The Cosmetic Surgery Blog

Those of us who travel for cosmetic surgery leisure and convenience now have some guidelines to facilitate the process and help ensure a safer experience. The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS), which represents about 1,500 of the world's best plastic surgeons released these new guidelines on their new website. The guidelines were in development for nearly a year up to their release, and reflect growing consumer trends and inquiries made by customers, medical professionals, and governmental organizations.

These guidelines, paraphrased, are as follows:

• Know the surgeon's training. You want your surgeon to be specifically trained for the procedure you're about to undertake.
• Get a certified plastic surgeon. This condition cannot be stressed enough. Your safety must be placed in the hands of professionals, not cheap amateurs.
• Know who certified your plastic surgeon. There are different levels of prestige in different organizations, and knowing the full background is to your benefit.
• Know if the surgery center is certified.
  
• Check with your health insurance for coverage outside your own country. Consider getting extra coverage if there is a problem with your current insurance coverage.
• Make sure the location is ideal for a lengthened stay. You'll need time to heal, usually at least a week. Check with the facility for their post operation treatments.
• Have a backup plan at home. Know a surgeon that will take care of you "in case" you have complications when you arrive in your home town. How will you pay for secondary procedures, if need be?
• Make sure the people running the organization you're interested in speak your language fluently. Many problems can arise from a lack in communication in foreign countries.
• Who are you talking to? Make sure the deal is not made through some staff member's secretary. Talk only to the doctor and his direct staff. Do not let your travel agent make your cosmetic procedure arrangements.
  
• Check to see if your surgeon is a member of recognized national and international societies.
• Check for references. Get names and contact information of patients who have recently had a similar procedure, and talk to them about their experience.
  

If you or someone you know is considering a cosmetic surgery procedure, please feel free to contact a cosmetic surgeon such as David R. Broadway, M.D., F.A.C.S., of the Broadway Center for Plastic Surgery in Denver, Colorado.

Celebrity talk has been buzzing among the masses since far before Queen Victoria's prime. People are concerned with everything to do with the lifestyles of the rich and famous, which generally can be broken down to their hairstyles, makeup styles, and general fashion styles. A more recent obsession with celebrities is centralized around the more attractive features of their physical appearance, and an even more recent trend has emerged which tries to immortalize these features through plastic surgery. Nowadays, Angelina Jolie's pert pucker can live on to the next generations on the faces of strangers because of the endless possibilities of cosmetic surgery and lip augmentation. The days of envious teenagers pouring over pretty pictures in magazines are over - now you can have that celebrity look you've seen on advertisements, although it's better to wait until your teenage years are over so that your body doesn't try to change away from your cultured look.

A wonderful example of the possibilities of cosmetic surgery with celebrity intention can be found in 26-year-old student and part-time model Radka Jureckovia, who wanted Meg Ryan's lips. "I like her lips. I wanted my lips to look more fuller, more sensual," said Jureckovia. According to the part-time model, the procedure was no different than wanting to mimic Meg Ryan's hairstyle. "Now people go and they want the nose or the cheek or the breasts or the legs of a celebrity."

And it's not just for girls. Guys who feel beneath the stunning features of Fabio, who watch giggling girls swoon over men's jean ads in the bus, can now look like the men they imagine thanks to plastic surgery for men. With weight loss as a rising problem for many Americans, cosmetic surgery may be a positive first step to losing the weight and keeping it off. This is leading to a dramatic increase in male breast reduction.

If you're thinking about cosmetic surgery or are hankering after Jessica Alba's nose, feel free to contact a cosmetic surgeon in your area for a consultation, such as Martin O'Toole in Los Angeles, California.