You're Considering Plastic Surgery - But Do You Really Need To Go Under The Knife?

With plenty of shows like Extreme Makeover, Nip/Tuck and the advent of the Discovery Health Channel, the idea of plastic surgery has been gaining a lot of ground. But just because you can get plastic surgery, it doesn't always mean that you should! As a matter of fact, a lot of the things that women want to repair with plastic surgery can be remedied without the costs or risks that surgery entails. When it comes down to it, how sure are you that plastic surgery is your best (or only) option? You're just about to find out!

Should You or Shouldn't You?

Wondering if plastic surgery is the only way to fix your flaws? Honestly, it probably isn't. You'd be surprised at the number of different maladies which don't require plastic surgery to treat or correct. Instead, they can be treated with less invasive options like Botox, acidic peels, microdermabrasion or even over-the-counter remedies.

Which ailments don't require surgery?

?Dark, under-eye circles ?Fine wrinkles under the eyes ?Smile lines around the eyes ?Dry or blotchy skin ?Discoloration or other pigmentation problems ?Those little lines at the corner of the mouth (they look a bit like parentheses) ?Vertical frown lines between your eyebrows ?Fine wrinkles on your cheeks ?The infamous double chin ?Or a slight fullness (or plumpness) along the jaw line.

Conversely, the following conditions can only be remedied by a skilled plastic surgeon:

?Excessive eyelid skin ?Puffiness or deep under-eye circles ?Deep vertical frown lines between the eyebrows ?Jowls hanging over the jaw line ?Hanging skin and deep facial wrinkles ?Very lose neck skin ?Loss of cheek fullness ?A nasolabial fold (a deeper, more severe version of the nasolabial line) etched into the skin.

You'll notice that we didn't list a few cosmetic surgeries you might have expected, like breast augmentation, nose jobs, and so on for a very simple reason - the emotions and the importance of major surgeries like these is hard to measure on the Should You or Shouldn't You scale. If you're in the market for this type of surgery, don't worry. Your plastic surgeon will help you by going over the reasons, options and other tough-to-work-out issues before any surgery is performed.

Regardless of whether or not you ultimately decide to have plastic surgery, it's very important to pick up all of the facts. Any type of surgery, no matter how seemingly minor, comes with serious risks and discomforts. If you're still convinced that surgery is your only way to regain your full confidence, do your homework and find a well-trained, highly recommended surgeon to guide you through the process.

Nathan Fischer writes for BeautyProductsUSA. Stop by for emerging anti-aging wrinkle creams, and Claus Porto soap.

Plastic Surgery - Where Will It Occur

As you evaluate the best plastic surgeon option for your treatment, you might be surprised to learn the location of your surgery should be part of your determination.

Plastic Surgery - Where Will It Occur

The question of the location of your surgery probably never even occurred to you when you started thinking about having plastic surgery. If you are having plastic surgery, it must be done in a hospital, right? Actually, there are a wide variety of options and you need to understand them before making plastic surgeon evaluations. Much of the decision making process will depend on your comfort level with surgical procedures.

There are three options when it comes to the location of your surgery. The first is the traditional hospital setting. The second is a surgical center. The third is actually in the office of the surgeon. By far, the largest percentage of plastic surgery procedures occur in the offices of the surgeon.

Having your surgery done in a hospital is an excellent choice. First, it means your surgeon has hospital privileges, which means the hospital has evaluated the surgeon and found them to have a level of competency the hospital is comfortable with. Second, the hospital surgical process is highly regulated by government, which means you are going to get optimal care before, during and after the procedure.

A surgical center is a facility set up to handle a variety of surgical procedures. Hospitals only have so much space and there is rarely enough time available to handle all the surgeries scheduled in your city or town. The surgical center fills this gap. Much like a hospital, it is heavily regulated and the care is very good. To collect fees, the center must be certified by various government agencies, and the government agencies are sticklers for details like safety. Having your surgery in a surgical center is not indicative of any negative factor.

Many surgeons have surgical facilities built into their offices. Since they are expensive, you will usually find these facilities when there is a group of doctors providing surgical procedures. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this approach, you need to pay close attention to certifications.

Has the facility been certified by an independent group for safety and emergency procedures? The question is not so much whether it is safe for the surgical procedure you are undergoing, but whether the facility is equipped to handle any unexpected problems. Surgery is an invasion of the body and carries inherent risks. It is important that certifications for things such as life support be held by the office and by the nurses.

Having surgery in an office facility is very common and has its benefits. The office option is almost always cheaper than hospitalization or a surgical center. Still, we are talking about your body, so make sure to view the facility, ask for certifications and meet with the nurses. If you are not comfortable with any aspect of the facility, you are better off going with a surgeon who has hospital privileges or using a surgical center.

There are a lot of factors to consider. Make sure you don't leave out the issue of the location of the actual procedure.

Ricardo de Silva is with PlasticSurgeonPractices.com a directory of plastic surgeons. Visit us to read more articles about plastic surgery.

Plastic Surgery Sticker Shock

One of the inevitable issues you will face when considering plastic surgery is the cost. In this article, we talk about the sticker shock of plastic surgery for specific procedures.

Plastic Surgery Sticker Shock

It goes without saying that discussing the "average" of anything is potentially a dangerous task to undertake. In our capitalist economy, prices are dependent on a variety of factors including location, qualification of the plastic surgeon, the number of surgeons in the area and so on.

Given this risk, it is important to understand that the following listings regarding the prices of plastic surgery procedures are to be used as a guideline only. Plastic surgeons in your area may charge exactly these prices, a bit more or a bit less. These numbers will give you a range to consider, but comparing costs quoted by the plastic surgeons you evaluate in your area is the only way to determine the going rate in your town or city. With that caveat in mind, following are procedures and the stick shock prices you might expect to find.

Liposuction - $3,000 to $5,000

Breast Augmentation: $3,500 to $8,000

Rhinoplasty: $4,000 to $8,000

Botox: $300 each location

Eyelid Lift: $3,000 to $6,000

Facelift: $7,500 to $15,000

Tummy Tuck: $5,000 to $10,000

Collagen Injections: $400 to $700

The above procedures tend to be the most popular as of the writing of this article. There are variations to each and entirely new procedures are being offered all of the time. In general, the more specific or new the procedure, the more you are going to pay.

Having put forth the above prices, it is important that you understand something very clearly. Plastic surgery will improve your appearance, but it is a medical procedure like any other. Your body will be modified. Just like you would not select a heart surgeon based on their fees, you should not do so with plastic surgeons. If you find a multiple surgeons you are comfortable with, pricing can be a factor. It should never be the primary factor.

Although the above prices may be cause a bit of sticker shock, plastic surgery costs have actually come down significantly over the last 15 years. Imagine what they used to be!

Ricardo de Silva is with PlasticSurgeonPractices.com a directory of plastic surgeons. Visit us to read more articles about plastic surgery.

Plastic Surgery & A Look At Rhinoplasty

Rhinoplasty, commonly referred to as a "nose job", is one of the most popular forms of plastic surgery. Used to reconstruct or repair the nose, rhinoplasty is performed on individuals who wish to change their appearance, either in subtle or dramatic form, or for those who require plastic surgery in order to repair damage suffered in an accident.

As is the case with any surgical procedure, including plastic surgery, there are specific risks of infection and/or complications. Rhinoplasty, however, typically requires only small incisions and can either be performed under a local or general anesthetic. The ultimate decision to undergo plastic surgery involves a number of factors, including the patient's desire, the physician's recommendation and the complexity of the surgery.

Understandably, many patients are concerned about their decision to have plastic surgery. In addition, they may have a lot of questions surrounding the procedure itself. During the initial surgical consultation, the patient will likely be invited to view either printed or computerized images of how plastic surgery may change their appearance.

One of the greatest hurdles in undergoing plastic surgery is the cost involved. Depending on the patient's reason for requesting any type of plastic surgery, including rhinoplasty, insurance policies may or may not cover the cost associated with the surgery. If plastic surgery is performed in order to correct injuries resulting from an accident, insurance companies may be more likely to agree. Depending on the insurance company, a second opinion by a qualified physician may help to prove the need for surgery. However, if plastic surgery is requested as an elected procedure, patients may end up footing the bill.

For patients who will be accepting the financial responsibility for rhinoplasty, or any other type of plastic surgery, many hospitals offer a convenient payment plan. Patients will often be directed to the billing office in order to review the hospital's policy on payment. In almost every case, the patient will be required to sign an agreement accepting full financial responsibility for the services. Because the cost of surgery, the hospital stay and medications can add up quickly, many physicians will urge plastic surgery candidates to carefully consider their decision before proceeding. If a payment plan is reached and hardships later arise causing the patient to miss payments, the hospital may retain their right to file a civil lawsuit in order to collect a judgement for the remaining balance due.

The information in this article is intended for informational purposes only. It should not be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional medical advice and/or recommendations. An individual who is interested in any form of plastic surgery, including rhinoplasty, should consult their physician for more information.

To learn more about plastic surgery, please visit our website at http://top-plastic-surgery-tips.info . It is continually updated with the latest rhinoplasty research and resources.

Plastic Surgery Gone Wrong Not Just News

As with just about anything in life, there are many things that can go wrong with plastic surgery. But just as we don't hear news reports about the millions of planes that have taken off and landed safely, there is not the same attention devoted to the many success stories of cosmetic surgeries as there is to plastic surgery gone wrong. There are risks involved with this type of surgery, as there are in undergoing operations of any kind, but the usual difference is that while no doctor can force a patient to have surgery of any kind - even if it is a life-saving operation to remove a cancerous tumor - plastic surgery is generally a little more elective than the other.

And perhaps this is why we seem to delight in hearing about plastic surgery gone wrong. Nowhere is our interest in celebrities as heightened or as vicious as in this arena. While assigning the delight we find in the personal disaster of another human being to jealousy might be overly simplistic, there is doubtlessly a sense here of revelling in the fall of someone we thought - or felt they thought themselves - to be untouchable.

It seems that regardless of the expensive doctors they might have access to, the rich and famous are as susceptible to the vagaries of happenstance as the rest of us - sometimes, things simply just go wrong. Plastic surgery has literally been the death of some, and side effects can be life threatening. Even relatively minor mishaps can be unsightly and embarrassing, and plastic surgery gone wrong includes an enormous range of problems, from capsular contraction in breast implants (where the implants harden painfully) to problems with the wound and the slippage of implants inserted in a range of locations, including cheeks, chin, and butt. Surely we wouldn't wish these accidents on our worst enemies - unless they were in the public eye.

So celebrities might have thousands of things we think we want, but they are as subject to the whims of higher powers just as the rest of us are. Above all, we are all human, and plastic surgery gone wrong, regardless of the paycheck of the life it affects, is a painful and upsetting time. Let's just hope they get well soon.

Jeff Lakie is the founder of http://www.botox-treatment-information.com a website providing information on cosmetic surgery

How To Choose The Top Face Lift Surgeon In Your Area

In business, social settings, and even in our personal lives, we are often advised to ?put our best face forward.? This saying means, of course, to present the world with the most winning version of ourselves. But there is more to it than that. Every day, people make snap judgments about each other based on appearance alone. It is completely natural to jump to conclusions based on someone?s personal appearance because, at first, that is all the information with which we are supplied.

Because of the importance of one?s appearance in daily life, many people choose to undergo cosmetic surgery to alter, enhance or improve their appearance. Some people do this for personal satisfaction, while others do it so they look fresher and more confident in the workplace. No matter what your reason for being interested in a face lift, it is important to find a great surgeon who will understand your goals and help you put your best face forward.

Make a List of the Plastic Surgeons in Your Area

You can begin by using the Internet, the yellow pages and professional networks to find surgeons in your region who specialize in this procedure. Alternately, you can ask for recommendations from your physician. If you know anyone who has undergone a face lift surgery, or other cosmetic procedure with favorable results, ask them about their experience. Would they recommend their doctor to you?

Narrow Your List

Once you have compiled this list, narrow it down based on your particular requirements. You want a doctor who has many years of experience performing face lifts, but is it important to you to find a face lift surgeon who sits on specialized medical boards or has won awards? By taking such questions into consideration and doing a bit of research about the doctors on your list, you will be able to narrow it down.

From there, you can research the specific work of each face lift surgeon left on your list. Many surgeons have websites with information about their career and education as well as before and after photos of their patients. You can also review the doctor?s portfolio when you go in for your initial consultation. Do not be afraid of consulting with a few different surgeons to find the best fit for you. After all, you will be putting the fate of your face in his or her hands.

Make Sure That Your Doctor Can Perform Many Types of Face Lift Procedures

Because every face is unique, every face lift surgery is a bit different. In addition to a general face lift, some patients require additional procedures such as brow lifts, neck lifts, eyelid surgery and even implants to improve the contour of their face. The surgeon that you choose should be well-versed in all of these types of procedures.

Face Lift Alternatives

When you do find a face lift surgeon you like, be sure to ask him or her if you might be a good candidate for face lift alternatives. Inquire about non-surgical face lifts and mini face lifts. For more information on how to find face lift surgeons in your area, as well as types of face lifts and face lift alternatives, visit http://www.docshop.com

Important Facts About Face Lifts

One of the most discouraging aspects of a face lift is the fact that you will not walk out of the office looking beautiful. In many cases, a lot of people will not see the difference. The purpose of a face lift is not to return you to the beauty you enjoyed when you were twenty, or to make you beautiful, but to correct imperfections and reduce the signs of aging.

Plastic surgeons take a lot of time trying to explain to people that they will still look the same when they walk out of the office, but people listen and do not hear. This is in part to advertising.

Every single face lift clinic has the image of a young girl, a perfect eye, or a flawless completion in their ad. In fact, it can be shocking to look at the ads. I?ve seen ads with women?s bellies that were flawless. However, on a closer look I noticed that the woman?s belly was too fat ? she had no developed womb. The ?image? that the doctor was portraying to his potential patients was from a pre-pubescent female.

This is often done when advertising face lifts. The skin of a very young person, under sixteen has an iridescent glow, a full, translucent quality, and an innocence that is emotionally appealing. There is a subliminal message there, ?you can look like this again.?

Of course, we all want to look younger, but to expect a plastic surgeon to return your face to the beauty displayed in high school pictures is not only impossible, it is ridiculous.

Another thing that many patient do not hear is that plastic surgeons can only do so much. There is only a certain amount of skin that can be nipped and tucked before the face starts to look weird.

A 49 year old woman can expect to look 40, or even 30, if she has good healthy skin. It is impossible to make her look 20.

There are other considerations when having a face lift that includes the patients weight. A 200 pound woman will look foolish if the doctor removes the fat from her face, but leaves it around the rest of their body.

This means that the doctor may remove the lines, sags, and wrinkles, but leave the fat. But, this is not the only concern. A person with a lot of weight who wants extensive face lift surgery may see their face shape change, oval to round, round to oval. Only a surgeon can accurately predict what will happen.

This doesn?t mean that there isn?t good news. It is possible to exchange a tired looking, saggy face for a tighter, brighter face. It is possible to bring out one beautiful feature, eyes, nose, or mouth, and enhance its beauty in a way that adds a glow to the entire face.

And, it is possible, in many cases, for plastic surgeons to correct flaws that are not associated with beauty.

It is also important to understand that the face will continue to age. Jowls can reappear in as little as two years. Lines will reappear. A face lift is not a long term cure for aging.

But, understanding these things before you enter the surgeons office can make it easier for patients to pick the procedure that will make them feel beautiful and empower them so they can get on with living.

Ethan Miller advises on improving your heath and reducing pain from his web site at http://www.lasikpower.com He invites you to get his FREE health guide http://www.cosmeticsurgerystar.com

Turning Back The Clock With Cosmetic Facelift Surgery

It seems that every time we turn on our televisions, open a magazine, or listen to the radio we are met with another reference, story, or advertisement for cosmetic facelift surgery. No longer are the masses content to just grow old gracefully; not when there are medical miracles happening that can prolong youth and sustain beauty. And while cosmetic facelift surgery is certainly not for everyone, in many it has transformed the way they feel about aging ? putting their appearance back into their control.

Cosmetic facelift surgery works to erase common signs of aging ? drooping eyelids, deep fold and wrinkles, loose skin, and loss of definition. It can be an incredibly successful surgery that ? when healed ? can restore ten years to your face. But, as with any surgery, cosmetic facelift surgery must be approached with caution and education.

First and foremost, you must decide if cosmetic facelift surgery is something that you want to do for yourself or something that you feel must be done to please others. Cosmetic surgery of any kind should be for person and one person only ? you. Having cosmetic facelift surgery to help you feel better about yourself is absolutely valid; having surgery simply because someone tells you that you should look a certain way are not the right reason.

If you are confident that cosmetic facelift surgery is something that you want to explore then you should begin by doing your homework. Look into the details of the procedures you want done. Learn the requirements for surgery, and what to expect prior to, during, and after the surgery. Talk to other people who have undergone cosmetic facelift surgery so you can gage the recovery time and expected results. The Internet is a great place to find people who are in similar situations.

However, finding a reputable doctor to perform your cosmetic facelift surgery is the most important piece of the puzzle. Just because a surgeon is licensed to perform a cosmetic facelift surgery, doesn?t mean that he/she is the best person for the job. Extensively research the credentials of any surgeon you are considering. Better yet, ask for references of other patients that have had a cosmetic facelift surgery performed by this particular doctor. You?ll be able to see some examples of results up close and establish the doctor?s reputation.

Your meetings with the surgeon prior to your cosmetic facelift surgery should make you feel well informed, respected, and comfortable. Be sure to openly discuss any concerns that you have about the surgery and ask a lot of questions.

Be sure that you are clear on the risks associated with cosmetic facelift surgery. As with any cosmetic surgery there is the risk of fluid retention and infection. But using a reputable, experienced surgeon largely minimizes these risks.

You will, however, have some recovery time following the cosmetic facelift surgery. Expect some swelling, bruising, and possibly some minimal bleeding during the healing process. Be sure to follow-up with your doctor if you experience anything unusual; and follow all instructions for proper healing.

If done properly by a reputable and experienced surgeon, your cosmetic facelift surgery can be enormously successful and restore to you a youthful appearance.

For easy to understand, in depth information about cosmetic surgery visit our ezGuide 2 Cosmetic surgery.

Beyond Blossoms Gives Online Flower Shops a Facelift

At Beyond Blossoms, a New England based flower company featuring European style fresh flower bouquets, business is blooming. With its newly redesigned website (http://www.beyondblossoms.com) the up-and-coming company is challenging larger competitors such as Proflowers and 1-800-Flowers to give customers a better online floral experience.

Before the launch, co-founders Josh Grossman and Gina Maschek researched how to differentiate their flower company from a sea of online competitors. Says Josh, Basically, we visited the websites of our major competitors acting as regular customers to see what we liked and did not like about their sites. The two created a long list of areas to improve on, including: offering fewer products and price points, offering more flower varieties such as lisianthus and cymbidium orchids, and creating a more elegant, minimalist interface. Gina comments, If you look at one of our competitors sites for example, a search for roses will lead to 259 results displayed over 44 pages. Too much choice leads to a cluttered looking website and customer confusion. We purposely limited our entire product line to about 30 bouquets so customers can make a decision a lot quicker. The website also allows users to search by flower color, earn rewards points for free flowers, get reminder emails (so you never miss another anniversary!), and specifies exactly how many stems are in each bouquet.

Josh, originally from New York, and Gina, originally from Germany, met while obtaining their MBAs from Babson College in Wellesley, MA. The owners launched Beyond Blossoms after writing a business plan for an entrepreneurship class. We were looking for a business that would allow us to be creative and sell something that people love. Flowers are the perfect item, Josh states. In 2003, the company began servicing clients in the Boston Metro area before moving to New Hampshire in August 2004 after completing its first round of financing.

Beyond Blossoms buys its flowers straight from the grower to make sure theyre fresh. Using only 2-3 kinds of flowers in each bouquet, the company gives the arrangements a sophisticated look different from garden-style bouquets (which typically use a large mix of flowers and colors). A good example is the companys Mediterranean Stroll Bouquet. It combines orange roses, purple trachelium, and lime green bupleurum. Each bouquet is hand-tied so recipients dont need to do any arranging. Finally, the flowers are shipped by FedEx overnight in gift box so the recipient doesnt have to be home for delivery.

Before the launch, co-founders Josh Grossman and Gina Maschek researched how to differentiate their flower company from a sea of online competitors. Says Josh, Basically, we visited the websites of our major competitors acting as regular customers to see what we liked and did not like about their sites. The two created a long list of areas to improve on, including: offering fewer products and price points, offering more flower varieties such as lisianthus and cymbidium orchids, and creating a more elegant, minimalist interface. Gina comments, If you look at one of our competitors sites for example, a search for roses will lead to 259 results displayed over 44 pages. Too much choice leads to a cluttered looking website and customer confusion. We purposely limited our entire product line to about 30 bouquets so customers can make a decision a lot quicker. The website also allows users to search by flower color, earn rewards points for free flowers, get reminder emails (so you never miss another anniversary!), and specifies exactly how many stems are in each bouquet.

Josh, originally from New York, and Gina, originally from Germany, met while obtaining their MBAs from Babson College in Wellesley, MA. The owners launched Beyond Blossoms after writing a business plan for an entrepreneurship class. We were looking for a business that would allow us to be creative and sell something that people love. Flowers are the perfect item, Josh states. In 2003, the company began servicing clients in the Boston Metro area before moving to New Hampshire in August 2004 after completing its first round of financing.

Beyond Blossoms buys its flowers straight from the grower to make sure theyre fresh. Using only 2-3 kinds of flowers in each bouquet, the company gives the arrangements a sophisticated look different from garden-style bouquets (which typically use a large mix of flowers and colors). A good example is the companys Mediterranean Stroll Bouquet. It combines orange roses, purple trachelium, and lime green bupleurum. Each bouquet is hand-tied so recipients dont need to do any arranging. Finally, the flowers are shipped by FedEx overnight in gift box so the recipient doesnt have to be home for delivery.