaps it was liposuction beneath the chin.

When the group of women arrived back in China they were wearing sunglasses and hats. When they removed them for identification purposes, their bandages and stitches were visible. Customs officers spent some time with each woman, comparing the photo and live face, and eventually admitted them to the country as being who they said they were. However, each woman was asked to get a new passport photo.

Cosmetic surgery has been increasing in popularity in China partly because the unemployment rate is ten percent. At first that might not seem like a good reason for the increase. But Chinese labor laws do not forbid discrimination based on an applicant’s appearance, and in fact, some jobs request certain physical characteristics such as round eyes. Increasing numbers of workers are resorting to cosmetic surgery to help in their job search.

To learn more about facial plastic surgery and how it could give you a more youthful or attractive appearance, please contact our Dallas, Texas office today for a free consultation.

Fat Grafting for Breast Augmentation?

2009-09-17T12:32:00.000-05:00

In July of this year the American Society of Plastic Surgeons validated fat grafting as a way to do breast enlargement. It is a procedure where unwanted excess fat is taken from another body area and injected into the breasts to increase their size.

Some areas where the fat is typically harvested are:

Abdomen
Hips
Buttocks
Thighs

This is not a new procedure, as it was originally done in the late nineteenth century in Germany. It has also been used in the U.S. for adding fullness to facial areas such as the cheeks and lips.

It was first done for breast augmentation by a plastic surgeon here in Dallas, Texas. He wanted to satisfy women who had reservations about saline and silicone gel breast implants. The fact that there was no "foreign object" such as an implant, but only the woman's own fatty tissue, appealed to some women as being more natural. A favorite site for the fat harvesting has been the buttocks and some women feel that this is an exciting "twofer" - they lose unwanted fat from the buttocks and gain desired fat for the breasts all in one procedure.

Fat Can be Absorbed From the Breasts
At the Cosmetic Surgical Center, Dr. Rai prefers to offer silicone and saline implants because in many cases the body will absorb some of the transplanted fat. Up to 95 percent of that fat could be absorbed. Even if it is only about 20 percent absorbed, the reduction in breast size is very noticeable and unwanted.

Because of this uncertainty in each woman's individual case, we prefer the much greater predictability of implants.

To learn more about the many choices involved in breast enlargement, please call or email cosmetic surgeon Dr. Rai. Our office serves residents of Dallas Texas and we look forward to meeting with you.

Twin Cosmetic Surgeries

2009-09-14T12:30:00.000-05:00

Sometimes a pair of twins grow up trying to be as unlike each other as possible, and other times they try to be indistinguishable. In the U.K. recently two identical twins, Jo and Kerry Burton, have been living duplicate lives. After spending childhood duplicating each other's chickenpox, careers in the Brownies, and ballet lessons, they have spent 13 years of their adulthood having the same cosmetic surgeries. They are 34 years of age now.

Their goal is to continue to look indistinguishable from each other and to that end they have spent 60,000 U.K. pounds on operations done by the same cosmetic surgeons:

They started when they were aged 21 with nose surgery to create the same curve in their noses. That was inspired by a photographer who was working with them as twin models. At age 26, they began the BOTOX® treatments and have kept them up to maintain the same smooth foreheads. They have each had one child, after which they had the breast implants to take them from size 34B to size 34DD.

In addition to these procedures, they have had facials, permanent eyeliner tattooed on to their eyelids, hair extensions, spray-on suntans, manicures and pedicures, not to mention two closetfuls of identical clothing.

So that their cosmetic surgeon could tell them apart when they had surgeries on the same day, they had their initials written on their bellies.

These twins co-own a beauty salon in Hertfordshire and have not ruled out more cosmetic surgeries in the future.

At the Cosmetic Surgical Center here in Dallas, Texas, we do not expect our clients to be twins. If you would like to have your individual consultation with Dr. Rai, please contact us today and we will be happy to schedule it for you.

BOTOX® Uses Expanding

2009-09-10T17:59:00.001-05:00

BOTOX® is used by cosmetic surgeons to smooth out forehead wrinkles and frown lines. It is administered with an extremely thin needle directly into the muscle being treated. It prevents the brain from successfully sending messages to that muscle telling it to contract.

When you cannot contract the frown muscles, you cannot frown. That keeps the skin in that area more smooth, removing tension that would otherwise create the frown energy in your face. Repeated BOTOX® injections can prolong the smoothness and perhaps also retrain the muscle not to contract so often.

BOTOX® for Movement Disorders
BOTOX® works by blocking nerve impulses, in effect paralyzing that muscle. The medical profession has not been slow in seeing many other uses for a substance that safely paralyzes specific muscles. Physicians have been using BOTOX® to help with disorders that involve involuntary movements, such as cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis. Cessation of that chronic, jerky movement is a great relief to these patients.

BOTOX® for Migraines
More recently BOTOX® has been used in treating migraine headaches which involve chronic muscular tension. This use of BOTOX® was discovered accidentally after patients who received the injections for frown lines reported headache relief. Physicians now inject BOTOX® into the sides or back of the head and have been changing the dosage to avoid unwanted side effects such as drooping eyelids.

BOTOX® for Bladder Problems
Another recent use has been for people with an overactive bladder. Urologists in two London hospitals recently did a double-blind trial with 34 patients, with half of them receiving BOTOX® and the others getting a placebo. Since BOTOX® works only on the specific muscle where it is injected, a long tube was used, with the injection needle inside it, to reach the bladder muscles targeted.

Twenty injections were given from different directions into the bladder, using a total of 200 ml of BOTOX®. Previous medications had been ineffective in reducing incontinence but the patients in this study who received BOTOX® all reported improvements in this and in their overall quality of life.

At the Cosmetic Surgical Center we use BOTOX® for facial enhancement only. If you would like to know more about how BOTOX® could smooth facial wrinkles and give you a more fresh and youthful appearance, please contact our cosmetic surgery office today.

Take Care in Choosing Your Plastic Surgeon

2009-09-08T17:57:00.000-05:00

In Framingham (about 20 miles from Boston, Massachusetts), there is a Brazilian community of about 14,000 immigrants. In late July of this year, the president of the Brazilian American Association in Framingham, Ilma Paixao, did a cable TV interview of a plastic surgeon who was visiting from Brazil.

It was part of her plan to raise awareness of health issues among the local residents and the doctor was one Luiz Carlos Ribeiro. He and his wife had been traveling back and forth between Brazil and Framingham for several years, performing plastic surgeries for low prices, between $1800 and $3,000. Paixao was pleased to get the interview because Ribeiro had an excellent reputation in Brazil.

Ribeiro gave a great interview, stressing the importance of always getting a second opinion and not accepting medical care from anyone unlicensed to perform it. He emphasized that the doctor should use only professional equipment in a professional clinic and never work outside of a medical facility.

Did He Practice What he Preached?
On August 1, an unconscious woman was brought to a local medical center, where she died. She had been a patient of Ribeiro, having liposuction done on a massage table in the basement of a local condo. Police examined the condo and found a great deal of blood protein on the floor. After more investigation they found that Ribeiro and his wife had been obtaining a series of 30-day work permits so they could perform plastic surgeries. His wife functioned as his surgical nurse.

Neither one of them is licensed to practice medicine in Massachusetts. However, neighbors of the deceased woman came forward to report to police that they also had had plastic surgery from Ribeiro. They had paid cash and it appears that the couple ran a cash-only business and kept no records. One of these neighbors was in hospital at the time for a severe infection after her liposuction.

Ribeiro performed other cosmetic surgeries besides liposuction, such as dermal fillers to plump up the lips and nose surgery. It is not known yet whether he is a qualified physician in Brazil.
An autopsy was planned for the deceased woman but no reports are available as to its results.

The results of your cosmetic surgery depend heavily on the quality of the surgeon you choose. Plastic surgery (including cosmetic surgery) is a specialty area in the U.S., with its own certification board. Before choosing any plastic surgeon, make sure he or she is board-certified to practice plastic surgery.

You can read about Dr. Rai’s extensive qualifications and professional memberships on his Training and Credentials page. If you would like to come in and see our clean and beautiful facilities, please call or send us an email. We can schedule a personal consultation for you with Dr. Rai.

The “Ideal Implant” Being Tested

2009-09-04T11:43:00.000-05:00

If you would like to have breast augmentation, you currently have a choice between saline implants or silicone gel implants. Both are effective, safe, and popular. However some women prefer one over the other.

Silicone gel implants are thought by many to look and feel more natural
Saline implants are thought by some to be safer

The Best of Both Worlds

The IDEAL IMPLANT® was devised by a Dallas, Texas doctor to have the naturalness of silicone implants and the perceived safety of saline implants.

They are made with the same materials already used in breast implants. They are filled with saline and have saline implant shells and valves. But they have several shells nested inside each other.

This design puts more control on the saline solution, restricting its movement to prevent sloshing and making it behave more like the thicker silicone gel
The nested shells give more support to the outer shell, helping to prevent wrinkles and folds.
The shells are designed to conform more comfortably to the convex shape of a chest wall.
These implants can be inserted folded and empty like saline implants, which means the incisions can be smaller.
IDEAL IMPLANTS® come in 14 sizes ranging from 184 cc to 600 cc.

FDA Trials

The plan is to conduct trials in several states and to have a ten-year follow-up period. Follow-up visits will be scheduled at pre-set intervals. Participants will pay the normal cost for the implants and procedure but will also have a Trust Fund set up in case Ideal Implants, Inc. ceases to operate and they need funds to remove or replace their implants. The follow-up visits are to research the long-term safety of these new implants.

Time will tell whether IDEAL IMPLANTS® turn out to be superior. Meanwhile, if you would like to learn more about the two types of breast implant currently available, please call or email our cosmetic surgery office for a personal consultation with Dr. Rai.

Response to Surgical Complications

2009-09-02T17:46:00.000-05:00

Cosmetic surgery has become popular worldwide, as the risky business of medical tourism can attest. You can read about one woman’s story of her international cosmetic surgery in our blog of August 28 this year. That woman’s procedures were probably quite safe, as she stayed in each country long enough to fully recover, whereas medical tourism does not necessarily provide for adequate recovery before the itinerary whisks you to the next country or back home.

Each country trains its own doctors and sets up its own laws to ensure medical safety. U.S. cosmetic surgeons are among the best-trained in the world and operate very safely.

A Chinese Story
In China, things are very different. Recently, a dissatisfied Chinese cosmetic surgery patient went back to the “shop” where she had had breast enlargement done three years previously. Her breasts were not the same size and she wanted compensation for that.

The shop had already refunded her entire surgery cost, but she wanted more so that she could have the problem corrected by another cosmetic surgeon who was apparently more expensive.

She entered the shop just as the staff were going off duty. In response to her plea, they locked her in the shop and left. She eventually called the police for help, but not until four hours later. News reports do not explain that delay. Perhaps she was expecting the staff to return and was determined to persuade them to pay her some more compensation. If so, she was certainly a patient woman.

The police had to break a window to get her out. News reports do not indicate whether this woman has any legal recourse.

Minimal Surgical Risks
All surgery brings some risk. A properly qualified cosmetic surgeon like Dr. Rai will always explain the possible risks of your procedure and U.S. law requires that every patient sign a Patient Consent Form indicating that they understand the risks. Dr. Rai will also give you printed post-operative instructions and will explain why you need to follow them for your safety and best recovery.

On our side, we will always do everything possible to correct a less-than-perfect surgical result. Dr. Rai can often do correctional surgeries, depending on what the procedure and problem are. If you had breast implant surgery and one breast were to end up larger than the other, we could correct that with new implants or by altering the saline content of one implant if you had saline filled implants. Better yet, we would avoid the problem by preparing carefully for your surgery and paying good attention throughout.

At Cosmetic Surgical Center you are in safe and experienced hands. Please call or email our cosmetic surgery office today for your personal consultation with Dr. Rai.

Cosmetic Surgery for a Beautiful Wedding

2009-08-28T14:01:00.000-05:00

When Jane Major met Paul Flack, she was 29 and had three children. He was 36. They fell in love and lived together for 16 years, during which time they had a son together. Jane went from a size 12 to size 18. She lost much of the weight but was left with sagging skin and sagging breasts, besides a sun-damaged face and a “weak” chin she had never liked.

They were still in love and Paul proposed that they get married. Jane demurred, horrified at the prospect of trying on wedding dresses. For several years, Paul re-proposed and Jane re-demurred, but she began wondering what cosmetic surgery could do for her. She decided to have a tummy tuck and put her name on the waiting list.

Jane and Paul live in the U.K. where nationalized healthcare has created long waiting lists for surgery and made it extremely expensive. Jane waited for several years and then read an article about cosmetic surgery in other countries. Seeing that the prices were less than half of the U.K. prices, suddenly she was ready.

Will You Marry Me? -- Yes
In 2005 she flew to South Africa for her tummy tuck and while she was there also had a breast lift. She was so pleased with the results that in 2006 she flew to Belgium for eyelid surgery and laser skin resurfacing. Paul proposed again and this time she said Yes.

With an engagement ring on her finger but still not feeling like proper bride material, she flew to Cyprus in 2007 for a facelift and a chemical peel. While she was there she had some liposuction done on the neck and chin area. This relieved her embarrassment about her chin. In 2008 she returned to Belgium for more liposuction around the waist and buttock areas. This took her down from size 14 to size 10.

Now Jane felt ready to try on wedding dresses and she agreed to a June, 2009 wedding. She rounded off her self-transformation by having her teeth whitened and getting some BOTOX® injections and in June of this year, she and Paul took their vows.

Over a hundred astounded friends and family watched her walk down the aisle. Her old school friends did double-takes and wondered if they were at the right wedding. Paul said, “I loved her and wanted to marry her as she was. I waited years to get her down the aisle but Jane's worth the wait."

Jane replied, “Every bride wants to look her best on her wedding day but when you're 45 and a mother of four you have to work that little bit harder to look your best."

If you feel you are not quite looking your best, please contact our cosmetic surgery office today to schedule a personal consultation with Dr. Rai.

Breast Implant Serial Numbers Useful

2009-08-25T16:04:00.001-05:00

A Canadian man with something between one and two-and-a-half million dollars at his disposal was a contestant early this year on the TV reality show Megan Wants a Millionaire. In a taping session he met a former swimsuit model, one Jasmine Fiore, and they were married in March in Las Vegas. This new husband, Ryan Alexander Jenkins, was a real estate developer and investor and the son of a well-known Canadian architect.

Jenkins is now the subject of a manhunt conducted by both the U.S. and Canada. He reported his wife missing on August 15. But earlier that day, her body had been found in a suitcase tossed in a trash bin in Orange County. Authorities had been unable to identify the body because it was too mutilated to yield fingerprints or enable any use of dental records.

Fiore’s body was identified a few days later by an unusual method:
• The serial numbers on her breast implants

A Tangled Web
This case seems to be characterized by conflicting statements, unfounded claims, and “no comment”.

Orange County prosecutors claimed that the U.S. Coast Guard had pursued a boat registered to Jenkins, but the Coast Guard said that although it was asked to help in the manhunt, the boat in question was found by the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office in Washington state.
When asked if the U.S. Marshall’s Service was watching Jenkins’ assets, the chief inspector of that body declined to say.
Fiore’s mother stated that her daughter had her marriage to Jenkins annulled in May of this year, but no court records can be found to verify that, and one of the lawyers representing Jenkins has “declined to comment”.
In Calgary, Jenkins was sentenced in January 2007 to 15 months probation with counseling for anger management, sexual addiction, and domestic violence. However, one Paulina Chmielecka of Calgary, who was previously engaged to Jenkins for over two years has said:
• “The guy was a great guy. As far as I knew he was very happy. In our relationship, we had our fights — everyone does — but I would never say, 'Well, he could have murdered someone.' There's no way."
Jenkins Senior has not returned any phone calls or email messages to his architecture office.

Yesterday, August 23, 2009, Jenkins’ body was found in a British Columbia motel room where he had evidently hung himself from a coat rack.

This story comes from the world of TV entertainment, high-flying lifestyles, and violent crime. That is not the reality we know here at the Cosmetic Surgical Center. Our clients come from the normal world of responsible jobs, mutual respect, and adult behavior.

If you would like to know more about breast enlargement or other procedures that could enhance your personal appearance, please contact our cosmetic surgery office today for a confidential consultation. Our office serves the residents of Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas.

Is Your Plastic Surgeon Board-Certified?

2009-08-21T17:37:00.000-05:00

You may have heard rumors, or read stories online, about a botched plastic surgery done by a doctor working outside his or her specialty. One of the ways you can make sure your plastic surgery provides you with excellent results is by choosing a board-certified plastic surgeon.

The American Board of Medical Specialties is an umbrella organization for all the separate Medical Boards. For cosmetic surgery, you would want to choose a doctor who is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. Dr. Rai was certified by this Board in 1983, having taken their examinations and met all their specifications for practicing plastic surgery in the U.S.

Plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery are much the same thing in practice, but are done for different reasons. Plastic surgery is more related to reconstruction after an injury or the correction of a genetic defect. It is done for medical reasons, whereas cosmetic surgery is done for aesthetic reasons.

Each specialty board has its own requirements for how doctors must maintain their certification. Every year Dr. Rai attends seminars and conferences, staying up to date with the newest ideas, techniques, and technology. By meeting these requirements, Dr. Rai not only stays current with his medical specialty, but also stays in touch with his peers. To that end he also belongs to several other professional organizations, such as the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the Texas Medical Association. Please see our page on Training and Credentials for more details.

If you are interested in having plastic surgery, please contact our Dallas / Fort Worth, Texas office today to schedule your free consultation.

Cosmetic Surgery As a Gift?

2009-08-18T17:34:00.000-05:00

Cosmetic surgery isn’t just for the vain or the wealthy. A well-performed cosmetic surgery can help many people improve their self-image and raise their self-esteem. For young graduates entering the job field, it could provide more confidence to pursue the position they would most like.

At Cosmetic Surgical Center in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, Dr. Vasdev Rai provides his patients with many cosmetic surgery options and always takes time with new patients to discuss their goals and concerns and to answer questions. If you have a young graduate in your family who has expressed an interest in changing some aspect of their physical appearance, an initial consultation with Dr. Rai may help both of you learn more about cosmetic surgery.

Rhinoplasty is nose surgery that can correct almost any nasal defect, including a deviated septum that may be causing a breathing problem at night. It can re-sculpt the nose to fit more aesthetically with the rest of person’s facial features.
Liposuction is the removal of unwanted fat that has defied diet and exercise. It can be done on many areas to create a more balanced body profile, such as the hips, thighs, abdomen, upper back, neck, and others.
Breast augmentation can be done with either saline or silicone gel implants and both are very safe and effective. Dr. Rai will help with all the decisions that go with choosing this procedure, such as the size of implant, incision site, etc. A young woman will usually feel far more confident if she knows she looks attractive

In this competitive job market, it is becoming more important for people to have every advantage possible. Cosmetic surgery can help young men and women gain that positive self-image that might put them above the rest of their competition.

Please contact cosmetic surgeon Dr. Rai in Dallas, Texas today to schedule an initial cosmetic surgery consultation today.

BOTOX® and Cosmetic Surgery To Stop Migraines?

2009-08-13T17:39:00.000-05:00

It is thought that some people have physical migraine triggers on the sides or back of the head. Those would be muscle areas that for some reason tense up and begin the development of a migraine. Perhaps if those muscles were unable to contract, those migraines could be prevented.

To test this theory, a clinical trial was performed on 75 people who suffer from severe migraines. Researchers used BOTOX® to prevent the trigger muscles from contracting. BOTOX® works by paralyzing the specific muscle where it is injected.

The study participants received BOTOX® injections and were then monitored for six to eight months until the BOTOX® wore off. During that time their incidence of migraines was recorded.

Results were mixed, but some participants had significantly fewer migraines. Those who responded well to BOTOX® had the option of permanently removing the trigger areas through cosmetic surgery procedures like facelifts or forehead lifts. For at least a few of the migraine sufferers, the cosmetic surgery solutions significantly reduced their pain.

Perhaps BOTOX® followed by cosmetic surgery will become a migraine treatment in the future. Meanwhile, Dr. Rai offers BOTOX® for smoothing out frown lines and forehead wrinkles and he offers a wide array of cosmetic surgery procedures.

If you would like to learn more about cosmetic surgery like facelifts or brow lifts, please contact our Dallas, Texas cosmetic surgery office today to schedule your initial consultation.

Improving Your Appearance While Preserving Your Uniqueness

2009-08-11T17:36:00.000-05:00

Thousands of people make the choice every year to change some aspect of their body with cosmetic surgery. One of the most important parts of this decision is choosing a doctor who will improve the way you look without changing the unique aspects of your appearance.

When patients come to our Dallas, Texas cosmetic surgery office, we want them to be sure that their plastic surgery will not completely change the way they look. For instance, if you come for a facelift, Dr. Rai will evaluate your facial contours and develop a facelift plan that will smooth lines and creases to enhance your individual face rather than change it to another face.

The celebrities we see in the news who have had multiple plastic surgeries year after year are not representative of most cosmetic surgery patients. Perhaps they are using their vast amounts of money to chase after some ideal they want to embody, or to stop the aging process, but ideals of beauty change, and aging cannot be stopped.

The wise way to approach cosmetic surgery is to become educated about the procedures you are considering, to choose a fully qualified and ethical surgeon, and to discuss all the issues with him or her until your best choice becomes clear. Each of us is individual and while a breast augmentation may be right for another person, a breast lift may be all that you need, once you understand what a breast lift can do for you.

if you live in the Dallas or Fort Worth, Texas area please contact plastic surgeon Dr. Vasdev Rai to schedule a personal consultation.

What is the Best Age For Cosmetic Surgery?

2009-08-06T09:14:00.001-05:00

Many potential plastic surgery patients come to our Dallas, Texas cosmetic surgery office asking when the best time is for them to have a certain procedure performed. The answer is – it depends. It depends on many factors, such as what the procedure is, how robust your general health is, and what your attitudes are to surgery in general. Here are some specific thoughts:

Skin Elasticity – when tissue is removed, as in liposuction where fatty tissue is removed, the skin needs to shrink over the new slimmed-down shape. If the skin is young it will have no problem doing that. If it is aging it has lost some elasticity and may retain a sagging look. For this reason, excess skin is removed in a tummy tuck so you will have a tight, youthful-looking abdomen.
Overall Health – Like any major surgery, cosmetic surgery can be a challenge to the body and your recovery period may last longer if your general health is less than optimum. But aging does not necessarily equate to poor health and Dr. Rai will assess your health before performing any surgery.
Mental Maturity – When you choose to have cosmetic surgery, you are also choosing to alter the way you look for a long period of time. This choice requires a lot of thought and consideration. Younger patients may tend to be impulsive and set their sights on a certain procedure without fully realizing how it will change their appearance. Dr. Rai always encourages new patients to learn about their upcoming surgery and to understand its consequences.

No matter what age you are or what procedure you are considering, the best thing you can do to become better educated about cosmetic surgery is to contact Dallas, Texas cosmetic surgeon, Dr. Vasdev Rai today for a free consultation.

Opinions on What is Beautiful Change as We Age

2009-08-04T09:07:00.004-05:00

A new consumer survey performed by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery has found that, depending on your age, you may find different aspects of the body more appealing.

Participants in the survey were asked to visit a website and mark how old they were and what part of the body they found most attractive. The results of the survey were that:

People in their 20s, 30s, and 40s said they found a well proportioned, fit body was most attractive
People in their 50s and 60s found youthful skin to be the most attractive part of the body

Visitors to the website were also asked what part of their own body they were least satisfied with. The results showed that people in their 20s, 40s, 50s, and 60s were most concerned about facial appearance, while people in their 30s were most concerned about the abdomen and waist.

We are all individuals and not everybody would necessarily fit into this pattern. But this information could be useful for experienced plastic surgeons like Dr. Vasdev Rai in Dallas, Texas. By having a better understanding of what people of different ages tend to want, cosmetic surgeons can fine-tune their procedures and perhaps make their cosmetic surgery patients even happier with their results.

If you live in the Dallas or Fort Worth, Texas area and are considering plastic surgery such as a breast augmentation, facelift, or tummy tuck, please contact Dr. Vasdev Rai today to schedule your initial consultation.

Is it Time to Reconsider Breast Surgery?

2009-07-30T10:46:00.000-05:00

If you are a woman who has previously considered breast surgery and chose to postpone it, now might be a good time to reconsider. Perhaps you felt that the breast implant options weren’t adequate, or the incision site wasn’t concealed enough.

But today’s experienced plastic surgeons, like Dr. Vasdev Rai in Dallas, Texas, offer a variety of breast implant options that were not previously available. No matter what body proportions you are trying to achieve, there is a breast augmentation option that will make you happy.

Recently, cohesive silicone breast implants were approved for use in the United States, providing breast augmentation patients with even more options. These silicone breast implants can increase size and shape for nearly any woman’s breast area.

Another development in breast implant placement is the TUBA procedure. TUBA stands for Transumbilical Breast Augmentation and it is performed by making an incision in the belly button and inserting the breast implant from there. A small scar at the belly button gives no evidence of any breast surgery.

Dr. Vasdev Rai is one of the premier breast augmentation surgeons in the Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas area. If you have considered breast surgery in Dallas, Texas, please contact Dr. Rai today for your free consultation.

BOTOX® May Seem Simple, But Be Careful Who You Trust

2009-07-28T10:45:00.000-05:00

As you drive around town, you may notice a variety of places offering BOTOX® injections at fairly low prices. One of the reasons for this is that any number of different medical practitioners can offer BOTOX® to patients at almost any cost they please.

While BOTOX® may seem like a very common, simple procedure, it is still a long-term cosmetic procedure that should be performed by a professional cosmetic surgeon, like Dr. Vasdev Rai in Dallas, Texas. If BOTOX® injections are performed incorrectly, the results can leave your face feeling or looking paralyzed for months.

When BOTOX® is injected below the facial skin, it paralyzes the targeted muscle, preventing it from contracting. This helps to smooth the skin over that muscle. BOTOX® injections can be performed by ophthalmologists and other specialists who are not as familiar with facial aesthetics as an experienced plastic surgeon.

When performed by the right cosmetic surgeon, BOTOX® can have very pleasing results. This is partly because a cosmetic surgeon will take your entire face into account and determine whether BOTOX® injections are the best option to meet your goals, or whether a facial filler, for example, might be better. If you are considering BOTOX®, do not go to the cheapest place you can find; examine a few different cosmetic surgery offices to determine who the best BOTOX® doctor is for you.

If you live in the Dallas or Fort Worth, Texas area and are considering BOTOX® injections, please contact Dr. Vasdev Rai today to schedule your initial consultation.