Lipo Tragedy: Death Highlights Surgery Risks

The promise of instant beauty, for relatively little money and pain, has been the appeal of plastic surgery for decades. Largely ignored, however, are the dangers of going under the knife for cosmetic procedures that are widely considered routine.

As the trend to get nipped and tucked grows more popular, a recent lipo-sculpting-related death has drawn attention to the number of plastic surgery-related fatalities and emergencies.

Maria Shortall, a housekeeper from Weston, Fla., died after undergoing a standard lipo-sculpting procedure in mid-June at the Alyne Medical Rejuvenation Institute in Florida. Shortall worked seven days a week to pay for the $3,600 procedure, which was intended to take a few hours.

"Approximately 22 incisions [were made], which is a significant amount, in terms of a relatively, an otherwise relatively minor cosmetic procedure," the family attorney, Michael Freedland, said. "What we do know is that a 38-year-old, otherwise healthy woman, shouldn't go in for a minor cosmetic procedure, and die."

At some point during Shortall's procedure, things started to go wrong. The facility decided that she needed to be transported to Cleveland Clinic, where she was eventually pronounced dead.

Now there's a pending homicide investigation surrounding the incident, with an attorney for the Alyne Institute only saying that the center is now investigating an incident.

"For me, right now, I lost everything," Vanya Briones, Shortall's daughter, said. "Because she was everything for me. I just feel different."

A 2008 study in the Journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons found that only one in 50,000 people died as a result of plastic surgery procedures between 2001 and 2006.

But some recent high-profile deaths and frightening emergencies as a result of plastic surgery complications have put the voluntary procedures back in the spotlight.

Rapper Kanye West's mother, Donde, died in 2007 as a result of complications from an abdominoplasty and breast augmentation.

Comedian Kathy Griffin was rushed to the emergency room in Los Angeles during a liposuction procedure in 1999. Another patient, Marilyn Leisz, was unable to shut her eyes after blepharoplasty, or eyelid surgery. A jury awarded her $115,000.

The most common form of cosmetic surgery performed in 2010 was breast augmentation, with 296,000 procedures performed that year in the United States alone.

Nose reshaping procedures were the second most common, with 252,000 performed, followed by eyelid surgery (209,000), liposuction (203,000) and tummy tucks (116,000), according to the 2010 annual procedural statistics report released in February by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

Liposuction and tummy tuck procedures, in particular, can be quite dangerous. When those specific surgeries are factored into the equation, the patient's chances of dying soar by a factor of 16.

It's too late for Shortall, whose son, Enzo Briones, says that if he could go back, he would stop his mother from having the procedure.

"I would say, 'Don't do it, and you just look fine, how God give you,'" Briones said. "I would hold her. And not let her go."

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Keeping a stiff upper lip as Botox turns 10

You might not know by their faces, but the Botox Cosmetic people are ecstatic about their 10th year as a Health Canada-approved wrinkle treatment.

In the blink of a decade, Allergan has seen its flagship product go from a kooky idea — injecting a neurotoxin directly into a person's head — to a multimillion-dollar juggernaut that's literally changed the face of aging.

In fact, results of a recent Leger Marketing survey suggest nearly one-quarter of Canadian women are now open to injectable cosmetic treatments, helping explain why Botox Cosmetic has enjoyed double-digit growth every year since its 2001 debut.

But no matter how impressive the returns, some say the social costs are exponentially higher.

"People on TV keep getting younger and younger-looking, and faces appear like masks; signs of life are now seen as undesirable," says Patricia Leavy, associate professor of sociology at Stonehill College in Massachusetts.

"With Botox now considered a normal part of appearance management, those who do have lines and pores are frowned upon as if they're lazy couch potatoes."

Indeed, in a marked departure from childhood, the last decade has seen the idea of one's face freezing in a certain expression become less a threat than an intriguing option.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reports that 5.4 million botulinum toxin type A (such as Botox) procedures were performed last year in North America alone, representing a 12 per cent year-over-year increase.

"When it first came out, I remember thinking, 'God, who would put that in their face?' And now everybody does it," says Leavy. "We assume that this is the way people are supposed to look."

When done well, the procedure is virtually undetectable, save for a "refreshed" appearance. Industry insiders claim the perma-surprised expression that's provided a decade's worth of punchlines is the province of patients who've had poor doctors.

"It's like if a car goes into a wall; it's not the car's fault, it's the driver," says Dr. Lisa Kellett, a Toronto-based cosmetic dermatologist.

Michelina Colombo, a 58-year-old daycare worker, had her reservations before going under the needle, fearing she'd look as if she "just came out of a wind tunnel." But after a combination of Botox and dermal fillers (known as a Soft Lift), the Toronto woman found the tweaks to her appearance were happily subtle.

"It's not like I wanted to look 20; I just wanted to look less tired," says Colombo, whose post-treatment experience has been one of people constantly undershooting her true age.

In 2010, more than 11.6 million minimally invasive cosmetic interventions were performed in North America, with botulinum toxin type A leading in popularity. Restricting the picture to Canada, Millennium Research Group forecasts that nearly a quarter of a million injectable procedures will be performed this year, with projected growth of eight per cent by 2014.

"It's brought cosmetic procedures out of the hospital and into the salon," says Cressida Heyes, Canada Research Chair in Philosophy of Gender and Sexuality.

But in making it so easy to hold off nature, Heyes wonders if we've been afforded a dangerous sense of permission to forever look the way we feel.

"I recently turned 40 and everybody said to me, 'Oh, 40 is the new 30.' And I have several friends who are turning 50, and people are saying to them, '50 is the new 40.' Well, what's 70 then? When does it run out?" says Heyes, a professor at the University of Alberta.

"The point at which people are willing to consider themselves old is constantly being delayed."

Leger Marketing recently interviewed 800 Canadians between the ages of 30 and 60 and found that, on average, there's an eight-year gap between calendar age and age of desired appearance. Women in their 30s wished they could look five years younger, women in their 40s wished they could look nine years younger, and women in their 50s wanted to look a decade younger.

For Janet Malloy, trying injectables was about recognizing herself again.

"At 50, I looked in the mirror and said, 'Who's that?' On the inside, I felt 30; I'm young at heart and I have a lot of energy. But my face didn't seem to match," recalls Malloy, a buyer from Newmarket, Ont. "(The procedure) gave my whole face a lift without surgery. I was thrilled."

But not everyone believes the fountain of youth lies within a syringe. And among those Canadians who say they wouldn't consider injectables, 67 per cent say their top concerns are safety and side-effects — anxieties Allergan believes are reinforced in movies and on television.

"We're much maligned (in pop culture)," says Stu Fowler, president of Allergan Canada. "But the truth is that the 97 per cent satisfaction rate for individuals who get the treatment speaks to the fact that it really addresses an underlying condition."

The underlying condition, of course, being natural aging.

Trade projections suggest millions will be convinced by the David Copperfield-like before-and-after images of Botox users, whether on industry websites such as FaceInstitute.ca, in the pages of magazines or among their own friends and neighbours. But sociologist Leavy says if the drug is increasingly sought as a cure, it's only because the drug-maker has turned aging into a sickness.

"If people are feeling insecure about lines on their face, they're probably insecure because Botox has become so normalized in the first place."

mharris@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/popcultini

c Copyright (c) Postmedia News

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Top 10 Hidden Dangers Of Cosmetic Surgery

Cosmetic surgery is a $10.1 billion business each year in the U.S., according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Women account for 91% of patients and elected to get 5% more cosmetic procedures in 2010 from the year before. However, psychologists and surgeons warn that many patients are not prepared for the full spectrum of physical, emotional and cultural side effects that sometimes follow. Before you go under the knife, consider these 10 hidden dangers.

Follow @ForbesWomen on Twitter

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End illegal cosmetic surgeries

KL: Botched breast enlargement (June 20) Thursday, June 23rd, 2011 10:54:00

IT is regrettable to once again hear of a botched breast enhanchment procedure carried out on an unsuspecting lady from Pahang, who believed the surgery was being done by a qualified practitioner from overseas.

The job done was so bad, she now has to seek surgical aid from a genuinely qualified plastic surgeon, to help save her breasts.

She has even had to seek help from Datuk Michael Chong to obtain compensation for the pain and suffering she has had to endure.

It is time for the government to enact a law that will not only put a stop to unqualified surgeries, but also demacate provision of specialised services into professional categories.

This should clearly define what services are to be provided by barbers, hairdressers and beauty salons, trichologists and skin specialists, cosmetic or plastic surgery centres and fitness centres, to name a few.

Monitoring and enforcement should follow. Then perhaps, we will see an end to this current nonsense.

Lau Bing

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FDA says 1 in 5 remove breast implants

Don’t expect breast implants to last for life, the government warned Wednesday. About 1 in 5 women who receive them for cosmetic reasons will have them removed within 10 years, and those odds are even higher for cancer survivors.

It’s not the first time the Food and Drug Administration has issued such a warning. But the agency repeated it Wednesday after reviewing new data on silicone-gel breast implants five years after they returned to the market following a health scare. The agency concluded the implants are basically safe as long as women understand they come with complications. Those include painful scar tissue and ruptured implants.

“The longer you have the implant, the more likely you are to have complications,” said FDA medical device chief Jeff Shuren. He said women should get regular checkups including scans to make sure the implants haven’t ruptured.

While the FDA’s safety review concentrated on silicone-gel implants, the agency’s updated advice booklet for women makes clear that saline-filled versions come with the same complications - women getting those wind up back on the operating table, too.

Plastic surgeons say they’ve long told women about those risks.

“It doesn’t discourage a single one of them, which is pretty amazing,” said Dr. Michael Zenn, vice chief of plastic surgery at Duke University Medical Center. “This requires almost lifetime maintenance when you have a breast implant in. If you’re not telling patients that, you do them a disservice.”

Wednesday’s update is the latest in a 20-year saga over the safety of breast implants. The FDA banned the silicone-gel type in 1992 amid fears they might cause cancer, lupus and other diseases. But when research ruled out most of the disease concern, regulators allowed the return of the implants to the market in 2006 - with the requirement that manufacturers continue studying recipients to determine how they fare in the long term.

Breast augmentation remains the most popular cosmetic surgery in the U.S., with nearly 300,000 women undergoing it last year. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, more than 70,000 others received implants for breast reconstruction. Silicone-gel implants are the most common kind.

Based on that data, the FDA said Wednesday that 20 percent to 40 percent of patients who have implants for cosmetic reasons will need another operation to modify or remove them within eight to 10 years.

For reconstruction patients, the number is even higher at 40 to 70 percent, the FDA said.

The most common complication remains scar tissue that hardens around the implant and can become severe enough to warp the shape of the breast or cause pain. Other problems include implant rupture, wrinkling and a lopsided appearance, according to the report.

The research also showed a small link with a very rare form of cancer known as anaplastic large-cell lymphoma. The agency has learned of 60 cases of the disease worldwide among the estimated 5 million to 10 million women with breast implants.

c Copyright 2011 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.

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Photo Release: THAILAND JOINED HANDS WITH THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS OF JAPAN

THAILAND JOINED HANDS WITH THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS OF JAPAN
TO PROMOTE THE WORLD COSMETIC IFSCC 2011 CONFERENCE
Deputy Professor Dr.Panvipa Krisdaphong, the President of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists of Thailand (SCCT) ; organized a roadshow to Yokohama,Tokyo, Japan for a delegation with leading Japanese cosmetic manufacturers and chemists led by Mr. Shoji Nishiyama, the President of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists of Japan aiming to promote cosmetic trade and technological cooperation for the IFSCC 2011 Conference which Thailand will host from 31 th October till 2 nd November,2011 at Centara @the Central World .This prestigious event will be attended by leading manufacturers,cosmetic chemists, researchers ,marketers and other professionals from 58 countries.
The photo description ( from left to right )
??????????1.Mr.Junichi Koyama, Ph.D, the Secretary General of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists of Japan
??????????2.Ms. Theeraya Krisdaphong, Event and International Coordinator of IFSCC 2011 Conference Organizing Committee
??????????3.Mr. Shoji Nishiyama, the President of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists of Japan
??????????4.Ms.Panvipa Krisdaphong , Ph.D, the President of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists of Thailand
??????????5.Mr.Fujihiro Kanda, Ph.D. , Chair of the Science Committee, IFSCC 2011 Conference

??????????PR AGENCY : (BrainAsia Communication )
??????????Tel. 081-899-3599, 02-911-3282 (5 Auto Lines) Fax 02-911-3208?
??????????Email: brainasiapr@hotmail.com

Photo Release: THAILAND JOINED HANDS WITH THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS OF JAPAN

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FDA: Breast implant problems grow with time

By MATTHEW PERRONE and LAURAN NEERGAARD, Associated Press Matthew Perrone And Lauran Neergaard, Associated Press – Wed?Jun?22, 4:51?pm?ET

WASHINGTON – Don't expect breast implants to last for life, the government warned Wednesday: About 1 in 5 women who receive them for cosmetic reasons will have them removed within 10 years, and those odds are even higher for cancer survivors.

It's not the first time the Food and Drug Administration has issued such a warning. But the agency repeated it Wednesday after reviewing new data on silicone-gel breast implants five years after they returned to the market following a health scare. The agency concluded the implants are basically safe as long as women understand they come with complications. Those include painful scar tissue and ruptured implants.

"The longer you have the implant, the more likely you are to have complications," said FDA medical device chief Jeff Shuren. He said women should get regular checkups including scans to make sure the implants haven't ruptured.

While FDA's safety review concentrated on silicone-gel implants, the agency's updated advice booklet for women makes clear that saline-filled versions come with the same complications — women getting those wind up back on the operating table, too.

Plastic surgeons say they've long told women about those risks.

"It doesn't discourage a single one of them, which is pretty amazing," said Dr. Michael Zenn, vice chief of plastic surgery at Duke University Medical Center. "This requires almost lifetime maintenance when you have a breast implant in. If you're not telling patients that, you do them a disservice."

Wednesday's update is the latest in a 20-year saga over the safety of breast implants. The FDA banned the silicone-gel type in 1992 amid fears they might cause cancer, lupus and other diseases. But when research ruled out most of the disease concern, regulators returned the implants to the market in 2006 — with the requirement that manufacturers continue studying recipients to see how they fare long-term.

Breast augmentation remains the most popular cosmetic surgery in the U.S., with nearly 300,000 women undergoing it last year. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, more than 70,000 others received implants for breast reconstruction. Silicone-gel implants are the most common kind.

Based on that data, FDA said Wednesday that 20 percent to 40 percent of patients who have implants for cosmetic reasons will need another operation to modify or remove them within eight to 10 years.

For reconstruction patients, the number is even higher at 40 to 70 percent, FDA said.

The most common complication remains scar tissue that hardens around the implant, and that can become severe enough to warp the shape of the breast or cause pain. Other problems include implant rupture, wrinkling and a lopsided appearance, according to the report.

The research also showed a small link with a very rare form of cancer known as anaplastic large cell lymphoma. The agency has learned of 60 cases of the disease worldwide, among the estimated 5 million to 10 million women with breast implants.

Why are reconstruction patients so much more likely to need another operation?

Radiation for breast cancer damages the skin so that over time it becomes stiffer, said Dr. Evan Garfein, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon at New York's Montefiore Medical Center. It's not uncommon for a woman who got two implants — so that both sides start out matching — to have the radiated side eventually appear tighter and higher on the chest as the tissue around it contracts. Also, women getting an implant after a mastectomy don't have a natural layer of breast tissue to cushion it.

But Zenn said women getting cosmetic implants also need to understand that their breasts also will change with age or weight gain — and even if the implant doesn't rupture or develop scar tissue, the skin and fat around it can droop or sag in unattractive ways. He advises women considering pregnancy to put off implants, because their breasts tend to change afterward, and says he won't perform large implants that bring a greater risk of later revisions.

The FDA's safety endorsement is primarily based on studies conducted by the two U.S. manufacturers of the products, Allergan Inc. and Johnson & Johnson's Mentor unit.

But industry critics point out that most of the studies are still incomplete, and many women have already dropped out.

For example, only 58 percent of women enrolled in a 1,000-patient study of Mentor's implants are still accounted for after eight years. A larger study of 40,000 women conducted by Mentor has lost nearly 80 percent of its patients after just three years. FDA officials said such studies should aim for a 85 percent follow-up rate.

Dr. Diana Zuckerman of the National Research Center for Women and Families said most medical journals would not publish the studies cited by the FDA because of the missing data.

"Once a medical product is approved, the manufacturers have no incentive to do these required studies properly," Zuckerman said. "So, we end up with useless information, which is what has happened with the largest, most important studies of silicone gel breast implants."

The FDA said it is working with Allergan and Mentor to increase study participation, including allowing participants to answer questions online or over the phone.

The head of the leading U.S. plastic surgery society said many patients skip follow-up appointments because they aren't having any problems.

"When women are happy with their implants they tend to feel that a regular follow-up is pointless — it becomes a nuisance and an unnecessary expense," said Dr. Phillip Haeck, president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

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