Blog – Dr. Lopa Gupta | Official Site

Cosmetic Procedures: Supply & Demand

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, cosmetic plastic surgery includes surgical and nonsurgical procedures that reshape normal structures of the body in order to improve appearance and self-esteem. Healthy individuals with a positive outlook and realistic expectations are appropriate candidates for cosmetic procedures. Plastic surgery is a personal choice and should be done for yourself, not to fulfill someone else’s desires or to try to fit an ideal image. Because it is elective, cosmetic surgery is usually not covered by health insurance.

While any cosmetic surgery may seem vain, many people say these treatments have improved their lives. For example, South Korea has the highest ratio of procedures per capita. Surgeons in the Asian country perform around 20 procedures per 1,000 people. It has been estimated that between one-fifth and one-third of women in Seoul have gone under the knife, and one poll reported by the BBC puts the figure at fifty percent or higher for women in their twenties. The U.S. ranks second on a per capita basis, with 13 procedures per 1,000. Japan places third with 10 procedures per 1,000, according to numbers from the society.

Here are some of the top 8 cosmetic surgery procedures in high demand:

1. Breast augmentation surgery, also known as augmentation mammoplasty, is the surgical placement of breast implants to increase fullness and improve symmetry of the breasts, or to restore breast volume lost after weight reduction or pregnancy. Breast augmentation surgery involves using breast implants or fat, referred to as fat transfer breast augmentation, to increase the size of your breasts or restore breast volume that has been lost after weight reduction or pregnancy.

2. Surgical body contouring following major weight loss removes excess sagging fat and skin while improving the shape of the underlying support tissue. The result is a more normal appearance with smoother contours. Dramatic weight loss has many benefits. But after weight reduction surgery, or any substantial amount of weight loss, the skin and tissues often lack the elasticity to conform to the reduced body size. Body contouring procedures may include:

• Facelift: sagging of the mid-face, jowls, and neck, • Breast lift: sagging, flattened breasts; • Tummy tuck: apron of excess skin hanging over the abdomen, • Lower body lifts: sagging of the abdomen, buttocks, groin and outer thighs, • Medial thigh lift: sagging of the inner, outer and mid thigh, and • Arm lift: sagging of the upper arm

3. Rhinoplasty (“nose job”) can improve the appearance and proportion of your nose, or correct a breathing problem associated with the nose. Rhinoplasty surgery can change:

• Nose size in relation to facial balance, • Nose width at the bridge or in the size and position of the nostrils, • Nose profile with visible humps or depressions of the bridge, • Nasal tip that is enlarged or bulbous, drooping, upturned or hooked, • Nostrils that are large, wide, or upturned, • Nasal asymmetry

4. Dermal fillers: As we age, our faces naturally lose subcutaneous fat. The facial muscles are then working closer to the skin surface, so smile lines and crow’s feet become more apparent. The facial skin also stretches a bit, adding to this loss of facial volume. Other factors that affect the facial skin include sun exposure, heredity, and lifestyle. Injectable dermal fillers can plump thin lips, enhance shallow contours, soften facial creases, remove wrinkles and improve the appearance of recessed scars. Dermal fillers can also help to diminish facial lines and restore volume and fullness in the face.

5. Laser hair removal: is a non-invasive technique that uses highly concentrated light to penetrate hair follicles and inhibit future hair growth. Laser hair removal is effective for most parts of the body. But, because it only affects actively growing hair follicles, it may take several laser hair removal treatments to provide significant hair reduction. Additionally, while laser hair removal effectively slows hair growth, it doesn’t guarantee permanent hair removal. Periodic maintenance treatments may be needed.

6. Microdermabrasion treatments use a minimally abrasive instrument to gently sand your skin, removing the thicker, uneven outer layer. Collagen is a protein in your skin that’s abundant when you’re a child and makes skin appear taut and smooth. Collagen production declines as we age, resulting in looser, uneven skin. Microdermabrasion helps to thicken your collagen, which results in a younger looking complexion. This type of skin rejuvenation is used to:

• Improve age spots and blackheads, • Improve hyperpigmentation (patches of darkened skin, • Exfoliate your skin, Resulting in a refreshed appearance, • Lessen the appearance of stretch marks, • Reduce fine lines and wrinkles, • Reduce or eliminate enlarged pores, • Treat acne and the scars left by acne.

7. Surgical hair transplantation involves removing small pieces of hair-bearing scalp grafts from a donor site and relocating them to a bald or thinning area. Techniques include punch grafts, mini-grafts, micro-grafts, slit grafts and strip grafts for a more modest change in hair fullness. Flaps, tissue-expansion and scalp-reduction are procedures best for patients who desire a more dramatic change.Baldness is often blamed on poor circulation to the scalp, vitamin deficiencies, dandruff, and even excessive hat-wearing. All of these theories have been disproved. It’s also untrue that hair loss can be determined by looking at your maternal grandfather, or that 40-year-old men who haven’t lost their hair will never lose it. But, here’s the truth about hair loss: Hair loss is primarily caused by a combination of: • Age, • Change in hormones, • Family history of baldness.

If you and your doctor have determined that hair transplants are the best option for you, you can feel comfortable knowing that board-certified plastic surgeons have been successfully performing this type of procedure for more than thirty years.

8. Ear surgery – also known as otoplasty – can improve the shape, position or proportion of the ear. It can correct a defect in the ear structure that is present at birth, or it can treat misshapen ears caused by injury. Ear surgery creates a natural shape, while bringing balance and proportion to the ears and face. Correction of even minor deformities can have profound beneﬁts to appearance and self-esteem. Specifically, ear surgery can treat:

• Overly large ears– a rare condition called Macrotia, • Protruding ears occurring on one or both sides in varying degrees- not associated with hearing loss, and • Adult dissatisfaction with previous ear surgery.

Choosing The Best Plastic Surgeon

Cosmetic surgery positively changes millions of lives every year, but even small minimally invasive procedures are huge life changing decisions, especially if it is your first procedure. It is decisions like these that must be made with the utmost care to ensure a safe procedure and smooth process. The first step in this due diligence is to make sure you are working with a board certified cosmetic surgeon.

But what is board certification, and what is the process for a doctor to become board certified?

There are a lot more than just one “board”. To perform cosmetic surgery in the New York or any where in the United States a doctor does have to be board-certified by the state, but does not have to be “board-certified” by any specialty board.

These boards also do most of the necessary due diligence for you. They ensure that the physician completed medical school, has agreed to a code of ethics, completed residency, has a unrestricted medical license, has an acceptable peer-reviewed record, and has agreed to continuing their education in their specialty.

The next step is to look at doctor’s experience. How long has this person been performing the procedure you want to have done, and is it what they specialize in? There are a surprising number of examples of doctors (and even dentists) who don’t specialize in plastic surgery performing plastic surgery procedures. As cosmetic surgery becomes more popular, the industry has become as much about marketing online and offering discounts and less about quality.

But here is the most important reason to choose an experienced, board certified surgeon – they have better outcomes. In studies of complications and reviews, the verdict is clear. The rate of satisfaction is much higher among board-certified doctors.

Dr. Lopa Gupta is licensed by New York State and Connecticut as well as being a board-certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology.

The Keys To Reducing Wrinkles

Getting wrinkles is an unfortunate part of aging. Wrinkles are formed in the epidermis and dermis; the two outermost layers in the skin. The dermis loses its ability to hold the skin and the epidermis slowly becomes unable to hold moisture. However, a lot can be done to proactively reduce the chances of getting wrinkles.

Keep Out Of The Sun And Where Sunscreen

The sun can be very damaging to your skin and speeds up the deterioration of the collagen in the dermis. It the leading cause of wrinkles in the skin. To protect your self from its rays wear sunscreen. Even if it’s cloudy, the UVA/UVB rays can reach your skin.

Wear Sunglasses

Often the first wrinkles surround your eyes. Not only do sunglasses block out the sun from affecting the area surrounding your eyes, it keeps you from eye movements like squinting that cause crow’s feet.

Don’t Smoke

The collagen in the dermis breaks down much quicker in smokers than in non-smokers making the skin sag.

Hydrate Your Skin

Be sure to hydrate your skin by drinking lots of water and by using moisturizer. Moisturizer with or without special ingredients will not only help you long-term, in the short-term it makes your skin look tight. For extra points buy one with sunscreen.

Watch Your Diet

Eating well is part of a holistic approach to skin care. Antioxidants can help repair damaged skin and counter free radicals that damage skin cells. Healthy fats like Omega-3s are also helpful in keeping the skin moisturized. Acai, blueberries and pomegranetes are great sources of antioxidants.

Use Products With Matrixyl

Tested by university scientists, Matrixyl has been shown to increase the amount of collagen in the dermis layer of the skin.

Laser Resurfacing

Laser resurfacing is a highly effective non-invasive procedure that removes skin on the face to make room for more new skin to grow.

Six New Trends For Wellness and 2015

More than a month has passed since everyone started their new years’ resolutions, and most have probably cheated a little here and there. However, with these new trends in health and wellness maybe it will make it easier to keep healthy.

More Healthy Restaurants

The problem for those seeking to live a healthy lifestyle five years ago was a lack of options. In 2014 and continuing into 2015 an increasing number of restaurants are focusing exclusively on making delicious, healthy and sometimes affordable food. Organic, farm-to-table, and gluten-free options will be made available to those seeking to live a healthy lifestyle.

More Healthy Options

Existing chains and stores are getting in on the health trends as well. Mcdonalds’s sandwiches and salads aren’t going to be a popular item anytime soon but other chain stores are trying to add healthy fare to their menu.

Wellness Retreats

Have you set some time aside for a vacation and want to keep your healthy streak going from New Years? The popular trend for hotels and resorts is either focusing entirely on wellness with early morning runs and healthy food or giving the option with free yoga and wellness options.

Working Out Outside

Though it seems like something that has always been happening, more and more people are ditching their gym memberships and opting to get an old-school workout with a run outside or bodyweight exercise.

Feeling Good As Wellness

Though the days of diet and exercise as a means to look better are far from gone, people are starting to become comfortable and confident with their bodies and eating a healthy diet and exercising to feel better. The entire conversation and messaging is changing to loving what you got.

Supplements Growing In Popularity

No longer is it just the elderly that are taking supplements. The younger generation is embracing supplements as a great way to keep healthy.

Amazing, Full Lips With Makeup

If you are thinking about getting plastic surgery but aren’t sure how you might look or how people may react, try making some changes first in your morning makeup routine too see the advantages. With the advent of Youtube, blogs, and social media we have seen some very innovative techniques to improve your look.

One good example that has been shared across the web is Kylie Jenner and her lips. Speculation abounds as to whether or not cosmetic surgery was involved in creating her very natural look. Whether you are a fan or not of the Kardashian clan, one thing for sure is that they are good at looking their best.

Kylie and her older sister, Kim Kardashian West have both said publicly that her lips are simply enhanced by makeup, so whats the trick? An exaggerated lip line if Kim is to be believed, but it may be a little more complicated than that. The truth is there are a number of ways to exaggerate those lips.

First, you need to make sure you are working with smooth lips so you can color them in without flakes. To this you need to exfoliate. Lip scrubs have exfoliants but a popular option is also making a homemade lip scrub. There are plenty of recipes for this across the web.

Next, make your lips look bigger with conditioning lip balm. Look for lip balms with cocoa and shea butter. You can also get a lip treatment to help bring the moisture-look to your lips, this makes them appear fuller.

The next tip is what Kardashian says is the trick those famous selfies of her sister. Grab some lip liner that is a little deeper than your natural color and line outside of your lips. Then, just fill in in the rest of your lips.

Plastic Surgery: The Difference Between Men And Women

Women have always undergone the vast majority of plastic surgery procedures in the United States. It is estimated that women get 91% of cosmetic procedures, and while this ratio hasn’t seen much change, the number of men getting cosmetic surgery procedures is increasing quickly.

Many men that go under the knife say they do so because of ageism in the workplace. This is especially true in the booming tech sector in which millionaire teenagers are commonplace. 34% of cosmetic surgery procedures performed were 40 to 54 year olds.

The most popular procedure for women by far is breast augmentation and interestingly, for men breast reduction is the fourth most popular procedure. Men mostly choose to undergo a reduction mammaplasty to achieve a decrease in discomfort from large breasts, or a more proportionate breast size.

Nose reshaping is the most popular procedure for men in the US and they get about a quarter of the total number of nose reshapings, which is impressive considering men only account for 9% of total procedures performed.

There are many similarities between men and women when it comes to plastic surgery.

Eyelid surgery is a less invasive procedure that can make the patient appear younger by treating saggy skin, bags under the eyes, and wrinkles of the lower eyelid so its no surprise it makes both men and women’s top five list. In fact, eyelid surgery is the second most common procedure for both men and women and continues to grow in popularity. Liposuction, which is done to remove excess fat deposits, also makes both lists coming in at third for each.

The fifth most common procedure for both men and women is a facelift which reduces signs of aging in a variety of ways.

Another common procedure for men that is rarely performed on women is a chin augmentation. A chin augmentation is meant to reshape the chin or make it appear larger. It can be done using the existing bones or with implants.

New Technology Shaping Cosmetic Surgery Of The Future

Over the past decade the popularity of plastic surgery has increased rapidly. This is due to many factors. Negative attitudes toward certain procedures are softening and many more people are looking to plastic surgery as an option. Alongside this comes technological advances that have cosmetic surgeons taking different approaches to hinder the effects of aging.

Many of the new techniques are classified as, “minimally invasive procedures” and the results are better for three main reasons:

Faster patient recovery
Less chance of complication
Appears more natural

A lot of these new techniques utilize laser technology for both facial and body shaping. Laser technology is the newest technology and is already being used for procedures that used to be extensive surgeries with a large amount of recovery time. As the popularity of these alternative treatments increases the accessibility of the tools is increasing as well.

And it’s not just plastic surgery that is adopting these new techniques. Open heart surgeries and vasectomies are increasingly being performed with less-invasive means.

Minimally invasive surgery is performed without making a large incision like in traditional open surgery, but often with tiny openings which lessens scarring and allows for quicker recovery. For facelifts, chemical peeling and dermabrasions, which are both methods of removing the first layer of skin, were used in the past but have a higher risk of complication. One popular and quick laser treatment removes the outer layer of skin which results in the skin tightening, smoothing out and often rids of large pores and brown spots. Laser can be used to quickly and effectively improve many of the signs of aging like crow’s feet, and creasing.

On the eyelids and cheeks, laser skin resurfacing is particularly effective. These “eyelifts” have always been common procedure but has recently increased in popularity among women and men because the new technology offers quick recovery periods and a more natural look.

The Five Most Popular Cosmetic Surgery Procedures

As cosmetic surgery becomes increasingly mainstream and popular, the top procedures remain relatively constant. These are the top five plastic surgery procedures of last year.

Breast Augmentation – Almost always a the top of the list, the number of breast augmentations increased last year, albeit very slightly. A breast augmentation is clinically referred to as augmentation mammaplasty. It is done to increase fullness and projection of the patient’s breasts, improve the balance of the patient’s figure, and enhance the patient’s self-confidence.

Nose Reshaping – Down a significant 9% from last year, nose reshaping, or rhinoplasty, has decreased in popularity. Nose reshaping is popular if a patient is unhappy with the shape, size or angle of their nose, or if their nose is not in proportion to the rest of their face. Some patients also undergo the procedure if they are having trouble breathing.

Eyelid Surgery – A specialty of Dr. Gupta, eyelid surgery increased the most in popularity with the number of eyelid surgeries up 6%. Eyelid surgery is popular if a patient has loose or sagging skin that disturbs the natural contour of the upper eyelid, in some cases this impairs the patient’s vision. Correcting drooping lower eyelids or bags under the eyes are popular reasons to get procedures done as well.

Liposuction – A procedure to remove fat from a patient. The operation is most often done on the abdomen, thighs, and buttocks but can be performed on the arm, neck and various other places. Eyelid surgery surpassed liposuction in 2012.

Facelift – Joining the top five in 2011, facelifts continue to grow in popularity. The surgery is performed to improve the aesthetics of the face and neck and make the patient look younger. Patients with sagging anywhere on their face, loose skin and fatty deposits, or even loss of skin tone make great candidates.

A Successful Face Transplant at Cleveland Clinic

A full face transplant was conducted recently at The Cleveland Clinic. This is an extremely rare procedure and requires many things to be in place.

Full face transplants are a very risky procedure, and face transplants have resulted in complications before. Surgeries like this are very rare but have been possible for years. Patients must have exhausted all other options. Patients must also be healthy and have the mental health to understand the risk. Potential patients must also take immunosuppressing medications for the rest of their life, which is a risk in itself.

The patient in this face transplant had a serious auto accident, and sustained serious injuries to his face. He had very serious damage to his eyes and nose, and had lost his sense of smell. Doctors wanted to preserve the eyesight in his left eye and previous attempts at reconstructive surgery had failed eight times.

The patient was put at the top of the donor list, and the top doctors were called in.

Dr. Francis Papay is the chairman of the Dermatology and Plastic Surgeon Institute at the Cleveland Clinic and was meant to give a lecture on face transplants in Europe when he was called on to perform the surgery.

Dr. Maria Siemionow was also called in. She was in charge of the first ever full face transplant in the United States six years ago.

These two doctors, along with a team of just less than 30 doctors, took almost a full day to complete the procedure.

There was a lot of excitement in the medical community about the procedure performed late October but no details were released until last week. The surgery was a success, and according to reports, the man’s gregarious nature has returned, and his wife is very happy with how well the surgery worked.

There are, however, still a few unknowns. Due to HIPAA regulations, the name of the patient, his age and hometown will remain a secret for as long as the patient chooses to remain anonymous.