Numerous media outlets, including our own LA Times, have run stories in recent weeks about the boom in male cosmetic surgery procedures. Different experts posit different causes, from the general aging of the population to a rise in younger management icons like Mark Zuckerberg. Whatever the case, there is no question that the “other half” of America is awakening to the many benefits of plastic surgery:

While the number of cosmetic surgical procedures performed in the U.S. increased just 1% from 2010 to 2011, the number of males getting liposuction and eyelid surgeries is on the rise. More than 41,000 lipoplasty procedures and almost 23,000 eyelid surgeries were performed on men in 2011, increasing 14% and 6%, respectively.

As a Los Angeles facial cosmetic surgeon, I can vouch for these numbers anecdotally. Men are coming into my office at the Otosurgical Group in increasing numbers, and increasingly leaving happy with the natural results they see.

If you are interested in a blepharoplasty, mentoplasty, otoplasty, or even a noninvasive procedure such as Los Angeles Ultherapy, I invite you to contact my offices for a free consultation today.

Long considered a mystery in origin and etiology, migraine headaches leave some 36 million Americans utterly incapacitated each the year – sometimes for days or even weeks at a time. Some doctors began to notice a few years ago that certain noninvasive cosmetic procedures such as BOTOX occasionally relieved these headaches as a collateral benefit.

As the science caught up with the findings, facial cosmetic surgeons began to zero in on various anatomical causes of migraine pain, including obstructions and pressure on various nerves. As the procedures improved, so did the outcomes. Here’s the Boston Globe:

A study published in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in 2009 — led by Guyuron and submitted by Case Western Reserve University, the American Migraine Center, and the Center for Headache and Pain, Cleveland Clinic — found that just under 85 percent of patients who underwent the nerve decompression surgery reported at least a 50 percent reduction in migraine, calculating pain, frequency, and duration.

Nearly 60 percent (28 of 49 patients) reported a complete elimination of pain. This compared with only 1 of 26 patients who had a sham surgery, in which the surgery was limited to exposure of the nerve but muscle and attachments were left intact. Reported side effects included forehead numbness, temporary hair loss and itching, a slight hollowing of the temple, and small change in eyebrow movement.

Encouraging results, and no doubt a harbinger of future advances in facial cosmetic surgery procedures. Want to speak with an expert on plastic surgery right here in LA? Contact my offices for a free consultation today.

1. The beauty factor

Reason one is without question the simplest of all: Los Angeles Ultherapy works. By stimulating the growth of natural collagen in your face, Ulthera ultrasound therapy helps to fill out wrinkles and restore vitality – all without the use of any synthetic fillers or implants. No approach on the planet looks quite so natural and effortless.

2. Safety first

Ultherapy uses nothing more complex than ultrasound waves – the same sonic flow that OBs use to check on a growing baby. This gentle approach means there are no knives, no incisions, and no bandages, helping to speed your recovery time and to minimize the risks associated with cosmetic surgery.

3. The price is right

Let’s just say it: noninvasive facial cosmetic surgery is booming these days in part because the economy is not. Outpatient procedures tend to be far less expensive than their surgical counterparts, and in most cases the results are nearly interchangeable. For many patients, this is a win-win, and a trade worth making.

4. Press love letters

I have written before about the glowing reviews that Ultherapy has received in the press, including video segments on shows such as 20/20, The View and Martha Stewart. Seeing Ultherapy in action is a genuinely starting experience: the results are prompt and beautiful, and the patients are invariably astonished.

5. LA on the edge

The Los Angeles Ultherapy boom is better established than you will find in other cities because that’s LA: we are perennially on the cutting edge of the latest cosmetic trends and procedures. I am proud to say my office was one of the first to introduce LA Ultherapy to patients, and that I continue to perform every procedure myself.

6. The friend factor

Finally Ultherapy has become the subject of an explosion of anecdotal raves, including some of the testimonials on my own site. People just love the procedure and want to tell their friends, and we have all learned that there is no force quite as powerful as social media.

Want to schedule your own free consultation for an Ulthera procedure today? Contact my LA facial cosmetic surgery offices for more information.

The video package was great fun to do, and the issues it raises were on point: chin surgery can be subtle and effective, giving your face a more defined shape without creating an artificial appearance.  The risks are indeed minimal, and these can be mitigated safely by sticking with a more experienced, board-certified Los Angeles facial cosmetic surgeon.

Check out the video below, and contact my offices for a free mentoplasty consultation today!

One recent article from Baltimore includes a Q&A with a fellow surgeon at my alma mater – John Hopkins University. He is quick to point out that different facial structures, skin types, and indicators for general and mental health must be considered. He also rightly pegs the optimal age for a rhinoplasty:

A good rule of thumb for girls is 15 years of age or older, and for boys 17 years of age or older.

The reason is that these are the ages when the face is largely done developing, so a trained cosmetic surgeon could do the work without bumping up against the question mark of continuing changes in the face.

The other major emphasis of the article is that parents and their kids must maintain a realistic expectation for what is to come, including the various changes they can expect in their emotional lives. Properly prepared and executed rhinoplasty should look and feel natural most of all, and should help to maintain open airways and a lifetime free of complications.

If you want to speak with an expert on Los Angeles rhinoplasty today, please don’t hesitate to contact my LA cosmetic surgery offices for a free consultation.

As you can see in the segment above, Martha’s a fan.  “Very enticing,” was her reaction, and of course I tend to agree.

Ultherapy uses ultrasound waves to lift and tighten the internal tissues of the face and stimulate production of your own natural collagen.  If you want to learn more about the extraordinary results and superior convenience of this procedure, I invite you to read more on my website, or to contact us today for a free consultation.

We are the experts in Los Angeles Ultherapy.

Both shows trumpeted the primary benefits of Ulthera® treatment – its simplicity, safety, and quick recovery time.  And both pointed out that Ultherapy® stimulates the body to create its own natural and organic collagen – without injections, fillers, or any chemicals whatsoever.

This against the backdrop of a year in which minimally invasive cosmetic surgery has undergone a boom here in Los Angeles and beyond.  It seems the improving economy has sent many Americans back to their plastic surgeons, but the slow pace of our recovery has especially favored some of the most affordable treatments we have – cosmetic fillers and Ultherapy® primary among them.

If you’re looking for expert L.A. Ultherapy® administered by an experienced Los Angeles facial cosmetic surgeon, my office is without question the city’s leader in this advanced technique.  Please contact us today to set up a free consultation.

The number of surgical procedures rose 2 percent to 1.58 million in 2011, according to data from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. It’s the second year in a row that cosmetic operations increased by 2 percent.

This is not surprising when you consider that cosmetic surgery can be something of a luxury item – a gift to oneself to enhance confidence and comfort.  As Americans’ financial confidence grows, many want their personal confidence to rise in lockstep.  Sometimes a rhinoplasty is just the thing.

Interestingly, the most successful category of American cosmetic surgery continues to be minimally invasive procedures such as BOTOX®, Ultherapy® and cosmetic fillers.  Because these are quick, safe, and inexpensive, they often represent an ideal way to find beauty on a budget.  Back to the article:

How many times was Botox injected for cosmetic purposes last year? Try 5.67 million, up 5 percent from 2010. Back in 2000, Botox was used about three-quarter of a million times.

Then there’s the No. 2 category: “soft tissue fillers” (fat, collagen and a bunch of other products) to plump up lips, cheeks and fill creases and lines. Those procedures were up 7 percent to 1.89 million.

I am proud to offer the very latest cosmetic surgery technologies here in Los Angeles and across the Southland.  To set up a consultation today, please contact my LA plastic surgery offices here.

As the article explains, nonspecialists putting patients under the knife is a problem with potentially wide-ranging repercussions, from danger to the patients to the significant expenses associated with corrective surgeries.

From the NYT:

“The public needs to be protected from doctors who are not upfront about what board certifications they have,” said Dr. Malcolm Z. Roth, chief of plastic surgery at the Albany Medical Center in Albany and president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

What can you do to ensure your surgeon has devoted years of training to the specific procedure at hand?  Don’t be afraid to ask questions, of course.  Always check your surgeon’s credentials.  And never, ever look “outside the box” when it comes to essential surgery of the face and neck.

To learn more about safer plastic surgery, please don’t hesitate to contact my L.A. cosmetic surgery offices today.

That’s pretty much right.  Ulthera®  ultrasound therapy works with extremely low-dose energy to prod your body into producing its own natural collagen.  The effects are long-lasting and the drawbacks minimal; this is fast and easy cosmetic enhancement that leaves no lasting scars or discomfort.

I have been at the forefront of the Los Angeles Ultherapy movement since day one, and today my practice continues to garner acclaim for its safe and precise approach to this extraordinary technology.  Want to learn more?  Please contact us today for a free consultation.

Recently the San Francisco Chronicle caught up with a new trend I am seeing increasingly often in my practice: lobe stretchers who want to undo the damage of such youthful habits.  Los Angeles ear surgery like this typically requires removing the dangling flesh and resculpting the existing lobe to create a more conventional look.

The effect can be exceptionally hard to detect: patients often tell me their employers, partners, and friends have no idea they ever engaged in such an exaggerated form of “body hacking.”  Rave reviews like these are encouraging for those of us who believe cosmetic surgery works best when you can keep your options open.

In other words: it’s music to my ears.

As the TODAY show reported, a growing number of married couples are opting to “stay young” as a team, undergoing similar minimally invasive cosmetic procedures under the same roof.  The report focused in particular on one couple, and summed up their journey thusly:

Three months later, Ira and Robert Almeas are delighted with the results of their joint cosmetic procedures. “I think it’s a great experience to grow younger together,” Ira Almeas says. “We feel a little bit more refreshed, a little bit more energy, and it’s just another part of our life together that we’re sharing.”

Of course some couples might have complementary goals instead – BOTOX® for one, say, and Ultherapy® for the other.  Whatever the case, I applaud the notion that cosmetic procedures should be stripped of their stigma and shared openly, especially in a good and healthy marriage.

Want to schedule your appointment today?  Contact my Los Angeles cosmetic surgery offices for a free consultation.

As many of you know, I take great pride in offering my patients the very highest standard of cosmetic surgery.  My offices in beautiful Century City are staffed by an expert group of technicians and medical assistants, and our home in the LaPeer Surgery Center is widely renowned for its cutting edge technologies.  Whether you are looking for a minimally invasive cosmetic procedure like Ultherapy® or Botox®, or something more advanced like a rhinoplasty, otoplasty, or facelift, my staff and I are always available to offer superlative care before, during and after your procedure.

Thank you to everyone who voted for this kind honor.  I will do my best to make 2012 another great year for my patients and their families!

Happy New Year,

Carlo

Several recent news stories have picked up the trend, including this recent post on the Huffington Post.  The piece is one of the few to zero in on the intersection of economics and facial plastic surgery, namely that people tend to choose faster and less expensive procedures when times are tight.  As the article puts it:

A study by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery found that a majority of respondents who were affected by the economy were going to delay plastic surgery for one or more years. It is likely that this trend will continue as long as the economic slump does — people think that, with noninvasive treatments, they are getting more “bang” for their buck.

But are they?  The answer is yes and no.  There is no question that minimally invasive procedures such as BOTOX®, Ultherapy®, and cosmetic fillers can enhance your appearance without long recovery times.  But it’s also true that these procedures are rarely permanent: for deeper, lasting structural changes, traditional cosmetic surgery is still the best choice out there.

Which option is right for you?  To make a free appointment for a consultation at my world-renowned Los Angeles plastic surgery offices, please don’t hesitate to make contact today.

The statistics are remarkable:

Cosmetic surgery is not covered by national health insurance, making it difficult to determine the exact size of the industry. A survey last year by the Seoul city government found that 31.5 percent of residents 15 or older were willing to undergo surgery to improve their looks. In 2007 the percentage was 21.5.

In a 2009 survey by the market research firm Trend Monitor, one of every five women in Seoul between the ages of 19 and 49 said they had undergone plastic surgery.

The article goes on to detail the extraordinary fact that despite such widespread acceptance of cosmetic surgery, it was only recently that anyone felt comfortable talking about their own “work” in a public forum:

“It used to be all hush-hush when mothers brought their daughters in for a face-lift before taking them to match-makers,” said Dr. Park Sang-hoon, head of ID Hospital. “Now young women go plastic surgery shopping around here.”

Now, reasonable people might disagree about whether this is a positive or a negative development.  I am generally of the mind that cosmetic surgery is a personal decision, and that any stigma associated with enhancing your appearance should be replaced by understanding and acceptance.  That said, these numbers do feel unusually high, even to an experienced Los Angeles cosmetic surgeon like me.

Feel free to add your comments below.  I look forward to engaging my patients and colleagues about these developments in the months ahead.

To those who have asked me what I think about the ethics of performing elective plastic surgery on such a young patient, I say: it depends.  Of course I don’t personally know the child or family in question, nor have I spoken directly with the surgeon who performed the “nose job” surgery.  That said, as a father, my heart goes out reflexively to victims of cyberbullying to matter what age or gender, and this story certainly sounds extreme enough to warrant an extraordinary response.

It is worth noting as well that the girl in this news story had apparently broken her nose multiple times, so the surgery was also reconstructive in nature, rather than just cosmetic.  Either way, rhinoplasty is widely considered safe enough that families can make such decisions without worrying about any lasting health consequences.

The only true question in every case of cosmetic surgery is what is appropriate for the patient and that patient’s family.  In this case it sounds like this decision wasn’t taken lightly, and the procedure resulted in a tremendous sense of freedom and relief for everyone involved.  I call that a job well done.

LATISSE™ is hugely popular because of its simplicity.  Unlike true surgical procedures, LATISSE™ is a topical application that you brush onto your lashes to achieve greater growth.  The results can be astonishing – thicker, fuller, completely natural lashes that persist for several months.  Because this is a topical application, you don’t have to worry about anesthesia or many of the side effects that are normally associated with Los Angeles facial plastic surgery.

Botox® remains a perennial favorite for its ease as well.  Just a few safe injections can smooth wrinkles and ease the ravages of time in a matter of minutes – no anesthesia required.  When applied carefully in the presence of an experienced cosmetic surgeon, Botox® can also help you to achieve truly subtle effects that naturally mimic the contours of your own youthful face.

Ulthera™ is the latest blockbuster to gain a following in Los Angeles and beyond.  This procedure is also non-invasive, using simple ultrasound waves to tighten the musculature of the face and reduce wrinkles, sagging, and sallows.  I have been recognized as a pioneer in proper Ultherapy™ treatments since this revolutionary procedure first gained FDA acceptance, and today my cosmetic surgical center performs several Ultherapy™ procedures each week.

Getting married is all about creating flawless memories.  If you would like the day and the pictures to shine indefinitely, I invite you to contact my Los Angeles facial cosmetic surgery offices for a free consultation today.

Laura Seitz, Deseret News

Another week, another truly touching story about otoplasty, or ear-pinning surgery.  In this case a 5-year-old boy who was being teased mercilessly was referred to a program that offered the life-changing procedure.  The family talked it over, and the child became excited at the prospect of ridding his life of the torment and discomfort of protruding ears.  The procedure took two just hours, but the benefits will last a lifetime.

Otoplasty is best performed during youth because that is when the cartilage is most able to be shaped, sculpted, or re-positioned.  Although some people might object to operating on such a young child, I can say from my experience that the benefits often far outweigh any stigmas associated with elective cosmetic surgery.  Just like with braces, Los Angeles otoplasty is designed to be corrective without being transformative – your child will enter and exit the procedure with the same face, the same personality, and the same prognosis for growth.  It is the bullying that really changes.

If you want  to learn more about my exceptional Los Angeles otoplasty team, please don’t hesitate to contact our facial plastic surgery offices today.

Many Los Angeles residents will know this practice – it is routinely recognized for its extraordinarily high standard of service.  As founder and friend Dr. Naz Tofigh describes it, her work exists at the intersection “where art meets science.”  Thirty-2’s team of experienced and well-credentialed dental professionals make every visit a seamless affair, placing a premium on flawless results.

My expertise in cosmetic surgery is a nice complement to the dental work at Thirty-2, and helps to act as the foundation for some of their more involved procedures.  I invite my readers to visit me at Thirty-2 Dentistry – or you may always schedule a free consultation through my Los Angeles cosmetic surgery offices.

The easiest way to understand what a browlift does is by trying the following experiment: stand in front of a mirror, place your hands above your eyebrows, and gently lift upward. That’s it – a smoother surface, more open eyes, and a younger look overall. There is no need to pull hard or create new lines in your face – a forehead lift, when properly done, is as subtle as it is effective.

The procedure is a simple one. Tiny incisions are created behind the hairline via endoscopic tools, so the tissues of your forehead can be gently lifted and sutured into place without any visible scars. Recovery is quick as well – generally on the order of a couple weeks, following which you may resume all your normal activities. And of course the final effect is permanent, and the compliments come free.

If you would like to schedule a free consultation to discuss how a browlift could fit into your life, please don’t hesitate to contact my expert Los Angeles facial cosmetic surgery offices today.