In the fourth and final feature in our series on cosmetic procedures, we list the top five nonsurgical cosmetic procedures performed on men in 2007 – the most recent year for which data are available. In that year, nearly 10 million nonsurgical cosmetic procedures were performed in the United States, nearly five times the number of cosmetic surgery procedures performed during this time. The most common surgical cosmetic procedure in men is liposuction and this procedure only ranks sixth on the overall list of most common cosmetic procedures in men: all five procedures listed below were performed more often in 2007.

Not surprisingly, more women than men undergo nonsurgical cosmetic procedures by a large margin. However, it may surprise some to learn that botox injections top the list of cosmetic procedures for men. In fact, the same five procedures appear in the lists of the top five nonsurgical cosmetic procedures for both men and women, only in somewhat different order. Each procedure in the list below is followed by the number of men in the U.S. who underwent that procedure in the year 2007 in parentheses. For comparison purposes, the number of women who underwent that same procedure is also provided.

The top 5 nonsurgical cosmetic procedures among American men are:

1. Botox (329,519 men, 2,445,656 women)
2. Laser hair removal (185,684 men, 1,226,974 women)
3. Microdermabrasion (85,910 men, 743,748 women)
4. Hyaluronic Acid (wrinkle smoothing; 84,184 men, 1,364,533 women)
5. IPL laser treatment (removal of skin imperfections; 63,177 men, 584,530 women)

Cosmetic procedures are, by definition, elective and are therefore not required for your health. While the overall risks of such procedures are relatively low, serious and life-threatening complications can occur such as allergic reactions and clotting problems.

If you are thinking about undergoing any cosmetic procedure, make sure that you find a surgeon is certified in his or her specialty by an appropriate board recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties. It may also be a good idea to be evaluated by your regular physician for any predisposing characteristics that might increase your risk of complications during a cosmetic procedure.

For more information on cosmetic procedures, join the Healia Health Community for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. If you have a question about a cosmetic procedure, Ask The Experts at Healia Health Communities.

Related Blog Posts: The Top 5 Cosmetic Surgery Procedures among American Women
The Top 5 Cosmetic Surgery Procedures among American Men
The Top 5 Nonsurgical Cosmetic Procedures among American Women

_{Source: The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, 2007 Cosmetic Surgery National Data Bank-Statistics, 2/07. http://www.surgery.org/download/2007stats.pdf}

_{Photo: ZaldyImg, Flickr, Creative Commons}

In 2007, nearly 10 million nonsurgical cosmetic procedures were performed in the United States; this is almost five times the number of elective cosmetic surgery procedures performed during this time. In fact, the number one most common surgical cosmetic procedure in women (breast augmentation) is only ninth on the list of most common cosmetic procedures performed on women. Not surprisingly, more women than men underwent nonsurgical cosmetic procedures. This is the third in our series of features on cosmetic procedures and lists the top five nonsurgical cosmetic procedures performed on women in 2007 – the most recent year for which data are available. Few people will be surprised that Botox tops the list. The number of women in the U.S. who underwent each procedure in the year 2007 appears in parentheses.

The top 5 nonsurgical cosmetic procedures among American women are:

1. Botox (2,445,656)
2. Hyaluronic Acid (wrinkle smoothing; 1,364,533)
3. Laser Hair Removal (1,226,974)
4. Microdermabrasion (743,748)
5. IPL Laser Treatment (removal of skin imperfections; 584,530)

Cosmetic procedures are, by definition, elective and are therefore not required for your health. While the overall risks of such procedures are relatively low, serious and life-threatening complications can occur such as allergic reactions and clotting problems.

If you are thinking about undergoing any cosmetic procedure, make sure that you find a surgeon is certified in his or her specialty by an appropriate board recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties. It may also be a good idea to be evaluated by your regular physician for any predisposing characteristics that might increase your risk of complications during a cosmetic procedure.

For more information on cosmetic procedures, join the Healia Health Community for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. If you have a question about a cosmetic procedure, Ask The Experts at Healia Health Communities.

Related Blog Posts: The Top 5 Cosmetic Surgery Procedures among American Women
The Top 5 Cosmetic Surgery Procedures among American Men

_{Source: The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, 2007 Cosmetic Surgery National Data Bank-Statistics, 2/07. http://www.surgery.org/download/2007stats.pdf}

_{Photo: EverJean, Flickr, Creative Commons}

In 2007, there were over 2 million elective cosmetic surgery procedures performed in the United States. While women still seek cosmetic treatments more often than men by a 9:1 ratio, the numbers of men undergoing such producers is rising rapidly. This list of the top five surgical procedures performed on men for cosmetic reasons in 2007 – the most recent year for which data are available – is the second in our series of features on cosmetic procedures. The number of men in the U.S. who underwent each procedure in the year 2007 appears in parentheses. For comparison, the number of women who underwent the same procedure also appears.

The top 5 cosmetic surgeries among American men are:

1. Liposuction/lipoplasty (57,980 men and 398,848 women)
2. Belpharoplasty (eyelid surgery; 32,564 men and 208,199 women)
3. Rhinoplasty (nose reshaping; 31,713 men and 120,083 women)
4. Breast Reduction (20,280 male breast reductions for gynecomastia and 153,087 female breast reductions)
5. Hair Transplantation (16,491 men and 3,188 women)

Cosmetic surgery is, by definition, elective surgery and is therefore not required for your health. While the overall risks of such surgery are relatively low, serious and life-threatening complications can occur. Going under general anesthesia for any reason carries a small risk of death, and additional risks depend upon the specifics of a given cosmetic procedure.

If you are thinking about undergoing cosmetic surgery, make sure that you find a surgeon is certified in his or her specialty by an appropriate board recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties. It may also be a good idea to be evaluated by your regular physician for any predisposing characteristics that might increase your risk of complications during a cosmetic surgery procedure. Be sure to tell the plastic surgeon about any health conditions you have that might impact the surgical procedure. Hiding such information in order to be accepted as a patient is not only illegal but is also incredibly dangerous.

For more information on cosmetic surgery procedures, join the Healia Health Community for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

_{Source: The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, 2007 Cosmetic Surgery National Data Bank-Statistics, 2/07. http://www.surgery.org/download/2007stats.pdf}

_{Photo: ob1left, Flickr, Creative Commons}

Elective surgery for cosmetic purposes has grown in popularity among both women and men over the past 10 years. In 1997, fewer than one million total cosmetic surgery procedures were performed in the United States; in 2007, that number was over 2 million. Nonsurgical cosmetic procedures have also grown in popularity, with nearly 10 million of such procedures performed in 2007. While women still seek cosmetic treatments more often than men by a 9:1 ratio, the numbers of men undergoing such producers is rising rapidly. The first in our series of features on cosmetic procedures is a list of the top surgical procedures performed on women for cosmetic reasons in 2007, the most recent year for which data are available. The number of women in the U.S. who underwent each procedure in the year 2007 appears in parentheses.

The top 5 cosmetic surgeries among American women are:

1. Breast augmentation (399,440)
2. Liposuction/lipoplasty (398,848)
3. Belpharoplasty (eyelid surgery; 208,199)
4. Abdominoplasty (tummy tuck; 180,457)
5. Breast reduction (153,087)

Cosmetic surgery is, by definition, elective surgery and is therefore not required for your health. While the overall risks of such surgery are relatively low, serious and life-threatening complications can occur. Going under general anesthesia for any reason carries a small risk of death, and additional risks depend upon the specifics of a given cosmetic procedure.

If you are thinking about undergoing cosmetic surgery, make sure that you find a surgeon that is certified in his or her specialty by an appropriate board recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties. It may also be a good idea to be evaluated by your regular physician for any predisposing characteristics that might increase your risk of complications during a cosmetic surgery procedure. Be sure to tell the plastic surgeon about any health conditions you have that might impact the surgical procedure. Hiding such information in order to be accepted as a patient is not only illegal but is also incredibly dangerous.

For more information on cosmetic surgery procedures, join the Healia Health Community for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

_{Source: The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, 2007 Cosmetic Surgery National Data Bank-Statistics, 2/07. http://www.surgery.org/download/2007stats.pdf}

_{Photo: crucially, Flickr, Creative Commons}

A report released Thursday by congressional investigators shows that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is allowing some high risk medical devices to be approved without the close scientific review required by law. The Government Accountability Office (GAO), Congress' audit, evaluation and investigative arm, says that despite a Congressional order in 1990 to resolve the issue, the FDA approved 228 medical devices between 2003 and 2007 without a complete review of their safety and effectiveness.

The report found that two-dozen distinct types of devices approved without close scrutiny, including metal hip joints used in hip replacement surgery, external defibrillators used to rescue people who are having a heart attack, and electrodes for pacemakers.

The problem arises from a 1976 law that implemented a three-tiered classification scheme to categorize medical devices. That law divides medical devices into three classes: class I devices are low risk such as reading glasses and tongue depressors, class II includes devices with more risk such as electrocardiograph (ECG) machines and mercury thermometers, and class III devices are considered high-risk because they are implanted in the body or they can mean the difference between life and death, such as pacemakers and replacement heart valves.

Manufacturers of high-risk devices are required to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of their device before taking it to market. However, an exception was written into the law that allows new versions of already-approved high-risk devices to bypass this step. In order to get a new device approved this way, manufactures must simply demonstrate that their new device is “substantially equivalent” to an existing device. This leaves a lot of room for interpretation, so in 1990, Congress ordered the FDA to stop approving devices in this way. The GAO report shows that despite agreeing in principle, the FDA has not fulfilled its promise.

Some of the high-risk devices approved this way have been removed from the market. The GAO study did not examine whether anyone was harmed as a result of using the un-scrutinized devices.

The GAO report urges the FDA to act quickly to end this method of approving high-risk devices. They also suggest that the FDA carry out full reviews of the devices already approved this way and reclassify devices as lower risk where appropriate.

Read the full GAO report at the GAO Web site. If you have a question about medical devices, ask the experts at Healia Health Communities.


_{Photo: Olaf, Flickr, Creative Commons}

An international study published in today’s Journal of the American Medical Association finds that following a simple checklist of steps can cut surgery deaths nearly in half and reduce complications by more than a third. When surgical teams used a checklist that contained such simple steps as confirming the patient’s name, marking the part of the body to be operated on, and checking that all instruments are accounted for at the end of the procedure, the rate of surgical deaths dropped from 1.5 percent of patients to 0.8 percent, a 47 percent decrease.

The large study of how to avoid blatant operating room mistakes was conducted at hospitals in Seattle; Toronto; London; New Delhi; Auckland, New Zealand; Amman, Jordan; Manila, Philippines; and Ifakara, Tanzania. The largest decreases in deaths and complications were in the developing countries, with the combined death rate for Jordan, India, Tanzania and the Philippines falling 52 percent. The study excluded heart surgeries and pediatric cases.

The World Health Organization developed the 19-point checklist as a way to standardize surgical procures, especially in developing countries where surgical environments may not be as well regulated as in the developed world. The checklist included checks on anesthesia, blood supply, sterile equipment, drugs, and even a roll call of the surgical team.

Most of the items on the list are elementary and not all the surgical teams were thrilled at the idea of using a list filled with blatantly obvious checkpoints. However, those who were initially skeptical became strong supporters of the checklist after seeing the outcome. Even the lead researcher in the study, a Harvard surgeon, was shocked by the results.

The study demonstrates that the process of painstakingly checking potential errors can help prevent careless mistakes. The study authors think that worldwide adoption of surgical checklists has the potential to prevent huge numbers of deaths and complications. The researchers also believe that such checklists could be used in other areas of medicine, such as everyday checkups and cancer treatment.

The surgical checklist has already been adopted by several countries including Britain, Ireland, Jordan, and the Philippines. In the U.S., the current standard is to use a three point checklist, but the Joint Commission that sets standards for hospitals says it is considering adopting more of the steps.

Have a question about surgery? Ask the experts at Healia Health Communities.


_{Photo: crucially, Flickr, Creative Commons}

A woman who had suffered severe facial trauma received the first face transplant in U.S history, a team of doctors announced this week. The woman had at least 80% of her face replaced by donor tissue from a cadaver, leaving only her upper eyelids, forehead, lower lip, and chin in their original form.

The 22-hour procedure performed by surgeons from the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio is the fourth face transplant ever performed and is the most extensive to date. This was the first face transplant to have included bones, along with muscle, skin, blood vessels, and nerves.

Doctors did not release the patient's name or the details of how she was injured, but said the injuries were so severe that she could not eat or breathe on her own. The woman is reportedly doing well and showing no signs of rejecting the new face two weeks after the surgery was performed.

Since a face transplant is not considered a life-saving procedure (as a heart or liver transplant would be), there are ethical issues surrounding the procedure. The patient must remain on anti-rejection drugs for the rest of her life and there is a risk of serious, even life-threatening complications. For this reason, transplants that improve the quality of life are unlikely to be common.

However, since the first partial face transplant performed in France in 2005 has proved to be very successful, surgeons now seem more comfortable with the idea of face transplants. In the near future, the procedure may become a standard in facial reconstruction, though it will likely be reserved for cases in which all other attempts at reconstructive surgery have failed.

Do you have a story about dealing with a facial injury or reconstructive surgery? Share your story on Healia Health Community for Facial Injuries and Disorders.

 

_{Photo: Crucially, Flickr, Creative Commons}

A new study published in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) has concluded that arthroscopic knee surgery for osteoarthritis is not more effective than physical therapy and medical management in relieving pain and stiffness associated with osteoarthritis of the knee. The study involved 178 men and women and found that those who received surgery did not have better outcomes than those who only received physical therapy and medicines.

Arthroscopy of the knee is commonly performed to treat moderate to severe osteoarthritis with hundreds of thousands of such surgeries conducted in the US every year. This and other studies call into question the necessity of knee arthroscopy for many thousands of people.

For more information, search for osteoarthritis on the Healia Search Engine or join the Healia Community on Arthritis.

As if trauma in the ER, hospital gossip on Grey’s Anatomy, and House’s vicodin addiction weren’t enough drama, the much anticipated TV show, the Bionic Woman, starts Wednesday.

The new Bionic Woman, like the old, is a marvel of biomedical engineering. She receives not only two bionic legs, one bionic arm and a bionic ear, but also a bionic eye and advanced nanotechnology capable of healing her body at an exceptional rate.

In medicine, bionics means the replacement or enhancement of organs or other body parts by mechanical versions. Bionic implants, such as the artificial heart, mimic the original function very closely, or even surpass it. The best known bionic item is the cochlear implant, a device for deaf people.

Bionic advances continue to be made; companies like Touch Bionics and Advanced Bionics are attempting to develop life changing devices. And the aging of the world’s population means increasing demand for replacement parts. So the new Bionic Woman may not be considered science fiction for much longer. Stay tuned…

In the mean time visit www.healia.com to learn more.

 

Bionic Woman bionics biomedical engineering