Plastic Surgery on Mexico

Who in their right mind would go to Mexico for plastic surgery? After all, isn't it a third world country?

Mexico is not exactly a first world country, but, at least in its metropolitan areas, it is far from a third world country.

It is also home to a fine medical school at the University of Guadalajara, where a lot of American students receive their medical degrees. Guadalajara is also the location of the prestigious Institute of Reconstructive Surgery which has been educating physicians from around the world in the latest surgical techniques for over 35 years.

Guadalajara alone has more than 75 certified plastic surgeons and most of the hospital facilities are first rate. Another benefit is the culture of care you will find in Mexico. Unlike most US doctors who seem to be in an eternal rush to get their patients out of their offices, in Mexico doctors spend time listening to their patients' needs and responding to their concerns.

Most of the doctors in Mexico speak at least a little English. Many of them have taken graduate courses or have done their internships and/or residencies in the States. Some are Board Certified by US licensing agencies.

In addition to Guadalajara, there are many fine plastic surgeons in Mexico City and the northern city of Monterrey. There are also many clinics along the Texas, Arizona and California borders, but there you are taking a bigger chance that the care will not be first rate. If you are considering a border clinic, take extra care in checking out the physicians and the facilities.

The cost of a face lift in Guadalajara is about $2500 US. A full suite of services including lifting the eyelids and forehead will run about $6000. These include your hospital or clinic stays.

Even Botox injections are substantially cheaper.

There are services such as Airlift, Inc., which is owned by a nurse, which arrange everything for you, from your flight down, your accommodations while in the county and the doctor, nursing and hospital fees.

In many cases, you can arrange to recuperate in a pleasant facility with round the clock nursing care. By the time most of the swelling and bruising are under control, you will be ready to return home with your new look.

There is a downside however. One of the reasons US care is so expensive is malpractice lawsuits. One of the reasons that Mexican procedures are so cheap is that malpractice is not recognized in Mexico. So, if something does go wrong, you will have no recourse.

However, thousands of Americans, Canadian and even residents of South America flock to Mexico every year for face lifts and other cosmetic procedures. I have been living part time in Mexico for over nine years and have many friends who have had successful surgeries.

Check out the credentials of any physician you are considering carefully, Try to get references. If possible visit one of these cities beforehand so that you can become familiar with the facilities available and you can meet with some of the plastic surgeons.

There is a large ex-patriot community in and around these cities. You can always find help and references by visiting with some of these residents, who are among the biggest consumers of this type of care.

If you have a little sense of adventure and wish to save thousands of dollars on cosmetic surgery, Mexico might be the place for you.

For more information on plastic surgery, visit http://www.ageless-beauty.com/antiaging-cosmetic-procedures.html

Jean Bowler was a ballet dancer and instructor, a teacher, a personal trainer and a cosmetics consultant. She is editor of Ageless Beauty - http://www.ageless-beauty.com

Ford Mondeo LX TDCi 130 PS Hatchback 2003 Pre-Facelift Model - Used Car Review

Background

Replacing the Sierra in 1993 with a $6bn new car programme (one of the most expensive ever), the Ford Mondeo has become one of the most popular mid-size vehicles in the UK market. It?s no coincidence that its reliability has made the Ford Mondeo the favoured car for fleet owners of any size.

The current MkIII (mark 3) model Ford Mondeo was introduced in 2000 after the MkII (mark 2) mondeo was discontinued 3 years after its inception in 1997. The third generation Ford Monde was launched in 2000, and addressed the 2 main criticisms of its predecessor: the modest legroom and sluggish diesel engine. The legroom is noticeably bigger and the pull of the straight-four-cylinder, turbo-intercooled, 16-valve direct-injection TDCi engine is a marked improvement. The chain-driven camshafts also rectified a common problem in the earlier models.

The security of the Ford Mondo MkIII is also an improvement on its predecessors, including the Intelligent Protection System (IPS), anti-lock brakes and electronic brake distribution. No wonder it frequently featured as the most popular car in its class at the turn of the new decade and ranked as high as 8th top selling car in the UK.

Common faults
Injectors.
The review

We purchased the Mondeo LX 130 TDCi as a 3? year old diesel vehicle with 85,000 miles on the clock and full Ford service history.
To look at the MkIII (mark 3) Ford Mondeo is still a modern looking car, and with 85,000 miles on the clock, this Mondeo neither looks nor feels tired. The light metallic blue paint gives it a bright, happy look, and although the wheel trims don?t have the same effect of the alloy wheels (alloys) of the zetec or ghia models, this LX is still a great looking car. With the dash and centre console following the lead set by the 1996 Volkswagen (VW) Passat, and a nice dark charcoal upholstery, I was looking forward to getting behind the wheel for the roadtest.

On the road I wasn?t disappointed, and the extra 15 PS made the 130 PS TDCi faster than a lot of its petrol rivals I came across that tried to add an extra minute or two onto my journey time. The handling was fine, brakes sharp, and the increased torque was just enough to keep the ride ?pokey? without the slip-and-slide of a lighter competitor. And it even has lower emissions than its 115 zetec counterpart...

In summary, a good pedigree, good handling, solid build quality, generous equipment, roomy interiors and low cost servicing. And when you can get 200 to 300,000 miles from a well serviced TDCi Ford Mondeo LX 130 for only ?5495 on the road, you won?t be disappointed with your investment.

Please feel free to submit your comments and experience of your Ford Mondeo LX 130 PS 2003(03) 2.0 TDCi hatchback to the webmaster at the used car world website.

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Creating The Elusive ?lunchtime Facelift?

The "lunchtime facelift" has been the holy grail in plastic surgery for quite a while. The idea of providing facial rejuvenation with no downtime appeals to both plastic surgeons and patients. Get your treatment, look improved and freshened, and immediately go back to work, out on the town or, for some of our entertainment patients here in Beverly Hills, head over to the red carpet at an awards show. Who wouldn't want to get their facial rejuvenation and then have no recovery?

Essentially all of the so called "no downtime facelifts" or "lunchtime facelifts" simply did not live up to their billing. As a plastic surgeon, I know that surgery involves recovery. It is just the way the body responds to a surgical procedure. Traditionally, if the body did not react to the procedure, nothing much was really done and few changes were visible when all was said and done.

But now we have many nonsurgical techniques that can create instant facial freshening -- removing or smoothing wrinkles, plumping lips -- with no recovery. Botox, Restylane, Juvederm, Radiesse, Sculptra and other new products provide facial rejuvenation and do not create scars or undue swelling. They can help achieve that elusive goal of improvements without downtime. This is perhaps the biggest revolution in plastic surgery in thirty years.

These products work very differently. When we do Beverly Hills Botox we are using the medicine to paralyze some of the tiny muscles in the face. The twitching of these muscles creates a skin wrinkle on the skin that lies above it. If the muscles lay quietly, they do not tense and cause a wrinkle in the skin above. Botox is extremely safe, its results are predictable, and it can create fantastic improvements in facial appearance. My sister recently had it for the first time, and it dramatically improved and freshened the look of her face ? just like I have seen it do for countless other of my patients.

The we use Beverly Hills skin fillers skin fillers such as Restylane and Juvederm we work to provide bulk under the skin to fill in wrinkles from below. They are very effective for both small lines and larger ones, such as the nasolabial folds which run from the sides of the nose toward the outside edges of the side of the mouth and the so-called marionette lines that go along the side of the chin.

Each person's face is different, so each person will do best with a different noninvasive treatment and nonsurgical skin rejuvenation. But the various procedures do provide fast changes with little or no recovery. Where in the past the ?weekend facelift? was illusory, it is now possible to create dramatic changes without downtime.

Lloyd M. Krieger, MD is founder of Rodeo Drive Plastic Surgery in Beverly Hills, California. Information is available on Beverly Hills Botox and Beverly Hills skin fillers.

The Laserlyte LiftTM - The First True Non-Surgical Face Lift

Nearly everyone over 30 years old sees wrinkles, loose skin and other signs of facial aging staring back at them in the mirror. Many would like to have a fresher younger looking face but no one wants to have plastic surgery. In recent years technological advances such as Botox?, Restylane?, Radiesse?, and new Lasers, IPL and skin tightening machines like Thermage?, Titan?, LuxIR?, and Aluma?, have improved the plastic surgeons ability to rejuvenate the face non-surgically, but none have been able to deliver the often promised "non-surgical face-lift." The best results have achieved about a 30 % tightening of the facial skin. Dramatic results have been achieved in "wrinkle removal" when proper techniques have been applied, but true lifting or tightening of the facial skin has been modest at best

The new LaserLyte Lift? promises to achieve a much more significant rejuvenation and lifting of the face with a new non-surgical multi-modality technique three phase procedure which not only tightens the facial skin but also removes wrinkles and other aging changes on the surface of the skin--all achieved non-surgically with minimal or no down time.

This new non-surgical high tech procedure is based on the theory that all of the skin layers must be treated and rejuvenated to accomplish true facial rejuvenation and is based on the principles of the 6-step facial rejuvenation program? outlined in my book "Save Your Face-The Revolutionary 6-Step Facial Rejuvenation Program.

The important changes in the facial skin which lead to an aged appearance occur predominantly in 3 layers-the epidermis or outer layer that you see in the mirror, and two deeper layers-the superficial and the deep dermis--the pink part of your skin you see when you scrape your knee.

As we age, the sun's UV rays, and other age related factors damage all 3 layers of the skin. We see these changes in the form of wrinkles, brown spots and dry skin-changes in the Epidermis or outer layer. However the major changes causing wrinkles and sagging skin is damage to the 2 deeper layers of the dermis.

The result of aging changes in both layers of the dermis is the loss of collagen. Collagen plumps the skin and gives the skin its tone and elasticity. When we lose collagen from the dermis the skin loses volume and becomes wrinkled-the same way a plum turns into a prune when it loses water after drying. In addition when we lose collagen we lose elasticity, the skin does not snap back when we pull on it and release it, and the skin sags.

The key to non-surgical facial rejuvenation or a non-surgical face-lift is to remove the superficial aging changes form the superficial epidermis and restore new collagen and thus volume and elasticity to both the superficial and deep layers of the dermis

Contemporary non-surgical methods such as laser, IPL, Radiofrequency (Aluma?, Thermage?), and Infrared (LuxIR?, Titan?,) energies are capable of treating the surface of the skin and the deep dermis, but do not treat the middle layer of the dermis and thus cannot achieve complete non-surgical rejuvenation or a non-surgical face-lift.

New technology has finally enabled us to treat the middle skin layer-the upper dermis and stimulate new collagen regeneration in this layer using a 1540 fractionated erbium laser made by Palomar, with minimal or no down time. Thus we are now able to treat all three skin layers affected by aging, removing surface irregularities such as wrinkles, brown spots, and dry skin, and restoring collagen and thus plumping volume and elasticity to the middle and deep skin layers.

Thus we can achieve a true non-surgical facial rejuvenation or non-surgical face-lift for the first time addressing all three layers of the aged skin.

This procedure is called the LaserLyte Lift? because Laser and other forms of light (lyte) energy are used to treat the three skin layers. The procedure takes time, as it requires multiple treatments scheduled several weeks apart over a time course of several months. However the results are striking-you can see them and believe them--you don't have to try to convince yourself that they are there as you have with so many "miracle wrinkle cures" you have tried in the past.

The LaserLyte Lift? involves three treatment protocols or phases.

Phase I begins with the important first 2 steps of the 6-step program?, deep exfoliation and stimulation of new collagen growth near the surface of the skin. This phase removes wrinkles, brown spots and restores the skins shiny glow. This is the LaserLyte Peel? achieved with the Lumenis Active Fx laser. This peel is performed with a topical skin anesthetic, takes 25 minutes, and leaves you pink for 4-5 days. Some people only need one peel others may need 2 or 3.These peels are scheduled 6-8 weeks apart.

Phase II-which is painless and involves no down time begins about 4weeks after your first LaserLyte Peel and is the start of your skin tightening regimen through stimulation of new collagen growth in the deep dermal layer by the application of Infrared or other energy which penetrates through the epidermis and superficial dermis to the deep dermis, to restore collagen and elasticity and tighten the facial skin. Treatments are spaced 4 weeks apart and at least 4 sessions are required.

The start of Phase III, mid dermal collagen stimulation, which involves no pain and minimal pinkness for a few hours only, using the 1540 or similar effective wavelength starts at a variable timetable depending on how many LaserLyte Peels you need. If you only need one peel Phase 3 can begin as early as 2-3 months and be alternated with Phase 2 at 2-week intervals. If you need 3 LaserLyte Peels then Phase 3 will not begin until 5-6 months.

While the LaserLyte Lift? takes time it is the only method of facial rejuvenation to actively treat all three layers of the skin and thus the only method to achieve effective facial rejuvenation non-surgically. In fact, the LaserLyte Lift? achieves more thorough facial rejuvenation than a surgical face-lift. A surgical face-lift only tightens the skin, after a surgical face-lift you have tight "old" skin. The LaserLyte Lift? renews and rejuvenates all three skin layers, thus when you are finished your face truly looks younger, and remember, you are avoiding surgery and its dangers and discomfort. More importantly you are achieving true facial rejuvenation with wrinkle removal and new collagen, which plumps and tightens your skin to a truly youthful appearance.

As technology advances we undoubtedly will be able to achieve results is less time. However at present the LaserLyte Lift is the only method for rejuvenation of all three skin layers and it takes several months to achieve a good result.

For some people with very severe aging plastic surgery will be the best option, either in the form of a face-lift or laser resurfacing or both.

But for the vast majority of my patients who I see daily in my practice the LaserLyte Lift? is an excellent way to achieve true facial rejuvenation without surgery a real "non-surgical" face-lift, with results you can see. No face cream, diet, laser, IPL, or other technology alone can achieve as good a result.

If you start before you have severe aging changes you will likely never need to have a face-lift.

Dr Brooke R. Seckel, Asst. Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School was recently named a Top Doctor in Boston by Boston Magazine. He is also listed as one of the Best Doctors in America. Dr Seckel is an internationally recognized expert in Plastic Surgery. Dr Seckel's office is in Boston at 617-262-2208 or at http://saveyourface.com/