We might think that everyone knows the facts about obesity and weight loss, but a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine exposes a number of myths and misunderstandings that many still believe. The results may surprise you, from the real link between eating more produce...

Despite all the warnings and taboos in certain social circles, a 2012 Harris Poll found that 21 percent of Americans (one in five) has a tattoo, up from 14 percent in 2008. In the poll, 86 percent of people claimed to not regret the tattoo, but this varies....

The field of plastic surgery recently lost one of our best with the passing of Nobel Prize winner Dr. Joseph Murray. While exceptional in the plastic surgery profession, Dr. Murray's greatest legacy was performing the first living donor kidney transplant in 1954 -- a notable surgical milestone.

As many consider rejuvenation procedures in 2013, non-surgical and surgical options will both be weighed -- as well as where to go for certain procedures. In recent years, the medi-spa has been gaining considerable popularity (according to the International SPA Association, more than 1,500 medical spas opened in...

In 1860, Abraham Lincoln grew a beard following advice from an 11-year-old New York girl who wrote, "You would look a great deal better, for your face is so thin."

Alexander the Great (July 356 to June 323 BC) banned his soldiers from wearing beards,...

Recently I was given the book Da Vinci's Ghost, on particularly the ideas behind his Vitruvian man -- his famous drawing of a man in a circle and a square. I thoroughly enjoyed Toby Lester's book, but as a plastic surgeon, it reminded me of the irony associated...

Liposuction was introduced to plastic surgery by the French surgeon Dr. Yves-Gerard Illouz in 1982, providing a new option for individuals who wanted to get rid of unsightly fatty areas. Its elegance in simplicity and efficacy immediately brought it into the mainstream of plastic surgery. After three decades of use,...

Though he wasn't referring to plastic surgery, if patients listened to the great Roman orator Marcus Tullius Cicero who more than 2,000 years ago said, "Never go to excess, but let moderation be your guide," they would likely be happier and healthier.

When it comes to plastic...

Lips thin with age. People increase the size and fullness of their lips for a more youthful appearance. Like a good facelift, an expert lip procedure will enhance and rejuvenate facial contours. A recent American Society of Plastic Surgeons study showed that lip augmentation rose by 49 percent...

As The Huffington Post itself reported recently, chin augmentation is the fastest-growing type of plastic surgery today. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reports that chin augmentation surgery grew 71 percent overall in 2011 from 2010 among both men and women, with more than 20,000 individuals...

It used to be that nearly every article of clothing was custom-made, from shirts to hats to shoes; people made them themselves, or visited the tailor, hatter or cobbler. Today, custom clothing is the exception rather than the rule, and for a truly custom suit, you would visit a bespoke...

There has been a great deal written recently about the now-banned silicone breast implants made by Poly Implant Prothèse (PIP), a French company which has since closed down. In 2008, French plastic surgeons reported an unusually high rate of rupture -- over five...

When a celebrity is diagnosed with a serious illness, considerable attention is drawn to that disease. Most recently, E! host Giuliana Rancic's decision to have a double mastectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer has drawn national attention to an evolving paradigm for the treatment and rehabilitation of...

The signs of aging can come as a shock to many. Drooping eyelids, crow's feet, jowls, sagging cheeks ... nobody likes to accept that their years are catching up to them. Plastic surgeons and the cosmetic industry have long offered solutions to these imperfections, some of them more scientifically valid...

In Malcolm Gladwell's national bestseller "Outliers: The Story of Success," he makes his case that there is more than the Horatio Alger formula of pluck and initiative that allows young boys born into poverty to become successful. Rather, he argues that in addition to ambition and...

This is a Computerized Tomographic (CT) image of a patient with a fractured cheek bone. As a craniofacial surgeon at a major medical center, I have treated hundreds of these injuries. Facial fractures may result from any significant blunt trauma -- motor vehicle accidents,...

Medical tourism is an established element of the international medical landscape. The major incentives for patients travelling abroad for plastic surgery are access to otherwise unavailable or perceived superior care, cost and, sometimes, a pleasant, vacation-like environment for early recovery. If all goes as planned, the treatment and...

The underlying skeleton is the fundamental determinant of facial appearance. Because the teeth are attached to the upper and lower jaws, the position of these bones determines not only how we look, but also how our teeth fit.

Malocclusion refers to the less than ideal fit between the...

Weight gain can be an insidious process. 100 extra calories a day can add 10 pounds to your weight in a year. So, what if you only gain a pound a year? Well if you were just right at 25 you are 20 pounds overweight at 45!

So what is...

The Concept

Based on what is known about the effect of gravity on the aging process in our skin, it would be logical to assume that eyebrows also droop over time. Hence, surgery that lifts brows should make one appear younger, and since youth is synonymous with...