San Francisco Woman Without Medical License Pleads Guilty: Botched Cosmetic Surgery
Here's a good reason to check doctors' credentials before making that first appointment!
Ha Thithu Nguyen of San Jose, California woman has pleaded guilty to practicing medicine without a medical license.

"A 47-year-old San Jose woman has pleaded guilty to illegally practicing medicine and other charges after she performed cosmetic surgery operations at her home that went awry, including face lifts, lip plumps and tummy tucks, prosecutors said today."

Some of the victims face permanent scarring and future operations to correct the botched surgeries. The unlicensed "doctor" faces seven years and four months in state prison. Her husband, who assisted her, faces two years and eight months. Ms. Nguyen advertised in a Vietnamese-language newspaper. It is unclear if the "surgeon" actually had any formal medical training.
San Francisco Chronicle Article

Before you undergo LipoDissolve, you should read view this video about the possible risks and dangers...LipoDissolve

Kanye West's mother's death sparks proposals for stricter plastic surgery laws
The death of hip hop Kenye West's mother, Donda, has sparked interest in creating new laws to protect plastic surgery patients.

Illinois and California are just two states pushing for laws to protect the health of those who are undergoing not only cosmetic surgery, but procedures such as BOTOX® injections. Two states have made three proposals:
Illinois

• Botox injections and other similar procedures would be required to be performed by board-certified plastic surgeons, not assistants or doctors who don't specialize in plastic surgery
• Plastic surgeons must be affiliated with an accredited hospital or university to open a practice.

Woman Sues Over Before & After Plastic Surgery Photos:
A woman identified only as "Jane Doe" has filed a lawsuit over the use of her "full frontal nude pictures" on the web site of the plastic surgeons who performed skin reduction surgery on her arms, according to a story which appeared in a St. Louis newspaper.

. "The woman was absolutely mortified when she saw her full frontal nude pictures in there," her lawyer, Richard Witzel, said Tuesday. "Picture your mother's reaction. The woman's in her 60s."

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the woman claims in the lawsuit that she was told the photos were only for the doctors' internal use. They showed her from the neck down.
Read more on the United Press International filed story here.

About Donda West:
For nearly 6 years, we at BoardCertifiedPlasticSurgeon.com have been encouraging prudence and extreme caution BEFORE undergoing plastic surgery.

The death of Donda West, the mother of hip-hop mogul Kanye West, has once again focused the media spotlight on plastic surgery. Donda died after having undergone a tummy tuck and breast reduction surgery. The surgery was performed by Dr. Jan Adams of California.

Here is Dr. Jan Adams' record from the Medical Board of California:
JAN RUDALGO ADAMS, MD
License Type: PHYSICIAN AND SURGEON
License Number: A51004

Lipo-Dissolve - Fact vs. Myth...
If you watched The Morning Show recently, you may have seen plastic surgeon Diane Duncan, M.D., of Fort Collins, Colorade as a guest. Dr. Duncan is a major proponent of Lipo-Dissolve.

Is Lipo-Dissolve the same as mesotherapy? No.
Many cosmetic surgery enthusiasts confuse the two terms, but they are not interchangeable.

Lipodissolve is a "procedure that uses standardized protocols for subcutaneous micro-injections with the sole purpose of dissolving fat.Mesotherapy injections are delivered into the hypodermis layer and can contain a combination of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and medications to treat a variety of medical conditions."

This process, which proports to dissolve fat (lipo) has not been FDA approved. Studies are surely ongoing, however, due to the vast amount of PR that the lipodissolve process is now receiving.

If you would like to read what the official web site for this product says regarding Lipo-Dissolve in a special "Fact vs. Myth" section, click HERE.

If you would like to view a VIDEO which shows several lipo-dissolve patients who were NOT happy with the results, click CLICK HERE.

Dr. Peter Grossman Helps Burn Victim
On January 15, masked men grabbed Youssif outside his central Baghdad, Iraq home, doused him in gas and set him on fire. This horrendous act left little 5-year-old Youssif with severe facial scars. He can't even smile properly.

Dr. Peter Hylan Grossman of Sherman Oaks, California (Grossman Burn Center) has volunteered to help little Youssif - for free. The boy will require multiple surgeries over a 6 - 8 month period. The kindness and generosity of this U.S. board-certified plastic surgeon may help the boys emotional scars, as well.
Read More

Facial Exercises: Yoga For The Face Is All The Rage!

We are creating a special page with information and resources on the newest trend in non-invasive beauty: exercising the face.

Estee Lauder touted the benefits of facial exercise many years ago. It worked for her, will it work for others?

Read more soon: Facial Exercises Resource Page

What it the next big ingredient in anti-aging anti-wrinkles products?
How about....COFFEEBERRY!
According to the buzz in the beauty business, the latest word in anti-wrinkle, anti-aging ingredients is the little known coffeeberry.

The word "coffeeberry" is new to many of us, but such a berry really does exist. According to Dictionary.com a coffeeberry is defined asg:
an evergreen shrub, Rhamnus californica, of the buckthorn family, common in the western U.S., having small, greenish flowers and red fruit that turns black, grown as a bee plant.

A search for information on what products contained coffeeberries on the FDA.gov web site, which is often the first place we go to do research on new beauty products, only had one result (September 2007):
COFFEEBERRY.

As you can see, this particular Food and Drug Administration PDF file contained correspondence between the FDA and a company called NEW CHAPTER, apparently based in Vermont. The letter addresses a product called "Coffeeberry"TM in regards to "healthy blood glucose levels, healthy cholesterol levels, and healthy blood pressure" levels.

We searched a little further and found several references to the coffeeberry's antioxidant qualities. Some studies have suggested that coffeeberries are higher in antioxidant levels than blueberries, green tea and pomegranates.

The possible benefits of coffeeberries as an ingredient in skin care products were discussed at the February 2007 meeting of the AAD (American Academy of Dermatology), according to several sources.

So, where can you find beauty and skin care products containing this ingredient?

According to our research, a company called RevaleSkin (tm) exclusively offers a line of skin care products containing the ingredient coffeeberry®.

RevaleSkin tm products contain coffeeberry® and include a facial cleanser, a night cream and a day cream to "cleans, teat and protect".

FYI:Several trademark applications were filed on August 9, 2007 by a company called Stiefel Laboratories, Inc. of Coral Gables FL for use of the words "Revale" and "RevaleSkin". VDF FutureCeutifals, Inc. already holds several registered U.S.P.T.O. trademards for the word "coffeeberry". NEW CHAPTER is a company offering dietary supplements containing coffeeberry® and which has been in touch with the FDA regarding possible health benefits.

If this is all very confusing, let's help you out. Read more about the coffeeberry®, RevaleSkin (tm) products and the claims here:
CosmeticDesign.com

Lookalikes in Tribute Bands Turn to Plastic Surgery
Writer: Paul Majendie through REUTERS & Yahoo! news
LONDON (Reuters) - Going under the knife is not compulsory but being sculpted as the perfect lookalike sure helps in Britain's burgeoning tribute band business.
Article is no longer available.

Hormone Replacement and Breast Cancer Rates:
Hormones can raise breast cancer risk...
Decrease in Breast Cancer Rates Related to Reduction in Use of Hormone Replacement Therapy

The sharp decline in the rate of new breast cancer cases in 2003 may be related to a national decline in the use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), according to a new report in the April 19, 2007, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The report used data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health.

Read more from the National Cancer Institute:Hormone Replacement/Breast Cancer Link

20-Somethings Flock to Plastic Surgeons
From ABC news...

What would make most women older than 40 shake their heads in disbelief? Perhaps a 20-something woman getting Botox.
Plastic surgery candidates are getting younger every day...in more ways than one...

Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Plastic Surgery
before you commit!

At www.BoardCertifiedPlasticSurgeon.com, we've been informing people about the wisdom of carefully choosing plastic surgeons who are board certified. This means not only checking your doctor's credentials prior to that first appointment and speak to the surgeon about the procedure, but ASKING the right questions when you do finally go for cosmetic surgery consultation.
Please visit this page for more information...
Questions for your plastic surgeon

FDA Approves Silicone Gel-Filled Breast Implants

After In-Depth Evaluation, FDA Agency Requiring 10 Years of Patient Follow-Up
After rigorous scientific review, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved the marketing of silicone gel-filled breast implants made by two companies for breast reconstruction in women of all ages and breast augmentation in women ages 22 and older. The products are manufactured by Allergan Corp. (formerly Inamed Corp.), Irvine, Calif., and Mentor Corp., Santa Barbara, Calif.
READ MORE: FDA Approves Silicone Gel Breast Implants

Newsweek Oct.30 2006 issue article by Barbara Kantrowitz, on msnbc.msn.com:
Journalist kicks the cosmetic surgery habit
Brush With Perfection
In a new book ("Beauty Junkies: Inside Our $15 Billion Obsession With Cosmetic Surgery" (Doubleday)), Alex Kuczynski explores our cosmetic-surgery obsession—and regrets her own.
Read Newsweek article on msnbc.nsn.com