New York, NY (May 03, 2001) — Perhaps no one knows about international ideals of beauty better than the plastic surgeons from Europe, South America, Asia and the Middle East who compare their cosmetic surgical experience and techniques at the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), May 3-9 in New York.

"Ideals of beauty traditionally have been somewhat different in the various regions of the world," says Salt Lake City plastic surgeon Renato Saltz, MD, program chair of the International Symposium on May 4. "This goes beyond the obvious differences in racial and ethnic features. For example, breast reduction surgery has been far more common than breast enlargement in Brazil. That’s because Brazilian women have preferred to be small on top, and even those with average size breasts often have surgery to make them smaller. Only very recently are Brazilian surgeons reporting that breast augmentation is gaining popularity in their country."

The general availability of the new cohesive silicone gel-filled breast implants, as well as other innovative implant styles, in countries outside the U.S. means that international surgeons can report to their American colleagues on their clinical experience with these newer devices.

Among more than 30 presentations slated for the half-day International Symposium are "The Expressive Concept: A New Approach in Facial Rejuvenation," "The Concept of Three Dynamic Planes in Double-Eyelid Surgery for Orientals," "Ultrapulse Laser Facial Resurfacing in Darker Skin," "The Endolaser Midface Lift," and "My Personal Experience After More Than 3000 Vibroliposuctions."