Acupuncture originated in China over 3,000 years ago and, along with herbal medicine, has been used as a major form of medical treatment for many health conditions all over the world. According to Chinese medicinal principles, energy (also known as “chi”) flows through the body along different channels or “meridians”. When the body is in balance, energy flows uninhibitedly and the body flourishes. When imbalances occur—which can be due to one’s lifestyle, diet or emotional stress—the energy becomes blocked and medical problems can arise.

Through the use of very fine needles at strategic points along the body, acupuncture is able to address the imbalances by unblocking the disrupted energy flow. Once the energy flows uninhibitedly, the body returns to balance and medical problems resolve.

Acupunture is clinically proven effective for

• Pain relief
• Fibromyalgia
• Sleep
• Depression/anxiety
• Digestive issues
• Headaches
• Addictions
• Colds and allergies
• Menopausal symptoms
• And more…

We are now proud to offer acupuncture by accomplished Doctor of Oriental Medicine and Board Certified Acupuncturist, Dr. Angel Bollettieri. Call 941-907-8174 for more details.

A mommy makeover is performed using a unique combination of plastic surgery procedures designed to counteract the physical effects of childbearing, and restore and enhance your body.  In general, a mommy makeover may include:

• Breast augmentation
• Breast lift
• Tummy tuck (abdominoplasty)
• Liposuction
• Body Lift

Mommy makeovers can include any or all of these body contouring procedures depending on your wishes and needs.

For example, some women need breast augmentation to correct severely deflated breasts, while others may need breast implants in combination with a breast lift. Still, some women may actually desire a breast reduction with a lift.

In the abdominal area, many women need a full abdominoplasty with tightening of the muscle layer as well as removal of the excess skin and fat, while some may need a mini-abdominoplasty.

Some women may also benefit from liposuction to sculpt the back, hips and thighs; and smooth out their contours.

Mommy Makeovers Counter the Physical Effects of Pregnancy

On average, most women gain 25 to 35 pounds during pregnancy. This weight is stored as fatty tissue in the breasts, abdomen, flanks (love-handles), hips, lower back, buttocks and thighs. The breasts also grow due to weight gain and to prepare for nursing.

As the baby grows, so does the abdomen. This may result in a weakening and separation of the abdominal muscles, and stretching of the abdominal skin. This stretching may cause a breakage of the skin collagen, also known as stretch marks. These marks are purple-red in color and concentrated around the belly button and lower abdomen.

These effects often become even more apparent after childbirth and nursing. A mommy makeover can help reverse these effects.

Many new moms do lose the excess weight – eventually. However, the weight loss may not be proportional to the amount of fatty tissue in a given area. That means for some, more weight may be lost from the breasts or buttocks than the abdomen and waist.

The result? Smaller breasts despite fullness of the waist and abdomen. In these cases, a mommy makeover may be in order.

Once a woman finishes breastfeeding, the breasts deflate even further and begin to sag. The weak abdominal muscles and the excess abdominal fat appear as fullness and bulging of the belly. Many new moms may still look pregnant even as their child is taking his or her first steps. Once again, a mommy makeover can help.

Preparing for Your Mommy Makeover

It is important to ask yourself certain questions before deciding to have a mommy makeover.

Individuals who plan on having more children in the future may not be good candidates for mommy makeover yet. Also, it is important to achieve a stable weight and complete breastfeeding prior to undergoing mommy makeover for the best possible results.

When you are ready, Dr. Kreithen, board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and  body contouring specialist in Sarasota / Bradenton, can utilize the mommy makeover surgery to help you achieve your goals.

Dr. Kreithen will be giving two seminars on Mommy Makeovers – September 23rd and October 14th.  Please RSVP to lwrps@yahoo.com or (941) 907-8174 to reserve your space today.

Click Here to Review Before and After Photos of Mommy Makeovers.

Board Certification in Plastic Surgery is awarded only after finishing a formal residency in Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery and also passing a rigorous written and oral examination.

To be allowed to sit for these exams for the Board of Plastic Surgery, a surgeon must have completed

1. College   2. Medical School   3. An accredited residency in General Surgery, Otolaryngology, Orthopedic Surgery, Urology or Neurosurgery (usually 4 to 7 more years). The majority of Plastic Surgeons completed General Surgery.

4. Additional board recognized fellowship in Plastic Surgery (2 to 3 more years)

There is only one board—The American Board of Plastic Surgery—that is recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialists to reflect a surgeon’s training in plastic and reconstructive surgery of both the face and body.

Additionally, only Board Certified Plastic Surgeons can become members of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

The mission of ASPS is to advance quality care to plastic surgery patients by encouraging high standards of training, ethics, physician practice and research in plastic surgery. The society advocates for patient safety, such as requiring its members to operate in accredited surgical facilities that have passed rigorous external review of equipment and staffing.

Only members of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons may display the ASPS Member Surgeon logo. This symbol of excellence in plastic surgery is what to look for when deciding on a surgeon (above).

Why is choosing a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon important? The concept of “Board Certified” is important when choosing a surgeon to perform your surgery. It is essential to research the credentials of a physician who you are considering to perform your plastic surgery. Unfortunately, there are many doctors performing plastic surgery who are not Board Certified in plastic surgery. There are OB/GYN doctors performing breast surgery, liposuction, and tummy tucks, Dermatologists performing facelifts and liposuction, ENT (ear, nose and throat) doctors performing breast augmentation and tummy tucks, Vascular, Cardiothoracic Surgeons and Cardiologists performing liposuction and even Oral surgeons (dentists) performing facelifts, liposuction, and breast surgery. In most cases, these surgeons are board certified in their chosen specialty… but not in plastic surgery.

Some of these physicians may have completed fellowship or training courses not recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS).

We always recommend that questions related to plastic surgery are addressed from a member of ASPS (American Society of Plastic Surgery). Dr. Joshua Kreithen is a Bradenton / Sarasota Plastic Surgeon that is approved by the ASPS along with countless other professional affiliations in plastic surgery.

Resources:American Society of Plastic Surgeons: www.plasticsurgery.org; The American Board of Plastic Surgery: www.abplsurg.org; American Board of Medical Specialties www.abms.org

Cellulite affects 85-98% of adult women including famous stars, athletes and well known beauty icons. It is marked by enlarged fat cells in the fibrous connective tissue of the skin which give it a puckered and dimpled appearance.

We are now offering the SmoothShapes system, featuring Photomology technology which uses a combination of laser and light energy along with contoured rollers and vacuum massage.

Our office is pleased to announce that we have found a new technology that really works!  We are the only place in Florida with the updated and more powerful laser light SmoothShapes system.

SmoothShapes provides visible improvement in the appearance of cellulite after only a few treatments, with results that get better with time.  Sessions are gentle yet effective and require no recovery time.

Please ask for more details, RSVP for our upcoming seminars or schedule a complimentary consultation to see if SmoothShapes is right for you!

Check out the Smoothshapes Website for more information and before and afters!

Saline Pros
The saline implant is made from a silicone shell and filled with salt water during the surgery. Because the saline implant comes empty, it requires a smaller incision for placement.  Once inside, it can be inflated and potentially overfilled.  If one breast is smaller, the implant on that side can be overfilled more to correct minor asymmetry.  The incision length is usually less than one inch, and can be placed on the underside of the breast, under the nipple-areola complex, the axilla-armpit region or the umbilicus.  The axilla method and the umbilical method require specialized endoscopic equipment.

The saline implant can deflate, but since the implant contains saline there is no health risk to the patient.  The leak rate is very low.  Also, the saline implant is typically less expensive.

Saline Cons
Due to the nature of saline, the implant feels similar to a water balloon.  There may be palpability issues and rippling.  If a woman has very little breast tissue, the implant may be easily felt under the skin.  Most plastic surgeons place the implants under the chest muscle, but this muscle usually covers the upper inner half of the implant.  If the implant is large or placed above the muscle, there may be visible rippling of the implant through the skin.  This rippling is most commonly seen in a bending or leaning forward position due to deformation of the implant by gravity.

Silicone Pros
The silicone implant feels very similar to natural tissue. Once placed inside the breast, it usually feels superior to a saline implant.  The silicone implants that are currently available are called cohesive gel.   The cohesiveness or “stickiness” of the gel molecules significantly decreases the chance of gel migration if a rupture of the shell were to occur.  The leak rate is very low.

Silicone Cons
The most concerning issue with the silicone implants is the potential for the silicone to leak.  The chance of rupture in some studies is less than 1%.  Many of these leaks are undetectable on physical exam, and for that reason the US-FDA has recommended that a woman with a silicone implant have a MRI starting at three years after implantation and then every two years thereafter.

If the implant were to leak, it is highly unlikely to cause a health risk.  Because the gel is cohesive, it is typically contained within the implant capsule.  Sometime a leak can cause the capsule to get hard.

Because the standard silicone implant comes pre-filled, once it is placed under the breast the size cannot be adjusted.  Additionally, the incision size is about twice the length of a saline implant.  This 2 inch scar is usually placed under the breast. Also, silicone implants cost 2-3 times more then saline implants.

The Bottom Line
Both the saline and silicone implants are fantastic implants.  The appearance of both types of implants will be almost identical.  Each has it’s own pros and cons.  The decision to have one or the other is a personal choice. We always recommend that questions related to plastic surgery are addressed from a member of ASPS (American Society of Plastic Surgery). Dr. Joshua Kreithen is a Bradenton / Sarasota Plastic Surgeon that is approved by the ASPS along with countless other professional affiliations in plastic surgery.

We encourage any Bradenton / Sarasota Breast Augmentation questions to see what type of implant is best suited for you. Book your consultation today at 941-907-8174.

* New research shows that massage therapy reduces depression in pregnant women, and also reduced the incidence of massaged women’s babies being born prematurely.

*Women with breast cancer and undergoing radiation therapy experienced immune-system function and lowered heart rate and systolic blood pressure after a single light pressure massage session.

*Massage therapy has been shown to strengthen the immune system, according to research published in the Journal of Neuroscience, 1996 and Psychosomatic Medicine, 2000.

*In 2005 Cancer Control reported massage therapy effectively reduced stress and anxiety of cancer patients, with a promising outlook for pain control and management of other symptoms.

*Forty-eight percent of respondents to a Consumer Reports survey rated massage therapy as very helpful in relieving back pain.  The survey revealed pain relief was a top motivator for those seeking massage. (Consumer Reports, May 2009)

Massage is good for you!

Dr. Joshua Kreithen includes pre-operative massage prior to aesthetic surgery in order to help relax the body and aid in healing.  Our Massage therapists are award-winning from TimeOut® and ready to help you relax-  Ahh….