Asian Upper Blepharoplasty in Women: A Comprehensive Approach for a Natural and Aesthetically Pleasing Outcome.

BACKGROUND: Asian upper blepharoplasty is the most popular cosmetic procedure for Asian women. However, there is no standardized approach to this procedure and suboptimal results are still common. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this article was to describe a comprehensive approach to Asian upper blepharoplasty in women and report the clinical outcomes obtained with this approach. METHODS: The comprehensive approach described here for Asian upper blepharoplasty in women includes: (1) determining the height and length of the upper eyelid skin crease; (2) creating a more optimal anatomy of the upper eyelid by removing excess eyelid skin, a portion of the orbicularis oculi muscle, and septal fat; (3) reconstructing the desired anatomic structures of the upper eyelid skin crease through plication of the levator aponeurosis, if necessary, and closure of the upper eyelid skin incision through the septum and the mobile portion of the levator aponeurosis; (4) adding a medial epicanthoplasty if needed to enhance final cosmetic results. RESULTS: Over a 5-year period, 332 Asian women underwent upper blepharoplasty for creation of double eyelids, or conversion from less visible to more ideal double eyelids, with the above comprehensive approach. There were no surgical complications postoperatively and 326 patients (98.2%) rated their outcome satisfactory over a 5-year follow-up. Only 6 patients (1.8%) required surgical revision for asymmetry or suboptimal shape of the upper eyelid. CONCLUSIONS: The comprehensive approach to Asian upper blepharoplasty described here can be used for Asian women and produces a natural and aesthetically pleasing outcome and low revision rates.

Separation and characterization of magnetic fractions from waste-to-energy bottom ash with an emphasis on the leachability of heavy metals.

Magnetic fractions were extracted from pulverized waste-to-energy (WTE) bottom ashes using a combined wet-dry extraction method. The resulting magnetic and non-magnetic fractions were subjected to compositional, mineralogical, and redox state analyses by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. The distribution and leaching toxicity of heavy metals were assessed to evaluate potential effects on the environment. Compositional analyses revealed that Fe accounted for 35% of the magnetic fraction of pulverized ashes, which was approximately seven times that of the raw ash. In addition to Fe, elemental Ni, Mn, and Cr were also significantly enriched in the magnetic fractions. The mineralogical analysis determined that Fe was primarily present as hematite and magnetite, and metallic iron was also identified in the magnetic fraction samples. The XPS analysis further proved the existence of zero-valence Fe. However, a significant amount of Fe remained in the non-magnetic fractions, which could partially be ascribed to the intergrowth structure of the various minerals. The elevated concentrations of toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP)-extracted Mn, Ni, Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn were primarily ascribed to the lower buffering capability of the magnetic fractions, with the enrichment of Mn, Ni, and Cr in the magnetic fractions also contributing to this elevation.