Marisa Mendez
The 33-year-old woman, identified only by the initials MFM, was held by officers as she tried to distract them with her plunging neckline and tight-fitting outfit at Rome’s Fiumicino airport.
But her plan backfired as they were so captivated by her looks they pulled her over for questioning and discovered the drugs when she failed to explain why she had been to South America.
The woman had flown to Rome from Sao Paolo in Brazil and a search by female officers revealed the fake breast and buttock implants she was wearing had also been used to hide 5.5lbs of cocaine.
Police said the class A drug was destined for the Italian market around Rome and the seizure came just days after £1million of cocaine was found hidden in the wheel arches of a truck that had arrived on a ferry from Spain.
Antonio Di Greco, police chief at Fiumicino airport, said: ‘The route she arrived on is very well used by drugs traffickers and her looks immediately caught the attention of the officers on duty.
”She had tried to distract them with a plunging neckline and tight outfit but they stopped her for questioning because she was so alluring and her story about why she was in South America just fell apart.
‘She actually became quite aggressive and was taken away for more detailed questioning by two female officers and that’s when the drugs were found hidden in the plastic breast and buttock implants.
‘The extremely pure cocaine crystals were found moulded into the implants that she was wearing.’
He added that last week 130lbs of cocaine had been seized at Fiumicino and ten people arrested as they tried to smuggle the drugs in hidden in various objects – including toilet rolls – or by swallowing packets.
Five years ago in a similar bust a 24-year-old model was arrested at Catania airport on the island of Sicily after it emerged she had swallowed 98 bags containing around 2lbs of cocaine.
The model held at Rome airport is now in custody accused of international drug trafficking.
16 Jan
Model accused of using breast, buttocks implants to smuggle cocaine
11 Jan
Did Mariah Carey Have a Mommy Makeover?
Mariah Carey’s advertisements for Jenny Craig have been making the rounds, but some fans suspect that Mariah’s miraculous weight loss after twins is due to a plastic surgery Mommy Makeover rather than the popular diet program.
41-year old Mariah Carey has had several possible plastic surgery procedures in the past, including a breast augmentation as well as laser liposuction to minimize the appearance of cellulite after breast augmentation.
Now it seems that she may be showing off results after tummy tuck recovery, rather than results entirely due to diet and exercise.
On his blog, OcBody plastic surgeon Dr. John Di Saia writes, ” Mariah looks really great, but it would unlikely as you have surmised that after a twin pregnancy that likely involved fertility treatments that she could get so flat so fast. The word “flat” makes me think tummy tuck. The shape of her belly button makes me think tummy tuck. It would have been a very nice tummy tuck although I like to make a vertical oval as a belly button. It is all a matter of opinion.”
“I am not saying that everyone could get as nice a result as she has had without diet and exercise in the mix. I just do not believe that that was all that was involved in her case. Jenny Craig is not going to want her to talk about surgery even if she would otherwise have been forthcoming. They like the inference they get by doing things the way they have.”
“And finally airbrushing and Photoshop for the covers? Yeah, why not?”
Other plastic surgeons agree that something is unusual about Mariah Carey’s belly button and agree that she’s had a tummy tuck.
“I think so! She claims to have lost a total of 60-70 lbs after giving birth to twins 7 months ago. Mariah looks amazing. Her tummy is completely flat and there is no excess skin anywhere, including above her strangely round belly button.”
“I’ve seen a lot of patients who’ve had twins. Although the population I see for tummy tucks is skewed (people who have excess abdomen skin), I think it’s highly unlikely that Mariah became as flat and stretch-mark free as she is after having twins without a plastic surgeon’s help. In addition, her belly button looks like a “tummy tuck belly button.” I suspect that she underwent a tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) a few months ago.”
“Although it’s her business whether or not she underwent this surgery, I do think it’s a bit disingenuous to be a paid spokesperson for a diet plan when you’ve secretly had body contouring surgery.”
Dr. David Shafer, celebrity plastic surgeon in New York City says, “My guess is photoshop and not surgery. Even though she had twins, it is very possible that her skin contracted nicely. The photo is not high definition but from what I can see it does not look operated on. ”
Miami plastic surgeon Dr. Michael Salzhauer says, “A woman’s body is never the same after pregnancy- especially twins. The abdominal muscles separate and may not rebound as tight as they were. Part of what a tummy tuck or Abdominoplasty achieves is that the abdominal muscles are sutured back together creating that hour glass curve to the waist. The fact that Mariah’s abdomen is quite straight leads me to believe that she did not have a tummy tuck. She appears to have worked really hard through diet and exercise to get her body back in such great shape. Congrats to Mariah!”
Makemeheal.com hopes that Mariah Carey ‘fesses up about her possible plastic surgery and congratulates her on her weight loss.
5 Jan
Cosmedica’s Professionals Provide Full Range of Beautifying Options
by James Careless
Okay, so you have decided to enhance your natural beauty, to realize your full potential. Or perhaps you wish to reverse the physical effects of aging, pregnancy or weight gain. Now for the next step: Where can you find truly-qualified professionals who can help you achieve your goals using the full range of non-surgical and surgical options?
In Montreal, you need look no further than Cosmedica at 1 Rue Holiday, Suite 813, in Pointe Claire. Founded 21 years ago by Dr. Arie Benchetrit – a certified plastic surgeon and one of Plastic Surgery Practice magazine’s “Best of 2011 Plastic & Cosmetic Surgeons” – Cosmedica offers the very best in both non-invasive and surgical beauty enhancement options.
“Some cosmetic clinics are owned by doctors who are not plastic surgeons, which is why they only offer non-surgical options,” says Dr. Benchetrit. “Others are surgeon-run, but are not knowledgable about the wealth of effective non-invasive options that exist today. At Cosmedica, we are one of the very few clinics in Quebec that offer the full range of surgical and non-surgical options for face and body enhancement, so we’re not biassed one way or the other. We will do what works best, within the scope of your preferences and your personal comfort zone.”
Advances in esthetic technology are allowing Cosmedica to deliver impressive results without surgery. For instance, the clinic’s new UltraShape V3 fat reduction and body contouring system uses ultrasonic waves to break up and dissolve fat cells, without harming skin, blood vessels, nerves and connective tissues.
“This is a non-intrusive option to liposuction,” says Dr. Benchetrit. “It is just one of many ways that we can help bring out your hidden beauty. Other options include Thermage CPT radio-frequency treatments to tighten skin and reduce cellulite; Botox and filler injections to minimize wrinkles; and Fraxel ‘fractional laser’ treatments to smooth the skin and to minimise scars and stretch marks.”
In fact, Cosmedica offers the complete range of reputable esthetic treatments available on the market today. “We do our best to stay at the cutting-edge,” Dr. Benchetrit says. “But we also thoroughly research and test new procedures before offering them to our patients.”
On the plastic surgery side of beauty enhancement, Dr. Benchetrit can offer his patients the most advanced surgical options for the face, breasts and body for both women and men. The noticeable results can be viewed on the company’s website at www.plasticsurgerymontreal.com.
“We use the latest techniques to minimize the invasiveness of procedures, the recovery time, and any visible after-effects such as scarring,” says Dr. Benchetrit. “Again, our goal is to provide our patients with the safest and most effective care – and that includes lessening the patient’s anxiety when considering a surgical procedure.”
All told, Cosmedica is a complete resource for beauty enhancement; one with a solid reputation in the Montreal community. “We have the medical skills, the professional certifications, and the modern equipment to do the very best for you; whatever your personal beauty goals,” says Dr. Benchetrit. “The fact that we have been in business for over two decades, and that most of our new patients are referred to us by their friends, speaks volumes about the kind of service we provide.”
Please call Cosmedica today for a consultation 514-695-7450
4 Jan
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To get started on your rested, rejuvenated look, call us today! 514-695-7450. Expires February 15, 2012. Cannot be combined with any other coupons, auction mart or specials.Cannot be used on past purchases.
23 Dec
Is There Value To Cosmetic Enhancements When Job Hunting?
R
esume writers, career counselors and recruiters — all of these service providers offer valuable support in a job quest. But what about a plastic surgeon? Is it worth the investment to consider cosmetic procedures to enhance your odds of getting a job?
It’s of utmost importance to prepare for the job hunt with smart research on companies and education on industry trends. However, some people’s confidence in interview situations can be heightened by enhancements to their physical appearance.
If you’re considering cosmetic procedures to boost your marketability, here are five common appearance hang-ups that can impact the first impression you make and tips from online cosmetic treatment community RealSelf.com on how to put your best face forward:
Smile Your Way to a Job: Your smile is the first thing an interviewer sees. If you’re uncomfortable with less than perfect teeth, it can affect your confidence and ability to make a great impression, says Tom Seery, founder of RealSelf.com. One way to put your best face forward is a professional teeth whitening procedure that typically costs under $400*.
Clear Skin for a Clear Future: For those just starting out in a career and pursuing entry-level positions, a face free of acne could project maturity. Those who struggle with their skin and are tired of masking spots with makeup can consider Accutane, an oral acne treatment administered by dermatologists. More importantly, it can swiftly transport an acne sufferer from feeling like a teen with a breakout to a confident professional.
Erasing Age: Age discrimination is illegal; however, it doesn’t stop prospective employers from sizing you up at a glance and passing judgment. For those returning to the workplace, a bit of filler that smoothes out the years could help focus an interview away from guesses as to your age, and more on what you can bring to the team. Take years off your face – and your age – by considering injectable fillers such as Restylane, which can be used to enhance lips, and remove unwanted lines and wrinkles.
The Eyes Have It: In an interview situation, it’s important to make good eye contact to establish honesty. While glasses make a person appear smart, eye corrective surgery like LASIK takes away the glare of glasses while correcting eyesight. Of the patients on RealSelf who underwent this procedure, 83% said it was Worth It. At an average cost of $3,200*, this is a pricier investment in a career search, but also brings benefits beyond the job search. If you are a fitness or sports professional, this is a surgery that will definitely change your life.
The Nose Knows: If you’re in an appearance-based line of work, such as politics, broadcasting, customer service or sales, do the advantages of plastic surgery outweigh the investment? If it has a bump, or it’s been broken, or you simply can’t breathe well, it could boost your confidence to get a nose job. Consider that 73% of the people who reviewed this procedure on RealSelf said it was Worth It. Then consider the accompanying price tag — $6,100*. Of course, if your surgery is medically necessary, you can always pursue insurance reimbursement.
Before undertaking any cosmetic treatment, it’s wise to consult with a board-certified medical professional to discuss risks, outcomes, costs and other relevant concerns for job seekers, such as bruising, scarring and how long the recovery process might take.
23 Dec
Woman Has 10 Plastic Surgeries, Is Promoted to CEO
Will cosmetic enhancements help advance your career? That’s the experience of one 55-year-old woman who had 10 plastic surgeries, which not only overhauled her look, but her professional trajectory as well. In an anonymous interview with O Magazine, she credits her physical changes in elevating her from a mere employee to a full-fledged CEO.
You might not expect someone to be taken more seriously following a boob job (amongst other procedures), but this woman says looking great got her attention from executives who suddenly wanted to include her in exciting new projects. Consequently, she considers the time and money put into the surgeries an investment toward greater overall success and makes no apologies for her approach.
“I’m the same person I was before the surgeries,” the CEO, who asked to remain anonymous, says. “But now I looked like a bombshell in addition to being really good at my work, and it definitely opened up more opportunities. That’s when I began to think of the surgeries as an asset and an investment.”
It’s something that RealSelf posters are considering as well. When Dallas2550 rejoined the workforce at 59, she had a Lifestyle Lift and now “would not have changed that decision for anything.” Another reader makes the case that insurance should cover her Botox treatments since her deep wrinkles “affect [her] ability get good paying jobs,” though the doctors warn that’s a lost cause.
Job website Glassdoor has some tips, surgically and otherwise, on how to improve your appearance to land a better job. If this all strikes you as a bit sexist, rest assured that men are going under the knife to boost their careers, too.
23 Dec
Plastic pioneers: How war has driven surgery
By Helen Briggs Health editor, BBC News website
Inside, wrapped carefully in tissue paper, is the cast of a man’s face.
The soldier was one of thousands who received devastating facial injuries during World War I.
Where once his nose would have been there is only a strange indentation, like a thumb pushed into dough.
The cast was made to help a medical team, led by plastic surgeon pioneer Sir Harold Gillies, work out how to repair the man’s face.
“They were all terribly young… and then history comes and throws everything up in the air and you land broken”
As Dr Andrew Bamji, a medical doctor and former curator of the Gillies archive explains, the war led surgeons to attempt ground-breaking procedures, which paved the way for modern plastic surgery.
“When you are trying to devise techniques for things that have never been done before, you have to experiment, and you experiment in different ways,” he says.
“You try different techniques, but by pulling everyone together into the same place, everyone has the opportunity to learn.”
Dr Harold Gillies set up a multi-disciplinary team of surgeons, nurses and artists at what was then the Queen’s Hospital in Sidcup, south-east London.
The artists took casts of the men’s faces and recorded their injuries in meticulous detail as portraits, before the days of colour photography.
Sir Harold Gillies (far left) developed new medical techniques to reconstruct the faces of WWI soldiersThe team worked together to try to repair the devastating injuries of war, using grafted flaps of skin and transplanted rib bones.
One of the sculptors who worked alongside surgeons at the Queen’s Hospital, taking casts of the men’s faces, was Kathleen Scott, wife of Antarctic explorer Captain Robert Scott.
Almost a century later, her granddaughter, Louisa Young, has written a novel based around the work at Queen’s, now Queen Mary’s Hospital, Sidcup.
“She was a sculptor and she was working with the surgeons by making casts of the wounded and scarred faces for the rebuilding,” explains the novelist.
Young’s protagonist, Riley Purefoy, is fictional, but he is inspired by one of the portraits made by Sir Henry Tonks of some of the wounded soldiers.
Tonks trained as a surgeon but chose to follow a career as an artist. He encouraged students to combine anatomical study with an appreciation of what he called the “poetry” of drawing.
A page from Plastic Surgery of the Face by Harold GilliesWhile in some ways his paintings are medical records, they also capture something very human; a glimpse of the horror that many war veterans hid from the world.
Louisa Young says memoirs written by a matron at the Queen’s Hospital provided further ideas for the story.
“She reported this anecdote about a young man who, having suffered a horrible facial injury, rejected his girlfriend.
“He told her he had fallen in love with someone else. And that was very interesting – whether he was being honourable and gentlemanly or whether he was being arrogant and presumptuous – and what she might think about that, and how they might proceed in that situation.
“And they were all terribly young – the way you are living your life and have hardly had a chance to start your life and then history comes and throws everything up in the air and you land broken – and then what?”
Now, the Gillies collection is being catalogued and restored to go on display at the Hunterian Museum within the Royal College of Surgeons in central London.
The archives gathered during the war include medical case notes, paintings, plastic casts, surgical instruments and teaching aids.
They are powerful testimony to the advances made by modern surgeons in the past 100 years.
As Louisa Young explains: “Now we’re terribly good at fixing things up. Modern maxillofacial surgery is stupendous. It’s astounding what they can do.”
23 Dec
Plastic Surgery: This Year’s Hot Christmas Gift?
Tina Franklin and Nicole Tuzzolino are each other’s best friends and sisters, so each always knows what the other wants for Christmas.
“Clothes and accessories,” Tuzzolino, of Ladera Ranch, Calif., said of what she usually gives her older sister, Franklin.
“Maybe some old pictures of us growing up,” Franklin, from Costa Mesa, Calif., said of what she typically gives her younger sister.
But this year, even Tuzzolino, 33, was surprised by what was at the top of her 41-year-old sister’s Christmas wish list: Botox.
“To be honest, I think she’s a little crazy,” Tuzzolino told “Good Morning America.” “I don’t think she needs it, but I know that she’s been wanting it, and it makes her happy.”
Franklin, the owner of a Southern California bridal makeup company, says she needed a pick-me-up after recently breaking up with her long-term boyfriend, and Botox was the perfect answer.
“I’m getting Botox done around on the crow’s feet around my eyes,” she said. “That’s what I notice the most, between the brows, and then on the forehead.”
Franklin is putting her face in the hands of Newport Beach, Calif., plastic surgeon Dr. Tenley Lawton, who says she is staying increasingly busy this year as women in the Orange County area she serves ask for, and receive, plastic surgery as Christmas gifts.
“If we’re talking about a full mommy makeover, which could include a tummy tuck and a breast lift or a breast augmentation, it could be anywhere between $7,000 and $15,000,” she said.
There were 11.5 million cosmetic procedures performed on women in North America in 2010, up 81 percent from 10 years ago, according to figures compiled by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons for its 2010 Plastic Surgery Statistics report.
All told, Americans spent $10.1 billion on cosmetic procedures last year alone, according to the report.
“I’m very open-minded about that [plastic surgery],” Franklin said. “Living in Orange County, which is the mecca of plastic surgery, you definitely want to do procedures, including Botox, to soften, but not freeze.”
“You still want to look like yourself,” she said of the goal of the Botox procedure, which Lawton says can last about 120 days, on her Christmas list.
Cynthia Holvey is another Orange County woman who, like Franklin, asked for, and has already received, a few cosmetic treatments this Christmas.
Thanks to her boyfriend, Gavin Greely, Holvey received two treatments from Lawton.
“I could have asked for shoes or clothes, but I just really wanted to get some injectable youth,” the 49-year-old jewelry designer said.
Holvey’s crow’s feet around her eyes were injected with Botox, and her cheeks were made slightly plumper with Juvederm, an acidic wrinkle-filler.
“She really, really wanted it and I figured, ‘Why not?’” said Greely, 48, who paid the $850 fee for the two treatments.
“I mean, I love her for the way she looks, so, if it’s going to make her feel better,” he said. “And, you have to remember, I didn’t bring it up. She brought it up.”
For Holvey, asking Greely to gift her the cosmetic treatments for Christmas, instead of another special occasion during the year, was a strategic move.
“I figured I could get the most out of Christmas,” she said.
She also said the gift of cosmetic treatments from Greely this year is a big improvement from his gifts of Christmas past.
“Last year he gave me a bottle of perfume,” she told “GMA.” “This is a hundred times better. I think it’s romantic.”
20 Dec
Is Breast Reduction After Weight Loss Surgery Best?
Small study finds obese women tend to be unhappy with appearance if they get breast surgery first
FRIDAY, Sept. 2 (HealthDay News) — Having weight loss surgery before breast reduction surgery is best for severely obese women who have both procedures, according to a small new study.
While there are some benefits to having breast reduction surgery first — including reduced pain and increased ability to exercise — women may be disappointed with the appearance of their breasts after they lose large amounts of weight, Dr. Jeffrey Gusenoff and colleagues at the University of Rochester Medical Center said in a journal news release.
The investigators looked at patient satisfaction and other outcomes among 29 severely obese women (average body mass index, or BMI, of about 54) who lost more than 50 pounds. BMI is a measurement that takes into account height and weight, and a BMI over 30 is considered obese.
All but one of the women in the study had weight loss (bariatric) surgery, according to the report published in the September issue of the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Fifteen of the women had breast reduction surgery before their weight loss.
Of the women who had breast reduction surgery first, 86 percent thought their breasts looked worse after massive weight loss. About half said they planned to have further surgery to improve the appearance of their breasts and others said they would have further breast surgery if it was covered by insurance.
The study also found that 71 percent of the women who did not have breast surgery before bariatric surgery said their breasts looked worse after bariatric surgery. Half of them planned to have breast reduction surgery and others said they also would if they could afford it.
“These options must be weighed and individualized treatment plans made for obese patients seeking breast reduction prior to weight loss,” the researchers concluded in a journal news release.
19 Dec
Irish firemen and cosmetic surgery
The next time you happen to put the chimney on fire and your sister, mother – or worse, girlfriend or wife – admires the chiselled, sooty, smoky handsomeness of the fireman who rides to the rescue, you can snicker away to yourself in the knowledge that the object of their admiration is probably not real.
That’s because a growing number of Irishmen are booking themselves in for a spot of work on their nose, chin, pecs, abs or possibly even nether regions – and firemen are among those who are most enthusiastic about someone cosmetic work.
The Sunday Independent reports that “well-known personalities, fitness trainers and firemen” are some of those to have booked themselves into the Cosmedico Clinic in Co Wicklow.
Well-known personalities and fitness trainers we would expect – vanity is a given there, right? – but the presence of Irish damsel-in-distress-saving boyos on the list is something that raised our eyebrows.
Cosmedico conducts about 30 facelifts a month, with almost half of those now carried out on men.
Managing Director Ailish Kelly told the paper, “Facelifts are becoming more and more popular with men. We have a 40/60 split with men and women having facelifts. A lot of these men are separated men who are back on the scene or men who have lost their jobs. That is probably linking in with the climate we are in, in that they just want to look better.
“They are in competition with younger, better-looking guys and they don’t want to look old, and they don’t want to look tired … [The number of Irish men attending the clinic] has definitely doubled over the past year. Even since June of this year, the increase in males has been huge.”
