Baby Boomers Keeping Plastic Surgeons Busy

Baby Boomers Keeping Plastic Surgeons Busy

The popularity of plastic surgery is undeniable.  What may be interesting to note is how much of an impact the Baby Boomer generation has on the number of plastic surgery procedures performed.  Baby Boomers are those born between 1946 and 1964.   Karen Zupko and Sheila Hall from the Aesthetic Society News magazine recently reported some interesting Baby Boomer, cosmetic and plastic surgery statistics:

  • 7,000 Baby Boomers turn 65 per day in 2011 – This will jump to 10,000 per day over the next 18 years according to Pew Research.
  • People age 51-64 account for 28% of total plastic surgery procedures
  • People over 65 account for 7.3% of total plastic surgery procedures
  • Baby Boomers make up 35% of plastic surgery patients
  • The rate of men age 50-64 who color their hair grew from 3-10% from 1999 to 2000
  • 2,437,165 Botox procedures were performed in 2010 (all age groups) – Non-invasive procedures are growing with men accounting for 15% of injectable market and 26% of skin rejuvenation market.

How can plastic surgeons capitalizing on this demographic?    The authors suggest a few ideas to appeal to this group:

  • Have marketing material in larger font for ease of reading
  • Offer a pampering environment
  • Don’t waste patients’ time by making them wait
  • Focus on men too as they are becoming more interested in plastic surgery
  • Don’t focus on age in marketing because according to Pew Research, this group feels 9 years younger than their true age
  • Make things convenient for them

For those targeting Baby Boomers in their marketing plan, they may want to consider television advertising as Boomers watch more television than any other generation.

For more information about plastic surgery and specific procedures, click here.

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Considering Plastic Surgery? Site Lets Patients Share Stories

via azplasticsurgerycenter.com

Sites like HysterSisters have been popular for women who want to get together and discuss their menopause and hysterectomy-related issues. Now there is a site for people to utilize who may be considering plastic surgery.  The site MakeMeHeal.com offers a variety of information including everything from post-surgical underwear choices to information about what products may be helpful to heal after specific surgeries. 

If a patient is considering eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty) for example, they can go to the link specifically about that procedure to find out details about the surgery including how long it will take to recover, homeopathic remedies for pain relief, what other comfort products are available, and even what makeup works the best as camouflage.

Like the HysterSisters site, the MakeMeHeal site offers a message board.  According to their site, “Our plastic surgery message boards are for all of us who want to talk, listen, share, help, and support fellow women and men interested in cosmetic surgery and non-surgical procedures. You can read messages without logging in. To post a message, please log in or register. It’s free…and being a member gives you access to important information.”

The site even offers a directory of doctors.  Be aware that the doctors with a lot of information and recommendations may also be advertising on the site. It is important that you research any physician on additional sites.  Patients can rate their doctors and even upload their own before and after pictures.  There is a “create your photo album” option available for those interested in keeping track of several operations.   

I recently asked Dr. Robert Spies, a board-certified plastic surgeon in Arizona what he thought about this site. Dr. Spies stated, “It’s an informative, easy-to-navigate website that provides excellent up-to-date information on the latest plastic surgery procedures.” For additional information about specific operations, see the following links from Dr. Robert Spies, MD at Arizona Plastic Surgical Center:

Facelifts

Breast Augmentation

Liposuction

Tummy Tuck

Non-Surgical Procedures like Botox

The Human Brain: Gender Differences in Intelligence and Maturity

Experts continue to research what makes individuals unique.  Is there a difference between human intelligence in males vs. females?  Ask a woman and you might get a different answer than if you ask a man?  According to Hedges, ” IQ tests, regarded by psychometricians as measures of intelligence, have shown that differences between men and women are minimal or negligible, but men are often overrepresented at extreme scores, both very high and very low.”

Rueven Bar-On, a leading expert in emotional intelligence, reported that “no differences appeared between males and females regarding overall emotional and social competence.”  That is not to say that both sexes were identical.  “Females appear to have stronger interpersonal skills than males, but the later have a higher intrapersonal capacity, are better at stress management, and are more adaptable.”

Scientists have now looked at the brains of both sexes at the age of 10, 16 and 20 to see if there truly are differences in maturity levels between the two.  WJSOnline reported “Although boys’ and girls’ brains show differences around age 10, during puberty key parts of their brains become more similar.”  By measuring the brain’s cortex and how it may change as boys and girls age, the National Institute of Mental Health Child’s Psychiatric Branch studied 284 people and found “boys’ and girls’ brains, on average, differ significantly at age 9, but by the time the participants reached 22, the brains of the two sexes grew more alike in many areas critical for learning.”

Some interesting differences in Gender Development noted in the article included:

Gender Development

Some typical milestones and when boys and girls tend to hit them:

At birth: Girls are a few weeks more mature neurologically and have more advanced hearing. Boys on average weigh half a pound more.

First words: Girls typically utter their first word at 11 or 12 months, one month ahead of boys.

Vocabulary: At 18 months, girls on average know 86.8 words, more than double boys’ 41.8 words. By 30 months, boys’ and girls’ language skills have converged, at about 500 words.

Walking: Caucasian girls and boys tend to walk around 12 months. African-Americans walk sooner, at nine to 10 months.

Potty training: Girls are fully trained by 36 months, according to one study. Boys took a bit longer, training by 38 months.

Onset of puberty: For girls, the process can start at age 9 to 10. For boys, it’s closer to 11 to 12.

Source: WSJ research

via online.wsj.com
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Are You in a Hurry? Average Wait Times Might Drive You Crazy but You Can Still be Productive

 

image via ourfunnyplanet.com

Anyone who knows me will probably tell you I am on the fast-moving side.  I don’t like to wait in long lines or in traffic.  I recently had a doctor make me wait over 3 hours just to see him.  Because this just happened, I found the following chart listing some average wait times to be interesting:

What’s the Hurry

A look at average wait times:

  • Hospital emergency room: 4 hours, 7 minutes
  • California Department of Motor Vehicles: 42 minutes, 32 seconds
  • Main security line at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport during Monday morning rush: 25 minutes
  • PRIMARY-CARE PHYSICIAN: 22 minutes
  • McDonald’s drive-through window: 2 minutes, 54 seconds

Sources: Press Ganey Associates; California DMV; Transportation Security Administration; QSR Magazine

via online.wsj.com

Before Ipads and other portable devices, it was a lot more frustrating for me to wait.  Now I can actually be productive while sitting in that doctor’s waiting room for 3 hours. I can multi-task and not simply read their latest copy of Fly Fishing. 

Many may think that some of these devices are too expensive and not worth the investment.  I think for some people, the cost of our time must be factored into the equation.  How much is your time worth?   Many people travel, carpool or do a lot of activities where they are just simply sitting doing nothing.  Some people like the downtime.  For me, I get a little antsy.

The beauty of having audio books, educational seminars, and access to the Internet, can not only make the frustration of waiting more bearable, but it is the ultimate way to multi-task, allowing you to actually learn something and be productive as well.  This can be important when you are forced to sit and wait and wait and wait . . . did I mention my doctor made me wait for 3 HOURS?

What is Lumosity and How Can It Help Your Mind?

Lumosity is a website designed to help improve your cognitive abilities.  According to their site, “The capacity of the human brain to make new associations and acquire new knowledge has been appreciated for hundreds of years. However, the brain’s ability to fundamentally reorganize itself when confronted with new challenges is a relatively recent discovery. In response to these challenges, the brain will adapt and change. Given the right kind of exercise, it will reshape itself to be more efficient and effective. This power of reshaping is referred to as neuroplasticity. Lumosity has adapted this cutting edge research in neuroscience and cognition to an accessible, enjoyable training program which will stimulate the brain and lead to improved cognitive ability and health.”

In less than 10 minutes a day, they claim you can improve your memory and attention.  Think of it as exercising your mind.  You can even give a membership to lumosity as a gift.  It’s free for 7 days and the exercises are a lot of fun.  They also provide feedback and detailed improvement tracking. 

What are people saying about it?

Los Angeles Times said, “Lumosity presents a wide range of exercises that target different mental processes.”

New York Times said, “We can indeed form new brain cells, despite a century of being told it is impossible.”

It is popular because it makes learning fun.  There is a lumosity scholar section that is specifically targeted to students.  It is shown to improve standardized testing scores.  Other sections are specifically targeted for certain areas such as those with ADHD, traumatic brain injury (TBI) or special math needs.

After a week, if you decide you want to stay with the program, you can join for under $7/month or buy a lifetime membership for $299.95. 

Their users have claimed to have the following benefits:

  • Clearer and quicker thinking
  • Improved memory for names, numbers, directions, etc.
  • Increased alertness and awareness
  • Elevated mood
  • Better concentration at work or while driving