Another Trip Around the Sun: Birthdays, Milestones & Looking Ahead
By Dr. Juris Bunkis
Honorary Consul, Republic of Latvia in Southern California
Orange County Plastic Surgery, Corona del Mar/Newport Beach
This past week seemed to be all about birthdays.
Our dear friend and our office manager Jo’s husband, Jeff Beddow, put another notch on his belt. My granddaughter, Kinley, reached the milestone of double digits with her tenth birthday. I remember her birth and the tremendous joy it brought our family as though it were yesterday. Blink twice—and suddenly she is 10!
Kinley is a very tall young lady and has actually been taller than Dr. Ekstrom for the past year. Yet when I look at her, I still see that same cute smile and delightful personality she had when she was two.
My nephew Janis—my brother Imants’ son—also celebrated a milestone birthday, turning 40. It seems like only recently that he was playing street hockey with my son Justin in front of their home in the Yukon during our Christmas visits. Of course, Justin is now over 40 as well! Janis has gone on to build a successful career and now has his own sports show in the Toronto market. We are very proud of you, Janis.
And then there was one more birthday this week—mine.
Birthdays are curious things. When we are children, we count the days until the next one. At 10, we cannot wait to be 16. At 16, we want to be 21. Somewhere along the way, we become considerably less anxious for the next number to arrive!
Yet birthdays serve an important purpose. They are markers along the road, giving us an opportunity to look backward with gratitude and forward with anticipation.
We measure our lives in years, but perhaps a better measure is the collection of people, experiences, accomplishments and memories that filled those years.
This birthday caused me to reflect more than most—to think about where I have been, where I am today, and what adventures and opportunities may still lie ahead. None of us can slow the clock, but we can certainly decide what we do with the time we have.
Perhaps that is the best birthday present of all: another year—and the opportunity to make it count.
Granddaughter Kinley celebrating her 10th birthday.
Biggest present for my birthday was the grandkids coming over!
With my bosses on my birthday.
When It’s Time for a Change: Revisional Breast Surgery
By Dr. Deborah Ekstrom
Orange County Plastic Surgery, Corona del Mar/Newport Beach
This Week's Plastic Surgery Quiz
Which of the following may be a reason for revisional breast surgery?
Just as our lives and priorities change with time, so do our bodies—and sometimes our aesthetic preferences.
This past week, we performed a number of secondary, or revisional, breast procedures. In fact, one sign of the maturity of our practice is that we now see a significant number of patients seeking revisional breast surgery rather than first-time breast augmentation.
Revisional breast surgery is often considerably more complex than the original operation. Previous surgery changes the anatomy. There may be scar tissue, stretched tissues, thinning skin, implant displacement or changes in the breast that have occurred with aging, pregnancy or weight fluctuations. As a result, revision procedures often require more surgical planning and operating time than a straightforward primary augmentation.
The reasons women seek revision are remarkably varied. Some simply have older implants and wish to exchange them for newer ones. Others have developed capsular contracture, an abnormal tightening of the scar tissue surrounding an implant that can make the breast feel firm, distort its shape or cause discomfort.
We are also seeing a definite change in aesthetic preferences. Years ago, many patients requested larger, more obvious breast augmentation. Today, the trend is frequently toward smaller, more natural-looking breasts. Some patients therefore choose to downsize their implants.
Other revisions involve correcting implant position or rebuilding the breast fold or implant pocket. In selected patients, we may use an internal support material such as GalaFLEX® to reinforce weakened tissues and provide additional structural support.
And some women simply decide that the implant chapter of their lives is over. They request complete implant removal, often combined with a breast lift to reshape the remaining natural breast tissue.
Successful revisional breast surgery requires experience, judgment and, frequently, a combination of techniques tailored specifically to that patient. Surgeons who develop a reputation for revision work naturally tend to attract increasingly challenging cases.
Time changes our bodies. It changes fashions. And it changes what we want for ourselves.
Fortunately, when those priorities change, we have more options than ever to help a woman achieve a result that better fits who she is today.
Interested in updating your breasts? 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.
