What causes lash thinning?

Aging brings about thinning hair in all sorts of ways, and eyelashes are far from immune. As you age you may notice you have fewer eyelashes, and that the ones you do have are no longer as long and thick as they once were. You might also find that your eyelash color lightens. The result is that your lashes no longer create the same pleasing frame for your eyes as they once did.

This happens because areas that once produced terminal hair – hair that is thick and dark – begin to produce vellus hair – softer, finer hair that does not have the same depth of pigment as terminal hair. These changes, known as  hypotrichosis , can be part of the hormone loss associated with the natural aging process, or they can result from a few separate medical conditions.

How effective is Latisse for thinning lashes?

Clinical trials showed Latisse to be effective in 78% of participants. Most who have used this treatment report that they began to see positive changes in their eyelash thickness within a few weeks.

How is it used, and what are the side effects?

Latisse is a liquid serum that is applied daily to the upper lashes, but not the lower, and it is only available by prescription.

Some reported side effects include darker pigmentation in both the eye and eyelid, as well as burning and itching in the eyes.

It is also important to note that the eyelash changes affected with this treatment are not permanent, so if you decide to discontinue using the product, your eyelashes will eventually return to their previous length and thickness.

Be sure to tell your prescribing doctor if you have any conditions of the eye. Depending on the issue, you may still be able to use Latisse, you’ll just need closer medical supervision. If you opt for another elective procedure involving the eye, such as eyelid surgery, your doctor may ask you to stop treatment for a time leading up to and following your procedure.

If you have any questions about Latisse that haven’t been answered here, give us a call, and we’ll be happy to assist you.

A recent episode of the TLC series “My Strange Addiction” profiled Sheyla Hershey. Although Sheyla is the Guinness record holder for breast size, she says she still isn’t satisfied with a 38KKK breast size. Sheyla has undergone a total of 22 surgeries in 13 years to increase her breast size from its natural B cup.

Sheyla’s next goal was to go to a MMM breast size but after the most recent round of surgery, she’s suffered from a severe staph infection. The ordeal was near fatal and in fact caused her to lose her implants for a while.

The ordeal also reportedly led to a deep depression and a couple of suicide attempts – after the infection subsided though, she was able to get her KKK size restored.

Unfortunately, near death isn’t deterring Sheyla from increasing her size more.

Having such a large bust size has meant a lot of sacrifices for Sheyla, including being able to tie her own shoes, jog or even hug her daughter normally.

However, Sheyla says that after each surgery to increase her breast size, she’s only satisfied for a little while after which she begins to feel they’re too small and that she’s ugly.

Take a look at the short clip below from TLC’s show “My Strange Addiction.”

Stories like Sheyla’s should serve as a good example on how NOT to approach cosmetic surgery procedures. For her last procedure, Sheyla had to travel to Brazil to even get it done due to a law in her home state of Texas limiting the amount of silicone a person can have injected.

The mother is certainly putting her life in danger by undergoing so many surgeries voluntarily.

When considering cosmetic procedures like breast enlargement or a facelift, be sure you have realistic expectations and not do it for strictly emotional reasons.

Eyelid surgery is one of the least invasive procedures available, but it is still a surgery, and patients need to prepare for a few possible lifestyle changes leading up to the procedure, as well as how to handle the recovery period.

Since this is generally an outpatient procedure, preparation is not as extensive as that for some other plastic surgeries. Regardless, you will be given medical tests and specific instructions about how to care for the surgical site, and should take these instructions seriously. Since the goal of blepharoplasty is to enhance facial appearance, the last thing you want to do is unnecessarily sabotage your own recovery, which could possibly affect your overall results.

Gainesville eyelid surgeons will answer any questions you have while preparing for surgery, and you can read a fully detailed explanation of how to prepare for blepharoplasty on our main website, but what the instructions and medical terminology don’t address is mental preparedness.

Specifically, it is important that you evaluate your own reasons for seeking eyelid surgery, and be clear about your expectations regarding the outcome. Blepharoplasty is a restorative procedure, not a reconstructive one. After your recovery has completed, the person you see in the mirror will still have your eyes, simply with a smoother and less tired appearance.

You should also plan to be patient

It can be two weeks or more before you see the final results of your eyelid surgery. Your Florida eyelid surgeon will explain the process more fully during your consultation, but be aware that immediately following your procedure you will have swelling, bruises and stitches in the surgical area.

If your blepharoplasty is something you’d rather keep private, make sure you have a friend or family member available to help with errands during your recovery, and consider purchasing sunglasses with larger frames should you need to go out before the swelling and bruising have dissipated.

Our Gainesville eyelid surgeons are dedicated to making sure your procedure will enhance facial appearance, giving your eyes a younger, fresher look. To ensure that your blepharoplasty is a success, you should be just as dedicated to properly preparing for your procedure and following your surgeon’s instructions.

The patient in question: television visual effects professional Tim Barter, who works on the popular UK series “Dr. Who.” Barter had lost his house keys one night in 2009, and when he attempted to enter his home through a second story window, he instead plunged 25 feet to the ground.

Barter’s cheek bone and eye socket were shattered in the fall, and he suffered a brain hemorrhage which left him in a coma for 10 days. When he awoke and it became clear that he would survive his injuries, surgeons at King’s College Hospital were then left with the dilemma of how to reconstruct not only Barter’s shattered facial bones, but also a portion of his skull which had been removed to treat swelling related to his brain hemorrhage.

Initially, surgeons followed the popular procedure of fitting Barter with multiple titanium implants.

These types of implants are becoming the standard in the industry, because titanium has shown to cause less infection in patients receiving implants than other materials. At first, plates were only installed in his face, where the cheekbone eye socket had been shattered, but several months later it became apparent that Barter would need an implant in his skull as well.

The opening where Barter’s skull had been removed was causing serious symptoms, including intense pain and vision problems whenever the patient bent over or performed other normal day-to-day activities. When Barter explained the symptoms to his doctors at King’s College Hospital, they used the uninjured portion of his skull to create a template for another titanium implant.

Due to the accident and bone removal, however, some of the muscles in Barter’s temple had begun to wither, leaving a visible hole. This is where the innovative belly fat procedure came in. The UK surgeons removed a portion of fat from Barter’s stomach and injected it into his forehead.

Today, Barter is not only doing well following these procedures, but claims he may be in better health than he was before the accident. He has even taken up sports like kayaking and rock climbing, and says that fear of falling is not an issue.

A serious accident like the one Tim Barter suffered could have been life-ending. Instead, thanks to the dedication and innovation of the plastic surgeons at King’s College Hospital, Barter seems to be living life more fully than ever before.

Some might think the procedures that we perform are unattainable except by those in the highest income bracket, but this is a misconception. The cosmetic surgery field offers so many numerous treatments, and we see patients from just about every income level.

One of the greatest things about plastic surgery to me is the sheer variety of services we can offer to our patients. Our field is heavily involved in research, so new procedures are constantly being developed, while existing methods get honed and improved. The result of this is that we can serve a wider variety of patients.

A woman quoted in the ASAPS article discusses her intention to get a breast lift. She relates that she knew she wanted the procedure after the birth of her youngest child. This isn’t a Hollywood actress getting a facelift or Botox treatments to boost her career. This is a mom looking to do something for herself in the midst of packing lunches and giving her kids rides to soccer practice.

That’s what’s so great about the plastic surgery industry today. There isn’t just one market for our services. One patient might walk into the office looking for breast implants and a butt lift to turn heads on the Florida beach, while the next patient we see could be interested in otoplasty to correct his protruding ears, build confidence and improve his career prospects.

The habit of using an income tax return for an elective or luxury purchase is a fairly long-standing tradition for a large part of the American population, but a down economy changes that. Instead, when budgets are tight, many families have to use their tax refunds for practical things like mortgage and car payments.

Seeing that people are choosing to spend that windfall on cosmetic surgery this year signifies that the economy is finally, truly bouncing back, since folks again have the option of using their tax returns for things that aren’t dire needs. We can also assume from this is that patients are looking to cosmetic surgery for the same reasons they always did, including improved self-confidence and better career prospects.

All in all, I’d say this is definitely good news for the economy.

Whether you buy the story not, it certainly makes quite a tale. Brazilian surgeon Dr. Liacyr Ribeiro tells of being spirited into a bunker in the dead of night, where Gaddafi explained that he needed his people to see him as a young and strong, and requested cosmetic surgery. The leader agreed to hair plugs and, after refusing a facelift, also agreed to a Facial Fat Transfer. For this procedure, Dr. Ribeiro removed fat from the stomach and injected it into the face to plump up the skin and hide the appearance of wrinkles.

What’s fascinating here is the whole cloak and dagger feel of his story. The events happened late at night, and one can assume that part of the reason for Gaddafi’s refusal of the facelift was that he did not want to have to explain scars or stay in hiding while he healed. It was clearly important to the leader that his people see him as strong, but he also seemed quite determined to give the impression that his vitality was 100 percent natural and not the result of plastic surgery.

Of course, even with all the secrecy it doesn’t sound like the working conditions were unmanageable. The word bunker may call up images of tiny, dark underground spaces, but according to Dr. Ribeiro this facility had, “two fully equipped and very modern operating rooms.” He also reports told the interviewer that although Gaddafi wanted the procedures take place immediately, he did wait and allow his doctor to assemble a proper cosmetic surgery team.

Dr. Ribeiro really has no reason to make this up. As he explained to the interviewer, with the way Gaddafi looks now there’s not much for a plastic surgeon take pride in. The treatments administered during a late-night bunker visit have clearly worn off. The interview does say that the Libyan leader contacted Dr. Ribeiro around five years ago, but the doctor was unable to make the trip to Libya at the time.

Judging by Gaddafi’s current appearance, it seems he may not have been able to find another doctor to perform his cosmetic surgery after making that call. In recent photos his face shows all the signs of aging less than gracefully. The wrinkles around his eyes and on his forehead are very pronounced, and the sagging skin around his cheeks and jaw line can best be described the way Dr. Ribeiro did in the interview: jowly.

We see patients with Gaddafi’s same motivation in the plastic surgery field all the time. People turning to cosmetic treatments to help their careers certainly isn’t anything new. That said, the career in question is usually not, “leader of a foreign country.”

Researchers presented their findings at a March 13 meeting of the American Academy of Neurology that took place in Hawaii. The patient involved in the case study was a 25-year sufferer of Low CSF Pressure Headaches. The condition had created a negative impact in this woman’s life. She often found her routine disrupted as a result of the intense pain these headaches can cause.

Doctors Paul Mathew, M.D. and Michael Cutrer, M.D. don’t practice cosmetic surgery by trade. They are neurologists who first met the patient five years ago, and have been treating her headaches with Botox for the past three. While they aren’t touting Botox as a cure for these headaches, their case study does prove that it is an effective treatment. The patient followed in the study consistently reported that each injection relieved her symptoms for a three-month period.

This isn’t the first time Botox has shown useful outside of the plastic surgery realm. It was approved by the FDA in 2010 for treatment of migraines. As was discovered in the Low CSF Pressure Headache case study, Botox doesn’t present a permanent cure here, either. Migraine sufferers maintain their headache-free status with periodic injections in the side of their head, their brow and forehead.

Previously the only treatment for Low CSF Pressure Headaches involved injecting a small amount of the patient’s blood around the area of the leaking spinal fluid, but it was the migraine connection that inspired doctors Mathew and Cutrer to try Botox in this case, after more traditional treatments failed to relieve the patient’s pain.

This is pretty exciting news in the plastic surgery field. As medical science expands the applications of Botox, we continue to find new ways to serve our patients. Of course our wish would be to eliminate these painful headaches altogether, but the existence of a treatment is definitely a step in the right direction.

They recommend 6 important recommendations when considering plastic surgery, including:

1. Research benefits and risks of any procedure as much as you can before going forward. Check out our resources on plastic surgery or visit the ASPS website for more.

2. Have realistic expectations and fully discuss risks and recovery time with your surgeon beforehand.

3. Talk to other patients who have undergone the procedure to learn of their experiences.

4. Discuss your full medical history with your surgeon before undergoing any procedure.

5. Only choose surgeons accredited by the ASPS. They have a certain level of experience, professionalism and have all proper certifications.

6. If your surgery is taking place at an outpatient center, verify the center’s accreditation

“The death of a patient is always tragic and devastating for all involved, particularly the patient’s family and the medical team,” said Richard D’Amico, MD, ASPS president. “However, we don’t want to unnecessarily frighten the public. While this situation is rare, the decision to have a plastic surgery procedure is serious. No-risk surgery doesn’t exist.”

Plastic surgery procedures are relatively safe, with serious complications only occurring in 1 in 298 or 0.34 percent. Death occurs in 1 in 51,459, or 0.0019 percent of cases according to a 2004 study from the ASPS that evaluated over 400,000 surgeries.

Any death or complication is tragic but these statistics show that despite any of these highly publicized things, death and complications from plastic surgery are very rare.

Fortunately there are options to help women and families obtain much desired aesthetic or reconstructive procedures like breast implants, tummy tucks or liposuction and pay for it in a responsible manner. Reconstructive procedures may even be considered medically necessary and thus, covered by health insurance. It just depends on your particular situation.

Below are a few financing options besides paying cash or putting cosmetic surgery procedures on your credit card. We recognize most don’t have an extra few thousand dollars lying around. Flexible financing options though help ease the financial burden of undergoing a cosmetic surgery procedure.

Payment Plans

Many cosmetic surgeons across Florida offer flexible payment plans to their patients. Rather than having all of the money up front, pay in installments and better manage the cost of undergoing an aesthetic or reconstructive procedure.

Health Insurance

Many plastic surgery procedures are done for medical reasons. If a procedure like a breast reduction or rhinoplasty is needed to alleviate other medical conditions, your health insurance may cover part of the cost. Consult with your insurance company to learn more.

Tax Deductions (rare)

Another option, though rarely used, is a tax deduction. If your procedure has anything to do with your career, you may be able to take a sizeable tax deduction for it. However, this is generally considered the least reliable source of paying for a cosmetic surgery procedure.

These are just a few of the options you can consider for financing a cosmetic surgery procedure. Besides cost, you should also learn as much as you can about the procedure you’re interested in. Take a look at our cosmetic surgery before & after photos section and learn about what you can expect by reviewing our material on individual procedures.

While plastic surgery procedures have improved dramatically, there are still some imperfections.

To smooth out any minor irregularities and asymmetries remaining after any initial rhinoplasty procedure, surgeons have increasingly been turning to injectable fillers. The rise of injectable fillers to smooth wrinkles and other skin enhancements has naturally lead surgeons to consider their use to correct any imperfections following surgery according to an article in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal.

“Injectable fillers allow surgeons to correct post-surgical imperfections without the expense, anesthetic risk, or recovery downtime involved with additional surgery,” comments Dr. Steve Dayan, MD, one of three authors of the article and assistant clinical professor at the University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago.

Injectable filler substances like Hyaluronic Acid (HA), calcium hydroxylapatite gel (CaHA) and off-label liquid silicone have all been used to varying degrees of success to treat post-surgical nasal deformities.

Authors of the paper though don’t suggest silicone since it carriers a higher risk of complication.

Surgeons also have to be careful on how they use these injectable fillers in the nose region. Placing filler at the nose’s tip, base and too deep can cause complications like bumpy appearance, soft tissue damage or even compromise blood vessels in the nose.

“The use of any soft tissue filler in the nose should always be approached with caution and with thorough consideration of a patient’s inpidual circumstances,” says Dr. Dayan.

And while these fillers offer an easy, less expensive way to revise your nose’s shape and appearance following a rhinoplasty, they’re not recommended as a primary option for altering your nose.

Innovative techniques like this though can make any post-surgical corrections quick and easy and not require you to undergo more surgery.

As with any plastic surgery procedure, only deal with board-certified plastic surgeons that have the requisite training and experience to safely work on your nose.