VegasGrace

Health Blog Six-Pack Surgery: From Puffy to Buff By JACOB GOLDSTEIN October 30, 2007 Despite spending a few years in Miami, land of cosmetic surgery, the Health Blog hadn't heard of doctors carving out the washboard abs that some old-fashioned guys still get by following grueling exercise routines. So we couldn't help but notice these before and after pictures among the studies being presented this week at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons' annual conference. The technique, called abdominal etching, is a kind of precision liposuction. The doc sucks out the fat that's standing between the patient and, if everything goes well, the six-pack. The suction six-pack costs between $4,000 and $7,000 and is only suitable for certain patients, Aldo Benjamin Guerra, the Arizona plastic surgeon who authored the abstract, told us. "I probably turn down about twice as many patients as I work on," he said. "You have to have a certain amount of fat. If you have too little or too much you're not going to get the definition." The magic number, he said, is one to two centimeters of pinchable belly fat. Patients also have to be in good physical shape, and if they've already dropped a lot of weight, they'll probably have too much extra skin for the procedure to work. The technique has been around for more than a decade, but abdominal etching has never really taken off, Guerra said. One reason, he thinks, is because it's more popular among men, who tend to be in the minority of cosmetic surgery patients. You'd also have to really, really want flashy abs to go through the whole process. The procedure takes an hour or two. But pain can persist for days afterward. Swelling can last for weeks or even months. (The after picture was taken a little over a year after the surgery.) And there can be complications, such as infection and bleeding. Guerra's paper looked at the experience of 32 patients. Several had post-operative complications. Six of them had a buildup of Fluid known as seroma, which can be drained with a needle. Three had scarring serious enough for Guerra to give them a shot of cortisone. And two patients needed a second surgical procedure to get the desired results. Eighty-six percent of the patients were satisfied with the results.

I'm thinking about going back...love Mexico...and want to do a fill while there. It's so cold here in Utah.

A cubic centimetre (symbol cm³ or cc) (U.S. spelling: cubic centimeter) is a commonly used unit of volume extending the derived SI-unit cubic metre and corresponds to the volume of a cube measuring 1 cm × 1 cm × 1 cm. One cubic centimetre corresponds to a volume of 1⁄1000000 of a cubic metre, or 1⁄1000 of a litre; therefore, 1 cm3 ≡ 1 mL. In many scientific fields, the use of cubic centimetres has been replaced by the millilitre. The medical and automotive fields are two of the few fields wherein the term cubic centimetre was never discontinued in the United States. In the United Kingdom millilitres are used in preference to cubic centimetres in the medical field. The mass of one cubic centimetre of water is approximately equal to 1 gram. Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cubic_centimetre"

I'm finding that with weight loss comes more sales. Guess I'm more credible being a Beauty Advisor now that I'm a size 10/12 vs 18/20. On Yahoo! today it had a story about online networking...to boast a bit and share your accomplishments... so I have written a 30 second commerical...... Hi. Allow me to serve you and your family this holiday season. As a decorated Marine from Desert Storm, a member of the Chamber of Commerce, having you as a customer is my goal. Feel free to browse my website at www.youravon.com/thebeautyofgrace Click on SHOP and then ONLINE BROCHURE to see the current catalogs filled with holiday favorites. Don't forget to create an account for a free gift with your first order. You may also find clicking on the Opportunity tab helpful. Don't let the words of selling/work scare you. I've helped many women and a few men to Buy Direct from Avon at a substantial savings. (50%) Become a Personal Consumer today for only $10 and avoid the middleman, or in my case woman. As always, free shipping. Not ready to take advantage of the Opportunity, no problem, I'll be happy to provide great Avon products to you and your family. Grace I've raised money for June 2007 bandsters as we all want to meet up in Vegas, just simply donated profit from web generated sales for a week. Are there any other small business owners, Avon, MaryKay...any home based business that can network with me? I'd love to learn how to be a success at this.

Wow, that was big...I couldn't remember everything so I thought I'd copy and paste. Sorry about that. Does anyone go for fills there?

I got an email saying (below): I've never gone to him for fills, I just use fillcentersusa. Get a new Fill and start loosing weight again!!!!! We invited you to our adjustment sale this coming March 23rd and March 24th of 2007 We are going down on fill prices under fluoroscopy We are offering you the following prices: $170.00 dlls Adjustment under Fluoroscopy + transportation from the San Diego Airport to the Clinic and back to the Airport $80.00dlls Adjustment under Fluoroscopy. We will go and pick you up on the border and take you back. Get advantage of this 2 days sale and schedule now!!! Star your Spring with a new fill If you are interested contact us to our phone numbers Or send us an email to info@huacuz.com Our phones numbers are: 619.270.5367 619.270.5388 1800.630.0883 1866.880.3634 01152.664.9007118 01152.664.1882158 HUACUZ SURGICAL CENTER

I used Dr. Huacuz and found plenty of research on him through the forum and others... all positive. I didn't have any complications or issues. They were forthright with all the information.

Hey, good job. I can't eat burgers...the bun is my problem and once I slimed up the pickle. Oh well. Went to Cracker Barrel tonight and went to the bathroom 3 x to expel the food. I still can't get the hang of it. I think I'd be better with portion control rather than trying to slow my eating. I think after 3 bites, I'm fine and w/ the 4th...well, bathroom time.

Yes, Provo here.

Well, that depends if you are paying for it or trying to get someone else...as in insurance. Going with someone else, you lose a little bit of control...but hey...get someone else to pay for it!!!! But if you can determine your pace, you can schedule it within a week or so. Just ask your surgeon when the first available appointment for surgery is.... and take it.

Eating inappropriate things? Hmmm...I'm sure I still do. My diet did not change, only quantity of what I eat. I'm training myself to not overeat...not necessarily give up good food..as in taste. I still have Subway, candy at the movies, etc...but boy what a difference in Quantity....I eat like 1/4 as much. And I can predetermine what I eat...as in, "I had candy at the movies so I'll skip desert today" or I think I'll take Jello instead of pie....that kind of thing.

Cyndi, I've only lost about 15-20 pounds since being banded in June. And all that was after my 2nd fill since the first fill didn't restrict me. I'm such a slow loser...maybe even the slowest. I thought 1/3 pound a week was good but now I'm lucky if I lose a pound a month. A fill is not in order because I'm restricted as much as I can tolerate. Go get the fills until you get restricted..then the weight will come off.

Congrats, you are so close! Let's see if you can be a before Christmas bandster! We all will be keeping our fingers crossed.

There is another thread about medical id bracelets and I just happened to have an instance were while I was concious, could not speak. After getting better I asked the ER staff..doctors, nurses, technicians, the xray guy, etc...about the Medic Alert Bracelet. In the instance of a lap band...the ER will give NSAIDS...so don't worry about when you hear "no nsaids"...that's for continued use. The ER will give the NSAIDS because a dose or even two, three...will not harm anything. As far as having a tube down your esophogas...he said that is rare as most get their fluids through an iv or a feeding tube to the stomach from the abdomen... not from the esophogas down. You may hear...what if they tear my esophogas... it happens to unbanded patients...so being banded, they would simply repair the tear just like anyone else. So many make being banded out to be more than it is. Now, don't shoot me as this is just my experience in the ER this week. For those of you who are considering the gastric band...but the thought of having to have a medic alert bracelet just makes you reconsider or not do it.... don't fear. You don't have to have an id bracelet. This from 3 surgeons, 1 here, 1 on the east coast that was asked, and one in Mexico that was asked. Plus an ER staff said the same thing...it's not necessary. If you were unconcious and they put a gown on you...they will see the 5 incisions, when doing an xray...they see the band. They will know if something is up.

Hi, good idea to make sure you have everything you need for 1 week...before you have surgery. Foods, clothes washed, chores done, bills paid, etc. As far as something specifically for the band... some go crazy w/ lists... but keep it simple. Your doc should give you all your scripts before surgery so you can have them filled before. Since you will be on liquids, get your favs. Other than that...you are good to go. You'll be up in no time.

I so wish I could say, 'me'. Nope...have had 2 adjustments.

I was hungry...and I ate. Your doc should give you a list of what you can have...be creative!

Some call it pbing...but that's not the correct word as there is no burp involved. I do what you do almost everyday. I call it sliming. After I eat, it just simply comes back up. Sometimes not everything I just ate...but like the last few bites. The slime just lets it slide right on out. It's not vomiting...just overfilling? Like a gas tank?

I own my own beauty business and am opening up a fixed storefront soon. My sales have gone up with my weight going down. In sales, you are not just presenting the product...but yourself. I'm more credible now as I present a product and share the benefits.

I was fudging at 30. Had lost weight already so when I had my surgery, it was lower. But, hey...don't penalize me for having put the soda and chips away. Thing is, I was stuck at 190 and had been for quite sometime.

Enjoy Vegas and stay away from slots..unless they are Penny Machines. :confused: I flew 3 days after surgery then again 2 months later and am flying again this weekend. No biggie. Just don't drink too fast or eat something that makes you slime...but there's always the barf bag.

Yes, I believe it can. If you ever look at a photo/drawing of a slipped band... it looks like the pouch has stretched. I always thought a slipped band was one that slipped/moved. But according to sketches...it just looks like an enlarged pouch.

I can't eat a bananna, either...just ate 1/2 and slimed it up. I'm weird because I can't eat mushy things...must be crisp/dry/thin...yeah, potato chips. hahaha Anyways, I'll try blending it in something. Thanks for sharing.

Religion is man made. There is only 1 God and he , I'm thinking, didn't use the word religion much...but don't know. It's man who has turned things inside out, upside down...God is still the same. If everyone was the same 'religion' then we probably wouldn't have that word ...there would not be any sense in it. So, for 'religion' sake... yes, Mr. Pitt is right on.

I was banded in June...was restricted w/ my 2nd fill about 2 months ago... so it's taken 2 months to get this way.