Roni had a tummy tuck three years ago soon after her baby was born. These are two of the 'before' pics. She's taken a lot of before and after photos. She's very happy with the results and she doesn't seem to mind the very visible scar - it's a worthwhile trade-off for her.

See her flankpasty before and after photos. (Start from the bottom of the page, rather than the top).

Why do we call it 'plastic' surgery? In the video below, Marina explains that the plastic in plastic surgery comes from the Greek word 'plastikos' which means 'able to be molded'.

There are a lot of good sites about cosmetic makeovers and plastic surgery makeovers. Our personal three favorites are Before and After TV, In Your Face and Celebrity Cosmetic Surgery.

We are friends and business partners with Before and After TV. They live in the same city as us (Vancouver) and create some of the best makeup tutorials you can find on YouTube. Their cosmetic makeovers cover not just how to put on makeup like a celebrity, but also before and after botox.

We also really like In Your Face. This site has good ethical standards and also very high quality pics of celebrities before and after their plastic surgery makeovers. They encourage reader participation and have a live question and answer hour every Wednesday when you can ask your question in real time, and discuss your concerns with some of the best plastic surgeons in Los Angeles.

Our other favorite is Celebrity Cosmetic Surgery. Dr. Youn is a plastic surgeon who worked in Beverly Hills for a few years and was very involved with the whole celebrity surgery clique but has now moved and is now one of the best plastic surgeons in Detroit.

We would really like to meet with Colin Stewart (publisher of In Your Face) and with Dr. Youn (publisher of Celebrity Cosmetic Surgery). If either of you are ever in Vancouver, please call us and we will give you a personalized tour of the city plus really enjoy talking to you!

Connie Culp was shot in the face five years ago and the blast left a ghastly hole in the middle of her face. She endured 30 operations to try to fix her face.

Five months ago she received a face transplant, a new face from a dead woman. Culp's identity was secret until yesterday. See her story and the before and after transplant photos at The New York Times today.

The photo shown here is Grief via Flickr.

The Plastic Surgery Channel claims to be the world’s first television network devoted exclusively to educational and entertaining programming about cosmetic and reconstructive surgery. Their goal is to provide credible, up-to-date information to people considering plastic surgery or a cosmetic procedure, as well as coverage of the latest news and hot topics from the field of plastic surgery. Here's one of their first 25 videos available on their YouTube channel.

RealSelf.com is a website that's attracting a lot of feedback from real people about the results of their cosmetic procedures. And from the comments it's evident that the three procedures that show the least satisfaction are cellulite treatments, lipodissolve and thermage.

If you're considering getting some kind of cosmetic surgery done, it's very worthwhile to go check out what other people are saying about it. Here's the summary of their consumer reviews;

Real people sharing: Was it worth it?

% of Consumer reviews saying "Yes":

* 89% Latisse
* 88% Facelift
* 87% Tummy tuck
* 81% Lasik
* 80% Blepharoplasty
* 80% Breast implants
* 79% Invisalign
* 76% Smart Lipo
* 75% Laser hair removal
* 74% Rhinoplasty
* 74% Accutane
* 73% Botox
* 72% Liposuction
* 67% Chemical peel
* 63% Microdermabrasion
* 63% Restylane
* 63% Juvederm
* 62% Lip augmentation
* 55% Fraxel Laser
* 48% IPL
* 44% Teeth whitening
* 37% Thermage
* 32% Lipodissolve
* 28% Cellulite treatment

There's an art gallery in New York that is currently exhibiting "I am Art". This is an exhibition about the art of plastic surgery and shows before and after photos and videos of people who've had plastic surgery. The aim is to show the surgeon as an artist working with a human canvas.

The exhibit is on at apexart through May 9th.

From their overview;

plastic surgery can be a most challenging art form, since a surgeon’s materials are not canvas or clay, but rather the human body. However, not everything in plastic surgery is necessarily art. Some procedures are rote, technical mechanics, operations that can be taught to almost anyone and, if they are performed as they are taught, the results will always be the same. But those same routine surgeries can also become something that requires a great deal of artistic skill depending on the patient’s need. A facelift is a good example. If one understands the anatomy, performing a facelift is a basic reversal of the process of aging. Over the years, the procedure has changed from simple skin lifting to complex plane lifting techniques, where incisions are made and various degrees of undermining of the skin are performed, resulting in the deeper layers of the face being lifted. While this is a routine surgery and there is nothing particularly creative in the basic process, finding the proper vectors of pull and reestablishing lost volume in the face does elevate it to an art.

If you have any questions you'd like to ask a plastic surgeon, you can do so every Wednesday at noon (Pacific time).

For the first of these weekly chats, The In Your Face website is featuring a live chat with plastic surgeon Dr. John Di Saia of San Clemente this Wednesday. Check it out here.

See a story here about Jamil Ezzo, who runs a website at LocatePlasticSurgeon.com. He filed for a federal trademark registration on his business name, "Locate Plastic Surgeon" in order to stop anyone from using the phrase “Locate Plastic Surgeon” on the internet.

Usher's wife, Tameka Foster is reportedly in Brazil recovering from serious complications from plastic surgery. But the worst is over, Usher's rep confirmed today that she is in stable condition and her husband is there now with her.

Tameka, age 37, has a two month old baby and a 15 month old toddler. It's hard to guess what kind of surgery she was seeking all the way out in Brazil at this time.