Recap of Recent Health News

Recap recent health news on TV's top-ranked morning show "Fox and Friends" Medical Rewind.  In this segment, new findings are discussed on contamination of tap water systems, prostate cancer risk possibly being lessened by ingredients found in beer and coffee (with the positive effect of exercise for prostate cancer survivors), as well as safety of meat in public school lunches compared to the fast food industry.

Three things I love Thursday: December 30, 2009

1. New wallpaper from Vivienne Westwood:2. This teapot lamp:3. Creative love letters:

These make my heart melt!

Will the REAL Tara please stand up??

With as much buzz placed around this Playboy spread I have to admit I was actually really interested to hear the reviews of this pictorial. Actress, Tara Reid, is no stranger to plastic surgery or discussing the issues surrounding the elective procedures she has undergone. If by chance you live under a rock or don't have access to the internet, magazines, or a TV....here are the details. Essentially, Ms. Reid underwent a breast augmentation as well as liposuction to her abdominal area. She has been extremely vocal about how both procedures in her words were "botched". I must say I always thought she was pretty classy in the way she handled the negative attention. Instead of hiding from the interest she attacked it head on. She was seen on many major morning shows and was heard on the pages of numerous reputable magazines. Tara discussed her reasons for electing to have the procedures as well as how she coped with the unforeseeable results. It raised questions about how important it is patients understand that they are having major surgery although it be elective. It also brought awareness to the continued importance of making sure your surgeon is board certified.

Now, bring us to present. Ms. Reid has undergone reconstructive surgery to her breasts and abdomen to fix some of the previous surgical issues. Again, she was in the media talking about her journey and letting us all know how happy she is with the results. About this same time she announced that Playboy came a knocking and she was ready and willing to show off her new body. Well, before you get too excited the pictures are airbrushed beyond recognition and basically look like a drawing.  I know ALL magazines airbrush the men and women that grace their glossy pages, but she has not a single scar on her body. At all. 

Despite my disappointment in Playboy's photoshop skills, I think Ms. Reid looks beautiful and I am glad she is happy with her body today. :)

Have a HAPPY and SAFE New Year!!!!

NINE!!! Part One

The Holiday season is here again and that always means two things....presents and MOVIES!!! Now, I am not saying those are the most important part of the holiday season, but they are definitely the fun parts....hehehehe. Anywho, December is always the month when the big gun movies (and a few little gems) come out. This year is no different. I am so excited to see Up in the Air, Sherlock Holmes, and the much awaited Nine.

Nine is the next film in the "movie musical" franchise from director Rob Marshall. Now it has not yet opened, so I am basing this blog on pre-release photos, so Part Two of this blog will come out after I see it!! Not since the movie Chicago have we seen so many "A list" stars in one film. The men in this film are great (Daniel Day-Lewis, and Antonio Banderas), but it is the women that steal the show! Here are a few of the femme fetales you will see....Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard, Kate Hudson, and Fergie just to name a few. Not to mention the ever fabulous Dame Judi Dench and Hollywood legend Sophia Loren. I mean that silver screen is going to be on fire!

Ok, so the movie is going to be great, but what does this have to do with plastic surgery you ask?? Well, did I mention that these women are singing and dancing in lingere and small dance costumes?? That is enought to make many women run to their doctors begging for a nip and a tuck! BUT, this is Hollywood we are talking about, so most of these woman spend a great deal of time keeping their bodies in tip top shape 24/7, 365 days a year. All the woman look spectacular and that is not by chance. Everyones skin looks flawless and wrinkle free, which is probably a result of Botox and skin treatments like chemical peels and microdermabrasion. In addition to flawless skin there is zero sign of cellulite....I mean ZERO....again a result of major hours spent in the gym and a little help from the plastic surgeons. ;)

I can't wait to see this film and I can't wait to report back to you and tell you what I see and think. Until then have a Happy and Healthy Holiday Season.....and go see some movies!!! :)

Molegate

With all the buzz about Carrie On, the sequel to Sex and the City, it is not surprise to me that every gossip columnist across the country is taking a good look at the headliner. Seen below (left) in July 0f 2009 with a mole on her chin, SJP was spotted at a Yankee game a couple of months later where a reporter asked her if she had the mole removed and she, along with her rep denied any plastic surgery had taken place.

Now it looks like the Hollywood starlet has changed her tune. In fact, not only is she openly talking about her mole removal on David Letterman, she dishes that she wasn�t self conscious about the mole, she just opted on a whim to get the procedure done, �I didn�t object, I just didn�t care for it and I thought I have about six free days where I could be bloodied and scabbed and no one will care, and honestly I didn�t think a thing about it, and then apparently it turned into Molegate.�

We all know that anything affecting SJP�s face is probably going to be a trending topic on Twitter but what most people don�t know is that her brother-in-law is apparently a plastic surgeon.

Hmm I wonder if Cindy Crawford will follow suit?

Do you want to BURN that bra for good??

Yes, you read that right.....wouldn't it be amazing to never have to wear a bra again?? Well, that is what we woman might see in the near future. Apparently, an Israeli doctor by the name of Eyal Gur has invented a product that is called the Cup&Up.....cute name. This device is being marketed as a minimally invasive mastopexy (brest lift). As of now it is still in the "testing" phase of the development. A little funny side note....they are testing this product on pigs because their tissue most resembles human tissue. Can you imagine pigs running around with boobs...that is a LOL!!! Anyway, the MIM CEO Adi Cohen, released this statement further explaining how the device would work:

"We're trying to develop a method to replace those surgical procedures with minimally invasive kits.....What we've done is build a silicone bra, insert it into the body and attach it to the ribs and to the fascia. It's like a normal external bra where a strip lies on the shoulder and attaches around the body. We attach it to the ribs instead of to the shoulder, and to the fascia in the lower part of the body."

It seems like a great idea, but I just wonder what it would actually feel like inside the body. I mean don't you have days where no matter what you do your bra just feels uncomfortable and completely on your nerves? Maybe it is just me....hehehe. I think it might be a strange sensation never being able to remove this device. There are other concerns to consider as well, and I think only a small amount of patients would be a good candidate for such a product.

New products are always exciting and it is great to hear that doctors are always trying to up their game in aesthetic surgical procedures. For the time being though, the gold standard of breast lifts is the traditional mastopexy which gives the best and most custom result for all patients. I don't know about you but I can't wait to see what they think of next!!

Ps....I found this story on cocoperez.com :)

Life Imitates Art

I remember when the movie 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' came out I couldn't help but think how cool it would be to age backwards. Get the aches and pains, not to mention the wrinkles and sag, of old age out of the way first, and actually appreciate youth by the time it arrived. We don't know any better when we're young that smooth, wrinkle free skin that has yet to be worn down by the sun and gravity doesn't last forever. Or can it? Demi, Jada, the Jennifers, Sandra, and Courteney are just to name a few of the age defying beauties who seem to get younger with each passing year. The one thing we have to keep in mind is that since their twenties when most of these ladies were still "up and comers" who didn't have the bank accounts to take care of themselves the way they do now. Along with the 'millions per movie' salaries comes Botox, fillers, chemical peels, surgery...the sky is the limit for products & procedures that halt the aging process and in certain cases send it in the opposite direction creating real life Benjamin Button's. Look no further than Sandra Bullock who was shown aging backwards in a recent issue of People magazine. She is at the top of her game in her mid-forties having just won the Golden Globe for Best Actress for her amazing performance in The Blind Side. I think it is great, and long overdue, that talented actresses such as Sandra are able to land such coveted, lead roles at an older age than ever before. I've always bought into the old saying that money cannot buy happiness but I am fully convinced at this point that it can buy youth.

Rachel Then & Now

In the past week Rachel Uchitel has become both a household name & face for the second time in her life. The first time was sadly because of the loss of her fiance in the 9/11 attacks, and after going back to the land of obscurity she has resurfaced in the public eye as Tiger Woods mistress #1. This time around it is more than her face being photographed. You can't open a newspaper right now without coming across a bikini clad picture of Rachel. After carefully reviewing pictures from both 2001 and today, it is quite clear that her hair color is not the only thing that has changed since 9/11. Her breasts are significantly larger than they appeared on the famous New York Post cover seen all around the world eight years ago. I would bet as much money on the fact that she has had breast augmentation as I would on the likelihood of waking up tomorrow to Tiger mistresses ten, eleven, & twelve having come forward. She also appears to have fuller lips, most likely from a dermal filler such as Restylane or Juvederm. Her abs look fantastic and this might be from some serious hard work in the gym, body countouring with liposuction, or quite possibly a combination of the two. I have to hand it to you Rachel, your body looks amazing but I'm sure I speak for all the married ladies out there when I say...keep it away from our husbands!!

The New Feminism: Is Looking Good All that Bad?

In the above video, watch Dr. Jennifer Walden being interviewed by Neil Cavuto on Fox News. Dr. Walden discusses the proposed cosmetic surgery tax on working class women in the Senate Bill that is currently being debated.

An insightful article, Bo-Tax Backlash, was written this week in the New York Times by Judith Warner. Excerpts from it are below, as she describes a �newer� version of feminism that actually supports women trying to stay looking good. The reason being is that our society basically devalues aging of women in particular, and staying looking healthy and competitive can equate to more longevity and sustainability in the workplace for women which can lead to a better and more fulfilled quality of life for themselves and their children. Interestingly, we learn that the feminist icon Gloria Steinem herself has had a blepharoplasty, or eyelid lift. More power to her.

"The health care reform bill currently being debated in the Senate contains a provision known as the Bo-Tax � so called because it would levy a 5 percent tax on cosmetic surgery procedures. This would be in order to tax those who indulge in medically unnecessary procedures in order to pay for medical necessities for everyone else. The government is ill-equipped to be the ones to determine what surgical procedures are necessary or not for patients whom they don�t even know, and this would be a huge administrative burden to place on physicians, their staff, and government officials. See the article below:
This sounded like a refreshingly good idea to me, until I read that Terry O�Neill, the president of the National Organization for Women, is against it.
�Now they are going to put a tax on middle-aged women in a society that devalues them for being middle-aged?� she complained to The Times.
Could this possibly be the voice of NOW, the country�s premier women�s rights group?, I wondered. Could this be the same feminist movement that in 1968 filled a �Freedom Trash Can� outside the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City with bras, girdles and false eyelashes to protest the �ludicrous �beauty� standards we ourselves are conditioned to take seriously,� as Robin Morgan, an organizer of the protest, put it at the time?
Yes, standing up for the rights of middle-aged women to have access to cosmetic enhancement is part of the work of contemporary feminism, O�Neill told me this week. It�s the sorry consequence of a number of sorrier truths: The economy is terrible. Middle-aged women, many of whom reduced their working hours, limiting their earning power and ambition, when they had kids or, later, found themselves having to care for their parents, are in a particularly vulnerable spot these days, as they�re increasingly called upon to supplement or take over the lion�s share of family money-making. And any number of studies have shown that people with better (read: younger) looks have a better chance of getting a good job. Particularly women.
�I am 57 years old. I really sympathize with women who are out of the job market, wondering, will anyone even take me seriously?� O�Neill explained. �The women�s movement is not overly concerned with the more superficial aspect of clothing or beauty or fashion trends. The more important question is whether we are participating fully in the lives of our communities. And middle-aged women really aren�t. I know a lot of women whose earning power stalled out or kicked down as they entered into their 50s, unlike their male counterparts�, whose really went up.�
And now a lot of men are out of work. Which means that, in this economy, getting the old face and belly looking tighter may, for many middle-aged women, be as crucial as having an eye-catching r�sum�.
�I�ve met women who�ve had to lie their ages down as much as 20 years to get or keep jobs as everything from waitresses to high-level consultants,� Gloria Steinem, who herself had cosmetic eye surgery some decades ago, told me this week. �They gave up pensions and benefits because they couldn�t produce documents, and employers colluded because they saved money.�
How disfiguring it can be when reality bites.
We are constantly hearing about the different phases, themes, lives and deaths of feminism. First wave, second wave, �victim,� �raunch,� etc.
�Looks are the new feminism, an activism of aesthetics,� Alex Kuczynski wrote in the introduction to her 2006 book on America�s obsession with cosmetic surgery, �Beauty Junkies.� At first glance, this seems ridiculous. And yet it says something true enough about the way many younger women understand feminism at a time when organized, real-world activism has hit wall after wall of political impossibility. Sneaker ads teach that feminism is all about taking control � of your figure.
This is what happens when equal pay stalls, abortion rights wither, and attempts to improve child care and workplace flexibility die on the legislative vine year after year. Women�s empowerment becomes a matter of a tight face and a flat belly. You control what you can control. And so many middle-aged women feel particularly out of control now, as indeed they are, in these life plan-wrecking economic times.
�Bag-lady syndrome,� the fear many women have that their financial security will disappear in a heartbeat, leading them to live out their remaining years on the streets, is shockingly pervasive. In 2006, before the current economic crisis hit, 90 percent of women surveyed by a Minnesota life insurance company said they felt financially insecure; 46 percent of those women overall said they had a �tremendous fear of becoming a bag lady,� including 48 percent of those with an annual income of more than $100,000. These days, more women than men � following a recession in which the men, overwhelmingly, lost the jobs � report being significantly stressed about money.
The inner bag lady, wrinkle-faced and unkempt, is no joke. She�s the worst-case scenario future. And while it�s easy to point to her as an irrational creation of women�s overly self-doubting imaginations (how else to explain the fact that wealthy, successful women like Katie Couric, Lily Tomlin and Steinem herself have all admitted to carrying around the fear � long after it was even remotely rational � of finding themselves one day, in old age, out on the streets?), she points to something very real: women�s economic status in this country is not what it should be. Middle-aged women with families shouldn�t be so scared.
I wonder if we haven�t entered into a period of what should be called �adjustment� feminism. The women�s movement is having to adjust to the realities of life in our culture, where many of its basic goals � including the very basic liberation of women from their pop culture status as a �mindless-boob-girlie symbol,� to borrow a phrase again from Robin Morgan � have stalled or are even backsliding. This week, for example, not only brought a public statement by the head of NOW acknowledging that the fight to have women valued for their inner beauty is essentially a wash; it also found NOW in the very bizarre position of urging senators to preserve the dictates of the Hyde Amendment, which for over 30 years has guaranteed that Medicaid funds would not be used to pay for most abortions for poor women. The House of Representatives� recently-passed the Stupak amendment, which effectively prohibits both private health insurance plans participating in the future-envisioned insurance �exchange� and whatever public option may come into being, from offering abortion coverage to any woman, and the Stupak-like proposals currently circulating in the Senate are so much worse, after all. Hyde suddenly seems bearable.
Or maybe we should talk about having entered into the middle age of feminism � a moment when stock is taken, dreams are deferred and real life is faced in all its ugliness. Because to do otherwise is no longer youthfully idealistic, just foolhardy. Because you�ve got to hold onto what you�ve got, consolidate your gains and avoid potentially disastrous future losses.
With so much male unemployment, so much underemployment, so many people �lucky� to have jobs with reduced hours and benefits, women need good work options like never before. We need flexibility with security, options that will let us build wealth while taking sufficient care of our families.
Barring this, I guess we�ll go for eye lifts and Botox. "
(Source of article: Judith Warner of the New York Times)