What to Go See This Weekend at the Movies

This weekend brings one must-see movie, Funny People. The latest flick from Judd Apatow (The 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up) takes a turn for the darker and dramatic. Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, and Leslie Mann star in the bittersweet dramedy about a famous comedian who is diagnosed with cancer. He's forced to reevaluate his world. He becomes the mentor to a young, amateur comedian, and, in turn, learns a lot about life.

Sculptra is FDA-approved for cosmetic use

I've been waiting for this for a couple years. The FDA has finally approved Sculptra for the correction of facial wrinkles. It will now go by the name Sculptra Aesthetic. Sculptra is the best injectable filler (poly-L-lactic acid) to return volume to the face. It has been approved for treatment of HIV-related facial wasting since 2004, but many plastic surgeons have used it off-label for general cosmetic use.

I have been using Sculptra for a couple years now, and have been very happy with the results. Second to fat grafting, I think it is the best way to add 3-dimensional volume to the face. Usually a minimum of three treatments is necessary, each approximately 6-8 weeks apart. The only drawback is the rate of granuloma (small inflammatory nodule) formation, which is definitely higher than other traditional fillers like Restylane and Juvederm, but still remains acceptably low if properly performed. I've been using it more and more, especially in the past several months. I think this product will be a hit.

For more information on Sculptra Aesthetic, click here.

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Michigan-based Plastic Surgeon
Anthony Youn, M.D.:

Michael Jackson, Dr. Murray, and IV Propofol

More details continue to emerge in the tragic death of Michael Jackson. This from TMZ:

Two days after Jackson's death, Dr. Murray told LAPD detectives he administered Propofol to the singer hours before he died ....We're told Dr. Murray gave Jackson an IV drip of the powerful anesthesia. Police believe Dr. Murray simply wasn't paying attention when the singer's heart stopped beating. Authorities believe Dr. Murray may have actually fallen asleep during the time the drug was administered and may have awakened to find Jackson already dead from heart failure... It is considered reckless in the medical community for a doctor to administer an IV drip of Propofol without the patient being monitored by an EKG, which sounds an alarm when the patient's pulse drops too low. No EKG was found in the house.

If the above claims are true, then the actions by Dr. Murray are horribly reckless. I've commented earlier that Propofol is an extremely powerful sedative, used mainly to induce anesthesia in controlled settings like operating rooms. In these settings it is a very safe drug. To use this medication in a person's house without respiratory and cardiac monitoring, however, blows my mind. Sadly, it is appearing that his death could have been prevented.

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Michigan-based Plastic Surgeon
Anthony Youn, M.D.:

Michael Jackson and a Possible Prosthetic Nose

This is an interesting plastic surgery-related story regarding the sad tale of Michael Jackson. It appears that during the later years of his life he may have worn a prosthetic nose. From the New York Post:

Michael Jackson wore a prosthetic nose, according a report -- and it was missing from his surgically mangled face as he lay in an LA morgue.
Left behind was a small, dark hole surrounded by bits of cartilage, Rolling Stone magazine said, citing witnesses who saw the King of Pop's body on the autopsy table.
Jackson, who was notoriously shy about his appearance, wore the prosthetic to mask the effects of decades of plastic surgery, according to the magazine.

It seems that the more we learn, the sadder the story gets. Hopefully his children can grow up with some semblance of normalcy. As long as someone keeps that creepy Joe Jackson away from them, I suppose they have a chance.

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Michigan-based Plastic Surgeon
Anthony Youn, M.D.:

Mickey Rourke's Facelift Scars

I was browsing Dlisted.com and came across this high resolution photo of the side of Mickey Rourke's head. Click the photo to enlarge it. If you look closely you can see the scars that extend in front of his ears, around his earlobe, and then head back into the crease behind his ears. This is the typical location of facelift scars. Notice also that the cartilage of the front of his ear (the tragus) is flat-looking. This is one tell-tale sign of a facelift.

If you haven't rented The Wrestler yet, check it out. Fantastic performances by two very talented actors.

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Michigan-based Plastic Surgeon
Anthony Youn, M.D.:

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Just thought you might need a chuckle...

Thanks to the Beauty Brains.

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Michigan-based Plastic Surgeon
Anthony Youn, M.D.:

Jodi Lyn O'Keefe's Breakout Role

Anyone who regularly watched Prison Break the last two seasons might find it hard to believe that Jodi Lyn O’Keefe considers herself a mild-mannered pacifist.

“I’m really non-confrontational... I don’t even like to argue,” said O’Keefe, who played to perfection the ruthlessly homicidal operative Gretchen Morgan, aka Susan B. Anthony, on the nail-biting serial drama. The blue-eyed beauty regularly doled out punishment as if ice water coursed through her veins -- until Fox cancelled the series after four seasons of surprise and suspense.

It turns out, however, that Prison Break’s death sentence has gotten a very temporary stay of execution. Fans of Michael Scofield and his felonious cohorts will be treated to one last adventure in the form of a direct-to-DVD movie entitled Prison Break: The Final Break. And as fate would have it, the recently incarcerated Gretchen plays a major role in Scofield’s final caper, which, true to formula, involves yet another prison escape.

The movie, comprised of two additional unaired episodes and released as of July 21, will answer any lingering questions surrounding what happened to the characters in the four years between the demise of the insidious “Company” and Michael’s tragic death, which left many grieving viewers angry or in flat-out denial.

Upon learning Michael’s fate, “I kinda had the same reaction as everybody else,” said O’Keefe. “So we think he’s dead, but he’s not really dead and now they’re going to explain how he’s not really dead.” Since the series finale aired this past May, fans have been peppering her with theories on the show’s controversial ending, even proposing that perhaps Michael faked his death for reasons yet to be explained.

While she wouldn’t reveal any plot secrets, O’Keefe understands why some people are inclined to believe that the finale was a fake-out. After all, she recalled, “I cut off Sara’s head and put in a box -- and all of a sudden, I didn’t,” referring to how Gretchen decapitated Michael’s love interest in season three, only to reveal in season four that it was all a ruse and she was very much alive.

Speaking of severed body parts, was there ever a better pairing of TV villains than when Gretchen reluctantly partnered up with vile, one-armed sex offender Theodore “T-Bag” Bagwell? Together, these two baddies could do no right.
“He’s so good at being so bad,” said O’Keefe of Robert Knepper, who returns as T-Bag in the movie. “I was actually nervous for the first couple of scenes we worked together. I was thinking to myself, ‘Can I live up to how creepy he is?’”

Previously best known for playing Chuck Norris’ daughter on Nash Bridges, O’Keefe not only delivered more than her fair share of malevolence, but she also discovered that she was a lot tougher than she thought.

As it turns out, “I’m pretty good at fighting. I did a lot of the stunt work myself,” said O’Keefe, who once allowed herself to be waterboarded in a torture scene because she thought it would look less genuine if her stunt double stepped in. “Then I’m thinking, ‘This is not such a good idea,’ as they put the plastic wrap on my face,” she admitted. “That gave me nightmares for I can’t tell you how long.”

Despite the occasional nightmare, O’Keefe has been living a dream for the last two years. “The most memorable thing about this whole experience is learning that I can actually do this,” she said. “Because I had my doubts in the beginning.”

--Brad Barth