More than 13.1 million American women and men underwent cosmetic procedures in 2010, a 5% increase over 2009. According to statistics compiled by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, about 90% of those cosmetic procedures (11.6 million) were minimally-invasive procedures such as Botox and injectable fillers. The other 10% (1.6 million) were surgical procedures, including breast augmentations, rhinoplasty, eyelid surgery, liposuction and tummy tucks, the top 5 cosmetic surgery procedures performed in 2010.
Cosmetic surgery statistics for 2011 are still being tabulated, but the trends revealed in 2010 are expected to continue into the current year and beyond. In fact, the increase in consumer spending during the recent December holidays indicates that Americans are comfortable enough with economic trends to start spending again. That willingness to spend is expected to spur a more rapid increase in cosmetic surgery growth. Cleveland women and men who put off tummy tucks and wrinkle treatments are now scheduling their procedures.
Women still comprise the majority of cosmetic surgery patients, undergoing 91% of all procedures; but men are cosmetic surgery’s fastest growing demographic. The age of cosmetic surgery patients is also changing, growing younger as 20 to 30-year-olds discover the benefits of Botox and liposuction to maintain a healthy, youthful appearance. People aged 40 to 54 still comprise the majority of cosmetic surgery patients (48%), but the greatest growth is being seen among patients aged 30 to 39.
Cosmetic surgery has lost its stigma. It's now become a part of patients' typical health and beauty regiment. Using Cleveland cosmetic surgery to achieve a more attractive appearance is no longer considered an exercise in vanity but an extension of an individual’s commitment to looking and feeling their best.
Guys aren’t the only ones searching high and low, trying to find a unique gift to give their sweetie on Valentine’s Day. Retail displays and television commercials may seem to slant Valentine’s Day gift getting in favor of women; but any married woman -- or woman who is in a committed relationship -- knows that her man better not be the only one showing up with a ribbon-bedecked box on Cupid’s big day!
Of course, despite all the commercial hype, expectations actually have little to do with Valentine’s Day gift giving. When you love someone, you want to demonstrate your love on Valentine’s Day.
If you are shopping for a man, it’s just as important for you as it is for him to show that you’ve each put some special thought into the gifts you give each other. You want the gift you give your man to show not only how much you respect and appreciate him; but you also want your gift to reveal your understanding and love for the very human, occasionally flawed, man that lies beneath the shell of his strong, macho exterior.
A gift certificate for Cleveland cosmetic surgery tells your man that he’ll always be your knight in shining armor – even if his armor needs a little polishing from time to time. Demonstrating that you understand and appreciate his desire to present a handsome and virile appearance to the world shows your special guy that he needn’t fear that his looks will diminish his stature in your eyes. To you, he will always be the handsome knight on the powerful white charger that swept you off our feet.
Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and men are starting to feel the pressure. Choosing the “perfect” Valentine’s Day gift is a challenge. Choose well and a night of passion awaits. Choose poorly and you’ll get the cold shoulder! The best Valentine’s Day gifts come from the heart and show that you think your sweetheart is the most wonderful, most beautiful woman in the world.
Demonstrating the deep admiration you feel for the woman you love sometimes requires that you think outside the box. Instead of a traditional gift, this year give your honey the gift of beauty, a gift certificate for Cleveland cosmetic surgery.
When you’re shopping for a Valentine’s Day gift for your sweetheart, think about possible gifts from her point of view:
- Candy is dandy, but it’s not a gift your honey will appreciate if she’s been counting her calories and sweating at the gym to get her body in shape so she’ll look great in a bikini this summer. A gift of Smartlipo TriPlex laser-assisted liposuction will support her get-in-shape program by removing excess stubborn fat and helping her achieve her appearance goals that much faster.
- Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend, but they’ll spend most of their time locked in a jewelry box. Cleveland cosmetic surgery is something your sweetheart will “wear” with pride every day of her life.
- A romantic dinner out is a treat; but, if like most people, you eat out fairly frequently, so ho-hum. A gift certificate for Botox treatments is a unique gift that’s far from ho-hum! She’ll be excited by the prospect of getting rid of those annoying little facial lines and wrinkles that make her feel old.
Surprise your sweetheart with the gift of Cleveland cosmetic surgery this Valentine’s Day and tell her you want her to look as young and beautiful to herself as she always looks to you. Click here to contact us.
“My body is a temple, and my temple needs redecorating,” Joan Rivers said during the January 2012 premier of the new unscripted TV reality show she co-hosts with daughter Melissa on the WE cable TV channel. Joan has been an outspoken advocate of cosmetic surgery for years, and one of the few celebrities willing to admit that they’ve “had a little work done.”
Flamboyant and often brutally blunt, Joan has one of those polarizing personalities. People seem to love her or hate her. Joan’s ability to inflame strong emotional reactions may stem from her early days as an insult comic. Today, the 78-year-old show biz icon is better known as a celebrity superstar, beauty and fashion critic, and best-selling author than for her stand-up routines. Her 2009 book “Men Are Stupid and They Like Big Boobs: A Woman’s Guide to Beauty Through Plastic Surgery” was lauded for its depth of information, accuracy and straight-talking advice on plastic surgery procedures.
You might not be a fan of the messenger, but Joan’s message that it’s OK to enlist a little surgical help to stay beautiful resonates with many American women and men.
In 2010, more than 13 million cosmetic surgery procedures were performed in the U.S. The majority were minimally-invasive cosmetic treatments such as Botox, which accounted for nearly half – 5 million – of the non-invasive cosmetic treatments performed that year. Just over 10% -- 1.5 million -- of the cosmetic procedures performed in 2010 were surgical procedures. Breast augmentation, rhinoplasty (nose surgery), eyelid surgery, liposuction and tummy tucks topped the list of most popular cosmetic surgery procedures.
If your “temple” is looking a little worn around the edges, Dr. Poblete will work with you to design a redecorating plan that will make you look young and fabulous and make you feel good about your body again!
As we noted in our previous post, the U.S. medical community is grappling with the issue of what is being called “practice drift,” doctors who practice outside their medical specialty. Many news reports make references to doctors who are or are not board certified, but most consumers aren’t sure what “board certified” means and how it can affect their treatment.
What does board certified mean?
All doctors receive the same basic training; but in order to practice in one of the many medical specialties, physicians complete additional training and practical experience in a specific medical area. The American Board of Medical Specialties is the arm of the American Medical Association that governs and sets standards for each of the different medical specialties. When a physician meets the requirements for a particular medical specialty that have been set forth by the Board, he obtains board certification and is considered “board-certified.” Dr. Poblete is board certified in both Plastic Surgery and General Surgery.
To become a board-certified Cleveland plastic surgeon, a doctor must complete the required educational program at an accredited medical school, complete a minimum surgical residency of 5 years with at least 2 years devoted to plastic surgery, and pass comprehensive written and oral exams.
How does board certification affect my treatment as a Cleveland cosmetic surgery patient?
Board certification provides Cleveland cosmetic surgery patients with assurance that their doctor has the proper medical education, in-depth knowledge of surgical and safety procedures, hands-on training in the performance of cosmetic surgery procedures under the tutelage of an experienced plastic surgeon, and professional experience to successfully and safely perform your cosmetic surgery procedure.
More than half of the states in the U.S. do not require the accreditation or licensure of offices where surgery is performed. Ohio is one of only 21 states that protect patients by requiring that not only the doctors who perform surgery but the surgical sites themselves be licensed or accredited by the state. In states that require surgical sites to be licensed or accredited, regulations specify adherence to strict safety procedures in areas such as recordkeeping, anesthesia and cleanliness and require that emergency life-saving equipment and drugs be kept onsite. Surgical facilities are also subject to inspection to ensure that required safety standards are being maintained.
Accreditation and licensure of surgical facilities is just one aspect of what many call “practice drift.” The term refers to doctors who practice medicine outside the field in which they are board certified.
As note in an article published in the January 1, 2012 issue of the Journal of Medicine, the professional publication of the National College of Physicians, practice drift is creating increasing concern within the political and medical communities. Consumer complaints and several tragic instances in which patients died have put cosmetic surgery at the forefront of the practice-drift debate.
A triple tragedy in Phoenix led Arizona to publish guidelines outlining competency training for physicians who wish to practice outside their specialty. Patient complaints caused North Carolina to require that doctors practicing outside their field of expertise be held to the same standards as experienced physicians in the field. Statutes requiring physicians to meet competency requirements for procedures they perform are on also on the books in at least nine additional states.
“This is on the radar of many state boards,” physician and Federation of State Medical Boards CEO Humayun Chaudhry told the Journal of Medicine. “What doctors should or shouldn’t do when they change their area of focus is a concern for everyone.”
Not so long ago, when people talked about getting a tummy tuck, they were talking about one thing, abdominoplasty. A comprehensive Cleveland plastic surgery procedure, abdominoplasty tightens the stomach muscles and removes all excess skin – and virtually all stretch marks -- from both the upper and lower abdomen. A traditional tummy tuck generally requires an overnight hospital stay and 2 to 3 weeks of recovery before normal activities can be resumed.
Today, there is more than one way to tuck a tummy! Women and men who want a sleeker, tighter tummy now have several Cleveland cosmetic surgery options, in addition to full abdominoplasty, to choose from.
- Mini Tummy Tuck. When excess skin is limited to the lower part of the abdomen, a mini tummy tuck can be performed. Usually performed as outpatient surgery, a mini tummy tuck tightens muscles and removes excess skin only in the lower portion of the abdomen. Patients can return to work in just a few days, although they will need to forego strenuous exercise for 2 to 3 weeks.
- Lipo Tummy Tuck. A less invasive way to tighten abdominal skin and contour the stomach, a lipo tummy tuck uses liposuction to remove excess fat while smoothing and contouring the stomach area. Lipo tummy tucks offer dramatic results and fast healing with minimal bruising and pain. Performed as an outpatient surgery, lipo tummy tucks allow patients to return to normal activities with almost no downtime, although a compression garment must be worn for a short time to reduce swelling.
If you are considering having a tummy tuck, schedule a consultation with a board-certified Cleveland cosmetic surgeon to discuss which tummy tuck option will best help you meet your appearance goals.
The average person will spend 20,160 minutes or two full weeks of their lifetime kissing! Most people receive that very special “first kiss” from an early teen-aged crush. Kissing releases the same “feel-good” endorphins activated by intense exercise without the sweat and achy muscles.
A peck on the cheek uses just two muscles in your face, but a really good clench uses all of your facial muscles. In fact, the average one-minute kiss burns 26 calories, but a passionate kiss can melt off two or three times as many calories – and who stops at one? Kisses are like potato chips; you can never get enough. With so many benefits, it’s a wonder that a kissing diet hasn’t muscled Atkins and South Beach off the weight-loss best-seller list.
Of all the days of the year, Valentine’s Day is the kissingest. In America, more people trade kisses on Valentine’s Day than under the mistletoe on New Year’s Eve, No. 2 on the list of favorite days to steal a kiss. Nothing is more romantic than a Valentine’s Day kiss; but before you can capture a kiss, you have to create desire.
The perfect kiss starts with perfect lips. Full, luscious lips cry out to be kissed, but we’re not all blessed with plump, soft, kissable lips. If you were born with thin, scrawny lips; there’s no need to despair. Using an injectable skin filler, a skilled Cleveland cosmetic surgeon can to create the lush, generous lips you’ve always desired. Volumizing injections require no down time and are an affordable way to give your confidence a boost.
To make sure your lips gorgeously kissable on Valentine’s Day, schedule your lip enhancement treatment with Dr. Poblete now.
How do you reward yourself when you reach an important personal goal? Do you splurge on a fancy dinner, go shopping or celebrate with friends? A growing number of women and men are celebrating personal accomplishments with Cleveland cosmetic surgery.
People are looking for rewards that will take their personal accomplishment to the next level. They want rewards that will make them feel better about themselves, that enhance their accomplishment and that will encourage them to pursue greater goals. Cosmetic surgery and non-surgical cosmetic procedures provide exactly what they are looking for. If you’re looking for reward system that motivates you to stay on track and achieve your personal goals, consider how some people are using Cleveland cosmetic surgery to stay motivated and achieve success:
1. Smartlipo is the perfect reward for a promotion at work or a favorable job review. Get rid of those extra pounds that refuse to cooperate, with a quick recovery. Most patients are back to work within just a few days. See our Patient Videos and Before/After Photo Gallery to learn more about Smartlipo TriPlex and how it can help you look and feel your best.
2. After winning your personal Biggest Loser challenge, you deserve to have a body that reflects all the hard work it took to lose the weight. Unfortunately, overstretched skin doesn’t snap back after a significant weight loss and unattractive rolls of excess skin may mar your new svelte figure. You deserve a major reward for such a life-changing accomplishment. Working with Dr. Poblete to develop a personalized program of cosmetic surgery after a significant weight loss will give you the body you worked so hard to achieve.
We use rewards to help us reach our goals all the time. How many times have you promised yourself a special treat when you finish a tough task or rewarded yourself with a shopping trip when you close a big sale?
Knowing a reward will be waiting for us when we complete a difficult task encourages us to keep trying when the going gets tough. You would think that achieving our goal would be reward enough, but psychologists have found that we humans work harder and are more apt to stay on track if we have a tangible reward to look forward to. It’s the old carrot-on-a-stick principle. We might get bored or frustrated during the journey toward our goal, but we won’t quit because we want that carrot!
The trick, of course, is to find the right carrot. Many Cleveland men and women are finding the perfect “carrot” in Cleveland cosmetic surgery. In a previous post, we noted some of the ways people are using Cleveland cosmetic surgery to reward themselves; here are a few more ways cosmetic surgery can encourage you to reach your goals:
1. Reward yourself for reaching your 50th birthday with a combination Botox/Dysport and filler treatment to banish those age-revealing creases and regain a more youthful appearance.
2. New mommies who have worked hard to lose the extra pounds gained during pregnancy will want to reward themselves with a Mommy Makeover. After spending 9 months with extra weight, it’s devastating to discover that sometimes no amount of dieting and exercise will ever return your body to its svelte pre-pregnancy figure. Your once-flat stomach muscles are weaker; and your once-perky breasts seem to have disappeared while you were nursing. You’re thrilled to be a mom but feel depressed every time you look at your post-baby body. A Mommy Makeover is a perfect reward. It will improve your body contours and make you feel beautiful and sexy again!