Plastic Surgery – A Sign of Recovery?

When nations start to recover from wars or poverty, guess what one of the leading indicators are?

More jobs? Certainly. More new cars sold? Maybe. People getting more cosmetic plastic surgery? Without doubt!

On March 21st, the Associated Press circulated a story worldwide telling how plastic surgeons in Iraq are now being overwhelmed by patients wanting nose jobs, Botox, liposuction and more.

(Read more about the new demand for plastic surgery in Iraq.)

Because plastic surgeons are also trained in reconstructive surgery, those same doctors had been busy treating scars, burns and poorly healed wounds.

But, guess what? Cosmetic plastic surgery has been a harbinger of better times before.

Take Afghanistan, for instance. At war since the late 70s or under the thumb of oppressive rulers, things started getting better in 2005, with allied nations chasing the Taliban and Al-Qaeda into the distant hills.

Then, relative peace, security and prosperity came to the larger Afghan cities like Kabul, its capitol.

The opening of the Hamkar Surgical Clinic, the first Afghan cosmetic surgery clinic in the nation, made headlines worldwide. People there also wanted breast augmentations, eyelid lifts, nose jobs and removal of facial wrinkles.

On the other side of the globe, in China, prosperous times mean that more people are now asking about – and having – much more cosmetic plastic surgery.

According to China Daily, plastic surgery procedures in Beijing have doubled this year, with the typical patient being young, shapely and determined to stay that way.

China also was the first to hold a beauty contest just for women who have had cosmetic plastic surgery. The idea was triggered when a Chinese woman spent about $13,000 on cosmetic surgery only to be disqualified from the contest because she had breast implants and a face lift.

Yet another emerging economy, Hungary, also organized a similar contest. (Read more in our post about Miss Plastic Surgery.)

As of 2004, about $2.4 billion was spent on rejuvenation surgery in China. That amount has probably doubled to come close to the $10 billion that Americans spent on cosmetic plastic surgery in 2009.

Not foreseeing the Great Depression in America, President Hoover promised a continuing time of prosperity as “a chicken in every pot”.

So will newer politicians in nations emerging from hard times now promise “a lift on every face” as the yard stick for measuring good times?

Facial Plastic Surgery Study on Artefill

The permanent filler Artefill has lead a strange life, at least in the U.S.

Although the facial filler has been used in Europe since the mid-1990s where it has produced results that last ten years, Artefill hit the world of American plastic surgery and more or less went over like a screen door in a submarine.

Approved in 2007 for plumping out the nasolabial lines those deep, age-revealing folds that run from the corner of the nose to the corner of the mouth. Plastic surgeons often call those same lines, the “smile lines” (even though those who have them don’t smile about it!)

But in 2008, the maker, Artes Medical, went under. Good-bye Artefill!

It could have been due to the cost of the facial filler – about $5000 for treating the average middle age face – or the fact that it is permanent. Artefill, injected just under the skin, pushes those folds up because it contains ultra tiny beads of a material known by the tongue-twisting name polymethylmethacrylate, (or PMMA) and is chemically related to Plexiglas. That makes it permanent – there is no way to reverse the procedure if you don’t like it.

But, hello! It’s back and now owned by Suneva Medical who picked up Artefill’s option in 2009.

According to RealSelf.com, 16 actual unbiased cosmetic surgery patients reported their Artefill procedure say the average cost of their facial plastic surgery with the stuff was $1819. Moreover, 63 percent said it was worth it.

A Florida dermatologist on a research grant provided by Suneva Medical used and tested Artefill on 14 patients to correct their acne scars. Results? 93 percent of the study group, aged 24 to 69 said they would do the procedure again and recommend it to others.

A Los Angeles board certified plastic surgeon uses Artefill in non-surgical nose jobs. The filler disguises bumps, raises low nasal bridges and lifts a drooping tip. The surgeon also uses Artefill for chin and cheek augmentation, something that formerly was only done by invasive surgery in which implants were used.

One of the first uses of ArteFill was treating facial wasting in HIV patients. Normal aging can also cause loss of fat tissue in the face so Artefill is also being used to fill in hollow areas, like under the eyes.

Tip: make sure your surgeon is very skilled with a needle and performs facial filling often, at least once every week.

Fewer requests for preferred plastic surgeons

The surgeon will probably start looking excuses show the door to potential patient. (Relative to the best: plastic cosmetic surgeons make the appearance of the best version of you as possible!).

But there is another often heard things Council requests may not go well. Here are the five first:

1. Doc, I am 65 and search again to 20! Of course, plastic surgery facilitates the return of a clock, but ten years is about it you are very happy if you are looking for less than 15 years after surgery. Asking for half and three decades is unrealistic.

2. Bother checking my cholesterol level! Sorry, plastic cosmetic surgery is only for those who are healthy enough to undergo a cirug穩a.Necesitar獺 a physician in California and some other Estados.Si you are close to 50, the surgeon may require a physical even if your country is not.

3. Liposuction because I do not like nutrition or exercise! Any good plastic surgeon salt sentencing say liposuction is a medium weight control, not a way of losing spots.