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Many people believe that when they see the FDA approved seal that it means there is a level of security that if they purchase the product it will work and meet their expectation.  Unfortunately, that is a stretch for many FDA approved drugs and devices.For example,there are many liposuction alternatives that are are approved,this means that they will remove some fat.  It does not mean that they will  remove the amount of fat a patient may expect. A recent report pointed out that FDA approved drugs are not equal in their effectiveness as it relates to the purpose they were prescribed to treat.Dr. Kim prescribes certain medications for use after surgery.  For procedures including breast augmentation and abdominoplasty, Dr. Kim may prescribe both a narcotic pain reliever as well as a muscle relaxant.  For most procedures he will prescribe an antibiotic, antinausea medication, and in some cases, medications to avoid swelling.  It is best for patients to check with the pharmacist and Dr. Kim prior to accepting substitutions for the prescriptions Dr. Kim has written. According to the Los Angeles Times U.S. consumers might put a little too much faith in the FDA’s role as a gatekeeper for marketable drugs, according to a new study — but giving patients a little bit of information about such drugs can actually help people make better treatment choices.

Most people have heard that laughter is the best medicine.  A recent study set out to prove that it is in fact true.At least according to the study, it will help to relieve pain.Dr. Kim’s  patients will ask how much pain they will be experiencing when they are considering a plastic surgery procedure.  Dr. Kim explains that every person has a different pain tolerance. Surgery patients are given a narcotic pain reliever to help manage the pain.  Typically breast augmentation that is submuscular, and abdominoplasty are at a higher level of pain  for most patients.  Other procedures such as rhinoplasty and facelift are considered to be moderatly painful for most patients.  Most other procedures fall somewhere between mildly and moderately painful for most patients.  This is with the assumption that patients are taking their prescribed pain medication. Most patients in retrospect are so happy with their procedure that they rarely complain about the pain once they see the results.  If laughter helps to overcome pain, then maybe patients should laugh while recovering.  According to My Fox Los Angeles having a good laugh with friends can help us to deal with pain — proving laughter really is the best medicine — a UK study out Wednesday found.

Watching just 15 minutes of comedy with others increased the pain threshold by an average of 10 percent, a team of researchers, led by the University of Oxford, England, discovered.

You have heard the saying that the early bird gets the worm.  A new study says that they are also skinnier and happier.  Dr. Kim reminds patients that cosmetic plastic surgery is for patients who are basically healthy.  Patients have the best experiences when they are in their best physical health.  Some may wonder why someone who is physically healthy would even consider plastic surgery.  The truth is procedures such as a facelift or even breast augmentation provide patients with results they could not achieve any other way.  Having a facelift does not mean a person is delusional about the aging process.  Most patients choose facial rejuvenation because it allows them to look as young and energetic as they feel. Breast augmenation is a choice many women make so that  they will feel more confident in their wardrobe choices.  Rarely do women make extreme choices in terms of their desired size.  Most women make moderate choices and look very natural.  While being an early riser may help people to be skinnier and happier, plastic surgery also enjoys the distinction of happy patients. According to ABC 7 researchers in Britain found that people who stay in bed longer have a higher chance of feeling depressed or stressed and becoming overweight.

As the fall season is set to begin flu season is upon us.  Most medical professionals are urging every adult to get the flu shot .  It is understandable that patients would skip the shot and consider it unnecessary.  Dr. Kim explains to his patient as they are scheduling surgeries for the fall and winter months that it is very important that they remain healthy in order to keep their selected surgery date.  Patients who are scheduled for longer procedures such as abdominoplasty or facelift could have serious scheduling conflicts if they were to get sick with the flu. Most patients take off about two weeks for recovery after these procedures. If they were to get sick with the flu, their surgery would have to be re-scheduled and patients who have jobs with work schedule could need to delay their surgery for months. There is also the risk of getting sick with the flu after surgery when patients are more susceptible to germs. Patients could have a very uncomfortable experience recovering from surgery and the flu at the same time. A flu shot does not guarantee that patients will not get the flu , but it can help reduce the risk. According to KTLA but as the memory and urgency of the 2009 flu pandemic fades, health officials want to make sure Americans continue to turn up for their annual flu shots by offering them in more places and in new forms, including vaccination with a tiny needle designed to make the experience as painless as possible. Eight million more Americans got vaccinated against the flu last year. That is the most people who have ever been vaccinated in this country, Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the CDC, said at a news conference.

In our world of quick and easy we often lose sight of the seriousness of medical procedures specifically surgery. Wanda Sykes recently shared with the Ellen show that she had undergone a double mastectomy following a routine breast reduction surgery. According to Sykes it was during this surgery that they discovered pre-cancerous cells in her breast tissue that was removed.  Sykes elected for a double masectomy in hopes of preventing breast cancer later in life.  Dr. Kim performs breast reduction surgery and explains to his patients that the procedure is not routine.  Breast reduction takes about three hours to perform and Dr. Kim is careful to use his artistic skill and experience to create the best possible shape and breast size for the patient. It is important for patients to understand that the breast tissue that is removed is sent to pathology as a precautionary measure.  Patients should follow all breast health screening guidelines after surgery.  Wanda Sykes situation is not typical and the path she chose is not commonly chosen.  According to KTLA in Sykes’ case, she told DeGeneres that she didn’t want to take any chances, especially since cancer runs on her mother’s side of the family. Apparently, she did not reveal whether she has a mutation in her BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes, which increases a woman’s lifetime risk of breast cancer from 12% to about 60%.

“I had both breasts removed, because now I have zero chance of having breast cancer,” she told DeGeneres.
Well, not exactly. A double mastectomy certainly reduces one’s risk of breast cancer, but it doesn’t actually eliminate it, according to theMayo Clinic.

There has been some celebrity buzz about Jessica Simpson and the mystery about her plans for a breast reduction.  While rumor is that she thinks her large breasts make her look fat, for many women this is truly the way that they feel.  Dr. Kim explains that breast reduction surgery has a dual benefit.  For many women, it helps to alleviate back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, and for many women numbness in the fingers.  This of course, would be the first important benefit.  The second benefit which is just as important, is the fact that for many women buying a bra or clothes off the rack is virtually impossible.  Breast reduction surgery takes about 2 1/2 hours and for some patients they may choose  to add a small implant for firmness and shape. Some call this the plus, minus procedure.  For some patients, Dr. Kim may perform liposuction on the sides of the chest for better shaping. Whether Jessica Simpson chooses breast reduction or not, this procedure has one of the happiest and most satisfied patient populations.According to The Orange County Register Simpson herself used the Twitter message service on Sept. 7 to declare, “Been getting lots of questions about this alleged breast reduction…not to worry…I LOVE MY BOOBIES!! They aren’t going anywhere!”

The media has embraced celebrities and other women who are over the age of 40 as beautiful and sexy.  This has set the stage for older women to be accepted as beautiful; not just beautiful for their age. We can thank the introduction and accessibility of cosmetic surgery procedures for a great deal of the acceptance.  Dr. Kim treats patients, some as young as 35 years old with anti-aging treatments.  Typically he will begin with Botox.  Breast augmentation combined with liposuction helps to maintain a proportinate figure.Injectable fillers help to achieve a more youthful appearance by replacing volume that is lost as women age.  This phenomenon is not just for women.  Men in their 40’s are looking younger by taking advantage of cosmetic surgery procedures also.  Outside of the celebrity population men tend to wait much longer than women to improve their appearance.  According to The Los Angeles Times  Ann Mack, who did a marketing study on the cohort for global advertising giant JWT identifies Generation X as, in general, unprotected latchkey kids raised in an era of soaring divorce rates who in adolescence and young adulthood were dubbed as slackers and cynical individualists. But as adults they matured into technologically savvy, adventurous pragmatists.

Adjustable breast implants may be making the rounds again. In theory the concept of changing your mind after breast augmentation may sound like a good idea.  Patients who have breast augmentation are often fearful of choosing the wrong size implants. Usually the the fear is based on the idea that they will be too large.  The truth is, after surgery, it is rarely the case. As a matter of fact,universally women report that after breast augmentation they wished they would have chosen larger breast implants.  This is not the case in Dr. Kim’s practice.  Dr. Kim and his staff  spend the neccessary time to help patients determine the best breast implant size through conversation, Dr. Kim’s before and after photos, and Dr. Kim’s experienced recommendation.  There are many factors to consider when exploring breast augmentation options. Are saline or silicone implants better for you? Patients who have very little of their own breast tissue may have a better result with silicone implants; therefore adjustable breast implants would not be an option. Does the patient need a breastlift? Are there chest wall asymmetries? If so, any of these factors may change the recommendation of Dr. Kim.  Patients should be open to different types of breast implants based on the doctors recommendation for their specific situation.  According to a recent online industry article instead of deciding on a size before the surgery and hoping for the best result, doctors who use adjustable implants place a small port that connects to the implant underneath the skin. If the patient decides to go a little bit bigger, the plastic surgeon injects additional saline into the implant. If she wants a little less volume, the doctor removes some.

Although some studies have linked excessive alcohol consumption to increase risk of breast cancer.  A new study finds that the ingredient found in red wine resveratrol, the magic ingredient thought to be responsible for so many of red wine’s health benefits, can actually stop breast cancer cells from growing by blocking the growth effects of estrogen.The study, published in the October 2011 issue of the FASEB journal was included in an article on the Huffington Post website.  Dr. Kim stresses the importance of good breast health to all of his patients having breast surgeries. Patients who are having breast augmentation should be aware that after surgery it will still be necessary to follow the American Cancer Society’s recommendation for breast self exam monthly.  Patients with both silicone and saline implants should learn to examine their breast tissue while being certain that they are able to fully feel the actual breast tissue, and that it is not mistaken for the implant.  Patients who have had breast reduction or breast lift surgery should also be comfortable examining their breast tissue and not confusing it with scar tissue that they may feel after surgery.  For patients over 40 years of age, the recommendation is annual mammograms.  Patients should follow the advice of their primary care physician who is knowledgeable concerning their family history and will make recommendations in accordance with that information.

Believe it or not there is a trademarked fat storage business called Liquid Gold that was reported in the Orando Sentinel. According to Blisstree.com,an online womens oriented website, it’s only recently that a potentially effective fat-storage method has even been developed, which is why previously, fat had to either be disposed of, or used immediately. Critics say stored fat  is only potentially effective–the Sentinel quoted one doctor with doubts, who stated that “Animal data shows that frozen fat doesn’t hold up as well as fresh fat.” Human fat, it seems, is wily and difficult to control, even at freezing temperatures. But, according to the Liquid Gold™ website, the “lipobank” is registered with the FDA, and the process (which includes cleaning and stabilizing the fat before storage) has already been used with great success. Dr Kim warns patients of the too good to be true aspects of storing fat. Patients who are having liposuction will likely spend more than just the fees for storing the fat. The extra time necessary to prepare the fat plus the labor will most likely be added to the cost of the surgery.  Fat injections rarely make dramatic improvements in a persons contour. Since about 70% is absobed by the body only about 30% remains for added contour. If patients want to store fat for later use they should be clear as to their reason for doing so and weigh the benefits versus the cost.