Dr. Rhys Branman's Cosmetic Surgery Blog

The Story Of Acne . . . And How Laser Resurfacing Can Help

October 8, 2012 - Rhys Branman, MD

Mild to severe acne affects up to 80% of teenagers and young adults. Often acne causes permanent scarring. I can treat those scars here at Little Rock Cosmetic Surgery Center. For acne scars, the best treatment is laser resurfacing, Little Rock, Arkansas patients have found. Although some topical treatments can work on less serious acne, for treatment of deep scarring laser is required. To understand why laser resurfacing works, you must understand acne. Your skin is composed of two layers: the dermis (composed of collagen and elastin fibers) and the epidermis (very top layer). The epidermis protects the dermis from...

Cultural Issues In Cosmetic Surgery

October 3, 2012 - Rhys Branman, MD

It is helpful for me, as a cosmetic surgeon in Little Rock, Arkansas to know the trends. Last year, 2011 in the United States, most cosmetic surgery patients were of European descent, a full 69 percent. Following that group 12 percent were Hispanic, 8 percent were African American, and 6 percent were Asian American. In the past, cosmetic surgery has been frowned upon by many ethnic groups and this is a result of a static, Caucasian standard of beauty that has historically been found in the United States, and the fear of losing ethnic identity. In other cases, cosmetic surgery...

I Love Sculptra

October 2, 2012 - Rhys Branman, MD

The active ingredient in Sculptra, although relatively new on the cosmetic scene, has quite a recent medical history. Poly-L-lactic acid was used in sutures for many years. It was discovered that this ingredient causes the body to stimulate its own collagen growth. The FDA then approved Sculptra for facial wasting in people with HIV. The injections have been in use in Europe since 1999. Slowly, over time, the body reacts to this substance, PLLA (poly-L-lactic acid). This creates volume where fat and collagen have been lost with age. Sculptra improves the appearance of the nasolabial folds and other facial wrinkles,...

A Study Of Breast Beauty

September 24, 2012 - Rhys Branman, MD

The results of a study recently published in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal identified breastfeeding as a factor in keeping the breast beautiful as women age. 161 pairs of identical female twins agreed to participate in the study at the 2009 and 2010 Twinsburg twin festival. The women were interviewed, their medical histories obtained, and their breasts photographed. The researchers sought to study environmental effects on "appearance, aging, and disorders of the breast." The fact that the women who participated were all identical twins controlled for genetic predispositions. After complete analysis the researchers concluded that the effects of aging on the...

Breast Implant Trends

September 20, 2012 - Rhys Branman, MD

Several current developments have come to the public's attention recently regarding breast implants. The safety of breast implants has again made the news overseas and trends in breast implants here at home in the United states, are two topics that caught my eye. Safety first! The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is the United Kingdom's equivalent of the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Recently there has been a plethora of press about the MHRA's removal of the PIP breast implant from the market. The French made PIP implant was removed from the market after it was shown...

The Future Is Now

September 19, 2012 - Rhys Branman, MD

I predict we can look forward to amazing and futuristic new procedures in cosmetic surgery due to the "trickle-down theory" of scientific advancement. Thanks to the military, advances in reconstructive medicine are proliferating among a network of hospitals, universities, and researchers. This is due to the number of veterans who need reconstructive surgery. Thank goodness for this amazing cell science. As a veteran myself I am happy that other vets are getting medical care. As an Arkansas cosmetic surgeon, I look forward to new techniques, far off in the future as they may be. The Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative...

But What Kind of Face Lift Will You Get?

September 17, 2012 - Rhys Branman, MD

We all know that aging is not just skin deep. Gone are the days when only the skin of the face is stretched to achieve a facelift. These "skin only" lifts had no longevity. Merely stretching the skin results in that look of the old time Hollywood stars; that stretched, artificial look no one wants. The poor elasticity of aging skin makes this kind of face lift last no longer than injections of fillers, six to twelve months. Notice how much better Hollywood is looking these days? There is a continuum of procedures for a face lift depending on how...

Did The Little Mermaid Need Cosmetic Surgery?

September 14, 2012 - Rhys Branman, MD

Recently a Venezuelan clinic has advertised cosmetic surgery using the Little Mermaid, Princess Ariel, as the featured spokes-person, or spokes-mermaid? She swims to the office and has her fins surgically changed to legs, breast augmentation, and facial surgery! This ad has created controversy worldwide in newspapers and blogs. Objections range from statements about sending the wrong message to little girls to comments about copyright infringement, and the trend of cartoon characters becoming more and more sexualized. So I decided to do a little research on the fairytale. In the story, the Princess Ariel opts to become human, giving up her...

Choose Carefully

September 12, 2012 - Rhys Branman, MD

Recent news articles have saddened and angered me. As a doctor, I am appalled that individuals who have no medical credentials are performing "back alley" procedures. These dangerous and illegal surgeries and injections are a sure fire way to infection, disfigurement or worse. I am specifically referring to this year's exposure of a woman in the Bronx performing so called "butt lifts" in her apartment. I find the fact that Whalesca Castillo's victims felt it necessary to go to such extremes to save money disturbing. In other cases, where people were practicing medicine without a license, there have been deaths...

Facial Surgery for Teens?

September 5, 2012 - Rhys Branman, MD

As I looked around the Internet last night, I found a blog about facial surgery given to a teenage girl because she was being bullied. Apparently the other kids in her peer group thought her ears were too big. Bullying has become a huge problem in our culture, not only in schools, but at the workplace as well. As it turns out, the doctor who performed the surgery also pointed out that this victim of bullying needed a rhinoplasty (nose reshaping, in this case a reduction) and a mentoplasty (reshaping of the chin to make it more or less prominent)...

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