Hello, World!
It’s a simple truth that when we look good, we feel good. Putting it quite bluntly, the pretty kids in high school are the popular ones. Everyone likes you when you’re pretty. Psychologically, people will judge an attractive person as being nicer than an unattractive person without knowing anything else about them. So, it’s not surprising that there is an entire field dedicated to making people more beautiful.
Plastic surgery has been around for centuries, and included procedures including hand surgery, burn treatments, rhinoplasties, and cleft lip reconstructions. Today, the term plastic surgery has become synonymous with cosmetic surgery – surgery done specifically to modify or improve a physical feature.
The amount of aesthetic treatments currently available is astounding. From general liposuction, to face lifts, to butt implants (some call it the 'J-Lo'), the plastic surgery industry has exponentially increased over the past 25 years, with the constant technological advancements made in the field. Plastic surgery offices now include many skin treatments as well, such as laser hair removals, micro-dermabrasion, and chemical peels. Doctors can literally nip, tuck, enhance, reduce, tighten and remove anything. Want to look like Angelina Jolie? No problem (just ask
Octomom!).
My mother is a registered nurse, and after 18 years as a stay-at-home mom, re- entered the world of medicine as the nurse to our plastic surgeon friend. She gives
Botox injections and fillers, and provides treatments using the “AWT” machine (acoustic wave therapy, which is supposed to eliminate unwanted cellulite), and the
Zerona machine, one of the "hottest" technologies on the market. Zerona is a non-invasive laser machine, which essentially melts your fat without liposuction. My father is an anesthesiologist, and so less involved in the plastic surgery world, but still does a significant amount of related cases. Just the other day he was called in for an “emergency liposuction”. Really? Emergency liposuction? I was not aware that needing to have your fat sucked out could be an emergency, but okay.
Being my parents’ daughter, I’ve gained a different perspective and insight to the cosmetic surgery practices. I have seen the “before” and “after” pictures of some AWT patients. They don’t look that different to me – they have just as much cottage cheese before spending their $500 to have a machine roll over their thighs as before. But, my opinion does not count. As long as the patient thinks there is a difference, that’s all that matters, right? As long as they feel better about themselves in some way, then it is worth it. And, if they still don’t feel beautiful enough, they will surely find another procedure to fix it. Joan Rivers, queen of plastic surgery in Hollywood, put it best: “Money can’t buy you happiness, but it can pay for the plastic surgery”.
I would like to make it clear that I am not against plastic surgery (let’s face it, I’ll probably have some procedure or treatment done in the next 10 years). Instead, I strive to provide a commentary on different aspects of the industry: the controversial treatments, celebrities and their surgeries, trends of 2010, teens and cosmetic surgeries, plastic surgery and socioeconomics, males and cosmetic surgeries, plastic surgery addictions, and the lesser known cutting edge reconstructive surgeries.
Thanks, Plasmetic.com
While searching for inspiration for my own blog, I came across a very comprehensive, useful, and relevant blog. It is called
Plasmetic.com (as in “PLAStic” and “cosMETIC”), and is a blog:
obsessively covering the latest procedures in beauty and aesthetics. Plasmetic.com covers the latest news in the field of plastic surgery, facial cosmetic surgery, breast implants, liposuction, tummy tuck and everything related to having the perfect body and beauty.
I found this blog to be more unique because there is no recognized single author of the posts, and it covers an incredibly wide range of topics related to plastic surgery. The posts are all archived, so the viewer can read any post from previous years. They are conveniently organized into categories and sub-categories, such as “Celebrity News", “Breast Augmentation”, “Latest Trends”, “Weight Loss”, etc., with over 2086 posts. In general, they seem to post a couple to several times a month, with more frequent postings in previous years.
The authors of these posts are clearly knowledgeable in the field of plastic and cosmetic surgery, and are perhaps a group of doctors. For the most part, all of their posts follow the same format. There is a description about the procedure, treatment, news story – whatever the particular subject may be, and then a list of the highlights - essentially the advantages, and when necessary a list of the disadvantages. For many of the procedures, they will also include the general cost. The blog is only as detailed as it needs to be – it is not personal or individualized as many other blogs are, and does not necessarily have its own voice, but serves more as an informational blog. While it may not be a stimulating or funny read, this blog was not created for that purpose. It clearly lays out the information many of the viewers are looking for, as the
intended audience of this site is:
women researching on various plastic surgery procedures, plastic surgery practices to identify the latest treatments approved by the FDA, and plastic surgeons to know patient’s grievances and concerns.
This blog will certainly serve as an influence on mine, as it is a good source for information on new procedures, and a comprehensive collection of posts on any and all things plastic surgery. One of the most recent posts I found particularly interesting (and even a little funny, but mostly because it just sounds so rediculous), was about
iPhone apps that make plastic surgery easier. It reviews the highlights of the “Shafer Plastic Surgery App”, “
iSurgeon”, “Tanimania”, “Dr. Denenberg’s iPhone App”, and “
BodyPlastika”. These applications all involve plastic surgery in some way, and it is frightening to me that they even exist. The highlights for iSurgeon, for example, include:
a. iSurgeon has been developed by a Miami-based cosmetic surgeon Dr. Michael Salzahauer.
b. It combines a game mode that enables users to try their hand a surgery.
c. People can modify images through lip enhancements, breast augmentations and many other improvements.
d. Users can easily simulate plastic surgery by easily modifying face and body features on their phone including Rhinoplasty, Breast Augmentation, Brazilian Buttlifts and Tummy Tucks.
e. Available exclusively through the iTunes store.
This post serves as an example of a standard post from this blogger about a current, trendy technology associated with the industry. But this blog is not solely about technology or surgical procedures. While reading through some older posts, I stumbled on
this from 2008:
“A new book set to be released on Mother's Day seeks to help children through their mothers' cosmetic surgeries. Called My Beautiful Mommy, this book is authored by Florida-based plastic surgeon, Dr. Michael Salzhauer. However, there are critics who say that this book is not comprehensive and others are against such a book directed at children.”
(Seriously? There is a book about this? Okay, I’ll put my personal opinions aside…for now)
In this post, the blogger still does not give any personal insights, but even continues to include the highlights about the book. This is indicative of the style of the blog – even when discussing a children’s book, it remains academic, giving only necessary information.
Unlike Plasmetic.com, my blog will be personalized. Instead of reporting straight information or facts about particular procedures, treatments, or news, I will include my own opinion and commentary, and allow myself the freedom to let my mind wander. I won’t be as formulaic as Plasmetic.com is, because that does not suit my personality (as I’m sure you’ve begun to realize). I mean, that’s the real beauty of the Internet, isn’t it? You can talk about whatever you want, whenever you want, however you want, and go to sleep knowing someone out there, even if it’s just one person, will listen.
Where Would We Be Without Heidi?
C’mon. Be Honest. You kinda love Heidi Montag. I mean, if nothing else you love to hate her. Frankly, I give her props. She has managed to stay in the spotlight for what, like 5 years now? (does anyone know why, exactly?) And just when she and good old Spencer begin to fade out of US Weekly…BAM! She’s on the cover of People, staring at you with her expressionless face (courtesy of unnecessary Botox) and breasts that are so unnaturally large they might pop out of the cover and stab you in the eyes.
Many celebrities have made headlines due to their sometimes good, but most of the time bad, plastic and cosmetic surgeries. And Heidi is certainly no exception (though is she really a celebrity? More of a famewhore, I’d say). I have guiltily developed my own little obsession with her particular case, mostly trying to figure out why in God’s name would she want to do this (it’s the psych major in me). I began perusing the internet, seeing what plastic surgeons had to say about her situation, and came across a really entertaining, but still intelligent blog by a doctor from Michigan. Dr. Tony Youn had several posts about our Miss Montag, but I liked
this one best.
At the end of this post, he lists the one-two-many surgeries she had, and gives his opinion:
Revision nose job - unnecessary. It looked fine after the first one. This just creates more scar tissue which could cause problems down the line.
Chin reduction - Why? Her chin looked good before.
Mini brow lift - stupid. Her brows were not droopy.
Botox - unnecessary in a 23 year old. She had no real wrinkles before. Now she has a "Botox brow" and looks like Cruella De Vil.
Fat injections - Not needed. She is too young to need fat grafting to her face. Unless the person has an unusually flat face, I usually consider this in the 30's at the earliest.
Ear pinning - I'm unsure about this one. It's reasonable if she had ears that stuck out.
Liposuction - ridiculous - She's too thin to need lipo. She should talk to Tara Reid.
Buttock augmentation - dumb - Heidi had a very nice derriere before the surgery. She should leave well-enough alone. She risks it becoming lumpy and uneven.
Breast augmentation revision - Probably unnecessary. Unless she had a complication or wanted to downsize, there was probably no reason to do this.
In his opinion of each, his own voice comes out. He is demonstrating that he is a knowledgeable and real doctor making valid assessments, while maintaining a funny tone. By doing so, it almost reminds the readers that this is a blog for our entertainment, and not webmd. He uses informal language, and I enjoyed his blunt responses like “dumb”, “not needed", and "stupid".
After reading this post, I was prompted to read through a lot of Dr. Youn’s other posts. The overall language remains playful throughout the blog. He does not get tied up in complex medical language, and writes in a conversational tone. Often, he will end the post with a question, usually a comical one, like in
this post about Tiger Woods. This blog was stimulating especially in comparison to the blog I mentioned in a previous post,
Plasmetic, because it is not a series of lists and reviews, but is purely a witty examination of Hollywood’s finest.
Dr. Youn also does not use inappropriate language - he says “heck” instead of “hell”, and makes statements like: “I think that’s a load of hooey”. I don’t think I have heard the word hooey since first grade, let alone from a grown man, but it is a bit refreshing. More importantly, his use of (for lack of a better word) gradeschool lingo adds to the exaggeration he is making, and calls attention to the rediculousness of whatever he is commenting on. It establishes his character - it's like he wants us to know that he can be funny, but funny does not mean stupid.
While reading through some of Dr. Youn’s other posts, I noticed how different it was from most of the other plastic surgery blogs out there. Most other surgeons with their own blogs give reviews on new products and procedures, and keep readers updated on their practice. Instead, Dr. Youn takes a different route by incorporating his medical opinion and knowledge, with his own personality to keep readers interested. But, not all of his posts are solely about celebrity/public figures and plastic surgery. He will, in his own way, ‘review’ products as well.
Here, he talks about a limp plumping product called “
JolieLips":
The lips swell very easily. That's why when a guy gets socked in the kisser he gets a fat lip, not a fat chin. Because the lips are so sensitive, even a mild treatment like this one can create enough trauma to swell the lips temporarily. I suppose you could do the same thing by slapping yourself in the mouth or performing a high school-type makeout session.
Instead of arbitrarily listing the pros and cons of the product, he gives the readers a link to someone else’s review and just shares with us his own thoughts. Instead of telling us whether or not he thought the product was worth buying, his sarcasm causes us to infer that he thinks it is, well, a bit absurd. By saying “I suppose”, it automatically comes off as sarcastic and jokingly, and this tone is confirmed with his comparison to a “high school makeout session”.
I will most definitely continue to read Dr. Youn’s blog, and will keep you all updated on the latest celebmetic gossip (I combined celeb and cosmetic, but it doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, does it…thoughts?)
Here are links to a few other posts I found entertaining:
Is Heidi Montag a Hero?
Dr. Youn's Plastic Surgery Predictions for 2010
Part 1 Part 2 (proof that he does not only talk about celebrity figures)
Santa Claus and Plastic Surgery?
Octomom Had a Tummy Tuck (I'm Pretty Sure) (see hooey reference)
