Growing Tomatoes and Learning Something New Every Day
By Dr. Juris Bunkis
Honorary Consul, Republic of Latvia in Southern California
Orange County Plastic Surgery, Corona del Mar/Newport Beach
My Garden Taught Me a Lesson This Summer! One of the joys of summer is walking into the backyard and picking a perfectly ripe tomato straight from the vine. There is simply nothing that compares with the flavor of a homegrown tomato. Every year, I look forward to that first harvest.
Perhaps my appreciation for gardening began in childhood. Growing up in Northern Ontario, my parents maintained a wonderful vegetable garden. Fresh carrots, beans, peas, potatoes, cucumbers, and, of course, tomatoes were staples of our summer meals. Those early experiences stayed with me, and for more than fifty years I have enjoyed tending my own garden. Fortunately, I seem to have inherited a reasonably green thumb.
This year, however, I nearly lost my tomato crop.
As the vines flourished and tiny green tomatoes began appearing, I noticed something was terribly wrong. Leaves were disappearing overnight, and many of the young tomatoes had mysterious bite marks. I watered faithfully, fertilized appropriately, and inspected the plants daily, but I could not identify the culprit.
Fortunately for me, I live with a biologist.
Before becoming a plastic surgeon, Dr. Deborah Ekstrom, who grew up on a farm in the Mid-West, earned undergraduate degrees in biology and chemistry from the University of Minnesota. Her scientific background extends far beyond medicine, and it didn’t take long for her to diagnose the problem.
Within minutes of examining the plants, she calmly reached into the dense foliage and began pulling out enormous tomato hornworms—large green caterpillars so perfectly camouflaged that I had completely overlooked them. She then gave me a fascinating lesson on their life cycle. These hungry caterpillars eventually become sphinx moths, but before reaching adulthood they can consume astonishing amounts of tomato foliage in just a few days.
Fortunately, nature provides excellent allies.
Dr. Ekstrom explained that tiny braconid wasps are among the hornworm’s greatest natural enemies. These harmless tiny wasps do not sting people. Instead, they lay their eggs inside the hornworms, and the developing larvae eventually kill the caterpillar. While you cannot purchase braconid wasps, you can attract them by planting nectar-producing flowers nearby. We added sweet alyssum around our vegetable beds to encourage these beneficial insects.
She also introduced me to another natural helper—the trichogramma wasp. These microscopic wasps attack the hornworm’s eggs before they hatch. Unlike the braconid wasps, trichogramma wasps are commercially available, so we ordered them and released them directly among the tomato plants.
Whatever combination of strategies worked, it worked beautifully. Today our garden is overflowing with healthy, pest-free tomatoes, and we’ve been enjoying fresh tomato salads almost every evening.
The experience reminded me of something important. No matter how many years we’ve practiced our profession or how much experience we accumulate, there is always something new to learn. Sometimes the best teacher is the person sitting across the dinner table.
My tomatoes—and my humility—are thriving this summer.
Dr. Ekstrom diagnosed the problem – green tomato hornworms!
Zucchinis did very well this year!
Beyond Fillers: Modern Lip Enhancement
By Dr. Deborah Ekstrom
Orange County Plastic Surgery, Corona del Mar/Newport Beach
Beautiful Lips, Naturally Quiz:
Which lip enhancement procedure can provide the most natural-looking and longest-lasting increase in lip volume using your own tissue?
A. Hyaluronic acid fillers
B. Permanent silicone implants
C. Microfat grafting
D. Lip tattooing
E. Lip flip with Botox
Correct Answer: C. Microfat Grafting
Full, well-defined lips are often associated with youth and beauty. As we age, however, our lips gradually lose volume, become flatter, and develop fine wrinkles around the mouth. Fortunately, today’s cosmetic procedures offer several excellent options for restoring youthful, natural-looking lips.
The most common treatment is injection of hyaluronic acid (HA) fillers. These office-based procedures typically take less than ten minutes with minimal downtime. Fillers allow precise shaping of the lips and produce immediate results. The downside is that HA fillers are temporary and generally require repeat treatments every four to six months to maintain the desired appearance.
For patients seeking a more permanent solution, my favorite procedure is microfat grafting. Using a small amount of fat harvested from another area of the body, the fat is carefully processed into tiny parcels and delicately injected into the lips. Because the tissue comes from your own body, the lips look and feel remarkably natural. Once the transferred fat establishes its own blood supply, the surviving fat cells become a permanent part of your lips. While some of the transferred fat is naturally absorbed during healing, the remaining fat often provides long-lasting improvement. Microfat grafting can be performed comfortably in our office under local anesthesia when done by itself, or combined with other facial or body procedures in the operating room.
Some patients have another concern in addition to loss of volume. Over time, the distance between the base of the nose and the upper lip lengthens, causing the upper lip to appear thinner and making less of the pink lip visible when smiling. These patients may be excellent candidates for a lip lift. Through a carefully hidden incision beneath the nose, a small amount of skin is removed, shortening the upper lip and increasing the visible pink portion of the lip. The result is a more youthful, attractive smile without adding excessive fullness. An isolated lip lift is typically performed in the office under local anesthesia with a relatively quick recovery; or it can be performed in the operating room in conjunction with, for example, a facelift.
Every patient is unique. Some achieve beautiful results with fillers, others are better served with microfat grafting, while still others benefit most from a lip lift—or even a combination of procedures. During your consultation, we carefully evaluate your facial proportions, your goals, and your anatomy to recommend the treatment that will provide the most natural, balanced, and lasting result.
Beautiful lips should complement your face—not overpower it. The best lip enhancement is one that leaves friends saying, “You look wonderful,” without quite knowing why.
Have questions about ways to enhance your lips?
Schedule online to set up an appointment with Dr. Ekstrom to explore your options.
Two of Dr. Ekstrom’s patients who underwent natural lip enhancement with microfat grafting.
This 65-year-old female came in requesting a secondary facelift by Dr. Juris Bunkis of Orange County Plastic Surgery in Corona del Mar/Newport Beach. She has had a prior phenol peel to remove the lives around her lips but told us she still disliked her upper lip. She is shown here before and after a judicious microfat grafting procedure and upper lip lift by Dr. Bunkis. (Actual patient of Dr. Bunkis.)
The Newport Beach “Fat Grafting Queen” in action, Dr. Deborah Ekstrom performing microfat grafting during a facelift procedure to further enhance her results.
Orange County Plastic Surgery at CosmetiCare
1101 Bayside Drive, Suite 200
Corona del Mar, CA 92625
Take the elevator to the second floor (Suite 200) and check in with the front desk for your consultation or follow-up.
Free Parking Available.
