This time, it’s Solange Magnano, mother to 7-year-old twins and Miss Argentina in 1994. She died this past Sunday from complications arising during a gluteoplasty. She wanted a nicer backside, so she went for a “bum lift,” but she never had a chance to show off her new body. Her death follows the deaths of other women, including celebrities who died after cosmetic surgery. Most recently, Donda West, mother to Kanye West, died during such a procedure. In Canada, Micheline Charest, co-founder of the Cinar animation house, died at age 51, while having a face lift and breast enlargement.

What People Forget

Cosmetic surgery has long been thought of as a simple, risk-free procedure, but all surgery has risk, be it the seemingly simple injection of Botox to a full reshaping of the body (breast, butt, face, etc). These risks include scarring, reactions to anesthetic, blood clots, clots to the lungs (pulmonary embolism), even death, like what happened to Ms Magnano.

Other complications are particular to cosmetic procedures. They include:

An accumulation of clear fluid beneath the incision (seroma), which may need to be drained

A collection of blood beneath the closed incision (hematoma), which may have to be removed

Skin breakdown — a separation from healthy skin caused by poor blood circulation, particularly if you smoke

Bleeding requiring a transfusion

Infection at the site of surgery, which may require additional surgery and lead to bigger scars            (source: MayoClinic.com)

Plastic surgery has its place. There are people every day who are born with severe disfigurements or become disfigured because of accidents or illness. Plastic surgery can help a person breathe properly again or look “presentable,” so he or she can go out in public without being stared at. Plastic surgery can help heal a person and good plastic surgeons change lives. But cosmetic surgery to firm up a butt, to lift breasts, to try to achieve the perfect body, is it worth leaving behind your children – to have them go motherless?

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Post from: Healthbolt

Venezuala has the honor (?) of holding the most international beauty pageant winners in the world. The women are known for their beauty – but a lot of that beauty is created, not natural. Of course, this isn’t unusual, cosmetic surgery to enlarge breasts, “fix” eyes, remove sags, and to make other so-called improvements aren’t unusual, even in the beauty pageant world. But it seems that Venezuala may have the corner on the market when it comes to expectations that the women will have surgery to be as beautiful as possible, whether they can afford it or not.

Women feel that the surgery is so important that they’ll do just about anything to finance their procedure be it using credit cards or even downsizing their home. The need for cosmetic surgery is so pervasive that families begin talking about it at a young age and some surgeries, like breast enhancements are even considered a right of passage. A plastic surgeon quoted in this article, Using your plastic for plastic surgery.., says that three or four out of every seven Venezualan women have breast augmentation.

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Image: PhotoXpress.com

Post from: Healthbolt

There were 18 contestants and they had to prove that they had had cosmetic surgery to be eligible; Botox and other types of injections were not considered. While the type of surgery didn’t matter, the majority of the women did have breast enlargements. Others had nose jobs. One had her toes operated on.

The winners and prizes?

The women weren’t the only ones to receive prizes – their plastic surgeons did too. Among the women though, the winner received an apartment in Budapest, the first runner-up a new car, and the second runner up the equivalent of 10,800 dollars (U.S.).

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Image: PhotoXpress.com

Post from: Healthbolt

Well, you’re in luck. These days, all you have to do is go online and have virtual plastic surgery.

Once, these type on online applications were only available at the plastic surgeons office. But now anyone can use them anywhere.

Simply upload a photo at FaceTouchUp.com and then drag the cursor around to reshape and contour the nose. Then, with the help of viewing tools, you can compare the before and after photos to see what difference a ‘nose job’ would make.

But why stop at the nose. You can also make cosmetic changes to other facial features such as lips, chin, the eyes, cheeks, and ears. In other words you can just about create a ‘new you’.

And just as easily, you can click on the erase button and return to reality.

This latest online virtual plastic surgery application, by the way,  was designed with the help of some of the world’s leading plastic surgeons.

(image source)

Post from: Healthbolt

Now, you will never, ever find me saying that plastic surgery is wrong. That is a completely individual choice, and one I would never even rule out for myself. But what you will find is me noting my surprise that there is a need for such a book.

Dr. Michael Saulzhauer, the author of “My Beautiful Mommy”, due out this Mother’s Day, drafted the book’s manuscript after seeing moms with their kids in tow during plastic surgery consultation appointments. He believed the kids viewed the surgery as scary, and wanted to assure them that their Mommy would be even more beautiful than ever – she just had to deal with some bandages and a few owies first.

Some supporters say the book will help explain why Mommy would choose to go to the doctor and to have surgery when she isn’t sick or hurt. And with the rise in the amount of “Mommy Makeovers” (tummy tuck and breast implant combos), surely this is something more and more kids are left wondering about.

Now while I applaud Dr. Saulzhauer’s efforts, I am stunned that mothers are taking their children to consultation appointments. I’m all about sharing special moments with my kids and I know that keeping secrets is “bad”, but aren’t there just some things in life that are better left to more mature audiences? Do we not do enough to force our kids to grow up too fast that now we need to expose them to how to fix their imperfections, show them all that’s “wrong” with Mommy, and pretty much ensure they’ll be scarred for life when they see their mother strip down to her skivvies (or less) in front of another man (if the surgeon’s male, of course). Just my two cents there.

So, what do you think of all this? Of plastic surgery in general, about the book, or about toting kids to plastic surgery appointments? Let us know.

Post from: Healthbolt