If you're considering Male Breast Reduction to help address Gynecomastia, "reduce man boobs" left behind by weight loss (pseudogynecomastia) or otherwise remove excess skin, fat, and glandular tissue around the chest area, you should discuss your interest with a plastic or cosmetic surgeon experienced with performing Male Breast Reductions. You can start by locating a plastic surgeon "in my area" using our provider directory and you can Request a Consultation with one or more plastic surgeons right here from our site. Here's some important facts and a quick summary of Male Breast Reduction:

Procedure Name: Male Breast Reduction
Average Length of Procedure: 2-3 hours
Anesthesia Type: General Anesthesia
Surgery Location: Certified Outpatient Plastic Surgery Center or Hospital

Most Commonly Combined with: Liposuction

Male Breast Reduction Recovery:

• Compression wrap required: At least 3 weeks
• Return to work/driving: Usually 1 week
• Restricted activities: At least 4-6 weeks (no strenuous activity or heavy lifting)

Ideal Candidate for Male Breast Reduction:

• Healthy, Non smoker with no medical conditions that can affect wound healing
• In relatively good physical shape and health

Reasons for considering a Male Breast Reduction:

• Unhappy with the size, contour and appearance of the male chest area
• Looking to reduce increased male breast size caused by Gynecomastia or other factors
• Experiencing emotional discomfort and lack of self-confidence because of over-developed or enlarged breast tissue

Other notes:

• Gynecomastia requiring Male Breast Reduction Surgery can be caused by hormonal changes resulting from anabbolic steroid or drug use, and changes in diet, and lifestyle habits.
• Excess localized fat or male breasts enlarged by fat, can sometimes be treated with Liposuction or newer procedures such as Zerona
• Scarring is common around the nipple of the breast or around the incision site(s)

Average cost for a Male Breast Reduction: $6000 - $7,500

Marie Claire recently published an article about Zeltiq, a non-invasive alternative for reducing unwanted fat in problem areas of the body such as the abdominal area, love handles (flanks), and back. The article, published at MarieClaire.com, describes her author's experience with Zeltiq. Given Zeltiq's recent surge in popularity, we thought we'd share this article with you.

If you are interested in Zeltiq CoolSculpting and are looking to remove unwanted fat from exercise and diet resistant areas of the body, we recommend checking out our list of Zeltiq CoolSculpting doctors. If you're area's not in our list of Zeltiq doctors - don't worry - you can start by locating a doctor "in my area" using our provider directory and you can Request a Consultation with one or more plastic surgeons, cosmetic surgeons or dermatologists right here from our site.

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Freeze Your Fat Away

A new, high-tech procedure at the dermatologist's office zaps unwanted bulges — no needles or scalpels required.

By Jennifer Tung
Published at MarieClaire.com

Since my teens, I've been dogged by my secret fat: a stubborn slab across my lower abdomen that no amount of running would remedy. It was an irritating ripple that seemed to double in size from morning to night, yet it was also isolated enough to conceal in well-cut clothes. On bad days, I could gather it in my hands and fashion it into a giant bagel, which dampened my mood almost to the point of distraction. It was impervious to exercise and diet (I eat pretty healthily), and, since my two pregnancies, it had rested above a depressingly wide horizontal crease above my bikini line. It looked like my whole torso was frowning.

So my usual skepticism was trumped by sheer, childlike giddiness when I learned that my roll of shame was the perfect target for a new, noninvasive gadget called Zeltiq, which permanently zaps fat on the stomach, waist, hips, and back via Cryolipolysis (translation: freezing it).

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READ THE WHOLE STORY at MarieClaire.com.

Zeltiq and Zerona are both widely popular, and rather new treatments for non-invasive fat-reduction. Both treatments recently received FDA-approval and have garnered vast amounts of media attention and press. Unlike traditional liposuction, neither treatment is designed to reduce large deposits of fat. Instead Zeltiq and Zerona treatments are meant to be effective treatments for problem areas where fat is resistant to diet and exercise, such as love handles and belly fat pooch. Likewise neither procedure is a means of weight-loss and does not replace diet or exercise and a healthy lifestyle condusive to losing weight and maintaining a stable, healthy weight.

The reason for the popularity of both Zeltiq and Zerona is the fact that both procedures are non-surgical or non-invasive. That means patients looking to take off a little bit of excess fat or slim down those problem areas can do so without the incisions, needles, anesthesia, pain medication and recovery time associated with the surgical alternative of liposuction.

What's the difference?

Zerona uses a low-energy "cool" laser to emulsify fat cells. Patients lie under a machine that passes a group of revolving lasers over the treated area. The laser doesn't affect the skin or other tissues and targets only the fat layer. The excess fat released by the emulsified cells are then passed through the body during its normal course of detoxification over a span of several weeks. It is reported to be completely painless and can be used effectively on essentially every part of the body where localized fat deposits exist including the waist, hips and thighs ("love handles" and "saddle bags"), upper arms, bra-line fat, inner knees, back fat and buttocks.

Zeltiq, which is actually called CoolSculpting  by ZELTIQ works by means of Cryolipolysis, or cold therapy. Zeltiq can be used on the abdominal area, love handles (flanks), and back. The CoolSculpting device attaches to the patient and gently pulls the bulge or roll of excess fat into the applicator between two cooling panels. These panels emit intense cold that is precislely controlled to target the fat cells. The treated fat cells are chilled, causing them to crystallize and break down. These fat cells are re-absorbed into the body over the course of several months and gradually eliminated through the body's normal metabolic processes, similar to how fat from food is eliminated. The secret to the cooling process is that fat cells crystallize at warmer temperatures than other cells, so the process doesn’t produce a level cold that can harm other tissue such as skin, muscle, and nerves. The result is a reduction in fat bulges that is visible in most patients in about two to four months.

Recently media reports estimated each Zeltiq treatment to cost between $1,500 and $3,000, and Zerona to cost up to $3,000 for a series of treatments.

If you are looking to remove unwanted fat from exercise and diet resistant areas of the body, you may be considering  Zeltiq CoolSculpting or Zerona. If you're area's not in our list of Zeltiq doctors or Zerona doctors - don't worry - you can start by locating a plastic surgeon "in my area" using our provider directory and you can Request a Consultation with one or more plastic surgeons right here from our site.

One of the most popular Plastic Surgery procedures of 2009 was Breast Augmentation. We've spent a lot of time discussing Breast Augmentation and Breast Implants, and we've talked about Breast Reduction. The fact remains that there are many women out there who are "small-chested" and don't want or can't have augmentation surgery. Recently the NY Times did an article about the upward trend of retailers providing fashions geared towards the smaller woman.

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For the A-Cup Crowd, Minimal Assets Are a Plus

Many women these days want to showcase their small chests, not pad them out. Retailers are listening.

By CATHERINE SAINT LOUIS
Published: September 1, 2010

IT is commonly assumed that small-chested women feel that nature’s lottery has left them coming up short. The parade of heaving bosoms in Victoria’s Secret catalogs not only suggests that bigger is better but also that supersizing with a push-up bra is universally desired.

Wrong, says Ellen Shing, the owner of Lula Lu, a Web site and boutique in San Mateo, Calif., that cater to AAA- to A-cup sizes. She says that while a small number of her customers come in looking for padded bras and tell her, “Make me as big as you can,” the majority “don’t want to supersize themselves.”

Those customers, including ones who are nearly ironing-board flat, “are happy with their bodies,” said Ms. Shing, 42, who wears a 36AA. “It’s a misconception still that you want to be bigger if you’re smaller.” She isn’t sure if the small-and-loving-it attitude she has noticed is “about pride or more like being O.K. with who they are.” But it’s fueling her sales.

In the last three years, said Elisabeth Dale (formerly Squires), who wrote “Boobs: A Guide to Your Girls,” there has been “a huge surge in Web sites and online retailers that specialize in smaller bra sizes in a very empowering way,” like evesappleslingerie.com. “They are not about ‘Here’s how you stuff your bra,’ ” she added. “They are like, ‘The way you are is perfect, and here’s how I can help you.’ ”

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READ THE WHOLE STORY at NYTimes.com

The NY Times recently did an article about the rising use of men's cosmetics. We usually talk about Male Cosmetic Surgery procedures such as Male Breast Reduction, Liposuction for men, Male Blepharoplasty Male Rhinoplasty (Nose Reshaping) and Male Tummy Tucks (Male Abdominoplasty), but we though this was an interesting story and definitely worth sharing.

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Skin Deep: Men’s Cosmetics Becoming a Bull Market

Men’s use of stealth cosmetics— like concealers and shine-reduction powders — is on the upswing. But please don’t call it “makeup.”

By ANDREW ADAM NEWMAN
Published: September 1, 2010

WHEN cosmetics began disappearing from her bathroom drawer a few years ago, Gretchen Bain, who lives in Merchantville, N.J., knew the culprit.

Her husband, Jarrod.

It turned out that Mr. Bain, 34, a Customs and border-protection officer who is 6-foot-3 and weighs 240 pounds — and whose uniform includes a 9-millimeter handgun — had developed a fondness for his wife’s under-eye concealer, which hid his occasional dark circles. He was also swiping her face lotions and mud masks.

“At one point I just started buying stuff for him because I don’t want him stealing mine,” Ms. Bain said. Now she orders products online for him at Menaji.com, which bills itself as a “masculine” and “undetectable” line of cosmetics and skin-care products. His favorites are an eye gel and stick concealer that target dark circles, and an anti-shine powder that comes (shhh!) in a compact.

“When you looked at him you wouldn’t think he’d have his own supply of men’s skin-care products in the cabinet,” said Ms. Bain, 40, a fashion buyer for Lane Bryant Outlets. “He’s got a short, military haircut — and he’s very butch.”

Whether they admit it or not, more men are using cosmetics, judging from sales figures and the number of new products arriving on store shelves. But please don’t call it “makeup” — cosmetics marketers pointedly steer clear of the term, which men tend to find emasculating. And the products men are using promise not to add color to masculine eyelids or stubbly cheeks, but rather to mask imperfections like razor burn and blemishes.

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READ THE WHOLE STORY at NYTimes.com

CoolSculpting by ZELTIQ, a new, non-invasive treatment for reducing unwanted fat in diet-resistant problem areas. CoolSculpting uses the controlled application of cold to safely target the cells in the underlying fat layer without harming the skin or other tissues. This application of cold causes the fat cells to shrink and begins a natural process where the body eliminates those cells. Like Zerona, CoolScuplting is non-invasive and  doesn't require the needles, surgical incisions or downtime associated with traditional liposuction, laser liposuction and other invasive procedures used for fat reduction and body contouring.

The average cost of CoolScuplting can range between $500 - $700 per treatment.

The CoolSculpting procedure by ZELTIQ is available through an "elite network of CoolSculpting Centers" across the U.S. Here's a list of some of our very own CoolSculpting providers:

California Deborah Atkin, MD Dermatology & Laser Of Del Mar Del Mar, CA Gerald Bock, MD California Skin Laser Stockton, CA David Kaufman, MD Kaufman and Clark Plastic Surgery Folsom, CA Lorrie Klein, MD Lorrie Klein, M.D. - Dermatology & Laser Center Laguna Niguel, CA Kathleen M. Welsh, MD San Francisco, CA Florida James Spencer, MD Spencer Dermatology St. Petersburg, FL Kent Hasen, MD Aesthetic Plastic Surgery of Naples Naples, FL Jason Pozner, MD Boca Raton, FL Illinois Steven Bloch, MD Highland Park, IL Sami Bittar, MD La Grange, IL Jerome M. Garden, MD Chicago, IL Maryland Robert Weiss, MD Maryland Laser, Skin & Vein Institute, LLC Hunt Valley, MD Missouri Brock Ridenour, MD Ridenour Plastic Surgery St. Louis, MO

New York Lisa Airan, MD New York, NY Daniel Buscgalia, DO The Cosmetic Vein & Laser Center Williamsville, NY Sydney Coleman, MD TriBeca Plastic Surgery New York, NY Melanie Grossman, MD New York, NY Nevada Tiffany McCormack, MD McCormack Plastic Surgery Reno, NV New Jersey Barry Dibernardo, MD Montclair, NJ Tennessee Brian Biesman, MD Nashville, TN Texas Jeffrey Hall, MD Hall Plastic Surgery & Rejuvenation Center Austin, TX Virgina Joanne Lopes, MD Virginia Beach, VA Washington Sam Naficy, MD Bellevue, WA

If you are looking to remove unwanted fat from exercise and diet resistant areas of the body, you may be considering  a procedure like liposuction, Zerona or Zeltiq CoolSculpting. If you're area's not in the list, don't worry - you can start by locating a plastic surgeon "in my area" using our provider directory and you can Request a Consultation with one or more plastic surgeons right here from our site.