Beautiful women. Who are they? Who decides who is beautiful and who is not? There has long been a debate on what is ‘beauty’. In Plastic Surgery, scientists have studied physical appearance and two main concepts have emerged. Symmetry (close, not absolute), and the Fibonacci Golden Section are found throughout beautiful faces and bodies. The Fibonacci Golden Section is (5 + 1)/2 = 1.61803…….
A thorough mathematical/geometrical analysis will reveal the above two factors of beauty. Now, computer scientists have developed a mathematical algorithm to assess and determine beauty.

Martin Jugenburg,MD, FRCSC
Toronto, ON

Cosmetic Surgery is Surgery. It is a fact that most people forget and treat it as simple cosmetic touch ups. Whenever an invasive procedure is performed, there is a risk of complications that patients need to understand. And even if the procedure is not invasive, things can go wrong. A skin cream can create a severe allergic reaction, or lead to skin breakdown, or burn, or infection. A surgical procedure can lead to a whole spectrum of potential surgical horrors. It is therefore of utmost importance that patients make sure that the person who will take their health into their hands has the proper training and proper tools to do so. There are too many frauds advertising themselves as having skills and training in things they have no business doing. These people are very good in hiding their true identity. Even other doctors have been fooled in the past. So how do you protect yourself? Talk to your family doctor. Contact the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons and look at your doctor’s specialty designation. You can also see what disciplinary action has been taken against this doctor.

Patients BEWARE. Only you can truly safeguard yourself against fraud.

Martin Jugenburg,MD, FRCSC
Toronto, ON

A recent report of a case-control study from The Netherlands (de Jong et al) reported an association of breast implants with anaplastic large T-cell lymphoma, however the study had limitations and referred only to saline implants.
In a recent issue of the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Journal, an article by Lipworth et al examined this issue. To determine whether breast implants are associated with an increased lymphoma risk, the authors have reviewed the evidence from five long-term follow-up studies that looked at the incidence of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in breast implant patients. These studies involved over 43,000 women with cosmetic breast implants, who were observed over 37 years.
In this group of 43 000, 48 women developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. An average group of any 43 000 women would be expected to have 53.9 cases. This leads to a conclusion that breast implants do not increase the risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma as compared to the average female population.

Based on the epidemiologic studies published to date, there is no evidence of an excess of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma incidence overall among women with cosmetic silicone-filled breast implants.

Thus Breast Implants remain safe and do not cause rare illnesses.

Martin Jugenburg,MD, FRCSC
Toronto, ON