May 10, 2010

Trade in breast implants like an old car?

Women shouldn’t get the idea that changing breast sizes is as simple
as trading in a used car.

But some Hollywood celebrities are acting that way.

“Stars are treating breast surgery like getting a new car,” says
Beverly Hills cosmetic surgeon Dr. Nicholas Nikolov. Celebrities decide
that their implants “are too big, too small, or they are uncomfortable.
So they trade them in for a different model.”

He cites TV personality Sharon Osbourne, singer/designer Victoria
Beckham and actress Denise Richards among the stars
who have had their breast implants removed or plan to do so.

(more…)

April 09, 2010

Cosmetic Surgery Isn’t Vain – It’s Survival

When does cosmetic surgery stop being about looking better
and start being about survival? 

It is no secret that beautiful people are revered.

We are all
painfully aware that each A-list celeb can be described as beautiful…if
not drop-dead gorgeous. Just take a look at George Clooney, Angelina
Jolie and Brad Pitt…

And now a recent study proves that human
beings are hard wired to actually prefer beautiful people. Couple that
with the legion of books which all hail the science of beauty, including
“Survival of the Prettiest” by Nancy Etcoff… all which lead us to
conclude that beauty is not quite as “skin deep” as stipulated by the
popular expression. A recent study conducted by ABC’s 20/20 shows that
human beings react more warmly to a person in distress if they are
beautiful. Which begs the question, are people really that shallow?

The answer, which is based in scientific fact, lends some much needed
insight…human beings are simply reacting to their own genetic instinct
when they appreciate and are drawn to beautiful people. But when you
combine the symptoms of “coveting beauty” to what can best be described
as a rocky economy you get an outcome that few could have predicted, a
spike in what many are labeling “survivalist” plastic surgery.

(more…)

April 12, 2010

Some Docs Find Lap-Band Ads Tough to Stomach

HEALTH CARE & BIOTECH: Beverly Hills
practitioners fear treatment is pushed as a quick fix.

By Deborah Crowe

The thousands of dollars that a controversial Beverly Hills surgery
center spent promoting its Lap-Band weight-loss procedure on billboards
around Los Angeles has been a mixed blessing for some lower-key
competitors in the 90210 ZIP code.

Dr. David Davtyan and Dr. Nicholas Nikolov appreciate the benefit
their own practices have received from the free publicity given to the
Lap-Band as a less invasive alternative to gastric bypass surgery.

(more…)

March 23, 2010

Facelift Performed While You’re Awake – Today on “The Doctors”

Non-surgical procedures have seen a boost in recent years largely
because many fear the long recovery period associated with cosmetic
surgery procedures. There are some physicians who have found a
happy medium for their patients that balances the more dramatic effects
of surgery while minimizing pain and downtime.

Facelift
is a very popular surgery amongst those looking to remove fine lines
and wrinkles and restore skin’s youthful tightness. However,
traditional facelift procedures involve some uncomfortable recovery and
significant swelling and bruising. Often several weeks pass before a
patient is really able to see the full results. New advances in
facelift technique are minimizing that recovery period and patients are
seeing their results sooner than ever.

Recently featured on The
Doctors, Beverly Hills cosmetic surgeon Dr. Nicholas Nikolov has
developed what he calls a Nick-Tuck procedure. This facelift is
performed while the patient is awake, with only local sedation.
Additionally, Dr. Nikolov uses a fibrin glue to help adhere the skin
flap back to the underlying tissues. He says that this technique helps
reduce some of the signs of surgery such as bruising, swelling, and
discomfort. Dr. Nikolov also uses a smaller incision than with
classical facelift, so that the patient has less scarring as well.

Actual results of Nick-Tuck procedure, 5 days after
treatment (more…)

January 31, 2010

Women have more help aging naturally

by Laura Elder

Victoria Homann is a firm believer in aging
gracefully. She exercises, eats nutritious foods and makes regular
visits to the League City practice of Dr. Elena Geppert, a plastic
surgeon.

But Homann, 48, isn’t ready for anything as drastic as a full face-lift. She hopes to avoid that for some time.

So
Homann, a grandmother who sells nutraceutical supplements for a living,
visits Geppert’s Harbour Plastic Surgery, 3033 Marina Bay Drive, for
minor procedures. Those include laser skin resurfacing and injectables
such as Botox, and hyaluronic acid fillers that help plump her face and
fill in lines. Homann said her favorite procedure is Sculptra
Aesthetic, a polylactic acid approved last year for cosmetic use, to
correct lines and folds. Sculptra is commonly referred to as the
“liquid face-lift.”

The recession hasn’t stopped U.S. consumers
from seeking professional help to turn back time. In 2008, doctors
performed 12 million plastic surgery procedures. But the economy has
changed the type of procedures in demand, observers say.

(more…)