Call: (310) 271-6996

Next time that you say he has a better chance getting hit by lightning, make sure that the odds are correct. The study that shows that men tend to be more reckless when dangers of lightning strikes are imminent speaks volumes. Men in general tend to take many things including their health and appearance for granted. Dr. Kim explains to his male patients that waiting to address issues of aging is not advised. Facial aging for men typically begins in the brow. Initially injectables like Botox can make a considerable difference. Over time, a brow lift and blepharoplasty may be a better choice. Aging on the body for men typically shows on their midsection. Early on, provided there is not loose and lax skin liposuction may be an excellent solution. If men continue to gain weight liposuction may no longer be an option. Men should not be afraid to be proactive about their health and appearance. Being reckless in a storm does not make sense, especially for men. The odds are not in their favor. According to The Los Angeles Times when it comes to lightning, females are cautious and males are reckless.

The result: Between 1995 and 2008, lightning killed 648 people, and of those, 82 percent were male, according to AccuWeather.com.

A smile for many can make the difference between being attractive or being plain. Crooked teeth speak volumes about the beauty and percieved social status of a person. Dr. Kim explains to patients that the structure of their face and the progression of facial aging should also be taken into consideration when making facial enhancements including braces. For instance, patients who are experiencing wrinkled and sagging skin on the face should consider the effect a facelift will have on their decision to have braces. In most cases, it is best to have the facelift performed first. This allows patients the ability to choose braces and treatment without regard to the length of time necessary to wear the braces. Dr. Kim can perform injectable fillers even if patient have braces; however, it is best to be conservative in the amount of filler added. As braces become more popular for adults it is important that patients realize the artistic skill Dr. Kim uses to assure that his patient are beautiful even while they are wearing braces. According to The Los Angeles Times gone are the giant metal braces, big steel wires and unsightly headgear they remember from childhod. Instead, they can opt for braces with clear ceramic brackets or brackets attached to the backsides of the teeth. In some cases, they can forget about brackets altogether and go for Invisalign, which utilizes a series of clear plastic trays to coerce the teeth into place.

These higher-tech options are making orthodontics more appealing to older patients. The number of U.S. adults wearing braces topped 1 million in 2008, up about 25% since 1989, according to the American Assn. of Orthodontics.

It may be difficult for men to admit, but they suffer from the effects of stress just like women. Dr. Kim explains to his male patients that stress shows on their faces with a wrinkled brow and crowsfeet around the eyes. This can be softened in most cases with Botox. In most cases a brow lift combined with blepharoplasty may be a better option. Some men have what appear to look like bags beneath the eyes. These are improved substantially after surgery. Although most men are less than enthusiastic about plastic surgery once they commit to having procedures the overwhelming majority of men admit not only that they look better, but also that they would do it again. To maintain their best appearance men should avoid stress. According to The Los Angeles Times a growing number of men are now suffering from the seductive promise that they can have it all: the comforts and rewards of a fulfilling family life, a job that brings satisfaction and a paycheck big enough to support the needs of the aforementioned family, and freedom from conflict between the demands of each.

It is no surprise that eating at restaurants will make it more difficult to maintain a healthy diet. One must consider that while the difficulty in maintaining diet may be real; dining out does have its advantages. For example, when people go out to eat they are more likely be concerned with their appearance. Dr. Kim encourages his patients to be confident in their appearance and what it took to achieve it. For many patients, they have achieved a great and shapely figure after a breast augmentation and abdominoplasty. Most choose the abdominoplasty procedure to improve an abdomen that has loose skin and stretchmarks. The breast augmentation procedure is chosen to add more volume and shape to the breast. The overwhelming majority of patients also maintain a regular exercise program and healthy diet. But, when you look great why avoid dining out? Just use discretion when ordering from the menu. According to The Los Angeles Times the more you eat out, the more likely you are to be fat, say obesity experts who have studied the link between eating at restaurants and obesity — which are both on the rise.

A third of the calories Americans eat come from restaurants, including fast-food franchises, which is almost double what it was 30 years ago, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
For the average consumer, eating one meal away from home each week translates to roughly two extra pounds a year, said Lisa Mancino, a food economist for the USDA.

More than half of adults eat out three or more times a week, and 12 percent eat out more than seven times a week. As a result, the pounds are adding up.

Americans are eating out more than a decade ago because they have less time for cooking, longer commutes, more households where both adults work, poorer cooking skills and many more options for affordable meals out, said Mancino.

Back pain can be debilitating and affect the quality of life substantially. Patients who have extremely large breasts often complain of back, shoulder, and neck pain. While massage will temporarily help to relieve some of the pain ,the source(extremely large breast) will continue to cause pain. Dr. Kim explains to his patients that breast reduction surgery removes the excess breast tissue which in most cases takes the added pressure off of the shoulders, neck, and lower back. Dr. Kim uses his artistic ability to create a look that will remain proportionate with the patient’s body frame. Some patients are fearful that they will be too small after surgery and therefore their bottom half will look larger than their top half. Dr. Kim assures them that he takes into consideration all of the measurements for breast reduction patients. It is important that patients identify the source of back pain when massage or other alternative treatments are not effective at relieving pain. According to The Los Angeles Times massage therapy may beat medication when it comes to back pain. According to a new government-funded study, massage therapy may be better than medication or exercise for easing lower back pain, at least in the short term. Researchers looked at 400 adults who had low back pain for at least three months with no identified cause. They divided the group into three: people who received traditional medical care without massage – including medications or physical therapy; those who got a relaxation or Swedish massage; and those who had structural massages – a technique which targets tissues and joint structures.

Our society become accustomed to finding a drug that cureseverything. For women the new buzz is for a drug that promises an increased libido. Patients must remember that feeling good and confident about their appearance is necessary. Dr. Kim helps patients by creating a proportionately more shapely body which helps many women to feel sexy and more appealing. Breast augmentation can help to create a more youthful and full volumed breast. This procedure alone can triple the wardrobe of most patients. Lingerie, shirts and dresses with plunging necklines become part of the patient wardrobe and she can wear them with confidence. There are concerns about the new female love drug. According to ABC6 researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York are. Their recent study shows Oxytocin can make suspicious people more suspicious, not more loving. That means it can amplify whatever social predispositions a person may already have.

If we did see somebody potentially moving in this direction of some of these studies have indicated, it would be very easy to just discontinue, French said.

Sticking to a diet and exercise program used to be a badge of accomplishment. This includes reaching the 8 glass a day recommended water consumption. Now, this is being challenged. One thing that we do know is that less food and more exercise will make a difference in a persons overall weight. But what about those stubborn areas of fat? Dr. Kim helps patients to understand that even patients who are in great shape can have stubborn areas of fat that are difficult to lose. Dr. Kim recommends liposuction. As an artist, he is able to sculpt and create a shapely more proportionate figure by carefully removing small areas of fat. Liposuction is not a weight loss procedure. Patients who have loose skin on the abdominal area will need an abdominoplasty combined with liposuction for the best results. A regular exercise program and proper diet will be needed to assure the best long-term results. Although the proper water consumption recommendation is being challenged, water intake is part of a balanced diet program. According to The Los Angeles Times drinking six to eight glasses of water each day is healthful, most health experts agree. But apparently not everyone is on the same page.

A general practitioner from Scotland says that health advice is “thoroughly debunked nonsense” and is propagated by bottled water companies out to make a profit.  The answer isn’t cut and dry, says an article by the Mayo Clinic, and depends on your exercise level, health conditions and the heat and humidity of your environment. In general, the Institute of Medicine recommends about nine cups of beverages for women and 13 cups for men.

The Mayo Clinic offers another way to assess if you’re getting enough H2O:

“If you drink enough fluid so that you rarely feel thirsty and produce 1.5 liters (6.3 cups) or more of colorless or slightly yellow urine a day, your fluid intake is probably adequate.”

As pharmaceutical companies fight to be the first to market with newer, stronger, sleeping pills few question what is keeping Americans awake? For many women it is a hormonal issue as they approach menopause. Many women do not want to take drugs and would rather address the issues that are bothering them the most. Some patients tell Dr. Kim that after menopause they now have a pear shaped bottom that they do not like. For some, this includes an abdomen with extra fat and loose skin. For others, it also includes excess fat on the outer thighs. Dr. Kim is likely to recommend an abdominoplasty combined with liposuction of the outer thighs when patients are concerned about the entire contour and shape of the bottom half of their figure. Feeling better and more confident about the way that they look helps many women to regain healthy sleeping patterns. According to My Fox LA several pharmaceutical companies are working on new approaches to treat insomnia in the US, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.The compounds are meant to work differently than current leading sleep aids such as Ambien and Lunesta, which, while generally safe, can have troubling side effects because they act on many areas of the brain.By contrast, many of the drugs being developed target particular systems responsible for sleep and wakefulness. The hope is that they will have fewer side effects and less potential for addiction and cognition problems the next day.

Southern Californians love their pets. When they are considering plastic surgery it is easy to overlook how their pets will affect their recovery. Dr. Kim routinely performs procedures such as breast augmentation, abdominoplasty, and liposuction. Although each may have some variance concerning specific recovery instructions, one common instruction involves over exertion and keeping incisions clean and dry. Pets, mainly dogs can interfere with this instruction. For example, if a recent surgery patient has a large dog that pulls and is difficult for the patient to handle this can cause a serious problem. Breast augmentation patients could cause the breast implants to become displaced. Abdominoplasty patients could interfere with the healing of their incision. Obviously, keeping pets away from incisions that are healing(no licking or contact) will help to avoid infection. Patients should plan for alternative care for their pets while they are recovering from plastic surgery. Pets overall are good for your health. According to The Los Angeles Times there are obvious pluses and minuses to living with pets, not only with respect to your happiness and housekeeping, but also with respect to your health. Here’s a sampling of some of what scientists know about how pets can affect your physiological and psychological well-being — the good, bad and downright gruesome.

How many times have people used the expressionif I live to be 100? With medical progress this has become a reality for many more people. It is important for patients who are considering plastic surgery to consider the long-term affect of their decision. For example, if Dr. Kim recommends a breast augmentation combined with a breast lift to a patient they should consider the ultimate results that they desire over a life time. Patients may regret if they make a decision to only proceed with the breast augmentation  with the concept that they can always return later for the breast lift. In the overwhelming majority of cases patients do not return for the second surgery. In this case they would forgo the opportunity to have a stellar and gratifying long-term result. Patients are living longer so it is obvious that they would also want to look their best. According to Fox 5 citing technical errors and inadequate quality control, scientists from Boston University have retracted a study that claimed to have found 150 genetic variants linked to extreme old age.

About a year ago, the team, led by geneticist Paola Sebastiani and longevity researcher Dr. Thomas Perls, published results of an examination of the DNA of more than 1,000 centenarians — people who had lived 100 years or longer. They reported discovering 150 genetic variants linked to extreme old age. While there was no single gene behind reaching triple digits, and environment remained a factor, the work suggested that someday people might be able to get a test to see if they carry a longevity gene.