Orthopedic specialists in Guangzhou, China have released a warning against height-increasing surgery. The physicians are telling people who are planning to improve self-image by undergoing the Ilizarov procedure, also known as the limb-lengthening surgery, to seriously be cautious it as it might cause to lead partial paralysis.

The warning was issued after a 25-year-old woman, nicknamed Xaomei, from Guangzhou was left crippled in her lower right leg after undergoing the procedure at Guangzhou Yuandong Cosmetics Hospital.

The Ilizarov procedure involves breaking and separating the bones of the patient's lower leg, and then allowing them to grow back to span the gap.

A survey conducted by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) reveals that more and more Asian Americans living in the United States are undergoing plastic surgery to look more like a White Caucasian.

It has been a general notion that the pressure to alter one's features and body prevalent in every group and ethnic community in America. However, the minorities like Asians and African-Americans are the ones at the receiving end of such heavy pressures.

Statistics from ASPS show that the number of minorities getting plastic surgery increased dramatically through the years. From 1997 to 2002, the figures quadrupled. And in 2005, Asian-Americans had 437,000 cosmetic surgeries, up by 58 percent from 2004.

Lasers have been around for quite some time to aid doctors in zapping unwanted hair, making broken capillaries disappear, skin resurfacing, and removing brown spots. They are also used to cure certain disorders of the eyes, and they are quite good in producing great results.

Now doctors have found another use for lasers and body-conscious folks couldn’t be happier with this new development

Laser-assisted lipolysis, or laser liposuction, is poised to be the next big thing in body-contouring procedures. The procedure is minimally invasive and performed under local anesthesia or oral sedation, with virtually no pain or bruising. Patients can resume normal activities two days after the operation. The plastic surgeon only makes a tiny incision, inserts a laser fiber probe just under the surface of the skin and aims it at the fat.

Who would have thought getting an eyelid surgery can be this dangerous? This poor girl never expected this tragic thing to happen either.

News reports tell of a 21-year old woman who died in Seoul on Tuesday after undergoing a cosmetic surgery procedure to create double eyelids. Procedures like this are actually considered safe but there have been a few previous reports of fatalities.

Reports said that Choi collapsed when she was given a shot of painkiller after her eyelid surgery. The plastic surgeon who operated on her told the police that Choi woke up from the anesthesia after the operation was done. However, she lost consciousness when she received an injection of a painkiller and antibiotics.

Liposuction has always been the champion when it comes to the most number of procedures performed in a year. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons’ statistics of 2005 and backwards can attest to that fact.

However, in 2006, breast augmentation did an amazing feat and grabbed the top spot.

According to the ASPS records, nearly 11 million cosmetic surgery procedures were performed in the US in 2006. The figure is 7 percent higher than that of 2005. Also, more than 5.2 million reconstructive plastic surgery procedures were performed last year.

Spirit India has more details on this.

After silicone breast implants have been approved for use by the FDA last year, the number of breast augmentation procedures performed has gone up significantly. This means that many women have gladly accepted the new change and blissfully enjoyed the new addition to their breast implant options.

Now, here’s another reason for women to be happy about their breast augmentation endeavors. Studies show that improvements in the women’s self-esteem and sexual satisfaction were directly correlated with having undergone breast enlargement. Two widely accepted scientific scales were used to measure self-esteem and sexuality and these are the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the Female Sexual Function Index, which assesses domains of sexual function such as sexual arousal, satisfaction, experience, and attitudes.

Gene Simmons and long time companion Shannon Tweed have agreed to get a facelift for the second season of A&E’s half-hour reality series “Gene Simmons Family Jewels.” Gene’s post-surgery picture has already been out and you can get to see the first brutal image of him minutes after doctors performed the procedure by clicking here.

Simmons had a facelift and liposuction surgery and these procedures are set to be aired on two April 1 episodes. He told USA Today that their decision to go for dual facelift was just sort of unplanned.

This is not a very encouraging news but this is worth a space in this blog since it warns us that even the most skilled surgeon can make huge mistakes.

Reports say that a woman was left horribly disfigured after she underwent three plastic surgery procedures all at the same time. This incident was reported to the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal in New Zealand. The woman was said to have lost her nipple and a belly button after she went through breast reduction, abdominoplasty, and liposuction in a single operation.

The Sydney Morning Herald delivers the details.

Madonna has been so very busy these days with a lot of things. She has always been so visible in the music industry with her numerous concert tours. She has also had her line of clothing to endorse that is H & M. And now, as if that’s not enough, Madge is set to appear on a hit TV show Nip/Tuck and rumor has it that she may even shed off her clothes in the episode.

iTV delivers the report.

The creator of the series about plastic surgery has written a special part for the singer and is keen for her to star alongside Rosie O'Donnell, a regular on the show.

America’s approval of cosmetic surgery is at its peak, according to the survey commissioned by the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and conducted by an independent research firm Synovate.

ASAPS released its 10th Consumer Attitudes Study – a survey that charts American’s general feelings towards cosmetic surgery in a variety of areas and the results show that Americans are much more comfortable with cosmetic surgery than they were years ago.

SurgiCenter has more details on this.

According to the February 2007 report of 1000 Americans aged 18 and above, 62 percent of respondents are in favor of cosmetic surgery. This marks an 8 percent increase from 2006, and narrowly edges out the 61.8 percent approval rate in 2001, making it the highest reported approval rating since the survey was implemented.