New Technique Doubles Breast Size Using Patient's Own Fat
 Science Daily (June 7, 2011) — A plastic surgery procedure in which the patient's own fat is transplanted to the breasts -- used along with treatment to expand the breast tissue before surgery -- can achieve up to a twofold increase in breast size, according to a study in the June issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
 The procedure builds on previous fat transfer techniques to provide excellent outcomes of breast enhancement surgery. "Pre-expansion to the breast allows for mega-volume (over 300 cc) grafting with reproducible, long lasting results that can be achieved in less than two hours," according to Drs. Daniel Alexander Del Vecchio and Louis Paul Bucky, authors of the new report.
 "Pre-Expansion" Maximizes Results of Breast Fat Transfer
 The technique is an adaptation of the increasingly popular autologous fat transplantation technique. In these procedures, fat obtained by liposuction from one part of the body -- for example, the thighs -- is transferred for use in breast enlargement and reshaping. In the procedure used by Drs. Del Vecchio and Bucky, the patient first undergoes several weeks of "pre-expansion" treatment. This is done with a bra-like device that uses gentle negative pressure to gradually expand the breast. The pre-expansion procedure provides extra room in the breast, which is "backfilled" using the liposuctioned fat.
 The authors report their experience using pre-expansion and autologous fat transfer in 46 breasts of 25 women. Some of the patients wanted to increase their breast size or to replace implants; others were seeking treatment for certain types of breast deformities. On average, about 300cc of fat was transplanted per treated breast. When evaluated after six months, the women had significant improvements in breast size and shape. On average, the treated breasts approximately doubled in size, with a "soft and natural…appearance and feel," the researchers write. Follow-up magnetic resonance imaging scans showed no cysts, masses or other abnormalities. As they gained experience, the surgeons were able to perform the breast fat transfer procedure within less than two hours. There were no significant complications. While the idea of breast fat transfer is not new, it has seen a resurgence in recent years, with several plastic surgery groups reporting good results. Drs. Del Vecchio and Bucky believe pre-transplant breast expansion is an important technical advance, providing increased space to be occupied by the patient's own fat. Patients also used the vacuum device for a few weeks after the procedure, which may act as a "splint" to help promote healing. Further research will be needed to assess the results of the pre-expansion and fat transplantation technique -- including not only the long-term outcomes, but also important safety issues. As reported in recent issues of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, there is some question as to whether breast fat transfer procedures interfere with mammographic screening for breast cancer. In the meantime, Drs. Del Vecchio and Bucky believe their results -- a two-fold increase in breast size, achieved in two hours or less -- are a significant step forward in the use of autologous fat transplantation for breast enhancement. They conclude, "These results serve as a standard to objectively compare other techniques of fat grafting to the breast in the future."

$650K For a Deadly Fat Fix: Surgeon Caught Charging Sky-High Fees, lying about credentials and now, killing Lipo patient!

San Fernando Valley "Cosmetic Surgeon" Probed by LAPD Homicide Detectives for Patient’s Death after lying about Harvard credentials and reports of obscenely high surgical fees; changes name in his advertising now too!

Encino doctor accused of death negligence, false representation and more... $650K For a Fat Fix? L.A. area "Surgeon" Ehab Mohamed caught charging Sky-High Fees, Lying about Credentials and now charged with killing a Lipo patient. Now he changes his name and continues to practice despite Court order!

Meet Dr. Ehab Mohamed, a gynecologist from Encino who now limits his practice to "cosmetic surgery" and advertises his services in local newspapers offering “unique procedures” involving fat reduction and removal. Dr. Ehab Mohamed, an Encino-based OB/GYN, was charging as much as $650,000 for some procedures, yet allegedly lying about his credentials. Now, a wrongful death suit has been filed and the LAPD thinks a crime may have committed after 61-year-old Sharon Carpenter Nicholson died on Mohamed’s operating table. Carpenter had undergone a $100,000, day-long liposuction procedure.

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — How much would you be willing to spend to lose some of that unwanted body fat? According to one Southland doctor, it could cost up to $650,000.

KNX 1070 investigative reporter Charles Feldman says upon visiting Dr. Mohamed for a consultation on his 5’9″, 173-pound frame, he was told that he needed at least $100,000 worth of work done — but that he could knock down the price to $50,000 if Charles agreed to participate in what Mohamed claimed was a Harvard study. However, as Feldman later found it, there is no Harvard study, at least according to both Harvard University and the California Medical Board. In fact, the Board is trying to revoke or suspend Dr. Mohamed’s license for charges including repeated negligent acts as well as dishonest or corrupt acts — among them, that Dr. Mohamed falsely represented to his patients that he was a professor at Harvard. But wait, there's more:

L.A. loses yet another well known Plastic Surgeon: Peter Cheski, M.D., Dies of Massive Heart Attack

Yet another well known Los Angeles area plastic surgeon has come to an untimely, and entirely too early, demise. Currently posted on the website of Peter Cheski, M.D. is a note announcing his passing from a massive heart attack. While there has been much speculation, the exact reason for the heart attack has not been released.

About: Dr. Cheski was a Los Angeles area plastic surgeon who operated cosmetic plastic surgery offices in Los Angeles, Lancaster and Agoura. After moving to Los Angeles in 1997 and opening a Beverly Hills plastic surgery practice, the doctor underwent yet another year of fellowship training in cosmetic plastic surgery under the direction of Dr. George T. Boris, M.D., FRCS, FACS. The doctor’s family requested that, in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions could be made to:

• The Dr. Peter Cheski Innovative Research Award at the University  of Western Ontario
• The Face to Face program, organized by the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Afghan girl whose nose was cut off meets with local doctors, prepares for treatment

“This is a difficult time for any patient, but especially so for Bibi Aisha,” Tillis wrote. “She has not agreed to make any media appearances yet, and her doctors feel that exposing her to the kind of intense media scrutiny that she faced before coming to the Grossman Burn Center would only distract her from focusing on this critically important phase of her treatment plan.”  

Aisha had been given away by her Pashtun family in Oruzgan province at the age of 16 to pay a debt and married to a Taliban fighter, according to her account. She fled, but her husband’s family tracked her down last year and, upon order from a Taliban court, her husband cut off her nose and left her in the mountains to die, according to a statement on the foundation’s website.

“Bibi Aisha is only one example of thousands of girls and women in Afghanistan and throughout the world who are treated this way,” the statement said. “Aisha is reminded of that enslavement every time she looks in the mirror. But there still times she can laugh. And at that moment you see her teenage spirit escaping a body that has seen a lifetime of injustice.”

Aisha was assisted by an American military provincial reconstruction team and a women’s shelter in Kabul, where she stayed until last week, when she boarded a plane to the U.S. via London, leaving behind a sister and other family, according to the foundation statement and Tilliss.

Officials at Women for Afghan Women, the nonprofit that operates the Kabul shelter, have said Aisha’s case shows why international forces must not leave the country.

“Soldiers in Afghanistan saved Bibi’s life, nursed her back to health in their clinic, flew her to the WAW shelter,” said Esther Hyneman, a member of the Fresh Meadow, N.Y.-based group’s board, in a statement posted on their website last week.

“As we write this letter, a female soldier from that base who established a deep relationship with Bibi is flying to California to meet Bibi’s plane, to provide the love and support Bibi will need in the next few months. The presence of soldiers may not have stopped the horrendous abuse Bibi suffered, but that does not mean they should leave.”

For more information, contact stacy@grossmanburnfoundation.org or call  (818) 597-5211 or visit http://www.grossmanburnfoundation.org/aisha.htm

From TMZ: Patient Theft Allegations in Dr. Frank Ryan's Death

 by TMZ Staff  

A Beverly Hills plastic surgeon is trying to "steal" the patients of Dr. Frank Ryan -- the celeb doc who died in a car accident last month -- this according to several of Dr. Ryan's former patients.


One month after Dr. Ryan died on Pacific Coast Highway, many of his patients received emails from the office of Dr. Gary Motykie (pictured above right) -- explaining that several of Ryan's staffers have moved to his "team." The email also includes an invitation to an open house at his office.

But several of Dr. Ryan's patients "are p-ssed that Motykie was privy to their contact information"  and fired back emails saying things like:

- "I have NEVER met you, nor have I ever authorized you to use my contact information for YOU or anyone else other than Dr Ryan! This is a total breach of confidentiality"

- "This soliciting for business is completely unethical"

- "Dr Ryan would be FURIOUS! Shame on you for trying to steal Dr Ryan’s patients"

While it might be tacky, officials at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services tell TMZ that it's not a violation of privacy laws to share contact information "as long as it's for treatment purposes or a doctor referral" -- and officials tell us this situation seems to fall under those parameters.

A rep for Dr. Motykie tells TMZ, "The assertion that Dr. Motykie has illegally solicited Dr. Ryan's former patients is untrue."

Heidi Montag's Plastic Surgeon Was Texting Just Before Fatal Accident

by Amar Toor

Plastic surgeon Dr. Frank Ryan, died in a car crash on Monday after driving his car off of a cliff in Malibu. And, according to one of Ryan's former flames, texting might be to blame.

Charmaine Blake, Ryan's ex-girlfriend, recently revealed to People that the surgeon was tweeting about his border collie just before his fatal crash. "He lived up in Malibu on a tiny street and he was texting while driving and he accidentally went over the cliff," says Blake, who is also a celebrity publicist. Blake went on to say that investigators have already told Ryan's family that the doctor's tweeting caused the accident, although the California Highway Patrol has yet to declare an official cause. Although CHP officer Steven Reid confirms that Ryan was indeed typing away on his phone, he insists that, at this point, the tweeting is just "one of the elements that we are investigating."

Blake, who lived with Ryan from 2003 to 2006, remained close with her ex even after splitting up. Distraught as she (and Montag) may be about Ryan's untimely deatRh, Blake remains hopeful that others can learn from this tragedy. As she bluntly reminds us, "People should not text and drive at all." [From: People and USA Today]

To see Dr. Ryan's crashed vehicle click here 

Edward Pechter, Santa Clarita Plastic Surgeon Dies suddenly at his desk

r. Edward Pechter, a Santa Clarita Valley  plastic surgeon, died this week in his home, just days before he was scheduled to travel to Israel with his longtime companion and friend. A member of the Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital Foundation board, Pechter had been in practice for over 20 years.

On Wednesday evening, Pechter had scheduled an early Father’s Day dinner with his daughter, Greta Pechter a former local beauty queen contestant, who lives in West Hollywood, Hudson said, adding that the couple was due to leave the country for Israel on Sunday. He was to pick his daughter up at 5 p.m. Wednesday, but when he hadn’t arrived by 6 p.m., she called Hudson.

She rushed to his house, arriving about 7 p.m., and found him at his desk, she said. “He was in his office at his computer and hadn’t even had time to call 911,” she said. “He was just still sitting there but he was gone.”  Groman Eden Mortuary in Mission Hills was preparing Friday to ship Pechter's body to Chicago for a funeral service. Pechter grew up in Chicago, and much of his family is still there, Hudson said. A local memorial service was tentatively planned for Sunday, June 27, but details were still being worked out Friday.

Hudson suggested donations be made in Pechter’s name to the American Heart Association. After learning of his death, friends told Hudson he had bought a ring and was preparing to propose to her on the trip to Israel, she said. “We had just signed paperwork to buy a house together,” she said. “We were really looking forward to spending our lives together.” Pechter is survived by his daughter Greta Pechter, of West Hollywood; daughter Jacqueline Jensen, of Northern California; mother, Ruthe Pechter, of Chicago; sisters Eileen Nathan, of Lubbock, Texas, Deborah Danziger, and Sheila Pechter, of Chicago; brother Dr. Bradley Pechter, of Chicago; and many cousins, nieces and nephews.