Plastic Surgery in Seniors creates a Tempest

Marie Kolstad, an 83-year-old widowed property manager, created quite a buzz when she underwent a three-hour breast lift with implants to the tune of $8,000. The New York Times features her photo in “Golden Years, Polished With Surgery,” August 8, 2011. Kolstad’s comment, “I want my children to be proud of what I look like,” has set off a tempest among readers who claim that children should love you for what you are, including every wrinkle and age spot.

According to the New York Times, “Ms. Kolstad is one of many septuagenarians, octogenarians and even nonagenarians who are burnishing their golden years with help from the plastic surgeon. According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, in 2010 there were 84,685 surgical procedures among patients age 65 and older. They included 26,635 face-lifts; 24,783 cosmetic eyelid operations; 6,469 liposuctions; 5,874 breast reductions; 3,875 forehead lifts; 3,339 breast lifts and 2,414 breast augmentations.”

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SOURCE: The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

More Men Getting Plastic Surgery (Though They're Not Likely to Talk About It)

More and more men are willing to have a little nip and tuck to improve the way they look and feel, but many of them aren't quite ready to let the world know about it.

"Even though cosmetic surgery procedures are on the rise in men and some don't mind sharing their experiences, overall most men will not and choose to be more discreet," said Mayo Clinic Florida plastic surgeon Sarvam TerKonda, who also serves as medical director of Mayo's Breast Center.

Cosmetic surgery has always been more popular with women patients than with men, but according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, the demand for plastic surgery procedures increased nearly 9 percent in 2010, with men accounting for 8 percent of the total.

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SOURCE: Jacksonville

Study Compares Injectables Aimed at Reducing Wrinkles

According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, more than 2.4 million people got injectables of Botox or Dysport last year to reduce fine lines on the face.

For the past decade, Botox, which is a version of botulinum toxin type A that temporarily weakens or paralyzes muscles that cause wrinkles, has been the most popular cosmetic nonsurgical procedure.

However, a new version of the drug, called Dysport, was recently found to deliver better results in some cases.
A study conducted by scientists at the University of California San Francisco and published in the Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery compared the effectiveness of the two injectables in reducing the appearance of crow's feet, or the small wrinkles that are common around the eye area.

For the so-called "split face" study, 90 volunteers had Botox injections on one side of their face and Dysport injections on the other. After one month, 67 percent of those who received the injections said that the Dysport side of their face looked better.

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SOURCE: ASAPS