The media has gone totally overboard is covering a non-news story in celebrity Heidi Montag, who apparently as a publicity stunt recently allowed a plastic surgeon to perform 10 procedures on her in a single sitting. A quick blast across Google search reveals possibly thousands of news pieces on this self-absorbed woman -- one need not look any further for a bonafide example of the news media as accuser-stalker-devourer of public figures. In this case, Montag has been begging for this sort of negative publicity (which has a tendency to backfire on people).

PSP does not usually cover the shenanigans of celebrities using plastic surgery to maintain their "looks." However, there is an angle to the Heidi Montag saga that is worth covering, as brought out in this guest editorial by one of PSP's editorial advisory board members, Joseph Niamtu, DDS:

The tabloids have been ablaze about a 23-year-old B-list reality show star who had 10 simultaneous cosmetic surgery procedures.  How could a 23-year-old have any cosmetic surgery, let alone 10 procedures on the same day?

Montag responded that she is in the entertainment business and she needs these assets to ply her trade. I have to give her credit in that she actually responds quite intelligibly to the sharp pointed questions from her interviewers. She seems to see the situation no less different that an athlete who comprehensively trains in all aspects of physical demands to become and remain competitive in their sport. The difference here after all is that thousands of athletes train and that is normal, but few 23-year-olds have 10 cosmetic surgery procedures in a day.

Does she look better? The improvement was minimal by my eye, but for Heidi it was apparently like night and day.

What really looms here is the bigger question -- why does our society place so much emphasis on physical attributes that young people feel a need for major body alteration to pursue perfection? Being a cosmetic surgeon, this trend is in my best interest. However, it is nonetheless disturbing and I witness it first hand on a weekly basis.

Over the past decade, the Internet has thrust my business from a local to global platform. Whereas in the past I rarely saw patients from out-of-town, I know see many from other states and even countries. Although I consider this an honor, it also brings many young patients to my doorstep with extremely unrealistic expectations and accompanying psychological problems.

I have 20- and 30-somethings that have had 5 and 6 cosmetic facial procedures and are bent on a quest to emulate a celebrity or starlet. I recently saw a 19-year-old who wanted a browlift, a mini-facelift, and cheek and chin implants. Obviously, I refused this surgery but I really felt bad for this guy because he has severe body dysmorphic syndrome and is headed for a lifetime of unhappiness. I am no double for Brad Pitt nor do I aspire to be, but I continually see male and female patients that bring in celebrity photos and want Arnold's jaw, or Johnny Depp's cheeks, or Brittany's eyes. Not only do they bring in pictures but have also taken the time to Photoshop their own face into an anticipated outcome.

Some surgeons may relish this opportunity, but I cannot in good conscious or ethics get sucked or trapped into this situation for several reasons. One, they usually don't need the surgery. Granted, I have performed facial implants or ear pinning on younger patients, but these were procedures that could be reversed or that truly had merit.

Another reason not to operate on this young age group is that they aren't happy now and won't be happy in the future. They will be unhappy with themselves and I will by default become the next “bad” surgeon and get assassinated on the cosmetic surgery online chat sites.

I have seen numerous healthy younger patients that have been disfigured by Dr Givemeadollar and they look extremely unnatural. Don't get me wrong, some young patients will benefit aesthetically and gain self-esteem by having a nasal hump reduced or enhancing a weak chin, but these young patients are not the problem. It is the patient who is seeking aesthetic enhancement for the wrong reasons.

Some people think they are ugly and are not. Others see it as a way to gain attention and yet others have a serious issue with other aspect of their life and are attempting to compensate.

It is difficult for a surgeon to say no, but good ones do it weekly. Unfortunately there are many cosmetic surgeons with open schedules, and when a patient is standing in front of them waving money they can't say no. Most of the younger surgeons will make this mistake once or twice until they perceive the comprehensive picture of this unfortunate cycle.

Some of my patients got angry at me because I refused to operate. I have seen others who I turned down return several years later begging for correction of disfigurement from the surgeons that said yes. With experience, a surgeon can “feel” the legitimacy or lack thereof associated with patients.

As with any good detective who can tell if a suspect is lying, experienced surgeons can tell if a prospective case is or is not a good fit or surgery. I love cosmetic surgery and I love the energy and exuberance of young patients. For years, I performed a lot of reconstructive surgery on this slice of the population. I feel a responsibility for what I do and I don't want to bear the burden of pointing a young patient down a path that I would not want my own family to follow.

Back to Heidi. I frequently see patients that have their hair colored, wear colored contact lenses, wear fake eyelashes, and dental veneers; and boast tanning bed tans, breast implants, and artificial nails. Now they are seeking cosmetic surgery at an age too young. There just needs to be a basis of acceptance of one's real self. We all need to be somewhat grounded in this way – and here is where the biggest problem lies. Heidi may look hot now, but someday she is going to be saggy and wrinkled. We can't avoid it. It is all a result of having birthdays. When a person puts their entire self-esteem in physical attributes, it is a losing game because they are not always going to be attractive. They are going to age and there will be other beauties out there stealing the limelight. When all you have is artificial beauty, there is nothing to fall back on because your happiness will be temporary.

Look at yesterday's icons. We are harsh on our celebrities and idols because we expect them to be eternally youthful. When they age, the same media that put them on a pedestal crushes them for being wrinkled, grey-haired, or overweight. They have been cast from one end of the beauty scale to the other, very often accompanied by psychological problems.

Beauty is youth and youth is temporary. This is not to say that we cannot be attractive seniors; however, that type of beauty is usually well coupled with nonphysical attributes, such as self-confidence, an engaging and mature personality, and simply staying fit. High school reunions can be brutal testament to prom queens and quarterbacks who bear no resemblance to the popularity that embraced them year ago.

My message to younger patients that are wondering too far in cosmetic land is to find peace within. It is okay to improve minor distinct deficiencies, even at a younger age. But multiple cosmetic surgeries won't make up for psychosocial deficiencies. It is hard to undo bad or unnecessary cosmetic facial surgery. I have seen too many people that were unhappy with their appearance regret their actions and wish they could revert back to their natural look.

For younger surgeons who may be struggling to keep a full schedule, always remember that the best way to become busy is to make the best decisions for your patients. Be ethical, treat them better than anybody else, and say no to those who seek cosmetic surgery for the incorrect reasons. With a good reputation you will become busy the right way -- by serving your patients in their best interest.
 

Wired has produced an apt description of where science and medicine (and the research arms of both disciplines) stand in relation to making a breakthrough in the study of antiaging. As with many people, I have been unsure about the exact science behind antiaging research and some of the claims of firms promoting so-called antiaging products. Is it all geared towards producing new vitamin formulations, hormone therapies, creams and lotions, and drugs to reverse the aging process? First, the antiaging industry still needs to get free of its "snake oil salesman" reputation. The whole industry is on the verge of self-parody without more serious investigations into useful treatments and less emphasis on selling snake oil. How to Do the Ultimate Aging Study:

Longevity is one of the hottest areas of science, but there’s a curious hole in the research: Scientifically speaking, nobody knows how to measure aging, much less predict reliably how people will respond to time’s ravages.

After all, aging isn’t just chronological. Some people are spry and nimble in their elder years. Others are afflicted by the diseases of aging — heart disease, diabetes, cancer, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, dementia and stroke — by middle age.

Many researchers think those diseases are manifestations of a common underlying cause, known conversationally as aging but as yet undefined by science. They call for studies that would gather exhaustive clinical and genetic data from thousands of people over many years, hopefully identifying the biological mechanisms of growing both older and unhealthier.

“Unlike models of drug development for the diseases of aging, which have consensus endpoints to evaluate, we have not reached a consensus in aging,” said gerontologist Don Ingram of the Pennington Biomedical Reseach Center. “We don’t know how to predict how someone will function later in life, and we need to.”

That such a basic gap exists seems counterintuitive. After all, longevity-enhancing research has never been so prominent. Following leads revealed by animals on calorically restricted diets — they tend to live longer, apparently because dietary stress triggers cell-protecting routines that prevent aging diseases — scientists have found genes and pathways that can be targeted by drugs.

Felipe Sierra, director of the National Institute on Aging’s Division of Aging Biology, laments the lack of authoritative studies on the nature of aging in humans. Researchers have had neither the technology nor the long-term understanding of aging factors to proceed.

Sierra noted that — at a moment of cheap gene sequencing and high-powered genome association studies, when desktop computers crunch terabytes of gene and protein data — the most reliable indicator of aging is still whether people look old. It’s hardly scientific.

“The technology has advanced to the point where we should be able to try,” said Sierra.

Ya think? Read it all.

The New York Times recently published what seems like a point-counterpoint feature story on two new, relatively untried prodicts aimed at lipo markets -- the Zeltiq (which uses cryolipolysis technology to cool fat down prior to liposuction) and the Zerona, a more conventional light-based device that is appearing in increasing numbers of practices. The author is an editor at the Times. Zap or Chill? Targeting Fat Without Surgery (hat tip to Christopher Zachary FRCP):

Zeltiq uses controlled cooling to target and eliminate fat cells, a process called selective cryolipolysis. Skin isn’t damaged, but subcutaneous fat, which is more sensitive to targeted cold, begins a two-month death march soon after exposure to Zeltiq.

Doctors on the advisory board for Zeltiq Aesthetics have put the word out about it on television news segments. But at this stage, the company itself has been careful not to promote its device directly to consumers since its F.D.A. clearances for, say, pain reduction during dermatologic treatments don’t encompass fat reduction. Gordie Nye, the chief executive, sent an e-mail message declining to be interviewed for this article.

The company has clinical data that has been submitted to the F.D.A. for approval, according to a few doctors who were principal investigators. Data relayed at a meeting of the American Society of Dermatologic Surgery showed a 22 percent reduction of the fat layer as measured by ultrasound.

Erchonia Medical has published the results of its clinical trial in Lasers in Surgery and Medicine. Thirty-five patients in the treatment group lost an average of 3.5 inches total in hips, thighs and their midsection according to the company’s clinical trial. The company has promoted Zerona as “a new body-sculpting procedure designed to remove fat and contour the body without invasive surgery.” But the F.D.A. has not sanctioned marketing this use. It has cleared the Zerona laser for pain reduction 24 hours after breast augmentation or as a way to decrease the pain associated with recovering from liposuction.

More.