Reconstructive Surgery is performed on abnormal structures of the body, caused by congenital defects, developmental abnormalities, trauma, infection, tumors or disease. It is generally performed to improve general functions but may also be done to improve a normal appearance. Reconstructive Surgery is generally covered by most health insurance policies, although coverage for specific procedures and levels of coverage may vary greatly.
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) member Surgeons ensures that patients receive the highest quality care and surgical excellence. Each ASPS member surgeon is certified by the American Board of plastic surgery, operates only in accredited surgical facilities, adheres to a strict code of ethics, and regularly attends continuing education courses. When surgery is performed by a qualified plastic surgeon, there are fewer complications. The main goal of Reconstructive Surgery is to restore function. Some common examples of congenital abnormalities are cleft-lip, palate abnormality, birthmarks, hand deformities, and abnormal breast development. Some examples of acquired abnormalities are burn wounds, laceration, growths, and aging problems like a drooping eyelid which may interfere with vision.
There are several different options in performing Reconstructive Surgery. Skin grafts, tissue expansions, flap surgery/microsurgery (used in advanced wound care such as cancer that is large and spreading) and laser surgery. Laser technology has revolutionized many areas of plastic surgery. Laser surgery has the ability to diminish imperfections or growths with a minimum of bleeding, bruising, or scarring. If you are considering laser surgery or Reconstructive Surgery, it is best to find a surgeon that is well experienced. Contact a professional for more information or discuss treatment options with your family physician.
About The Author::
Plastic Surgeon Los Angeles - TopSurgeonsTopSurgeons - the premier provider of surgical services on the West Coast. We offer a wide variety of surgeries like plastic surgery, cosmetic surgery and more.... in many different specialty areas.


Turmeric Extract May Help Prevent Alzheimer’s disease
In India, Alzheimer�s disease is fairly uncommon, with a less than 1 percent chance of people over the age of sixty-five living in certain rural areas developing the disease. The risk is just 2.4 percent for those who live in the larger cities and rural areas. When comparing these percentiles to the people living over the age of sixty-five in the United States, depending on where we are living, our chances of developing Alzheimer�s disease range from a little under five percent to seventeen percent. The question is, what are people living in India doing differently than we are doing here in the United States? The answer seems to curry, a zesty spice and staple of Indian foods, which has been proven to prevent changes in the brain that lead to Alzheimer�s disease, and may also reverse some of the damage already present.
Curry, which comes from the turmeric plant, gets its recognizable bright yellow pigment from curcumin, a compound found in turmeric. There have been numerous studies on turmeric and its health benefits for humans proving its ability to help the body get rid of cancer-causing toxins. Turmeric also blocks estrogen receptors and enzymes that promote cancer. This nutrient has also been found to stop the growth of new blood vessels in cancerous tumors, which is important in keeping the cancer from getting larger and spreading throughout the body. One of turmeric�s greatest benefits is its ability to reduce, prevent, and stop inflammation, which plays a huge role in Alzheimer�s disease.
Plaques and tangles, which are complex growths I the brain that cause Alzheimer�s disease, are the hallmarks of this disease. Researchers have always noted the presence of inflammation wherever plaques and tangles form when studying the brain damage caused by Alzheimer�s disease. Previously, this inflammation was thought to be simply a consequence of Alzheimer�s disease, but scientists now believe the inflammation starts a chain reaction which ultimately contributes to the development of Alzheimer�s disease. When cells in the brain are disrupted by inflammation, amyloid, a protein found in the brain normally, begins to act chaotically resulting in the creation of beta-amyloid, which is toxic to cells in the brain. Sticky deposits of beta-amyloid build up and collect around the cells, creating dense clumps of plaques that the brain cannot break down or get rid of, allowing then to stay where they are and slowly accumulate. Tangles are caused when long protein fibers that act like scaffolding for the brain cells begin to twist and tangle due to inflammation, and cause the cell to be damaged and eventually die. However, the tangled proteins remain in the brain cell even after the dead neuron is gone. These abnormalities of protein in the brain cause roadblocks that interfere with electrochemical messengers, diminishing the remaining healthy cells� activity. Research of identical twins has proven that if one twin has Alzheimer�s disease, there is a sixty percent chance the other twin will also develop the disease. In a study of 20,000 twins, only 109 pairs of siblings had one twin diagnosed with Alzheimer�s disease, while the other one was not. It was also concluded that the twin with Alzheimer�s disease almost always had chronic gum disease, which although it is not the cause of Alzheimer�s disease, the disease that plays a large role in chronic gum disease may also signal the role of an inflammatory process that is stuck in overdrive. The inflammatory process might even occur years before the onset of Alzheimer�s as a result of any number of infections people can contract. Current research is looking for ways to protect brain cells from inflammation.
When researchers begin studying a disease, they look for similarities to help them determine how and why the disease occurs. They know Alzheimer�s disease has an important connection to inflammation, and also know that turmeric reduces inflammation. When researchers noticed the fact that people in India eat high amounts of curry from turmeric and have very low rates of Alzheimer�s disease, they began to conclude that turmeric might be able to prevent or even treat the disease. The research they have developed around these trends has backed up this theory.
Amazing findings are coming from curry research thus far. Not only does turmeric slow down cancer growth, it has also been shown to correct cystic fibrosis in mice, help prevent the onset of alcoholic liver disease, and slow down other serious brain diseases including multiple sclerosis. Researchers from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) studying turmeric have found it to be more effective than the drugs that are currently being investigated for Alzheimer�s disease treatment and prevention. They have discovered that the actual structure and shape of turmeric allows it to penetrate the blood-brain barrier so that it can bind to beta amyloid. Similarly, other research shows that turmeric helps remove the beta amyloid that is already built up in the neurons. Turmeric also helps maintain healthy brain cellular metabolism, helps the cells repair themselves, and keeps the cells connected to each other. To sum it up, turmeric helps brain cells stay healthy.
Scientists have recently been studying ibuprofen, one of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) investigated for Alzheimer�s disease prevention. Ibuprofen belongs to a family of drugs that are most often used to get rid of headaches, mild arthritis, and other kinds of pain and inflammation. In the studies, patients took 800 mg of day of ibuprofen for two years. Although the research suggested that ibuprofen might reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer�s, the side effects were too harmful for it to be a valid lifelong prevention and treatment. Some of these side effects include gastrointestinal bleeding, and analgesic nephropathy (a type of kidney damage). As discussed earlier, turmeric appears to block and break up brain plaques that cause the disease, and also helps reverse some of the damage that is already present.
If you enjoy Indian cuisine, then by all means enjoy the food and you�ll benefit your brain and appetite both. However, American meals rarely contain curry, which is why supplements that contain extracts are suddenly very popular. There are actually numerous turmeric/curcumin supplements on the market today. Like all nutritional supplements, some turmeric supplements are better than others. Read the labels to make sure the turmeric extract you are buying provides the protection that you need. Also, look for high-potency turmeric extract that is standardized to contain 90% curcuminoids, which is the active ingredient in turmeric that is responsible for all of the positive research findings. Turmeric extract and other herbal supplements for memory can be found at your local or internet health food store.
--
Visit VitaNet Health Foods, VitaNet sells high quality supplements like Source Naturals turmeric extract. Please link to this site when using this article.


Facts About Cold Sores
Cold sores are unsightly, contagious and very painful sores, normally occurring on the edge of the lip or nose.
Cold sores are created by the replication process of the herpes simplex virus type 1 or type 2. Current studies show that about 77% of cold sores are caused by the herpes simplex type 1 and about 23% by the type 2 version of this simplex virus.
For the most part, cold sores caused by either type of the herpes virus are identical. They both look the same, hurt the same, are just as contagious, and last about the same amount of weeks.
Cold sores will occur and reoccur in about the same location as the initial infection. For example, if your cold sore appears on your upper left lip, then this is the site of the original infection.
The virus that causes cold sores lives in the nerve cells. It will seek out the nearest nerve fibers at the site where the virus enters the body. That herpes virus will make a home in that particular nerve fiber for the rest of your life.
Now don't be fooled. You can be infected several times in different locations. If another cold sore appears on your lower right lip, this is a different infection and you now have located another "family" of the cold sore virus living in another nerve fiber.
When you have a cold sore, keep in mind that you are not only very contagious to others, but to other locations on your own body too. Cold sores can appear anywhere on the body where the virus found a crack in the protective skin layer.
The herpes simplex virus normally is in hibernation farther down the nerve fibers from the surface. If you get a cold sore on your upper left lip, chances are this virus is hiding in the nerve ganglia near your left ear.
Your body defenses create cold sore anti-bodies each time you have a cold sore outbreak. These anti-bodies surround and help keep the herpes virus asleep. Should there be some stress in another part of your body, these defenses may weaken and the cold sore virus will snatch the opportunity to move to the surface and create new viruses.
The herpes simplex virus cannot reproduce itself. The virus will enter a nerve cell and force the cell to clone copies of itself. When the cell becomes full of new virus, the original virus will destroy the cell to release all the new clones.
This destruction of millions of cells in a close area create those hideous open cold sores.
The open cold sore would be painful enough, but it is even more so because the herpes virus creates the cold sore right on the end of that nerve fiber. The pain is quite similar to a dentist hitting a nerve.
The most common way of infecting others with cold sores is kissing. Doting relatives and friends usually infect children before they are seven. Remember, you are contagious from the first tingle until about two days after complete healing.
Cold sore sufferers will many times create a new area of infection on their body with contaminated fingers or towels. The fluid that weeps from cold sores is teaming with fresh virus looking for a new home. If you have a cut on your finger and you get even one virus in that cut, you will likely get cold sores on your finger.
The body will naturally cure your cold sores without any special cold sore treatment but it often takes three to four weeks. A long time to be socially sidelined and feeling poorly.
There are many over-the-counter and prescription treatments for cold sores. The best and quickest relief comes from topical treatments - a salve or ointment that you put directly on the cold sore. There are some prescription pills that are available but these are generally slow acting, giving no immediate relief for the cold sore sufferer. For the most part, oral remedies from the drug companies have been dismal failures.
Many people have reported great success with oral doses of the amino acid Lysine. Recommended dosage is 1000 mg. twice a day during the cold sores outbreak and 500 mg. per day between cold sores.
Ice is still the most universal and readily available cold sore treatment. Put ice cubes in a zipper type plastic bag and you'll avoid a lot of mess. Ice reduces swelling, deadens the pain, and helps discourage the cold sores virus. And applying ice at the first sign of a cold sore often prevents the cold sore from actually occurring or shortens the life-span of your cold sores.
---------------
Denny Bodoh is a newspaper manager and 35 year research writer on alternative health and nutrition. Get the latest information on cold sores and additional cold sore treatment ideas, facts and research at Denny's popular site
http://www.be-cold-sore-free.com/