Bigger, Easier, Better - LookingYourBest.com Reaches for the Next Level

LookingYourBest.com, the nationwide reference guide to a Who's Who of America's Plastic and Cosmetic Surgeons, offers more than just a bold new look with its comprehensive re-tooling. It offers an enhanced experience.

The first aspect of the new LookingYourBest.com that will surely catch the eye is the new layout and color scheme. The old, sterile layout with its pastel colors blending out to the window's edge has been supplanted by a sharp, clean page set against a rich chocolate tone, with deep rose accents and a commanding presence. In all the site wears a more focused, sophisticated feel that visitors are sure to appreciate.

The visual changes, however, belie the underlying metamorphosis that now makes it even easier to seek out doctors and procedures by multiple criteria. A simplified menu and site structure are two of the keys to the improved ease of use, despite the addition of even more data than before. LookingYourBest has long been an excellent source for finding and comparing professionals in aesthetic medicine, both locally and nationally. Now, the search function in both the gallery and surgeon areas has been simplified and visitors are treated to informative videos and 3D procedure animations to further enhance their search.

There's an important difference in the underpinnings as well, though a casual visitor may not even notice. Nevertheless, by streamlining the site's code, the programmers at LookingYourBest have sought to improve what is often the most important aspect of a web site; browsing speed. The new LookingYourBest.com loads faster and is more intuitive than ever.

Undoing Sun Damage

Shielding your skin from the summer sun makes good sense, and there are many excellent products that help make it easier than ever. A good sun block with UVA and UVB protection, plus a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses, should be summer essentials.

But let's face it - most of us already have sun-damage. In fact, much of the visible damage you see in your skin today may be the result of sun exposure when you were a child or teenager. So what can be done to improve your skin now - and then keep it looking fresher and healthier?

To erase pigmentation, reduce fine lines and wrinkles, improve tone and texture and stimulate collagen, we recommend the Active FX laser. Active FX is a fractionated CO2 laser that can be done right in our office with minimal down time.

Chemical peels of varying strengths are a common method for resurfacing (deeper peels) or revitalizing (lighter peels) your skin. Trichloroacetic acid (TCA) has a slight bleaching effect and often is recommended for patients with darker complexions. TCA can be applied to your neck, upper chest and other areas of skin damaged by sun exposure.

If you are looking for a milder treatment that provides improvement in fine lines and skin texture, you may choose a series of glycolic or salicylic acid peels. Glycolic acid, derived from natural sources such as fruit and milk, is used in varying concentrations as a medical-strength peeling solution. Even a single glycolic acid peel performed by your plastic surgeon may produce the freshening effect you are looking for. Another option of a superficial peel is a salicylic acid peel. This treatment will help smooth fine lines and even skin discoloration while reducing the appearance of acne and environmental damage to the skin.

Liposuction is Not a Weight-loss Alternative, But it Can Help With Trouble Spots

No matter how much you diet and exercise, there can be excess fat in certain places that sometimes just won't go away. Liposuction, also known as liposculpting or bodysculpting are all terms to describe removing excess fat cells from targeted areas of the body. Liposuction is used to contour and shape the body and is often used as a complementary surgical technique to facelifts and body surgery. Liposuction is not a weight-loss alternative. It is a treatment for those persistent pockets of fat resulting from hereditary, age and areas unaffected by diet and exercise. The best candidates have good skin with healthy elasticity.

Liposuction is safer and more effective than before due to advances in technology, technique and defined standards. All liposuction is essentially suction-assisted lipectomy, the removal of fat from the body through a form of suction. Tusmescence, a treatment administered just prior to liposuction involves infusing the areas to be treated with a solution to help plump up the fat cells to make them easier to remove, and control the amount of pain and bruising after the procedure. Even though technology has improved and the techniques have been refined, the ultimate outcome is influenced by the surgeon's aesthetic eye. A Plastic surgeon uses small precise instruments to sculpt and create the smoothest contours and the most natural shape.

Breast Reconstruction Options

It is important to be informed about each of the reconstruction options in order to determine the best possible treatment plan for each individual patient.

The unique circumstances of each patient help to determine the best option for the method of reconstruction that can be used. The goals of breast reconstruction surgery are to re-create a breast which matches the opposite breast, or in bilateral cases, to reconstruct two breasts of a patients’s desired size. The nipple and areola (the pigmented area surrounding the nipple) are also reconstructed. It is ideal to consult with a plastic surgeon prior to mastectomy. This allows the surgical teams to plan the treatment that is best suited for the patient, even if the patient decides to wait to have reconstructive surgery at a later date.

Immediate breast reconstruction occurs when reconstruction is performed at the time of mastectomy. Immediate reconstruction has the advantage of usually saving the patient at least one subsequent operation, and has been shown to have a significant psychological benefit, as the patient never has to experience the total loss of a breast. All of the reconstruction options listed below can be performed at the time of mastectomy.

Delayed breast reconstruction is done at a later time. For some women, this may be advised, especially if radiation to the chest area is needed after the mastectomy. Delayed reconstruction is appropriate for these women because radiation therapy following breast reconstruction can increase complications after reconstructive surgery.

Breast Reconstruction and Augmentation in Los Angeles

Time isn't the only thing marching on. The drum to which the miracles of modern medicine march beats faster than many would have thought possible just a few short decades ago. Look at silicone breast implants, for example. I remember in the '90s, when the words "silicone" and "implant" seemed inseparably connected with "leak." Silicone implants are much improved since then, and the next step in silicone is already available on a limited basis in the U.S. and waiting for FDA approval. These cohesive gel silicone (gummy bear) implants promise a lot of exciting potential.

Thanks to their natural looking and natural feeling results, cohesive gel silicone implants are already popular in Europe. The gel's consistency allows these implants to maintain the commonly requested teardrop shape. Just as important; clinical studies have shown that cohesive gel implants have the lowest rate of capsular contracture (hardening of the breasts) and leakage of any implant ever studied.

Los Angeles plastic surgeon Dr. Steven Teitelbaum is an enthusiastic supporter of this technology, and is developing the educational material that one implant manufacturer will be using to credential surgeons who expect to use them following FDA approval. Dr. Teitelbaum has been using cohesive gel implants since 2000, and is the only surgeon in California to have been invited to be a part of the clinical trials of all three cohesive implant manufacturers. If you have been considering breast enhancement or reconstruction in Los Angeles, schedule your consultation with Dr. Teitelbaum today.

Gynecomastia Surgery in Santa Monica, California

More men will get "man boobs," or gynecomastia, than will not. Of those men who do have male breast reduction surgery, more are adding other surgeries at the same time. Why is it that the popularity of cosmetic surgery increasing among men? It could be because of today’s competitive business environment, which puts pressure on men to look younger and more vigorous, too. Looking thinner and more fit is also a professional and social advantage for men.

Cutting away tissue, or excision, was once the only means of treating gynecomastia. Liposuction is now used to address the soft fat deposits of the chest. Most men will require a mixture of both methods, as liposuction does not effectively treat glandular tissue. Surgery involves some risk, so schedule your consultation with a board certified surgeon to learn more. Using his experience in plastic surgery for men, Dr. Steven Teitelbaum can help you in making the decisions that are most right for you.

Eye Lid Lift Surgery in Manhattan, New York

If you mean to have blepharoplasty surgery in Manhattan New York and a doctor who "listens to your concerns, educates you about the surgical outcome that can be realistically achieved, and won't rush you through the consultation or plastic surgery decision-making process, Eric Sadeh, MD might be the right plastic surgeon for you."

There's no such thing as a surgical procedure without any risk of complication. Risk is a natural part of surgery, and being properly informed prior to your eyelid lift surgery is always best. You want a doctor who will work together with you to minimize risk of complication by ensuring you know all you can.