| Cutting reality-teens and cosmetic surgery
Local doctors talk about the misconceptions about self-image that lead teens to seek cosmetic procedures and surgery, and the dangers of going under the knife too young.
By Melonie Magruder / Special to The Malibu TimesMore than 326,000 procedures, including rhinoplasty (reconstruction of the nose), otoplasty (pinning back of the ears), liposuction, breast augmentation, cheek and chin implants, male breast reduction and something called "buccal fat extraction" for perceived chubby cheeks, were performed in 2005- not on adults, but on American children aged 18 and younger, according to the American Society for Plastic Surgery."Cosmetic surgery and 'makeovers' for teens are something now featured on the Disney Channel," said Dr. Annie Thiel, a family therapist who has practiced in Malibu for more than 30 years.
Silicone Breast Implants Are Unsafe, Despite FDA Approval, Opinion ...
Despite FDA's recent approval of silicone breast implants, there still are "considerable risks that women must consider before walking into the operating room," Edward Melmed, a Dallas-based plastic surgeon, and Judy Norsigian, executive director of Our Bodies Ourselves, write in a Boston Globe opinion piece (Melmed/Norsigian, Boston Globe, 2/2). FDA in November 2006 approved the use of silicone breast implants manufactured by Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Mentor and Irvine, Calif.-based Allergan for breast reconstruction and cosmetic breast augmentation, but the agency limited cosmetic use to women ages 22 and older. Most breast implants, which often are given to women who have undergone a mastectomy to treat breast cancer, contain saline solution. Silicone breast implants were banned in 1992 because of safety concerns.
A surprising side effect of liposuction
You expect to look thinner after liposuction, but what else can happen? Some patients are experiencing some surprising consequences after lipo. When avid runner Debbie Kubiet had liposuction to smooth out some trouble spots, she got a little more than she bargained for. .
Teen youngest sex-change patient
VIENNA, Austria -- A boy of 14 is believed to have become the world's youngest sex-change patient after convincing doctors that he wanted to live the rest of his life as a female.
The boy -- originally called Tim, but now known as Kim -- has started to receive hormone treatment in preparation for the operation that will eventually complete the sex change.
Tim was diagnosed as a transsexual two years ago, when doctors and psychiatrists concluded that his claims to be "in the wrong body" were so deeply felt that he required treatment.
Now officially registered as a female, Kim looks like a typical girl of her age. She dresses in fashionable clothes, has long blonde hair and blue eyes, and dreams of moving to Paris to become a fashion designer.
Doctors Hidden Secrets
JACKSONVILLE, FL-- Marcia Beaird is a flight attendant whose true passion is not travel but instead the outdoors. She loves boating and kayaking, hobbies she can't do anymore.
Life stopped for Beaird a year and a half ago when the 46-year-old decided she wanted a change.
"It was an easy fix in my eyes and everyone around me was having lipo done," says Beaird.
She says she went to a Miami plastic surgeon, Dr. John Tiller. Beaird says she had liposuction done on her stomach and knees. "Everyone said it's so easy you go in and two days later you can be back to flying."
Within hours of going under the knife, there were problems. "I was feeling a lot of like a burning sensation behind my right knee."
Two days after surgery, Beaird says paramedics rushed her to the hospital.
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