Scalpel News.(plastic surgery)

Byline: Joan Kron

445% more tummy tucks were performed in 2007 than in 1997 . --The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

The Next Breast Thing

W omen who have saline breast implants may find that when they lie down or change position, the fluid inside appears to flatten or slosh. The Ideal Implant, in contrast, consists of several shells that decrease in size like Russian nesting dolls, with saline in the inner and outer ones--yielding a more stable shape and a more natural feel, akin to that of silicone gel. For women who don't want silicone because of the 2.7 percent risk of undetectable leaks and the need for annual monitoring with an MRI, saline provides "peace of mind," says the new implant's developer, Robert S. Hamas, a plastic surgeon in Dallas. A proposed FDA trial is recruiting patients (information is at id ealimplant.com), and Hamas says the product could be available by 2010.

Double-Surgery Controversy

The death last year of Donda West, Kanye West's mother, raised concerns about combining breast and abdominal surgery in an outpatient operation. Russell B. Stokes, a plastic surgeon in Santa Barbara, California, has studied the risks of abdominoplasty with liposuction versus both procedures done with breast surgery, which takes longer. Out of 92 cases, 19.6 percent of the patients had complications; almost all were minor and self-resolving issues, but "interestingly enough," Stokes says, more complications affected the ...