Plastic surgeries such as rhinoplasty and breast augmentation cost thousands of dollars. While these surgeries provide long-lasting results that can be considered an investment in yourself, the question of financing your cosmetic procedure is one that should be carefully considered.

There are a number of financing options available for prospective cosmetic surgery patients; which one is right for you will depend on your individual circumstances and needs. A recent article on Fox Business has highlighted some of the options that are available.

Ten Financing Options for Cosmetic Surgery

• Medical credit cards, which typically come with reasonable interest rates and payment plans, are special lines of credit that are limited only to medical expenses.
• Regular credit cards are also a good option in some cases.
• Unsecured personal loans from your local bank or credit union usually have fixed interest rates and repayment terms.
• Home equity loans and lines of credit can offer lower interest rates, but volatile housing and job markets may make these options unsuitable for many prospective patients.
• Cash savings accumulated over time require no borrowing or interest payments. While many patients may not want to wait to save up money for their procedures, in some cases it may be appropriate to do so.
• Unsecured medical loans, which are often brokered through third parties, often have high interest rates. However, for people with low credit scores, these types of loans may be the best option.
• Payment plans are offered by many surgeons.
• 401(k) loans are easy, fast, and offer low interest rates. However, there are some disadvantages with these types of loans, as you repay the loan with taxed money, “creating a situation in which you pay double taxes since you will pay taxes when you eventually withdraw the money in retirement.”
• Loans from family and friends tend to offer flexibility and excellent terms, but make sure that you will be able to repay the loan.
• Soliciting gifts, in terms of gift certificates or contributions toward surgery, is an increasingly popular practice that may be right for you if you’re comfortable with other people knowing about your surgery. You can use electronic gifting services were your friends and family can feel secure depositing cash gifts.

Regardless of what type of cosmetic surgery financing you use, always be sure to read the fine print before signing onto any plan. Make sure that you’re able to live up to your side of the agreement, and never jeopardize your personal relationships. By planning ahead and preparing for unknown contingencies, you’ll be able to truly enjoy the results of your cosmetic surgery.

It’s often said that plastic surgery is an art, but one group of plastic surgeons and medical students at the University of Lincoln in the UK has been taking that old adage very seriously. A course called the Art of Reconstruction, which is now entering its second year, offers training in drawing and clay sculpture to promote better aesthetic results during plastic and reconstructive surgeries.

BBC News reports that the course, taught by Prof. Michael Esson, offers different sections, including self-portraiture, life drawing, and clay modeling. The course focuses on surgical applications of these techniques, so that students work on drawings and models of the head, neck, and breast. “My job is just to introduce aesthetic principles and aesthetic judgements which may improve their perceptual and observational skills,” Prof. Esson told the BBC.

Some of the unusual tasks that these surgeons and medical students face include:

• using mirrors to draw self-portraits, but breaking their face into four quarters in order to create four separate drawings, which they must then combine and reposition in order to re-create the face
• using clay to build a breast onto a cast of a female chest from which one breast has been removed

As a result of practicing these techniques, many of the surgeons have adapted their procedures in order to provide better results. For instance, many surgeons now look at the breasts from the woman’s vantage point, or adapt the light in their operating rooms, in order to gain a new perspective during breast augmentation surgery.

According to Emma Caroline Fernandez, a medical student from Debrecen, Hungary, the courses helped her to judge the proportion and size of the breast in a way that was impossible before. “Yesterday we did clay modelling and I thought I’d done a good job until I turned around, I went around the side, as mostly artists do, and then I noticed a huge gap. With the nose and the lips if you look from the front you can’t really judge the space between, until you look from another perspective.”

(Image source: Jastrow, Wikimedia Commons)

With increasing numbers of men having cosmetic procedures, many plastic surgeons are seeing more couples walking through the doors of their clinics, according to a recent article in the L.A. Times. This is part of a growing trend, as plastic surgery has greater appeal for men.

The Times article profiles a 55-year-old California woman named Margaret, who once “weighed 105 pounds and wore short crop tops.” In her later years, however, she developed a bulge of fat around her waist that wouldn’t respond to diet or exercise, so she underwent liposuction last September. Her boyfriend had the same procedure the next week.

“He hadn’t thought about getting anything done, but after hearing how I would look afterward, he decided he should probably go ahead and have a little something done too,” Margaret told the Times.

The key factor in the rise of couples’ plastic surgery is likely the cultural shift that has seen the number of cosmetic procedures performed on men. Male cosmetic patients now comprise 9 percent of all cosmetic patients.

“When a wife comes in and has work done and is delighted with the outcome, the husband or partner feels more confident and secure and more likely to ask questions…. When the husband is in there, he sees some of the information, and then he sort of gets interested. Then, when the wife comes in for a postoperation appointment, we’ll talk about his eyes or neck.”

– Dr. Richard Chaffoo, plastic surgeon

Naturally, there are some differences between men and women in their surgical preferences. Men tend to pursue liposuction in targeted areas – the abdomen, chest, and chin – while women might have the same procedure anywhere on the body. Women have more tummy tucks and receive breast augmentations to enhance the size of their chests. Men, however, tend to prefer smaller chests through male breast reduction. Eyelid surgery and rhinoplasty are popular with both groups.

Restitution, deportation, and community service – that was the sentence handed down in a shocking plastic surgery case that resulted in the disfigurement of 7 women, reports the New York Post. Hector Cabral, 52, pleaded guilty last October to unauthorized practice of medicine, but faces no further prosecution in the U.S. for his actions. This is because the surgeries took place in the Dominican Republic, where Cabral is a licensed plastic surgeon.

Cosmetic tourism and unlicensed practitioners are a growing threat in a reputable field of medicine that has increasingly come under siege from frauds and charlatans. Cabral’s case is one among many that have highlighted the dangers that patients can face when travelling abroad for plastic surgery.

Cabral attracted women to Santo Domingo by travelling to Manhattan and promising Latina women cheap liposuctions. Lissette Mejjia, a 36-year-old woman from the Bronx, told the Post that Cabral “promised me that he was going to transform me, make me more beautiful, more [confident]… I came out of his office hypnotized.”

Seven women, including Mejjia, experienced post-operative complications, with blackened skin in a swatch on their torsos and hips.

The terms of Cabral’s sentence:

• required to perform 250 hours of community service in the Dominican Republic
• barred from returning to the U.S. for 3 years
• will have to pay $23,000 in total restitution to his victims.

 Plastic surgeries such as liposuction are life-changing procedures that should only be placed in the hands of reputable plastic surgeons. Countries around the world are becoming hot-spots for patients looking for better deals on surgeries, while unlicensed practitioners within the U.S. prey on desperation. Always be sure to consult with a properly licensed plastic surgeon before committing to any plastic surgery. Your life may depend on it.

Like the face, the hands can develop signs of aging such as wrinkles, brown spots, and veins. Unlike the face, however, correcting these lines and blemishes can often present significant challenges to plastic surgeons. These intricate structures of bones, muscles, and joints are extremely delicate and difficult to treat. However, as a recent article in the New York Times points out, there are a number of specialists who are working on different approaches to the hand.

 “The hands are a hot new area. Now that we have the face so well treated, we’re looking at the hands, neck and décolleté.”
– Dr. Neil S. Sadick

Surgery, which often resolves the signs of aging on other parts of the body, is typically unsuitable for the hands. According to New York dermatologist Dr. Neil S. Sadick, the removal of skin on the hands would cause significant scarring and poor healing, since the hands move too much for proper healing. There is a significant risk of complications with the hand and its many moving parts that would make skin rejuvenation surgery far too risky.

“You’d have to literally take a scissors and separate the tissue, and you might interfere with some of the tendons.”
– Dr. John F. Farella

What about Botox? Unfortunately, this common method of resolving wrinkles in the face would be out of the question for use in the hands, since it works by paralyzing targeted muscles and allowing other muscles to stretch. This would effectively limit the function of the hand.

The secret to hand rejuvenation lies in other minimally invasive techniques. Laser treatments are able to remove blemishes and tighten the skin by stimulating collagen production. Dermal fillers such as Juvederm can remove wrinkles by adding volume beneath the skin reducing the appearance of lines and wrinkles. This technique, sometimes called the “hand lift,” lasts about a year.

Often uncomfortable and time-consuming, tissue expansion plays a key role in preparing many post-mastectomy patients for breast reconstruction surgery. However, the successful development of an at-home tissue expansion device may soon make it easier for prospective breast reconstruction patients.

By stretching the tissue at the site of the mastectomy, the breast can be prepared to receive an implant. But the process is sometimes painful and inevitably time-consuming, as it requires repeated trips to a doctor’s office. Fortunately, an alternative method has been developed and successfully tested, according to a recent news report.

Barbara Baxter, a post-mastectomy patient preparing for breast reconstruction surgery, was approached by doctors conducting a study for Columbia University Medical Center. She received a small device that was implanted in her chest and provided with a remote control. When triggered, the device, called the AirExpander, releases small amounts of carbon dioxide, which stretches the breast tissue and muscle. This prepares the tissue to receive breast implants.

According to Dr. Jeffrey Ascherman, who spoke with CBS:

“[Baxter] can do it through her clothes, she can be at work, she can be at home, she presses a little button and it releases a small dose of compressed CO2… She can do multiple small doses during each and every day. She has the potential with this to complete the process much more quickly.”

By using the AirExpander, Baxter was able to avoid saline injections and repeated visits to her doctor’s office. She created enough space for her implant in six days. “It’s a piece of cake compared to the other way I think,” Baxter told CBS. “I haven’t had the other way but it didn’t look that pleasant to me.”

The AirExpander is currently being tested in clinical trials. It may soon provide an important alternative for the thousands of women who require tissue expansion after mastectomy.

Breast augmentation is the most popular cosmetic procedure in the US. Every year, over 300,000 women make decisions about their augmentation, including implant type, size, and placement. A recent feature in New You has highlighted another decision that these women will face when they go under the scalpel. Incisions made during breast augmentation surgery will inevitably leave scars, but thanks to different augmentation techniques, these incisions can often be practically invisible.

“Different patients have different definitions of ‘minimal-scar’ surgery. But for some women, a scar on the breast just isn’t acceptable.”
– Dr. Angelo Cuzalina, Oklahoma cosmetic surgeon

Different Breast Augmentation Incisions

There are several locations where incisions may be made during breast augmentation surgery. Not every surgeon is comfortable with all of these approaches, and each has its particular benefits and drawbacks.

1. The armpit approach, or transaxillary method, involves making a small incision in the armpit. From this point of entry, the implant can be pushed to the breast with the help of a small surgical camera, called an endoscope. This approach works best for women with deep armpits.

2. The transumbilical (TUBA) breast augmentation involves an incision in the navel. While the scar caused by the TUBA technique is almost invisible, there are some disadvantages with this approach, as  silicone implants cannot be used. According to Dr. Cuzalina, “If the patient doesn’t have a lot of fat on her stomach, she may not be the best candidate.”

3. A more recently developed approach is the transabdominoplasty (TABA) technique, which is performed during tummy tuck surgery. A silicone or saline implant can go through the tummy tuck incision, which is made along the pubic bone.

4. Unlike the previous three approaches, which avoid making incisions on the breast, the intra-areolar incision takes advantage of the areola, which is the dark area surrounding the nipple. According to cosmetic surgeon Leonard A. Rubenstein, “this skin doesn’t form scars like normal skin because there are fewer sweat glands and less fat in the tissue.” Other surgeons have expressed their doubts and say that this rare technique requires an experienced surgeon.

How do plastic surgeons take women from “flat and fat” to “high and hot”? That’s basically the question asked by Barbara Walters, who recently profiled the latest trends and advances in the world of plastic surgery with a 6-part series on ABC’s 20/20.

“First and foremost,” Walters says, “the implants themselves have been reinvented.”

In the video, Walters interviews Dr. Stuart Linder, a plastic surgeon from California, who practices some of the latest breast augmentation techniques. Dr. Linder compares older breast implant models with the latest silicone-filled implants and marvels at the improvements made in the devices.

But it’s not just the implants that have improved, as surgeons are learning to use better techniques and greater discretion. One of the major aspects of Dr. Linder’s practice is correcting or enhancing the results of past surgeries. He explains that almost half of his patients are women seeking revision surgery.

“The two main reasons women will have to have revision surgery are rupture of the implant or deflation of a saline implant – remember, they’re not lifetime devices – or severe scar tissue or encapsulation hardening around the bag. Every ten years, a woman is coming back to have something fixed.”

“What are the biggest mistakes some doctors make?” Walters asks. Dr. Linder doesn’t hesitate. “Going too large, because you lead the patient to a path of destruction, and because of that she now has had thinning out of her tissue, you can visually see the bag. Her breasts are now sagging and hanging.”

In fact, Dr. Linder observes, one of the most rewarding plastic surgeries goes in the opposite direction. “From the surveys that we have done, women who undergo breast reductions are the most satisfied patients of any procedure we do.” The goals of breast augmentation and breast reduction are the same: to make the patient’s breasts the right size for her.

What Can Non-Surgical Rhinoplasty Accomplish?

• Increase volume of tissue around a bump in order to reduce its appearance.
• Reduce the appearance of depressions or dents in the nose.
• Enhance the nose’s symmetry.
• Redefine the nose’s contours to better frame the face.
• Correct problems that were present at birth or caused by previous surgical rhinoplasty.

Non-surgical rhinoplasty is unable to provide a smaller nose, thinner bridge, or otherwise shrink the features of your nose; it can only increase the volume of targeted sites. Unlike surgical rhinoplasty, it cannot correct breathing problems, a deviated septum, or other defects. In these instances, nose surgery is usually the best option to achieve your goals.

How Does Non-Surgical Rhinoplasty Work?

Injectable dermal filers, typically used to erase wrinkles or provide volume to the cheeks and lips, can be used to provide superior contour and definition to your nose. Products such as Juvederm or Restylane can be injected into targeted areas in order to provide greater volume. After several sessions, patients will find that their noses appear more balanced and aesthetically pleasing.

Unlike surgical rhinoplasty, this procedure requires no general anesthesia or IV sedation. The risks are minimal and include hypersensitivity reactions, infection, unsatisfactory results, and skin damage. These risks can be minimized by a qualified plastic surgeon with extensive experience in non-surgical rhinoplasty. While you will need to return 2-3 times each year in order to maintain the results, most patients find that the inconvenience is a small price to pay.

ABC News interviewed Phyllis Jackson, who attended a Beverly Hills dinner party where patients received Botox injections, and said that she sought Botox despite pressure from other blacks. “There’s a pressure from the community that, you know, ‘African-American women don’t need to have beauty enhancements,’” she told ABC.

Linda Caradine-Poinsett, another black woman, told ABC: “I think African-American women are still in the closet about having plastic surgery…[but] I think we’re doing it a lot more.” She received body contouring surgeries to enhance her breasts and reduce the size of her waistline.

Why Are Blacks Underrepresented in Plastic Surgery?

The stigma surrounding cosmetic procedures is only part of the reason, as black skin has natural advantages that offer partial protection against damage. “Darker skin has natural protective factors against sun,” Chicago plastic surgeon Dr. Julius Few told ABC. “So we don’t see the same wrinkling, because sun exposure typically will cause weathering or cracking or folding of the skin.”

These protective factors reduce the risks of photoaging, although contrary to popular myth, black skin is still subject to sun damage.

Another beneficial property of black skin, Few said, is that it has more oil and tends to be much more resilient against wrinkling:

“A lot of people think oil in the skin is bad. The reality is oil in your skin is good. It’s kind of like folding a piece of paper. The more you fold the piece of paper, the more you’re likely to get a wrinkle in it. Well, if the skin is a bit oiler, has better moisture to it, it will tend not to get a heavy crease in it.”