Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder . The parameters of beauty also differ from one culture to another and also change with time and fashion. Ancient Indian sculptures and art depict women with full hemispherical breasts. Such breasts are still in vogue in India especially with women who prefer traditional saris other ethnic dresses. West in contrast has seen a lot of change in fashion –as related to breast size.
Breasts should be proportionate to woman’s body frame and built. The concept of 36-24-36 inches , though quite exaggerated, basically refers to breast size being equal to hips, with a significant narrower waist in between.
Breast size is commonly referred to in terms of cup size, B C and D cup sizes being most common. C cup is moderate and pleasant size for woman average built. B cup may look adequate on petite athletic women. A lot of western models are cup size B. D cup size breasts are full and look good on women of larger frame. A lot of Indian women seeking breast augmentation like D cup size, especially married women who have had children.
Younger, unmarried women tend to prefer smaller breasts.Woman’s body built is important because if the arms or tummy is bulky then breasts will have to be bigger to give the right profile. In thinner women relatively smaller size breasts will give the same look.
Ideal breast size is also determined by the lifestyle. Active sporty women like moderate sized breasts. Women who wear heavier clothing like saree want larger breasts . In contrast women who wear western clothes may prefer moderate size breasts. Women in entertainment industry prefer larger breast size.
Lot of women with breasts smaller or larger than average ,are perfectly satisfied with their size. Some women on the other hand are uncomfortable or embarrassed about their breast size. Sometimes their partners are dissatisfied. In such circumstances plastic surgical augmentation or reduction of breast can help women achieve what they desire.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
CAN PLASTIC SURGERY CHANGE ONE’S IDENTITY
You see it all the time in soaps and cinema. There you see someone who is changed completely, so much so that they live with their friends without being identified. You also hear of international criminals taking another identity reportedly with the help of plastic surgery in some unknown faraway countries. And do you believe this is possible?
Let us examine the facts one by one. Face is the most identifiable part of a person. What can plastic surgery do for the face? Plastic surgery is commonly performed to improve one’s features. Take the case of nose. Plastic surgery can turn a flat nose into a prominent one, a thick nose into a slender and shapely one, a very big nose into smaller one. This is done through concealed scars and no one can make it out. Some people have excessively large or small chin. With plastic surgery bone can be shaped and new bone or an implant can be added to give a pleasing look. People who have flat cheeks can get cheek implants done for better definition of face. Sunken cheeks can be made chubby by injecting fat into them which is sucked out from another part of [persons body with a syringe. If the cheeks are too chubby they can be reduced in size by removing a little fat through a cut inside the mouth. If the lips are too thick they can be reduced in size by cutting out a thin strip and if the lips are too thin they can be made thicker with certain filler injections or by filling them with one’s own tissue by surgery. In older individuals facelift surgery can remove loose skin and make one look 10 years younger. In middle aged people filler and fat injections can smoothen the face and botox injections can remove the wrinkles, making one look younger. The acne or pock marks on the face can be smoothened by dermabrasion surgery. Scars on the face can be removed or improved by plastic surgery. If the ears are shapeless or too big they can be fixed. Double chin can be corrected by sucking out fat. Bald head can grow hair with plastic surgery .
The shape of body can be changed markedly with plastic surgery. Liposuction surgery can remove fat from any part of body and can give an enviable figure. Shape and size of breasts can be changed by plastic surgery. A woman can have a Pamela Anderson look with breast implants . Silicone implants can be placed in buttocks to give them J Lo curves. Implants can be inserted in male chest and calves to give the appearance of bulging muscles. If there is a tattoo or scar anywhere, it can be removed.
People opting for sex change often go for plastic surgery to change from a feminine to musculine look or vice versa. Since they also change their clothing, hair and makeup they can be virtually unidentifiable.
Coming back to the million dollar question, can plastic surgery change one’s identity to the extent that even family and friends do not know? Plastic surgery is commonly done to improve the looks , correct deformities and reverse the signs of aging. After such a surgery person gets compliments that he looks better, or younger and most of the times people do not guess that this is because of plastic surgery. But what if person is already young and he or she has no significant deformity or imbalanced features which require plastic surgery. Theoretically it can still be done by abovementioned procedures but result is usually ugly. For example a beautiful nose can be made crooked .
Even if some of those changes are made person can still be identified by his friends and family due to his body language, voice, expressions , height etc. In other words it is possible in movies but not in real life. Also in real life no plastic surgeon will be willing to do such a job . It is completely unrealistic , unsustainable and sometimes downrightly illegal .It’s a great savior for some of the screen scripts though.
Let us examine the facts one by one. Face is the most identifiable part of a person. What can plastic surgery do for the face? Plastic surgery is commonly performed to improve one’s features. Take the case of nose. Plastic surgery can turn a flat nose into a prominent one, a thick nose into a slender and shapely one, a very big nose into smaller one. This is done through concealed scars and no one can make it out. Some people have excessively large or small chin. With plastic surgery bone can be shaped and new bone or an implant can be added to give a pleasing look. People who have flat cheeks can get cheek implants done for better definition of face. Sunken cheeks can be made chubby by injecting fat into them which is sucked out from another part of [persons body with a syringe. If the cheeks are too chubby they can be reduced in size by removing a little fat through a cut inside the mouth. If the lips are too thick they can be reduced in size by cutting out a thin strip and if the lips are too thin they can be made thicker with certain filler injections or by filling them with one’s own tissue by surgery. In older individuals facelift surgery can remove loose skin and make one look 10 years younger. In middle aged people filler and fat injections can smoothen the face and botox injections can remove the wrinkles, making one look younger. The acne or pock marks on the face can be smoothened by dermabrasion surgery. Scars on the face can be removed or improved by plastic surgery. If the ears are shapeless or too big they can be fixed. Double chin can be corrected by sucking out fat. Bald head can grow hair with plastic surgery .
The shape of body can be changed markedly with plastic surgery. Liposuction surgery can remove fat from any part of body and can give an enviable figure. Shape and size of breasts can be changed by plastic surgery. A woman can have a Pamela Anderson look with breast implants . Silicone implants can be placed in buttocks to give them J Lo curves. Implants can be inserted in male chest and calves to give the appearance of bulging muscles. If there is a tattoo or scar anywhere, it can be removed.
People opting for sex change often go for plastic surgery to change from a feminine to musculine look or vice versa. Since they also change their clothing, hair and makeup they can be virtually unidentifiable.
Coming back to the million dollar question, can plastic surgery change one’s identity to the extent that even family and friends do not know? Plastic surgery is commonly done to improve the looks , correct deformities and reverse the signs of aging. After such a surgery person gets compliments that he looks better, or younger and most of the times people do not guess that this is because of plastic surgery. But what if person is already young and he or she has no significant deformity or imbalanced features which require plastic surgery. Theoretically it can still be done by abovementioned procedures but result is usually ugly. For example a beautiful nose can be made crooked .
Even if some of those changes are made person can still be identified by his friends and family due to his body language, voice, expressions , height etc. In other words it is possible in movies but not in real life. Also in real life no plastic surgeon will be willing to do such a job . It is completely unrealistic , unsustainable and sometimes downrightly illegal .It’s a great savior for some of the screen scripts though.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Stretch marks: Can they be removed?
Pregnant women notice the stretch marks on their growing belly after 4th or 5th month. Stretch marks in adolescents and men are usually seen on a variety of body parts parts like abdomen, hips, thighs, chest ,breasts , shoulders and arms. People who are on a muscle building exercise program , and those who take supplements containing steroids , also tend to develop stretch marks.
Stretch marks are medically called’Striae”.The term stretch mark is misleading. Stretching of skin is not the real cause of these marks . Stretch marks are seen is thin individuals as well . When plastic surgeons actually stretch the skin 2-3 times its size during some surgeries like tissue expansion, stretch marks do not appear. When someone is suffers from Cushings disease ( excess steroid hormones) the body develops stretch marks. Stretch marks happen due to excess circulating steroid hormones in the body- like during pregnancy, vigorous exercise etc and also due to increased sensitivity of skin to those hormones. Indian women are more prone to develop stretch marks during pregnancy than their white skinned counterparts.
All stretch marks are not the same. Mild stretch marks are like faint scratches whereas severe stretch marks are as wide as half a centimeter and also deep. You can feel the thin papery skin at the bottom of a wide stretch mark. All stretch marks look pink initially but gradually turn pale white over next few months. Deep and wide stretch marks tend to look bluish due to visibility of blood vessels through the thinned out skin.
Variety of stretch mark creams containing cocoa butter, Vit E etc sell like hotcake because people are desperate to treat stretch marks. These creams provide moisture but do not really do much for stretch marks. So what is the alternative? How do some actresses continue to wear skimpy clothes even after pregnancies without a sign of stretch mark?
Certain vascular lasers like Pulse dye laser can lighten bright pink stretch marks to pale white. If the stretch marks are already pale vascular laser will not be of any use. Other treatments like chemical peels, microdermabrasion can slightly improve certain superficial stretch marks only. A lot of sittings over many months are needed and the results are unpredictable. Recently fractional laser has been used for treatment of stretch marks. Light stretch marks can be improved upto 50 percent . Like with most lasers 6-10 sitting are required at one month intervals. Cost of laser treatment of marks on lower abdomen can be 1-2 lakh(2000-4000USD) rupees.
The fact remains that the most common type of deep stretch marks on the abdomen , post pregnancy can not be treated by any of the above methods. Tummy tuck or abdominoplasty is a surgical option. Apart from stretch marks there is also loose skin and bulging abdomen after pregnancies, which is resistant to proper diet and exercise. All these issues can be tackled with tummy tuck, which involves removal of fat, tightening of muscles and removal of all the skin below naval . Abdomen ends up looking pretty much same as it did before pregnancies. Even if the marks are extensive and going above the naval, they can be shifted very low down. Downside of tummy tuck is a long scar. Fortunately this scar is placed very low near pubic hair and it can be cleverly hidden in bikinis and low waist jeans. Cost of tummy tuck in India is Rs and 75000-1.5 lakhs( USD 1600-3000) upwards depending on gepgraphical location and surgeon.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Liposuction for weight reduction
I am a plastic surgeon. A lot of people who are overweight approach me everyday for getting a good body shape by liposuction. Those who are within 10 percent of their ideal body weight( for example if ideal weight for someone is 60 kilos and he weighs 66 kilos or less) are ideal candidates . Thats because their fat is usually localized in one or two body parts, like belly, thighs hips or arms .By removing a limited quantity of fat- say 5-6 kilos from those specific parts I can give them nearly perfect figure ,without compromising their safety . But quite often patients are really obese and want to reduce 10-20 or even 30 kilos by liposuction. This is a different scenario altogeather.
Lets first briefly consider few facts about liposuction. Liposuction is a plastic surgery procedure wherein fat from any body part can be extracted in liquid form through multiple tiny( 4 mm) cuts. Since procedure takes 1-4 hours to perform depending on the amount of fat and number of body parts treated- it is performed under some kind of anaesthesia inside a fully equipped operation theatre. There are no stitches but in every other way it is a major surgery with risks of surgery and anaesthesia. There is a healing time and period of rest involved.
People often ask if liposuction is safe? My answer is- yes it is , if done within safe limits. Liposuction involves removal of fat but invariably some amount of blood is mixed in the fat. By using tumescent technique blood loss can be minimized but can not be completely eliminated. Just like in case of blood donation where 300 ml blood can be safely donated by a healthy person , liposuction if done under strict quality conditions fat equivalent to 5-7 percent of person's body weight( 7 kilos for person weighing 100 kg) can be removed safely in one sitting.
People who are fat all over and 30-40 kgs overweight sometimes ask for liposuction , to reduce weight primarily. There are several problems in this scenario.First of all reducing a lot of fat like 10 kgs or more is risky, involves blood transfusions, long operating time and more dose of anaesthesia drugs. This risk though small is not justified just for losing weight which can be done in healthier and safer weighs. Results of liposuction are also inferior in large volume liposuctions due to surgeon working hastily and getting tired instead of doing a fine sculpting job. Irregularities and asymmetries are common after large volume liposuctions .
Then there is the question of long term maintenance of results. If patient says he is obese because he can not diet and has no time for exercise , I ask him how he is going to maintain the results? Fat gain is related to more calorie consumption relative to calorie burning. Weight can be regained if same lifestyle is faulty.
In a moderately overweight person removal of fat from one or 2 areas of body 5-7 kilos in a sitting can result in a great figure with safety. One can opt for another sitting after 2-3 months gap if more fat from another are needs to be removed. Very obese people( BMI 35 and above ),for example a person of height 5'3" weighing 100 kilos do not get appreciable improvement in one sitting unless they accept higher risk of high volume liposuction.
For such people I first of all want to know if their weight has been stable in last 6 months. There is no point wasting efforts on person who is still gaining weight because liposuction is not going to stop further weight gain. For obese people who have started healthy diet and moderate regular exercise and who have stopped gaining weight- liposuction can sometimes serve as a kickstart for weight loss . After removal of 5-7 kilos of fat from tummy or thighs often person feels more comfortable exercising and feels motivated to lose weight by further efforts of his/her own.The psychological barrier is broken . After some weight loss on his own person can then reward himself with another sitting of liposuction if needed. This approach takes care of weight loss safely with higher chances of long term maintenance, that the shortcut, quickfix method of large volume liposuctions .
Lets first briefly consider few facts about liposuction. Liposuction is a plastic surgery procedure wherein fat from any body part can be extracted in liquid form through multiple tiny( 4 mm) cuts. Since procedure takes 1-4 hours to perform depending on the amount of fat and number of body parts treated- it is performed under some kind of anaesthesia inside a fully equipped operation theatre. There are no stitches but in every other way it is a major surgery with risks of surgery and anaesthesia. There is a healing time and period of rest involved.
People often ask if liposuction is safe? My answer is- yes it is , if done within safe limits. Liposuction involves removal of fat but invariably some amount of blood is mixed in the fat. By using tumescent technique blood loss can be minimized but can not be completely eliminated. Just like in case of blood donation where 300 ml blood can be safely donated by a healthy person , liposuction if done under strict quality conditions fat equivalent to 5-7 percent of person's body weight( 7 kilos for person weighing 100 kg) can be removed safely in one sitting.
People who are fat all over and 30-40 kgs overweight sometimes ask for liposuction , to reduce weight primarily. There are several problems in this scenario.First of all reducing a lot of fat like 10 kgs or more is risky, involves blood transfusions, long operating time and more dose of anaesthesia drugs. This risk though small is not justified just for losing weight which can be done in healthier and safer weighs. Results of liposuction are also inferior in large volume liposuctions due to surgeon working hastily and getting tired instead of doing a fine sculpting job. Irregularities and asymmetries are common after large volume liposuctions .
Then there is the question of long term maintenance of results. If patient says he is obese because he can not diet and has no time for exercise , I ask him how he is going to maintain the results? Fat gain is related to more calorie consumption relative to calorie burning. Weight can be regained if same lifestyle is faulty.
In a moderately overweight person removal of fat from one or 2 areas of body 5-7 kilos in a sitting can result in a great figure with safety. One can opt for another sitting after 2-3 months gap if more fat from another are needs to be removed. Very obese people( BMI 35 and above ),for example a person of height 5'3" weighing 100 kilos do not get appreciable improvement in one sitting unless they accept higher risk of high volume liposuction.
For such people I first of all want to know if their weight has been stable in last 6 months. There is no point wasting efforts on person who is still gaining weight because liposuction is not going to stop further weight gain. For obese people who have started healthy diet and moderate regular exercise and who have stopped gaining weight- liposuction can sometimes serve as a kickstart for weight loss . After removal of 5-7 kilos of fat from tummy or thighs often person feels more comfortable exercising and feels motivated to lose weight by further efforts of his/her own.The psychological barrier is broken . After some weight loss on his own person can then reward himself with another sitting of liposuction if needed. This approach takes care of weight loss safely with higher chances of long term maintenance, that the shortcut, quickfix method of large volume liposuctions .
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