Taxpayers Paid for Boob Jobs, Health Spas, and Viagra!

The European Parliament

Recently, documents have come to light that expose 763 members of the European Parliament and their families as benefitting unduly from their health plan, which apparently reimburses them for procedures like massage, face lifts, breast enhancements, and other “luxury” treatments. In some cases,  taxpayers have foot the entire bill for a Spa Day or Massage! Men whose wives or mothers are part of the European Parliament receive free Viagra for impotence, reportedly as long as the impotence is a direct result of serious injury. The cost of this generous healthcare plan for politicians is almost £3 million, up 36% over last year, at a time when the average European citizen has suffered from cuts in health care due to the financial problems plaguing Europe.

The Practical Guide to the Reimbursement of Medical Expenses is responsible for leaking the information.

In a similar vein, here in the United States, servicemen and women were once able to undergo certain cosmetic procedures in order for military plastic surgeons to build skills necessary to treat patients with more serious problems. That disappeared after CNN did a story that criticized the practice, arguing that taxpayers should not pay for procedures that are purely cosmetic. Military men and women now pay a lower price for cosmetic surgery at military hospitals as a result of CNN’s expose, but no longer receive free treatment for elective procedures.  Military plastic surgeons, however, state that this has greatly diminished the number of procedures performed and as such, has left younger military surgeons with too little experience with healthy patients, making it more difficult for them to learn procedures that would be benefit them when reconstructing faces and bodies that are casualties of war.

What about this? Do you think people in the military should get free cosmetic surgery because (A) they put themselves at risk for us and/or (B) because the military surgeons need to “practice” on healthy patients to enable them to do better work on badly injured veterans? Or do you believe there’s no reason to give away cosmetic work by the military to its own and their reasons are a bit contrived?  Please share your thoughts!

To your health & beauty,

Dr. Vip Dev

Survey Says: 30% of Women Over 40 Want a FaceLift

According to a new survey, over a third of women over 40 are concerned enough about their appearance that they would definitely consider plastic surgery if they could afford it. The average age the women surveyed believed was the best age for plastic surgery is 52, 41 weeks and four days. Also, according to those surveyed, 20% of the surveyed women between 40 and 60 said they would gladly get a face lift to smooth out the signs of aging if money were no object.

In my Bakersfield plastic surgery practice, women start coming to us on a regular basis in their early 30’s, principally to put off facial rejuvenation surgery, such as a face lift, by having dermal fillers and Botox injections, as well as facial treatments with our aesthetician, Terra. Through the judicious use of these facial treatments, patients can forestall the need for more invasive treatments for many years.

Did you know that dermal fillers, for example, can be injected to lift the cheek area, which also lifts the jowls, one of the first signs in an aging face? It’s true. You can literally have a “liquid facelift” through the proper placement of these fillers, all without surgery. Now, eventually, aging will continue to the point where even the best and best-placed fillers won’t do the trick, and at that time you’ll need to decide whether or not you want to have surgical face lift. However, as fillers become more and more advanced, that stage is put off longer and longer. If you aren’t certain whether your facial aging can be managed with fillers vs surgery, give Terra a call and ask for her consultation. I can also examine your face to help you understand your options.

What do you think about this? Are you taking advantage of skin treatments and dermal fillers to put off surgery until much later?

To your health & wellness,

Dr. Vip Dev

Study Proves that Beauty is Bone deep, not Skin deep

Before/After Face Lift

Over the years, face lifts performed by a plastic surgeon in Bakersfield as well as plastic surgeons elsewhere, have focused on three primary tasks:

• repositioning the muscles of the face,
• lifting the fad pad of the cheek back to its original position, and
• redraping the skin to create a youthful appearance.

Fat or dermal fillers are often used to fill out that part of that face needing a bit more substance, such as the temples and the nasolabial folds, the “parentheses” mentioned in the TV ads.

Recently, however, University of Rochester Medical Center researchers, joined by colleagues from Harvard and Stanford, discovered that the gradual erosion of bone over time may contribute to the aging facial appearance. We all know that as we age many of us become shorter. It’s not a stretch to imagine that other bones get smaller, too. These researchers contend, after studying the CT scans of 120 faces, that the facial bones also shrink with age. Apparently, beauty isn’t skin deep—it’s bone deep.

The 120 CT scans were divided by age into three groups: those 20-36, 41-64 and 65 and older. The facial bones were measured in each age group to see if the facial bones of the older individuals’ were smaller. They were.  This research may lead to future face lift procedures that include bone grafts to the jaw or the use of plastic prosthetics to “beef up” the lower face and create the more youthful results.

If you’re noticing bone loss in your face, come in and talk to me about bone restoration as part of your facial rejuvenation procedure.

To your health and beauty,

Dr. Vip Dev