Having undergone over 30 plastic surgeries, Hershey suffered her first complication during her most recent breast augmentation procedure when a severe staph infection reached both of her breasts, reports Fox News in Houston.

Hershey, who lives in Houston, has had to give herself infusions of intravenous antibiotics every 12 hours to fight the infection. She said her surgeon told her she should be concerned for her life because the infection could leak into her bloodstream. According to her website www.sheylahershey.net, she is currently undergoing treatment.

Is this type of complication common after breast surgery?

Dr. Michael Will, who performs breast augmentation and breast implant repairs in Frederick County, Maryland at his Ijamsville office, says that “infection related to breast augmentation is rare, and when encountered, the implants frequently need to be removed and replaced at a later date.”

He also stressed the importance of a thorough consultation with your doctor before undergoing breast surgery:

Breast augmentation procedures should be preceded by a comprehensive consultation between the cosmetic surgeon and the patient, where the patient’s concerns and expectations are discussed in relation to the patient’s breast and chest wall anatomy.

An effective evaluation and treatment plan should result in a post-operative outcome that reaches a balance between the patient’s expectations and the surgeon’s surgical and anatomical limitations to yield an esthetic and healthy outcome. When the surgical tissue tension and stress exceed the capacity for normal healing, wound breakdown and infection often develop.

Dr. Frenzel specializes in breast augmentation surgery and spent a year in a specialized cosmetic surgery fellowship to learn the art of aesthetic breast surgery, including breast augmentation.

Project Beauty home page

Project Beauty, a new consumer website, claims to be the “video site that answers all your beauty questions.”

The goal behind the new site is to “cut through the clutter,” acknowledging that there is already plenty of information out there on beauty topics.  Project Beauty aims to be the singular online source for all things beauty. They’re bringing together experts on a range of topics including the latest trends in fashion, beauty treatment options, skin care, makeup, hair, nutrition and dieting, and cosmetic surgery.

Project Beauty is a web.tv, video on demand website almost two years in development and “extensively tested by consumers interested in plastic surgery, health and wellness topics,” according to ASAPS. It will be updated on a weekly basis and features a “who’s who” list of experts on fashion, makeup, and skincare as well as news and first person stories on all things related to aesthetic surgery.

Videos include a teenager who shares her reasons for getting rhinoplasty; a step-by-step guide to applying daytime makeup; and a dentist who shares why he got a facelift.

To kickoff the launch of Project Beauty, the site is hosting a month-long giveaway contest called “30 Days of Beauty.” Each day from July 6, 2010 to August 4, 2010, Project Beauty will offer one prize (prizes include a Sonicare toothbrush; Mederma Stretch Marks Therapy; and SmashBox cosmetics) per day. To win, you have to join the Project Beauty Community and enter daily to win the prize of the day. Participants can score a fabulous product every day for a month.

Project Beauty also launched a social media campaign on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. To join the Project Beauty community, sign up at www.projectbeauty.com.

A study from 2009 (recently published online) examines this latter category by analyzing pre and post-operative photographs from patients who underwent liposuction and fat transplantation into the buttocks – a procedure known as the Brazilian Butt Lift.

To analyze perceptions of female attractiveness, male and female subjects from four different geographical areas (or societies) were asked to complete a questionnaire referencing 20 before and after photos of patients who had undergone enhancement with the Brazilian Butt Lift.  In all post-operative photographs, patients showed a reduced Waist-to-Hip ratio without a significant change in body mass index.

“All four populations tested judged postoperative photographs to be significantly more attractive,” wrote authors of the study.

What’s interesting about these results is not simply that post-operative photographs were judged as more attractive; it’s the cross-cultural element, which lends objectiveness to the entire process.  A similar preference for low Waist-Hip ratio was demonstrated, regardless of the ethnic and socioeconomic differences present in the study participants.

You can read this study, “Cross-cultural consensus for waist-hip ratio and women’s attractiveness” through sciencedirect.com

Unfortunately, some male patients feel embarrassed to investigate the procedure. A man who documented his tummy tuck online writes that he perceived a “stigma or shame associated with male tummy tucks,” that made him hesitate to inquire about the operation.  If you’re researching a tummy tuck, know that surgeons should be able to offer advice specific to your gender.

A male member of the realself.com forum asks about skin laxity on his abdomen due to weight loss:

I’m dealing with loose skin after a 50 lbs weight loss in my teens. I’ve totally transformed and I’m very athletic with well-defined abs, but have laxity mostly below the navel and around the lower back. The problem areas are very localized and I hide it under the belt line with no one suspecting I was obese. But I feel “unfinished.” The front skin is very thin and hangs, the back is mostly smooth. Is there a tummy tuck technique that would excise the abdominal skin and provide modest tightening in the lower back?

Washington DC plastic surgeon Chris Hess MD responds: “Even though we tend to have better skin tone than women, we can still end up with excess skin due to skin memory. It sounds like you could undergo a mild excision of the excess tissue–less than a mini tummy tuck.”

Some cases aren’t so simple. When a man has experienced a greater weight reduction, the full tummy tuck may be recommended. “Do not hesitate to use a full abdominoplasty for a male patient with extreme skin laxity; men tend to heal better than women after abdominoplasty,” advises Oklahoma cosmetic surgeon Angelo Cuzalina.

Others agree: a comprehensive approach may be necessary for a large number of men. Dr. Alan Matarasso, scientific editor of Aesthetic Surgery Journal discusses the procedure in Cosmetic Surgery Times: he says “you really need to treat men circumferentially, all the way around, because if you ask most men what bothers them, it’s the ‘love handles,’ and that goes all the way around to the back.”

For men, tummy tuck surgery might be discussed less frequently, but it is clear that cosmetic surgeons perform it on a regular basis. If you think you might be a good candidate, ignore any perceived “stigma” and ask a surgeon for the information you need.

• Tummy tuck surgery in Dallas, Texas

People who undergo liposuction aren’t necessarily overweight – many are in good physical condition.  The problem is, a shift occurs at a certain age that affects weight fluctuations, and it leaves you with stubborn areas of fat (people in the industry call them “fat deposits” or “pockets”) that don’t respond to conventional body slimming methods.

There are several relatively new liposuction techniques being performed that are making the procedure easier and more effective than ever.

• VASER Ultrasonic liposuction emulsifies fat for precise, easy removal.
• Laser liposuction ‘melts’ fat before suctioning it out.
• Tumescent liposuction involves the injection of lidocaine and adrenaline into the tissue.

Some of the newer platforms may not be as effective as advertised, nor as effective as traditional liposuction.  Contact us to learn more about what liposuction techniques and devices we employ in our Dallas surgery practice.