Q: What are stem cells? A: A stem cell is an undifferentiated cell which has the capacity, in the right circumstances, of forming any other tissue. When we look at your body, we see it is made up of many different tissues such as skin, fat, muscle, bone, and so on. How did we get from a sperm and an egg to all these different tissues? The pluripotent cells formed after the union of the egg and sperm have the ability to differentiate into any of the root tissues of the endoderm, mesoderm, or ectoderm (the inner, middle, and outer layers of the tissues in the body). As these groups of cells develop into the various tissues of the human body, some of the regenerative cells loose the ability to create other types of cells. Stem cells, however, continue to have the capacity to generate other tissues well into adulthood. [Read more...]

You need to look good, because it increases the chances of passing on your genes! Beauty is all about biology after all!

I have had a few separate rather negative incidents over the past few years with younger patients who had no prior experience with Plastic Surgery. I spent far more than the usual time with these patients, explaining the various treatment options carefully. To one, I also explained the risks and benefits of surgical vs nonsurgical treatments, and how the nonsurgical options had some real benefits for her since her appearance would be significantly improved with non-surgical management, and that some things were simply not possible with surgery, but could be done with the non-surgical management. To the other patient, I was trying to explain the details of the surgery, but it became apparent that she simply was not ‘getting it’ and was asking for a treatment that could, in all likelihood, not only result in an unsatisfactory result, but had the real risk of causing serious harm, and that I [Read more...]

The normal female breast develops in utero before birth. While in the early fetal stages, several small bumps develop along the milk line, and all but one of these simply resorb. Usually, everything goes according to plan, and both breasts are programmed to develop normally. Sometimes, however, something does not complete its normal developmental stages, and things go slightly off kilter. Sometimes, more than one of these small bumps remains, and that can cause some issues. One of the most common things I see are extra nipples. These may occur anywhere along a line from the axilla (armpit) to the groin, along what is known as the ‘milk line’. Usually these are shaped just like a normal nipple-areolar complex (what we surgeons call the nipple and the surrounding pigmented skin), only smaller, sometimes miniature. Just as you may see multiple nipples on your pet cat, we are more or less [Read more...]

I think most people are now aware of how sun exposure can cause skin cancers as well as wrinkles. If you are going to go outside, try to do it in the morning. Here’s why… The basic mechanism is that ultraviolet light (aka UV radiation) causes damage to your skin’s DNA. I have already posted previously on the dangers of using tanning salons that promote UV exposure, and that this artificial UV light is a risk factor in melanoma(1) (a very serious type of cancer, sometimes lethal), as well as non-melanoma skin cancers(2). This is especially a problem in young people, who are at greater risk. Your body does have a DNA repair process, that scans for and repairs errors, much like a disc checking program might check your hard disc for errors. The problem is that our bodies do not work at peak efficiency during the entire day: our [Read more...]