Cosmetic Surgery

Dr. Harry Fallick, cosmetic surgeon, says he doesn't really need to advertise. But he does so aggressively. His ads feature attractive models and beckon readers to "Join the Firm" by undergoing cosmetic surgery. As a result, Fallick's name has become familiar to many local magazine readers. Advertising "has merely allowed me to focus my practice and make my name familiar," Fallick says. "I love cosmetic surgery; it's what I believe I should do. " In other cities, particularly New York and Los Angeles, advertising by cosmetic surgeons is far more provocative and prolific, with pictures that could make a pin-up calendar seem tame by comparison.

ATLANTIC CITY - The latest casino promotion in Atlantic City gives new meaning to "going bust. " The Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort plans to give $25,000 worth of plastic surgery to the winner of a player's card contest. The lucky one can mix and match surgeries including breast enhancements, tummy tucks, liposuction and face-lifts, until the total hits $25,000. "We wanted to change the face of a typical casino promotion," said Kathleen McSweeney, senior vice president of marketing for Trump Entertainment Resorts.

People thinking about cosmetic surgery face a daunting array of questions: Is this right for me? Can I afford it? How do I find a doctor qualified in the procedure I want - and how do I even decide what I want? Experts recommend thinking carefully and researching thoroughly before moving ahead. When selecting a surgeon, it can be helpful to seek out others who had the same procedure. Great-looking friends who had face-lifts may be able to recommend good surgeons. Make sure that you are comfortable with the doctor and his or her staff, and that all your questions are being answered.

Christopher Reitano was 44 and quite chipper most of the time, but he was always getting sympathy from people he met. "Do you have a cold? How are your allergies?" they would ask. Reitano was getting awfully self-conscious. "Basically, my eyes were baggy, especially on the upper eyelids. It was starting to get aggravating," said Reitano, who lives in Voorhees and is an international service manager for Siemens, the global electronics firm. "I decided to do something about it. " What Reitano did nearly four years ago is what a lot of baby-boom men are doing these days - heading for the plastic surgeon.

For a long time, Doris Newton thought about getting a face-lift. But she didn't have the nerve until she watched the television show Extreme Makeover. "It's amazing what they can do. You see a person looking one way, and after they do their magic they're transformed," said the Upper Pottsgrove grandmother, whose own transformation, her husband swears, took 10 years off her face. Other than in Beverly Hills, there are few places where the wonders of plastic surgery are more evident than on TV shows like ABC's Extreme Makeover, Fox's The Swan, and MTV's I Want a Famous Face.

LOS ANGELES - Jeanne Cooper, 84, the enduring soap-opera star who played grande dame Katherine Chancellor for nearly four decades on The Young and the Restless , died Wednesday in her sleep, the actor Corbin Bernsen, her son, wrote on Facebook. Ms. Cooper joined the daytime serial six months after its March 1973 debut, staking claim to the title of longest-tenured cast member. The role earned her 11 Daytime Emmy nominations and a trophy for best actress in 2008. As the years passed, Ms. Cooper brushed aside thoughts of saying goodbye to the show.

Vagina envy is real. So, instead of leaving well enough alone, some women are opting to get a so-called designer vagina and undergoing labiaplasties to contour floppy, protruding inner lips. Some also are seeking liposuction to slim fatty pubic mounds. Although some patients request medical intervention because the way their bodies are configured makes them feel uncomfortable riding bicycles or doing other physical activities, the single biggest reason women request genital cosmetic surgery is aesthetics.

'A psychiatrist with a scalpel" is the way Mark Solomon describes himself. Solomon, who has been performing cosmetic and other plastic surgery for 26 years, said judging patients' expectations is just as important as operating skill. "If I can't deliver, my answer is, 'I'm not doing it,' " said Solomon, whose practice is based in Bala Cynwyd. He estimated that he rejects up to 30 percent of prospective patients, most because their expectations are unrealistic. Jesse A. Taylor, a plastic surgeon with Penn Medicine, said he turns down an even higher estimated number, up to 40 percent.

Julius Newman, 76, of Gladwyne, a cosmetic surgeon who sculpted more than 20,000 noses in his 37-year career, died Sunday at home of complications from primary progressive aphasia, a neurological disorder. In 1965, Dr. Newman presented a paper to the College of Physicians in Philadelphia titled "Rhinoplastic Surgery for the Twisted Nose," in which he outlined a new technique for nose surgery. Several years later, he established his cosmetic-surgery practice on City Avenue in Wynnewood.

Fat suctioning, America's favorite form of cosmetic surgery, is so safe and effective that the fight against flabby bodies has reached a level "unheard of in medicine," a leading Philadelphia cosmetic surgeon said today. The American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons said in a report released today that it had documented 11 deaths and nine non-fatal cases of serious complications in an analysis of 100,000 U.S. liposuction procedures over five years. The procedure involves inserting a tubular instrument under the skin and suctioning off fat tissue.

LOS ANGELES - Jeanne Cooper, 84, the enduring soap-opera star who played grande dame Katherine Chancellor for nearly four decades on The Young and the Restless , died Wednesday in her sleep, the actor Corbin Bernsen, her son, wrote on Facebook. Ms. Cooper joined the daytime serial six months after its March 1973 debut, staking claim to the title of longest-tenured cast member. The role earned her 11 Daytime Emmy nominations and a trophy for best actress in 2008. As the years passed, Ms. Cooper brushed aside thoughts of saying goodbye to the show.

D EAR HARRY: I just finished working on our tax returns, and I found a little problem in reviewing the 1040. The return as I prepared it has $12,100 of itemized deductions, mostly charity but also taxes and medical costs. The standard deduction for us is $11,900. The difference is just about $200. If I take the standard deduction, my taxes will go up by just about $50. If I itemize, there is a greater chance that the IRS will come after me to examine some of those items than if I take the standard deduction.

A caption with the photo of Abby Simmons on Saturday incorrectly characterized cosmetic surgery as a treatment for Moebius syndrome, a rare genetic disease. The surgery is to partially correct cosmetic manifestations of Moebius. No medical treatment exists for the condition. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, contact assistant managing editor David Sullivan (215-854-2357) at The Inquirer, Box 8263, Philadelphia 19101, or e-mail dsullivan@phillynews.com .

In her best-selling book I Feel Bad About My Neck, the late author Nora Ephron wrote, "I can't stand people who say that ‘it's great to be old, great to be at the point where you understand what really matters in life.' What can they be thinking? Don't they have necks?" Walter Dowgiallo, 64, has never read Ephron's book, but he became bothered with "this little thing under my chin. I didn't like it and felt I really needed to look good because of the business I'm in. " Dowgiallo, the father of four adult children, owns a company that creates the aesthetic labels and packaging for Victoria's Secret, Liz Claiborne, and Bath & Body Works products, among others.

DEANS, FACULTY, STAFF, parents and graduates: It is my honor to address the 666th graduating class of the School of Hard Knocks.   Graduates, you have labored hard to achieve your dream. The sheepskin (kind of awful, when you think about it) proves you have survived four years of rigorous academic challenges and intense games of beer pong to earn your degree, which you have been told is the key to employment and a bright future. That's the story you have heard, and for some of you it will be true, but not for all — not as long as the Philadelphia Housing Authority is hiring.

WINNETKA, Ill. - What if you knew, even before your child was born, that she wouldn't look like everyone else? Clara Beatty's parents knew. They were living in Belgium at the time, a decade ago. Prenatal screening was extensive, probably more than would have been done in the United States. Those tests determined that baby Clara, their third child, was likely to be a perfectly normal kid inside. But even in the womb, doctors could see severe facial deformities - droopy eyes, under-developed cheekbones, and a tiny jaw. It meant she would need a tube in her neck to help her breathe after birth.

Question: Eight months ago, after a brief illness, my 57-year-old friend's husband passed away. Their marriage had always been a bit rocky, and after his death we learned that he'd been involved in some questionable activities. Needless to say, her emotions ran the gamut from disbelief to anger to grief. During this time, I was there for her to listen, care, and encourage, and supported her decision to seek professional counseling. But now I'm concerned she might be moving too quickly through this process.

We send our love to Jessica Simpson, who must be relieved now that she's finally been delivered of the baby she's been talking, tweeting, writing, chatting, whispering, murmuring, dreaming about for the last nine months. Jess and fiance Eric Johnson on Tuesday welcomed a healthy, 9-pound-13-ounce daughter named Maxwell Drew Johnson. "This has been the greatest experience of our lives!" Jess wrote on her website. The ‘X Factor' follies Simon Cowell continues to scour the seven continents for new X Factor judges to replace Nicole Scherzinger and Paula Abdul.

A dozen years ago, a patient told plastic surgeon Bahman Guyuron that her forehead lift made her feel fabulous. Sure, she looked better. But the wrinkle-smoothing operation also endedher migraine headaches, something that decades of drugs and lifestyle changes had failed to do. After a similar case of serendipity, Guyuron became intrigued by the possibility that he had stumbled on a new way to help some of the 36 million hapless Americans who...

VANCOUVER'S Jenna Talackova , who looks like a busty Lisa Kudrow , was disqualified as a contestant in May's Miss Universe Canada pageant last week. Seems she was born male. But even though she no longer has a scepter, the rules of the contest run by the Donald Trump organization say that entrants must be "naturally born" females. The pageant's New York-based parent backed Miss Universe Canada's decision. "After review, organizers discovered that Jenna Talackova falsified her application and did not meet the necessary requirements to compete in the 2012 Miss Universe Canada pageant," a statement said.