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Body Contouring: Is It For You?

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About forty-five million Americans diet each year and Americans spend approximately one to $2 billion a year on weight loss programs. It is believed that consumers spend about $30 billion per year trying to lose weight or prevent weight gain, and 55% of Americans are actively trying to maintain or lose weight. In the last five years weight loss surgery has experienced a tremendous resurgence. Over fifty thousand patients in the United States will undergo some form of gastric bypass surgery during the year, and the positive effects of this surgery are immeasurable. The health benefits of massive weight loss are numerous and profound.

However, after a patient experiences massive weight loss, the body skin is not able to retract to the smaller size of the body underneath. This results in large pendulous hanging breasts, significant excess underarm skin (sometimes known as bat wings), and significant lower abdominal skin and laxity that causes rashes, impairs the ability to wear normal clothes and sometimes even daily activity. In the face, this excess skin often leads to significant signs of aging when the skin is no longer able to retrace following massive weight loss.
Body Contouring is a safe and effective group of procedures that can help a patient drastically improve their appearance!  Dr. Mark Bishara and The Paragon Plastic Surgery & Med Spa offer body contouring surgery designed specifically for patients who have achieved significant weight loss. Procedures that remove skin or fat, tighten and lift can be used as a complement to help your clothes fit better and allow you to participate more comfortably in your favorite activities.

BODY CONTOURING – ARE YOU A CANDIDATE?

Not everyone who loses a lot of weight needs body-contouring surgery. Moreover, experts say, not everyone needs it for the entire body.
A lot depends on your age, your genetics, level of sun exposure, how evenly the weight was distributed, and, more importantly, how you feel when you look in the mirror. If you’re not unhappy about the way you look, you shouldn’t be made to feel you need body- contouring surgery.
What can also make a difference, however, is where you lose the weight. While a loss of 50 pounds that was concentrated in your midsection might leave you with a lot of loose skin in that area, a 100-pound loss that was more evenly distributed on your body may have less of an effect on skin.
If you do end up with droopy, sagging skin and think there’s some other way around it, experts say, forget it. Short of surgery, there is really nothing that can help. Exercise won’t tighten it, and skin creams and lotions won’t do a thing to help.
Interested in what body contouring can do for you? Contact Dr. Mark Bishara’s Office in Mansfield and Southlake, today to learn more about the transformative treatments we offer. Call us at (817) 473-2120 to find out more information.
www.MarkBisharaMD.com
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Medical Tourism on the Rise in Costa Rica

In a recent article in Feel Costa Rica, a Real Estate magazine, discusses how Costa Rica is a very appealing option for medical tourism.
Several countries now top the list for medical tourism, including Canada, Israel, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Costa Rica. Ranked as among the most appealing destinations for medical tourism last year, these countries have quite a lot to offer, including the ability to recuperate in a beautiful, foreign location. Other countries that are gaining appeal in terms of medical tourism include South Korea, Italy, Colombia, Spain, and Dubai, as ranked by the International Healthcare Research Center.
The Medical Tourism Index measures the appeal of a country for the purposes of medical travel in addition to several key dimensions. As part of the latest ranking, Canada was determined to top the list for both Medical Tourism Costs and Country Environment. Costa Rica came out the winner for Destination Attractiveness. Israel was ranked highest in Medical Facility and Service. The list was based on a survey conducted among 5,000 Americans and included 30 countries.
The Appeal of Medical Tourism in Costa Rica
Medical tourism in Costa Rica has been on the rise the past several years. Recent news indicates that the medical tourism market is expected to increase to more than $32 billion over the course of the next four years. Much of that increase is due to rising healthcare costs. Improved standards of healthcare technology in countries such as China and India have also contributed to increased medical tourism. Other factors, such as increased adoption of advanced technologies, improved exchange rates, and an ageing population have also contributed to the rise of medical tourism.
Travelers seeking procedures abroad are often attracted by a shorter waiting period for treatment and better pricing for procedures, including cosmetic surgeries. In addition to continually rising healthcare costs, a number of surgical and medical procedures are no longer covered by insurance. As a result, it has now become vital for Americans to seek out more affordable, alternative healthcare treatment options. The opportunity to travel to a foreign country that offers more affordable pricing and quality healthcare in a serene environment has proven to be the ideal solution for many people. Medical tourism has now grown far beyond elective procedures to include non-elective procedures, such as hip replacements, neurosurgery, and heart surgery. This has proven to be particularly important in light of the aging of the Baby Boomer population in the United States.
The rise of medical tourism has certainly proven to be good news for Costa Rica. Most recently, it was announced that La Posada, located in Guanacaste has been sold to Rythmia Holdings Company SRL. The new owner plans to convert the property into a medical treatment center and promote the facility for medical tourism with a focus on holistic health. Estimates indicate that the project will create more than 100 jobs, including both direct and indirect jobs. Operations are slates to begin early this year.
This Information is brought to you courtesy of Dr. Mark Bishara and The Paragon Plastic Surgery & Med Spa
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Double Chin? There May Be a Drug for That

A recent article in Bloomberg Business discusses how people who suffer from an unsightly double chin may not need to contort their head, neck and face into funny positions to try to work off the extra roll if U.S. regulators sign off on a new drug.
Kythera Biopharmaceuticals Inc.’s experimental drug is injected into fat under the chin. The drug is a version of deoxycholic acid, a molecule that occurs naturally in the body to help destroy fat.

Kythera Biopharmaceuticals Inc. aims to bring true, rigorous clinical science to cosmetic dermatology with prescription drugs that modulate novel biological pathways in aesthetic and restorative indications.

The injection is still not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. A panel of outside advisors and academics will discuss whether the FDA should approve the first-of-its-kind treatment on March 9. The agency doesn’t have to follow the panel’s recommendation.
Kythera, based in Westlake Village, California, says the drug, ATX-101, contours the chin without affecting surrounding tissue. Injectable drugs like Allergan Inc.’s Botox and dermal fillers aren’t approved to fix fat and loose skin under the chin, making ATX-101 potentially the first injection for the area to hit the market if approved.

ATX-101, is an adipolytic agent discovered at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA Biomed) and identified by Munshi. Adipolytic therapy, dissolving fat by injection, has been used for several decades, primarily outside of the US, but the products used are unregulated; thus there has been no real understanding of their mechanism of action.

Chin augmentations were the fastest-growing category of plastic surgery in the U.S. in 2011, according to an analysis by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. There were 20,680 chin procedures in 2011, and they grew more than breast augmentation, Botox and liposuction treatments combined, according to the society.
The FDA is scheduled to rule on the drug by May 13. It would be Kythera’s first product for sale, and could generate $505 million in sales in 2020, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The drug has been tested on 1,600 patients in clinical trials, more than 90 percent of whom maintained a meaningful reduction of fat after two years, Kythera said on its website.
 

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With the New Year, Start 2015 with a Bang

The New Year brings new goals and expectations, but only if you earnestly desire to become a new you.
Skin Care 101

  • Make an appointment for a skin cancer check and make this an annual tradition.  Skin Cancer is the most common form of cancer in the U.S., with more than 3.5 million skin cancers diagnosed in more than two million people annually.  When left unchecked, it is also one of the deadliest.  Whether you are 15 or 75, add a skin cancer check with a dermatologist to your annual doctor’s visit
  • Establish a daily skin care routine that includes washing and moisturizing your face nightly.  It doesn’t need to be expensive, just effective.
  • Don’t Touch Your Face!
  • Drink plenty of water.  Water flushes out toxins, carries nutrients to cells and provides a moist environment for necessary tissue.
  • Wear sunscreen daily.  We all know that it helps decrease the risk of skin cancer, which should be reason enough, but sunscreen also helps prevent facial brown spots, skin discoloration and blotchiness and slows down the development of wrinkled skin.
  • Identify exactly what you desire as it relates to your skin- fewer wrinkles, fine lines, acne, dark spots, etc.
  • When meeting with an aesthetician, open up about what you are looking to achieve and ask that she develop a specific plan of action to help you reach your goals and establish a treatment plan.
  • Commit to meeting your goal, schedule it in your calendar, follow your home care program and stick to it.

Dr. Mark Bishara suggest several basic concepts that anyone can practice.

  • Limit the number of carbohydrates to a minimum and only eat them at breakfast and occasionally at lunch- never at dinner.
  • Exercise to get your heat rate above 120-150 for 15 minutes three times per week
  • Drink a lof to water before to eat.  This promotes early satiety and prevents over eating, as well as promoting hydration
  • Adopting a healthy lifestyle can be addictive

Here’s wishing you a happier and healthier 2015.
En Espanol
El año nuevo trae nuevas metas y expectativas, pero sólo si usted sinceramente deseo de convertirse en un nuevo yo.
Cuidado de la piel 101
Haga una cita para un chequeo del cáncer de piel y hacer de esta una tradición anual. El cáncer de piel es la forma más común de cáncer en los EE.UU., con más de 3,5 millones de cánceres de piel diagnosticados en más de dos millones de personas anualmente. Cuando no se controla, es también uno de los más mortíferos. Si usted es 15 o 75, añadir un cheque cáncer de piel con un dermatólogo para la visita de su médico anual
Establecer una rutina de cuidado diario de la piel que incluye el lavado y la hidratación de la cara todas las noches. No necesita ser costosa, sólo eficaz.No toque su cara!Beba mucha agua. El agua elimina las toxinas, lleva los nutrientes a las células y proporciona un ambiente húmedo para el tejido necesario.Use protector solar todos los días. Todos sabemos que ayuda a disminuir el riesgo de cáncer de piel, que debería ser suficiente razón, pero protector solar también ayuda a prevenir manchas marrones faciales, decoloración de la piel y la aparición de manchas y retrasa el desarrollo de la piel arrugada.Identificar exactamente lo que usted desea en su relación con sus menos arrugas piel-, líneas finas, acné, manchas oscuras, etc.Al reunirse con un esteticista, abre sobre lo que usted está mirando para conseguir y pedir que se elabore un plan de acción específico para ayudarle a alcanzar sus metas y establecer un plan de tratamiento.Comprometerse a cumplir con su objetivo, programar en su calendario, siga su programa de atención domiciliaria y se adhieren a ella.
Dr. Mark Bishara sugieren varios conceptos básicos que cualquier persona puede practicar.
Limite el número de carbohidratos al mínimo y sólo comen en el desayuno y ocasionalmente en almuerzo- nunca en la cena.Ejercicio para obtener su ritmo caliente a más de 120 a 150 durante 15 minutos tres veces por semanaBeba un lof de agua antes de comer. Esto promueve la saciedad temprana y evita comer en exceso, así como la promoción de la hidrataciónLa adopción de un estilo de vida saludable puede ser adictivo¡
Les deseamos un feliz y saludable 2015.

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On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me… plastic surgery?

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On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me … two breast implants, a tummy tuck and a rhinoplasty.
That may be a riff on the original, but it’s a tune many are singing this holiday season, as more people are asking Santa to go under the knife.
Holiday gift giving has become a staple at many cosmetic surgery practices, and the popularity has grown over the last several years, according to Tom Seery, Founder and CEO of RealSelf.com, a consumer website for patients considering cosmetic procedures.
Seery said that people are widely more accepting of nips and tucks than they used to be, and the fact that it’s become more mainstream makes people more comfortable admitting they want something done.
According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 15.1 million people had cosmetic procedures in the U.S. in 2013, up 104% from 2000.
“Because of that, cosmetic surgery is much less of an awkward conversation to have around the dinner table,”Seery said.
The most common plastic surgery gifts to give are anything involving the face — from fillers to lifts — and breast augmentations.
The Christmas season is the busiest time of year for most plastic surgeons, because people have time off to get the procedures and then recover.
This year, Heidi, a mother of three living on Long Island, NY, won’t be looking for the jewelry box her husband usually leaves under the tree. Instead, she’s getting a new kind of gift — money toward the facial filler Juvederm, which she’ll have injected into the area under her eyes.
“I was so excited when he told me, because I’m always complaining that I look so tired and my husband knows this,” said Heidi, who requested that we not use her last name.
Cosmetic surgery is a major splurge, so it’s an obvious choice for a gift wish list.
As in Heidi’s case, the majority of these gifts come from a significant other. A survey of RealSelf community members found that, of those who had gotten some kind of a procedure as a gift, 75% received it from their romantic partner or spouse.
But this gift idea comes with a caveat: About one third of respondents said they’d be offended if a family member, romantic partner or a friend gifted them a cosmetic procedure.
It could sound downright Grinch-like to give a gift that implies your loved one could use some work, but doctors say that’s not generally the case.
Heidi thought her husband’s gesture meant he had been listening to all her complaining and had gotten her what she really wanted.
“I thought it was very thoughtful that he cared that much, and you know, happy wife, happy life.”
This Information is brought to you courtesy of Dr. Mark Bishara and The Paragon Plastic Surgery & Med Spa

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