One Last Taste of Summer: Family, Solvang & Labor Day
By Dr. Juris Bunkis
Honorary Consul, Republic of Latvia in Southern California
Orange County Plastic Surgery, Corona del Mar/Newport Beach
Labor Day weekend has always felt like summer’s final curtain call.
Technically, we still have a few weeks before autumn arrives, and here in Southern California our beautiful weather hardly announces a dramatic change of seasons. But Labor Day nevertheless marks a transition—the children return to school, vacations wind down, and suddenly our calendars at home and work seem to become much more crowded.
Dr. Ekstrom and I decided there was no better way to spend this last holiday weekend of summer than visiting family in Goleta, just outside Santa Barbara, and spending some precious time with our grandchildren, five-year-old Isla and ten-year-old Leo.
One of the highlights was a day trip to Solvang, a little piece of Denmark tucked into the Santa Ynez Valley.
Solvang was founded in 1911 by a group of Danish immigrants who purchased land in the area with the dream of establishing a Danish community in California. Today, its windmills, Danish-style architecture, bakeries and restaurants make it one of California’s most distinctive small towns. A bus tour gave us an opportunity to learn more about the history of Solvang and the surrounding Santa Ynez Valley—and, of course, no visit would be complete without sampling some Danish comfort foods and pastries!
But with Isla and Leo along, history and pastries had some serious competition.
The biggest hit was our visit to the ostrich farm. Seeing these enormous birds up close was fascinating for all of us. The children learned about their life cycle, saw their remarkably large eggs and, best of all, got to see newly hatched chicks. An ostrich egg can weigh around three pounds—the equivalent of roughly two dozen chicken eggs. We also learned that ostrich meat is surprisingly lean, high in protein and iron, and despite being poultry, resembles red meat in appearance and taste.
Watching the world through the eyes of a five- and ten-year-old has a wonderful way of making everything interesting again.
Labor Day was created to recognize the contributions and achievements of American workers, but it has also evolved into our unofficial farewell to summer. For us, it provided something equally valuable: an excuse to slow down before school and busy fall schedules take over and simply enjoy being together.
The pastries were delicious, the ostriches memorable and Solvang charming—but years from now, I suspect what we will remember most is simply the time we spent with Isla and Leo.
Leo and Isla enjoying a Solvang pastry shop.
Leo and Isla enjoying a tour of historic Solvang.
Back to Basics: Liposuction and the Evolution of Body Contouring
By Dr. Deborah Ekstrom
Orange County Plastic Surgery, Corona del Mar/Newport Beach
This Week's Plastic Surgery Quiz
Which statement about liposuction is TRUE?
After discussing some of the newer procedures available in plastic surgery in recent newsletters, I thought Labor Day was a good opportunity to go back to basics and discuss one of the procedures that truly transformed our specialty: liposuction.
When I entered plastic surgery, modern liposuction was just beginning to emerge. Early techniques were introduced in Europe during the 1970s, and by the early 1980s liposuction was gaining acceptance in the United States.
What followed was extraordinary. Improvements in cannulas, anesthesia, fluid management and surgical techniques helped turn liposuction into one of the most commonly performed cosmetic surgical procedures.
Yet one misconception remains: liposuction is not a weight-loss operation.
The ideal patient is generally healthy, reasonably close to his or her desired weight, has good skin elasticity, but has localized fat deposits that simply do not respond adequately to diet and exercise. Genetics plays a major role in where our bodies store fat, which explains why even very fit people can have stubborn areas they simply cannot exercise away.
Common treatment areas include the abdomen, waist and “love handles,” hips, thighs, back, upper arms, knees, and beneath the chin. In men, the neck, abdomen and flanks are particularly common concerns.
During liposuction, small incisions are made in inconspicuous locations and a thin tube called a cannula is used to loosen and remove unwanted fat. Today’s techniques allow us to sculpt rather than simply “remove fat,” creating smoother transitions and more natural proportions.
Most patients are surprised by how quickly they can resume normal activities. Swelling and bruising are expected, compression garments are commonly worn during recovery, and strenuous exercise must wait—but many patients are back to routine activities relatively quickly. The final contour continues to improve as swelling subsides over the following weeks and months.
Perhaps the most important point is that good liposuction is about shape, not pounds. Removing a relatively modest amount of fat from precisely the right places can sometimes produce a dramatic change in proportion—one that may change how clothing fits and how a patient feels about his or her silhouette.
As summer draws to a close and we transition into another season, it is a good reminder that sometimes relatively small changes can make a surprisingly large difference.
And that is as true in plastic surgery as it is in life.
This 34-year-old male is shown here before and a year after a neck liposuction with Renuvion skin shrinking procedure and a buccal lipectomy (to remove cheek fat). This was a team surgery performed by Dr. Deborah Ekstrom and Dr. Juris Bunkis of Orange County Plastic Surgery in Corona del Mar/Newport Beach.
This female in her mid 30’s, who was relatively fit, disliked her upper hip/flank fatty excess and back rolls. She sought consultation with Dr. Ekstrom, who went over her options with her and proceeded to do a liposuction on her, removing about 1,800 cc of fat. Procedure was performed by Dr. Deborah Ekstrom of Orange County Plastic Surgery in Corona del Mar/Newport Beach – one of Newport Beach’s top body contouring surgeons.
Before/after for a 27 year old fit female, who sought help for a few stubborn areas of fat, shown here before and after a liposuction of her abdominal wall. (Actual patient of Dr. Deborah Ekstrom of Orange County Plastic Surgery in Corona Del Mar/Newport Beach).
Interested in removing some unwanted fat and improving your contour? CLICK HERE to set up an appointment with Dr. Ekstrom to explore your options.
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.
