Liposuction is the surgical process of removing unwanted fat through small incisions and using an instrument called a cannula. Popular areas for fat removal include; abdomen, hips, upper and lower back, upper arms, and thighs. Fat transfer is the process of taking the removed fat and injecting it through a very small needle into the areas where volume is desired. A great majority of patients choose to have fat transfer to their face at the Pacific Center for Plastic Surgery in Newport Beach, Ca. This is typically the case when patients have lost volume due to aging or weight loss. Fat can be injected in the cheeks, lower eyes, upper eyes, forehead, temple, nasal labial folds, and even in areas around the mouth. The result is a more youthful appearance and improved quality of the skin. Dr. Horowitz and Dr. Nichter are both seeing a growing demand in Newport Beach, CA. of fat transfer to the breasts, buttocks, and even the hands. To determine if you are a candidate for these procedures, it is important to meet with a qualified, board certified plastic surgeon, who has experience performing both liposuction and fat transfer. Please visit our website Pacific Center for Plastic Surgery to learn more about these procedures or to schedule a complimentary consultation in our Newport Beach office.

Science has certainly made tremendous advances in treatments for aging skin targeted at wrinkles and brown spots. An issue that is still a struggle for most is keeping the skin firm and toned. Many women love the way their faces look in their thirties. This is because they are noticing a loss of volume, which gives a more contoured shape to the face. The problem is that this volume continues to decrease with time and causes the skin to lose elasticity and youthful glow.

The most important step in preventing aging is to find ways to continue collagen production, which is the key factor in maintaining a youthful appearance. Collagen starts to deteriorate in your thirties, along with elastin, which gives your skin its resilience and bounce. Key factors in this diminishment are sun damage and decreasing estrogen levels. In addition, our muscles and bones start to atrophy, which adds to the aging process.

Our staff at the Pacific Center for Plastic Surgery in Newport Beach, CA have gathered some effective DIY tips for turning back the clock.

Sag-Proof Your Skin

• Apply a minimum SPF 30 every single day. Re-apply at least once during the day. We recommend EltaMD Sun Care Products. You can purchase these products at Pacific Center for Plastic Surgery in Newport Beach, CA. We also recommend buying a powder sunscreen w/brush applicator, so you can easily apply throughout the day even over your make-up. One of our favorites is by iS Clinical
• Don’t smoke. Smoking cuts off oxygen to your skin, ruins collagen and elastin, and lowers estrogen levels.
• Cut down on alcoholic beverages. Limit to 1 or 2 drinks once or twice per week. Alcohol increases insulin levels, which creates inflammation and can accelerate sag.
• Use Retinoids and Peptides nightly. Proven to increase collagen production and help with cellular turnover. Use the strongest retinoid your skin can tolerate. Prescription grade will have higher strengths than over-the-counter products. If using it every night is too irritating, try every other day until your skin adjusts.
• Exfoliate. This is like “exercise” for your skin. Removing surface layers of dead cells, shocks the skin into production of new cells, which helps stimulate new collagen production. Exfoliating also allows your products to penetrate more easily. A great exfoliation tool is the Clarisonic. Available at most beauty stores.
• Healthy food choices. Some research shows you might be able to use what you eat to help fight against sagging skin. Start by adding the following into your diet: soy or soy-based products, cold-water fish (salmon is a good choice), foods rich in vitamin A (carrots, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, dried apriocots) and vitamin C (citrus fruits, tomatoes, and broccoli). Adding other antioxidant rich food, such as olive oil, fruits, spinach and other leafy greens, will help fight free-radicals, which harm your skins cells and contribute to wrinkles and sagging.

No matter where you are in the aging process, following these guidelines will provide a healthy environment for your skin to thrive in. For some, following the above regimen alone may not be enough, and more aggressive treatment may be necessary to improve existing wrinkles or sagging. Visit Pacific Center for Plastic Surgery for suggestions on non-surgical and surgical options to help you “Love Your Looks.”

Located right off the MacArthur and Jamboree in Newport Beach, the new office for Pacific Center for Plastic Surgery is in prime location, next to the freeway (405 and 73), Fashion Island, the John Wayne Airport and beautiful Hotels for those patients that are traveling in. Now, we truly can say that this luxurious private practice, Pacific Center for Plastic Surgery, is the destination plastic surgery center in Orange County, CA.

You can also sign up to attend our Grand Opening Celebration for June 22.

Follow this link for more details and to register:

http://pacificcenterplasticsurgery.com/grand-opening/

Dr. Larry Nichter receives honor for his dedication to education on RealSelf, the world’s largest consumer source for cosmetic surgery information.

Newport Beach – Dr. Larry Nichter has been named one of 100 doctors to be included in the RealSelf 100, out of more than 5,000 Board-Certified plastic surgeons, dermatologists and licensed cosmetic dentists. The award from RealSelf, the world’s largest consumer source for cosmetic surgery information is granted to Dr. Nichter for his commitment to ensuring millions of consumers make informed decisions about cosmetic procedures.

Dr. Nichter is a plastic surgeon at the Pacific Center for Plastic Surgery in Orange County, California. He is one of few surgeons to be named in all three peer review publications: Top Doctors, Super Doctors, and Best Doctors. He is also Chairman of the Department of Plastic Surgery at Hoag Hospital, Newport Beach, and is the president and founder of the Plasticos Foundation.

Through participation on RealSelf, Dr. Nichter is helping prospective patients make confident decisions about cosmetic procedures they are researching. He has consistently earned top reviews from patients on RealSelf.com.

In addition, Dr. Nichter offers his professional expertise to the RealSelf community, having answered more than 1,600 questions for free since joining RealSelf last year.

Liz started her effort on Reddit with the modest goal of buying pizzas for stranded runners and those who were housing them, expecting just a few responses. Requests for pizza did come, but it was the response from Redditors living outside of Boston that started the Random Acts of Pizza phenomenon.

In less than 45 minutes, hundreds of people from all over the U.S. and Canada were offering to send pizza.

With help from fellow Redditors, Liz found herself coordinating the huge effort to send pizzas to people in homes and hospitals, as well as police and fire departments. The staff of Anytime Pizza, a pizzeria in Cambridge, Mass., worked until their supplies were exhausted, making and delivering hundreds of pizzas.

Read more: Huffington Post

Actual patient

Gynecomastia (male breast development) has a negative effect on the self-esteem and emotional health of adolescent boys, according to new research published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the medical journal published by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

Gynecomastia is the enlargement of breast tissue in males, and is a common occurence among adolescent boys. The development of feminine breasts for boys this age is usually benign in itself (although it may indicate other underlying issues), but it is a significant source of psychological distress for teenagers.

The study involved giving psychological tests to a group of forty-seven healthy boys (average age 16.5 years) who had gynecomastia. Their results were compared against a group of similar boys who did not have breast enlargement.

Significantly more of the boys with gynecomastia were overweight compared with the control group (64% vs. 41%, respectively), which was expected because gynecomastia can associated with being overweight. The researchers attributed this difference to the fact that boys with gynecomastia scored lower on tests for physical health.

The negative effects of gynecomastia alone appeared after the researchers adjusted the scores to account for the effect of BMI (Body Mass Index) on the tests.

Actual patient.

After this adjustment, lower scores on tests for self-esteem, social functioning, and mental health seemed to correlate with gynecomastia rather than body weight.

Gynecomastia in adolescent boys often resolves over time, however the enlargement of breast tissue can persist in about eight percent of these patients. Many boys with gynecomastia can largely correct the problem by losing weight.

However, many boys cannot reduce gynecomastia through simple weight loss—for example, boys with glandular enlargement of the breasts. Furthermore, even boys who lose weight to reduce gynecomastia may still have excess skin in the breast area.

Fortunately, plastic surgery procedures that reduce or eliminate gynecomastia are widely available and have been in use for a long time. These procedures are very low-risk and have a high rate of success and patient satisfaction. It should be noted that a gynecomastia patient is much more likely to have an excellent surgical outcome if he chooses a plastic surgeon who is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.

This particular study focused on the psychological effects of gynecomastia in adolescent boys, but it is generally accepted that the growth of breast tissue has negative mental and social implications for men of any age. Other causes of gynecomastia can include aging, tumors, hypogonadism, hyperthyroidism, and malnutrition.

Plastic surgery to eliminate gynecomastia is therefore more than a cosmetic procedure for many boys and men: it is greatly beneficial to their self-esteem and emotional well-being.

Dr. Jed Horowitz and Dr. Larry Nichter of the Pacific Center for Plastic Surgery are both members of the ASPS, the surgical society that published the research this month. Our doctors are highly experienced in treating gynecomastia. For more information on gynecomastia and plastic surgery solutions, please vist our gynecomastia page.

Source: American Society of Plastic Surgeons

Dr. Larry Nichter and the Plasticos Foundation have been featured in an article on the Boston University website.

The article highlighted Plasticos Foundation’s work in Laos, and in particular the story of a 14-year-old girl who was able to walk again thanks to the team’s efforts. Importantly, the article described how disfigurements and birth defects often lead to social exclusion. Thus the Plasticos team’s work improves not only the patient’s physical well-being but gives them a new life by providing them with social acceptance.

The featured trip was on January 2009, and provided 95 patients with much-needed reconstructive surgery. However, this is just one of many Plasticos missions. Previous and subsequent missions have included Cuba, India, Armenia, and Cambodia.

Also emphasized in the article was the Plasticos Foundation’s “teach a man to fish” philosophy. The team not only performs surgeries but also trains local doctors and nurses to continue this work even after the Plasticos team has left. Dr. Nichter is quoted in the article:

When I went back to Vietnam, for instance, I asked someone I trained three years previously how many cleft lips he had done, and he said, ‘Oh, about a thousand.’ He performed more in three years than I’ll probably do in my lifetime. That is humbling and gratifying.”

The full text of the article is available on Boston University’s website.

More information on the Plasticos Foundation is available on its website.

The study from Germany took place over the course of a year and involved:

• 544 patients who had undergone aesthetic surgery
• 264 people who had considered aesthetic surgery but did not go through with it
• 1000 individuals from the general population who never had interest in aesthetic surgery

The researchers first assessed the mental health of these different groups. They found that aesthetic surgery patients did not significantly differ from the other groups in terms of their psychological well-being—they were not more depressive or dissatisfied than the control groups. The researchers also employed tests which showed that most of the patients had realistic goals and expectations. (It should be noted that patients with more serious body dysmorphia are precluded from undergoing plastic surgery and thus could not be subjects in this study.)

In follow-up examinations after three, six, and twelve months, the patients who opted for surgery showed significant improvements in their mental and emotional well-being. Specifically, researchers noted positive changes in areas such as “anxiety, social phobia, depression, body dysmorphia, goal attainment, quality of life, life satisfaction, attractiveness, mental and physical health, well-being, self-efficacy and self-esteem.” These changes were observed in contrast with the group of subjects who had decided against aesthetic surgery.

Importantly, the research also did not indicate negative psychological outcomes from plastic surgery.

At the Pacific Center for Plastic Surgery, your total well being is just as important to us as your surgical result. Dr. Larry Nichter and Dr. Jed Horowitz put great emphasis on building realistic expectations with their patients, as this lays the foundation for greater satisfaction and self-image after plastic surgery.

Caramelized Onions

So tasty, yet so simple to make. Mix them in with mashed potatoes for a different spin on an old classic or try it on top of a hamburger. They keep well in the fridge and impress dinner guests. What more could you ask for?

Ingredients

• 2 ½ lbs thinly sliced onions
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tbsp butter
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tsp sugar

Directions

1. Melt the butter in the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat
2. Add onions ¼ teaspoon of salt and pepper each and cook while stirring constantly until the onions soften. This takes about 5 minutes.
3. Add the sugar, stir, and allow to cook while scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pan frequently until the onions are golden brown; 20 minutes.

Sun-dried Tomatoes

These tasty morsels liven up any dish. Try them in dips, sandwiches, soups, and of course pasta. Small, but mighty, sundried tomatoes won’t disappoint.

Most major grocery stores and specialty markets carry this ingredient.

Citrus Zest

Adding zest from a lemon, lime, orange, and even grapefruit can brighten up the flavor dressings, icing, or marinades that taste kind of flat. This works out better for you than buying “lemon” or any other citrus extract or flavoring that contain many artificial ingredients and additives. Nothing beats the real thing.