• $500 off Breast Augmentation
• $1000 off Mommy Makeover
• $500 off Natural Uplift for Face and Neck
• $150 rebate on Dysport – some restrictions apply
• Buy 2cc of Restylane and get one area of Dysport Free

These specials are good through September 30, 2010

Improperly fitting bra

According to one study, roughly 80 % of all women are wearing the wrong bra size. As strange as that may seem, it’s true. One of the most common issues that most women have when wearing a bra is that they choose a bra that lacks adequate support.  Improper bra support can affect a woman’s comfort, appearance and also lead to health issues down the line, including ptosis, stretch marks, chronic back pain and even headaches.

No two breasts are exactly the same so the concept of one size fits all is not applicable in bra choice, so when selecting a bra a woman needs to make sure the bra is properly fitted and is worn correctly.

Improperly fitting bra side profile

Some of the visible signs of an improperly fitting bra include:

• Marks on the shoulders, sometimes red and irritated as a result of the bra straps.
• Protruding breast tissue over the top of the bra, this is also known as double bump syndrome or muffin top.
• The bra does not touch the sternum or breast bone.
• The breast are sagging and look tired.
• The bra strap in the back raises up which reduces the frontal support of the bra.
• The shoulders are slunching forward.
• The breast move around and swing side to side or up and down with minimal movement.
• Breast tissue is protruding over the sides of the bra

If a woman suffers any of these symptoms most likely she is wearing the wrong bra size or is improperly wearing her bra altogether.

How then is a bra supposed to be worn?

• A bra needs to provide lift, support and comfort.
• A bra needs to reduce or prevent neck back and shoulder pain.
• A bra needs to improve the posture of the wearer.
• A bra needs to provide healthier circulation around the breast.
• A bra needs to make your clothes fit properly.

When in doubt get fitted by a bra specialist.  This is especially important for women who have undergone recent breast augmentation.  An augmented breast presents itself to enhance the appearance of a woman’s body yet at the same time can be a cause of continual adjustment and discomfort if the bra cup is the wrong size or the bra itself does not adequately support the breast.

How do you know if a bra really fits you?

When a properly fitted bra is put on it will seem like you don’t even notice it – forgetting that it’s even on.  The support band at the bottom should wrap around the body without pulling on the back and the straps should not pull on the front of the breasts.  The bra straps should be snug but should not be carrying the weight of the breast themselves, the bra band should be supporting the breasts.  One easy way to check this is to slide the straps off the shoulders onto her arms and see if the bra continues to support the breasts.  The breasts may sag slightly but the overall support of the breast should remain steady and provide plenty of support to the breasts.

The bra cup should fit snugly against the breast without any gaps.  If gaps are present, then this is an indication that the cup size is too big for the breast.  There should also be no double bubble or breast protruding over the top of the bra or sides of the bra, this would indicate that the bra is too small.  The bra should also be touching the sternum and not gap.

If the bra uses an underwire support, it should not poke or protrude the wearer of the bra at any time.

An excellent example of how to properly measure yourself prior to choosing a bra was produced in this video from HerRoom.

A mother deserves as much after investing her entire resources to her children and making unlimited self sacrifices for their development. However, what if she could take exceptional care and herself as well? Mothers have more options now than ever to reverse the affects of child birth and aging. Combined with breast augmentation, liposuction and or tummy tuck, can renew a mother to her pre-childbearing shape.

To learn more about Mommy Makeovers in the Inland Empire contact Face and Body Cosmetic Surgery today.

Besides choosing either a silicone or saline implant, one of the biggest decisions is the placement of the implant itself, since this will determine the way the breast will project itself after the surgery. Placing the breast implant above the muscle or sub-glandular, produces a more rounded, fuller on top look, which even though looks less natural, many women prefer.

Sub-Glandular Breast Implant Placement

Some of the benefits of a sub-glandular implant placement are:

• Produces a round augmented look in the patient
• The implants are placed inside the breast tissue – which is an advantage to the surgeon
• Less recovery time post-operatively since only skin and breast tissue are cut and displaced and not muscle.
• The ability to place oversized implants – which some women want.

Some of the disadvantages to the sub-glandular approach to breast implant augmentation are:

• Interference with ease of mammograms.
• Visible signs of the implant itself from showing through the skin – this is common for women with thin breast skin.
• Rippling of the implant when bending over.
• Increased chance of getting a capsular contraction.
• Increased rate of implant migration and losing the inframammary fold or breast crease.
• Increase probability of ptosis or the snoopy dog syndrome. This is where the breast nipple points down ward.

Sub-Muscular Breast Implant Placement

Some of the advantages of the sub-muscular approach to breast augmentation include:

• Minimizing the loss of the inframammary fold or migration of the breast implant.
• Less likely to produce ptosis
• Produces a more natural shaped look.
• Less chance of ripping or breast implant from showing through the skin.
• Lower capsular contracture rate since the implant does not come in contact with the milk glands.
• Low interference with mammograms.
• Good internal support for the breast implant.

Disadvantages of the sub-muscular approach to breast augmentation:

• Difficulty in mastering the technique by the physician – not all surgeons use this technique.
• Discomfort with the muscle post-operatively
• Longer time for recovery.

Most skilled surgeons prefer the sub-glandular approach to breast augmentation for a multitude of reasons as described here, however, it is important to get multiple opinions and do your research to determine for yourself what is best for you before scheduling your surgery.

A few facts about breast augmentation.

Breast augmentation is one of the most popular elective cosmetic surgeries performed in the US today with over 350 thousand women going under the knife in 2008 to have this procedure performed. Breast augmentation, using implants, has been around for roughly over 40 years now. However, it didn’t really become popular until the 1980′s. Early use of silicone filled breast implants resulted in having them banned for use in the US in 1992. This was due to complaints of breast implant rupture, leaking and other issues. However, saline implants continued to be used through this time up until silicone implants were re-approved by the FDA in 2008. The leading manufacturers of breast implants, Allergan and Mentor both spent many years funding independent studies and redeveloping new silicone breast implant technologies. The new cohesive silicone gels will not bleed out of it’s casing even in the unlikeliness that the implant ruptures or tears.

Mentor Cohesive Silicone Gel Implant

Silicone breast implants have found a new popularity as many women are choosing to have revision surgery and replace their saline filled implants with silicone implants. Silicone breast implants offer many benefits over saline implants, which include the following:

• Mimic natural breast tissue better resulting in a more natural look.
• Weigh less than saline implants – reducing the chances of ptosis and breast droopiness.
• Silicone breast implants typically perform better than saline breast implants reducing breast wrinkling and distortion

Why Breast Augmentation?

One of the primary reasons for the popularity of this procedure is due to women’s dissatisfaction with their breast size and shape. Social stigmas of small breasted women also may play into the perception that bigger breasts can make women happier by making them more attractive which increases their self-esteem. Women who choose to have breast augmentation need to consider many things.

How big do I want to be?

• Implant size is determined by its volume, projection, and base diameter of the implant.
• Skin laxity can determine probability for maximum augmented breast size.

What type of implant do I want?

• Silicone
• Saline

Surgery Options

What type of incision do I want performed?

• Inframammary – under fold of breast
• Transaxillary – in armpit
• Periareolar – around breast nipple
• Transumbilical – through belly button, saline implant only – not commonly performed

Implant type will often determine incision choice.

Most surgeon’s have their incision preference and are willing to discuss your options in your consultation prior to having surgery. Saline implants require a smaller incision since they are not inflated with saline until they are placed surgically inside the breast cavity.

Where will the breast implant be placed?

• Above the muscle (sub glandular)
• Below the muscle (sub muscular)

The placement can determine how the newly augmented breast will look. Breast implants placed below the muscle gives a more fuller projection on top.

There are many things to consider before undergoing breast augmentation and choosing the right surgeon is the most important part. Carefully, consider the credentials of the surgeon and seek out multiple opinions before scheduling your surgery.

Studies have shown that in most cases women should still be able to breast feed, once their babies are born, after undergoing breast augmentation. However, there are exceptions. Those women who underwent breast augmentation using the periareolar technique, (where the incision is placed under the periareolar nipple), suffer a higher risk of not being able to breast feed their babies than those that have a transaxillary, inframammary or bellybutton incision procedure instead.

Furthermore, the placement of the breast implant, either silicone gel or saline filled, below the pectoralis muscle may also be recommended. However, even when the placement of the implant is subglandular, breast feeding is not necessarily compromised.

Other concerns women have is for infant safety. With over a decade of extensive studies on breast augmentation there has been no measurable risks to infants, from breast feeding, after the procedure.

The one downside to having breast augmentation, prior to having children, is the increased chance to develop ptosis (sagging breasts), since a woman’s breast size increases during and after a pregnancy.

If you have more concerns or questions prior to getting pregnant, it is better to understand all the risks that breast augmentation can cause following surgery.

If you live in the Inland Empire, contact Dr. Park and Dr. Sorosky today for your free breast augmentation consultation or call (909) 981-8985.

Mommy Makeover Results

There are many surgical procedures that are available to turn back the clock and help a woman regain her pre-childbirth appearance.  This is known as a “Mommy Makover,” which include the following procedures:

Tummy Tuck Results Photo

Tummy Tuck: A tummy tuck, or abdominoplasty, is a procedure that removes the excess skin and fat caused by muscle stretching and skin laxity as a result of childbirth.  A surgeon will carefully make an incision, usually below the bikini line, and cut away the excessive skin and fat.  They may also need to tighten up the abdomino-muscles with sutures as well as recreate the belly button since it is often removed in the procedure.  Recovery times can vary per person, however, expect at least a week or two down time with up to six weeks recover before feeling completely back to normal.  Women who are in a better physical condition usually have a shorter recovery time than those that don’t.  Click here to learn more about a tummy tuck abdominoplasty.

Liposuction: Liposuction is the process of using a small cannula, inserted past the dermis of the skin that sucks out and removes localized deposits of fat.

Liposuction Results Photo

• Tumescent Liposuction, uses large volumes of natural saline solution combined with diluted lidocaine and adrenaline which is injected into the fatty tissue.  The tumesent technique allows for a smaller cannula to remove the fat – and reduces the amount of bruising and bleeding.
• Hydroliposculpture, uses a combination of fluid injection liposuction in conjunction with a specifically designed flexible ultrasonic cannula.  This type of procedure is most known for being the most gentle.  Unfortunately, many surgeons prefer not to use this method because it requires the use of two different liposuction systems simultaneously.
• Ultrasonic Liposuction utilizes a high frequency vibrating cannula to loosen and melt the localized fat deposits.  First and second generation ultrasonic liposuction equipment suffered from producing too much heat as a result of inadequate cooling for the device.  This often resulted in “cooking” the surrounding tissue causing a whole host of problems including nerve damage.
• Laser Assisted Liposuction, is the newest form of liposuction.  It uses a small focused laser with low energy waves to melt and break up the localized fat deposits.  This method  requires less recovery time for the patient and produces the smallest scar.

Dr. Park and Dr. Sorosky can help you determine what type of liposuction would be best for you.  To learn more about liposuction click here.

Breast Augmentation Results

Breast Augmentation: In some cases women may desire to have breast augmentation or a breast lift (mastopexy) with their Mommy Makover to regain their pre-childbirth figure. There are many options for women who desire breast augmentation.  Women have the option to request saline or silicone gel implants, size, shape, placement of the implant and even incision.  These choices are best saved after personal research and a consultation with your surgeon since every women is different with regards to her own body and personal goals.  To learn more about breast augmentation click here.

Dr. Sorosky and Dr. Park are experts in Mommy Makeovers and would be happy to consult with you on your many options to achieve your goals.

This new technique, pioneered in Japan, results in breasts that look and feel smoother than conventional cosmetic surgery using implants. This is because the stem cells enable the fat to grow its own blood supply, thus becoming an integral part of the breast rather than a foreign lump.

Stem cells have the potential to change into any cells in the body. They are found in most tissues, especially fat.

Dozens of women in Japan have received the breast enlargements during trials. Last week German medical authorities gave approval to the process. Under Brussels rules, this means that the procedure is now legal throughout the European Union, including Britain.

Doctors here said last week they found the technique appealing?. The technique’s long-term effectiveness without side effects still needs further tests, but doctors are already enthusiastic.

I’m newly convinced, said Venkat Ramakrishnan, a specialist in plastic and reconstructive surgery at Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust.  A lot more people have to use it and prove it, but it does seem to have something to it.?

In addition to cosmetic breast enlargements, which 26,000 women in Britain underwent last year, the procedure can be used for rebuilding breasts after cancer surgery and to repair facial disfigurements.

In a further variation of the technique, a Spanish hospital last week treated a patient with fat-derived stem cells to repair a severely damaged heart.

Both types of treatment rely on a process developed by Cytori, a Californian firm, for extracting adipose tissue and concentrating its stem cells. It has mechanised the process so that procedures which used to take weeks can be done in hours.

Much stem cell research has been directed at finding therapies for diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, motor neurone and muscular wasting.

The use of the cells for cosmetic breast surgery was begun in 2004 by Kotaro Yoshimura, a surgeon at Tokyo University medical school. He said last week:  I believe that within five years my procedure will be available as plastic surgery and that it will prove very popular. 

Scientists and doctors are starting to believe that the best clues to curing and improving our bodies are inside our bodies in the form of stem cells, said Cynthia Fox, author of Cell of Cells, a new book about the worldwide race to master stem cell technology.

Breast augmentation is cosmetic but these cells have the potential to treat diseases ranging from cancer to Alzheimer’s.

Yoshimura said last week he had had “no major problems” with the 39 women to whom he had so far administered the treatment. He has also used it to grow new tissue on the faces of three people with disfigurements.

He claims his technique has advantages over, for example, silicon and water implants which can leak. In addition, some 50% of implants that use plain fat without the stem cells “boost”die. This is usually caused by the fat losing blood supply when it is transplanted from the patient’s buttocks or thighs.

The process used by Yoshimura, Cytori and others involves extracting twice as much fat as is required for the implant. Half is treated to separate out the stem cells. These are then added back into the remaining fat to be injected into the breast in a series of treatments.

Some stem cells form more fat and others develop into a living blood supply for the new tissue which can grow into the surrounding breast.

The main drawback is that the stem cell implant gives only half the extra volume of new breast compared with conventional enhancements 150 cubic cm per side compared with 300 cubic cm for implants. Another limitation is that thin patients may not have enough spare fat.

Eva Weiler-Mithoff, a consultant at Canniesburn hospital in Glasgow, said the technique offered particular benefits for patients needing reconstructive surgery after having mastectomies.

“The most distressing effect of radiotherapy is that the blood vessels shrivel up,” she said.  ”Stem cells can differentiate into new blood vessels, which could mean that more fat cells will survive.”

After bearing children, it is extremely difficult to regain your pre-pregnant figure. Some of the post-pregnant effects are stretch marks on the abdomen, laxity of the stomach muscles, or even loose hanging skin below the belly-button. Your small-framed figure still exists, but is disguised underneath the excess skin and fatty tissue. Likewise, the breasts over time have sagged and lost volume after having children and breastfeeding. Sometimes there are saddlebags around the thighs, and even bags under your eyes that may make you appear tired.

After working so hard on your career and your family, it’s time to give yourself the confidence and respect you deserve. You deserve to match your outward appearance with the youthful, attractive person you are deep down inside. The most common procedures performed on mothers after having children are breast lifts (mastopexy) with or without implants and tummy tucks (abdominoplasty). Often times, these two procedures are combined so as to undergo one recovery and one anesthesia. Dr. Park has performed many of these combined procedures, and if the breast only needs to be augmented (with the combined approach), he can place the implants through the abdominoplasty wound to avoid any scars on the breast. Usually daily activity can be resumed after recovering for approximately 2 weeks, but full recovery may take up to 4 to 6 weeks.

The result of a combined breast lift/augmentation and tummy tuck is an overall rejuvenation of the body rewarding the modern woman. Restoring the breast shape via an uplift will fill out clothing better, while the tummy tuck will often result in a decrease in multiple dress sizes. Mothers reward yourself and give yourself the attention and confidence that you rightfully derserve.