Friday, April 30, 2010

Get a nip. Get a tuck. Get a job. Dr. Brueck observes

Dr. Robert J. Brueck MD, whose web site at Beauty-by-Brueck covers all aspects of plastic surgery, comments on the job scene and cosmetic surgery.

No one would suggest that anyone is hired solely on the basis of their “looks”.

No. The usual criteria for hiring aside from skills, training and experience, are intangibles such as energy levels and confidence.

If you go into a job interview looking tired or worn down, or lacking confidence in your appearance, chances are those criteria will work against you. You could well lose the job to someone who looks more energetic and has a little more bounce in his or her attitude.

As a result, more and more people who are looking for work are taking steps to freshen their appearance and give themselves more confidence in how they present.

A recent report on a Chicago TV station chronicles how hundreds of people in the Chicago area are turning to cosmetic surgery to help them keep or land jobs.

According to the report, Dr. Stephen Dayan, a Chicago plastic surgeon reports that 10% to 15% of his patients now request treatments to help them do better in the workplace.

We are seeing the same trend here in Southwest Florida. Men and women, who are feeling the hot breath of competition down the backs of their necks, are considering some type of surgical or non-surgical cosmetic treatment to improve their competitive position, strengthen their hold on current employment or gain an edge in the search for a job.

One case of interest is that of a bartender who was so impressed with the results of her facial rejuvenation that she volunteered to provide a video testimonial. She explicitly says that she didn’t feel that she could compete with younger women in the environment if she allowed herself to look “like someone’s grandmother”.

You can view her video here.

In addition, as reported here earlier, men as well as women all over the country are considering face lifts, eyelid lifts, and other lifts, including the emotional lift from Botox and other filler injections that make them look more energetic and ready to work.

If you are wondering how to invest in your employability this year, give me a call and let’s talk about your options. The consultation will be free – no charge - and without any further obligation.

What do you have to lose?

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Saturday, April 24, 2010

You'll wonder where the fat went

Dr. Robert Brueck, Board Certified plastic surgeon, reports on health matters.

The quest for the Holy Grail continues.

Three new anti obesity drugs could hit the market within the next few months. These are drugs which work on the patient’s central nervous system.

They are Lorcaserin, Qnexa and Contrave.

Obesity is simply defined as a body mass index of over 30.

These new drugs work by simulating neuro transmitters in the central nervous system that control the appetite and metabolism.

Contrave seems to work by stimulating neurons in the brain known as POMC. Contrave is a combination of 2 drugs.

Qnexa seems to be the MOST effective in taking off pounds. In 2 separate trials, people taking Qnexa lost 10.4% to 11% of their body weight.

In short, keep your eyes peeled. They may be hitting shelves in the not so distant future.

Good luck on your quest for the Holy Grail.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

WHAT’S NEXT in Weight Control?

This is another message from Dr. Robert J. Brueck, a Board Certified plastic surgeon practicing in Fort Myers and Cape Coral, Florida. Dr. Brueck writes on subjects related to health and cosmetic surgery. His web site is located at Beauty-by-Brueck.com

What's next? PRDm16?


It may soon be on a store shelf near you! This MAY be the missing link in the “battle of the bulge”.

What is it?

It is a protein discovered by Dr. Bruce Spiegelman at the Dana Farber cancer center in Boston. This protein regulates production of brown fat in the body. Brown fat is very prominent in young babies and is utilized to help regulate body temperature. As we “mature” we lose most of our brown fat.

Brown fat is good fat because it is a calorie burner, ie: it consumes many more calories than normal fat.

If we could take white fat cells and convert them to brown fat cells we could “burn more calories and hence, lose weight”. White fat cells basically store energy ie: fat, whereas brown fat cells burn calories to heat the body.

Research is now being conducted to “stimulate” production of brown fat in our bodies which would lead to increased caloric use and hence, we would lose weight.

It is as simple as that.

So we hope these drugs will turn up on a shelf near you in the not too distant future.

Monday, April 19, 2010

BOOBY TRAPS - The air travel hidden bombers?

This is one of a series of blog postings by Dr. Robert Brueck, MD, a Board Certified plastic surgeon, that reflects news about health care and Dr. Brueck's personal opinion concerning various contemporary issues. Dr. Brueck's web site is at Beauty-by-Brueck.com

I recently went through the security line at the airport in Nashville Tennessee.

In front of me was a flight crew member going through with half a bottle of opened, what I assumed was water. It went through and was not questioned by the TSA agent.

I said to the TSA agent that I thought it was illegal to bring any type of liquids from the outside through security to the gates. He said “yes, but the flight crew members were exempt”. He, the TSA employee, said that the TSA figures they wouldn’t get on a plane that they intended to blow up with themselves on board.

I looked at him in an inquisitive way and in a sense of amazement and said, “Doesn’t the TSA know that there are such creatures as suicide bombers?”

It is amazing how the TSA can be and yet, we are paying for it.

Now word has it that Al-Qaida is equipping female suicide bombers with explosive breast implants. Yes, you’ve heard it correctly, explosive breast implants which are impossible to detect at security check points.

The explosive use in the implants is PETN and as little as 5 ounces can blow a huge hole in a large aircraft causing it to fall from the sky and crash.

There are Al- Qaida surgeons that are trained at British hospitals before returning to their native country to perform their artwork and skills.

But let’s not accuse anyone-after all we need to be politically correct like we were at Fort Hood. We all know the outcome of that.

So the next time you are boarding a plane with a buxom young lady ahead of you, you better beware, she may be a “booby trap”.

What is this world coming to?

FACIAL REJUVENATION~MORE THAN SKIN DEEP

This is one in a series of blog entires by Dr. Robert Brueck, MD, a Board Certified plastic surgeon, who writes on subjects of health and cosmetic surgery. Dr. Brueck's web site is located at Beauty-by-Brueck.com

Over the years there has been a quantum leap in ideas and new technologies to slow down the aging process particularly when it comes to your face.

The aging process may actually be more than “skin only”. Doctors at the University of Rochester, in conjunction with physicians and colleagues at Stanford and Harvard, have shown that there are significant changes in the bone structure of our face as we age. This was particularly true for the jaw bone or the mandible.

The studies computerized tomography scans of the face and noted how the jaw bone changes. They found that there was a significant loss in the volume of the jaw bone.

As the jaw bone loses volume there is less support to the soft tissues of the face hence the sagging.

Wow, aren't you glad we have plastic surgeons to help us out?

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Sunday, April 4, 2010

NEW LIPS - For keeps, by Dr. Brueck, MD

This is one in a series of blog messages on the subject of cosmetic surgery and beauty, presented by Dr. Robert Brueck, MD, a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon practicing in Cape coral and Fort Myers, Florida. For more information about cosmetic procedures, see Dr. Brueck's web site at Beauty-by-Brueck.com

Many Hollywood stars tout their big beautiful luscious lips.

The look has become quite popular over the last several years. The mainstays to provide new and bigger lips have been injectible fillers such as Restylane, Juvederm and the like. One of the procedures I now do is a permanent lip implant that is tapered at both ends and has a very soft and natural appearance. It provides stable permanent lip enhancement. It is a simple, outpatient, 45-minute procedure that we usually do with sedation. No more painful injections and they last forever. Most of the fillers injected into the lips lasted 2 to 6 months and then the patients had to return for additional injections.

The newest and latest trend is “muscle grafting”.

In the journal, Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, some doctors describe a technique that they have used on 25 patients to augment their lips.

What do they do? They take a piece of the patient’s neck muscle with the overlying fascia and implant it into their lips. This was done frequently in conjunction with a facelift. They say the pink show of the upper and lower lips has increased 20 to 24%.

Is it worth it? You be the judge. As with any cosmetic surgery it is only worth it, if it is important to you.

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HIT THE GYM -Thoughts on Exercise from Dr. Brueck, MD

This is one in a series of blog messages presented periodically by Dr. Robert Brueck, MD, on the subject of health and well-being. Dr. Brueck is a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon practicing in Cape coral and Fort Myers, FL. More information concerning the contribution cosmetic surgery makes to health can be found at Dr. Brueck's web site, Beauty-by-Brueck.com

"Hit the Gym"

Where have we heard this before? We all know the gym is good for us and can help prevent many diseases and keep our weight in check. There has always been an ongoing discussion concerning diets, fat, cellulite, Body Mass Index and exercise.

It all seems to change like the seasons.

A recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) suggests that women need MORE EXERCISE. The current federal guidelines suggest 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. Supposedly a woman needs that much to prevent heart disease and other medical conditions. BUT- to prevent weight gain women need 60 minutes a day, 7 days a week.

These were the results of a study done in 2002. The current researchers in the JAMA article looked at 34,079 women over a 15 year span with the ages being greater than 45 and the average being around 54. They tracked their activity “ another word for exercise”.

Women who exercise 60 minutes a day DID NOT GAIN WEIGHT, but that assumes the calorie count stays the same. IE: no banana cream pie and ice cream 5 days a week.

So there it is - sign up now and get your place in line for the treadmill or elliptical so you don’t put on the unwanted pounds and create an unsightly bulge around the mid section.


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