Articles About Plastic Surgery Procedures

Torn earlobes are a fairly common problem.  Often they result from jewelry getting snagged on a phone or when junior decides to use mommy’s earring as a ripcord. The good news is that it is easy to fix. Here are some things to consider... Earlobes are repaired under local anesthesia in the office. Patients are in and out of the office in 30 minutes. Patients may return to work immediately (provided they are not professional wrestlers or boxers) Earlobes may be re-pierced in 6 weeks. Repair for a torn earlobe is $250.00

Asymmetry of the eyelids, before or after blepharoplasty, is common.  After eyelid surgery, patients often become intense “students” of the anatomy of their face and will pick up on subtle asymmetries that may or may not have been present before surgery.  That’s one good reason to get pre-op photos. Asymmetrical brow ptosis (droopiness of the forehead) can translate into asymmetrical eyelid appearance.  Correction is not surgery on the eyelid, but some form of brow lift. Asymmetry of the upper eyelids caused by lower brow position on the right-corrected by upper eyelid surgery and correcting the position of the brow. Very [...]

Individuals having had a facelift do indeed live longer than those who have not.  This is a true statement.  It just happens to be meaningless. Consider this: Facelift patients, having made it to the facelift age, have avoided early death from illness or trauma. Facelift patients are in reasonably good health since they are having elective cosmetic surgery. Facelift patients are financially well off (they can afford a facelift) so probably have invested in their own good health. What this means is that facelift patients are a select group in large part because of the circumstances just mentioned.  The fact that [...]

There is a myriad of liposuction techniques that make it seem as though the removal of fat has a fast array of strategies.  This is actually not the case. Liposuction is fairly straightforward and the techniques, regardless of what they are named, are similar. All legitimate liposuction techniques use negative pressure to aspirate unwanted fat.  Sometimes this fat, as we’ll see, is prepared for removal prior to suction.  However, in the end, the fat is removed the same way with all techniques. Tumescent is not a form of liposuction but rather preparation for removal by plumping up the fat with saltwater, lidocaine, and usually [...]

Mini facelift, SMAS, MACS, Lunchtime, LifeStyle, and Vampire are all different types of facelifts. How many facelifts are there and are they really that different?  Let’s break this down to a few simple concepts that will make this herd of procedures a bit more understandable. First anatomy: for the purposes of this blog we will define the anatomic limits of facelifts confined to the face and neck beginning at the lower eyelids and extending to the clavicle.  Facelifts of different types may not address the entire area (they may focus on a small part only) but are limited to it. Conceptually what [...]

1. In any operation where removal of skin is on the agenda, the resulting incision will be proportional to the amount of skin removed.  This is a “biogeometric” fact that applies to facelifts and other skin reducing procedures such as an abdominoplasty. 2. A corollary is that a minimum incision facelift (“mini”, “MACS”, “lifestyle”,etc.) limits the amount of skin that can be removed as part of the procedure.  These are suitable if excess skin is modest.  If, however, there is a clear surplus it is likely that the results using minimum incision facelifts will be disappointing. 3. Skilled plastic surgeons can [...]

Any operation does at least a little damage to the peripheral sensory nerves.  Facelifts are no exception.  However, permanent damage to motor nerves should not happen. Return of sensation to the face is almost always complete although it may take months. There are two types of nerves to consider: motor nerves and sensory nerves.  The Facial Nerve (7th cranial nerve) is the predominant motor nerve to the face.  That is, it supplies nerve input to the muscles that govern facial function.  Permanent damage to any branch of this nerve should really never happen as a consequence of a facelift. Most of [...]

There are different approaches to changing the shape of the nose surgically.  There are advantages of one type of operation over another and the surgeon chooses a specific one based on his needs in the operating room.  Because of this, many prospective patients are confused about the categories. Closed Rhinoplasty - The procedure is performed without any external incisions in the nose. This is an indirect approach that does not allow direct visualization of the parts of the nose. Open Rhinoplasty - Incision across the columella (the visible strut between the right and left nostrils)  is used to allow direct visualization [...]

1. A breast reduction has 4 components: The breasts are made smaller (self-evident). The breast is given a “lift” by repositioning the areola and reshaping the breast each and every time. The areola, which is almost always excessively large in diameter, is resized. Excess skin is removed.  The amount of excess skin determines the ultimate length of the incisions and resulting scars. 2. Breast reduction is most often a functional procedure. Most women are seeking a reduction of weight in their breasts to ameliorate the common symptoms of shoulder, back, and neck pain. Younger women who are athletic often find large [...]

Any operation can yield a complication and facelift is no exception.  Fortunately, these are usually minor, and seldom does the patient suffer significantly.  Major complications are just not acceptable in elective cosmetic surgery cases. Hematoma - bleeding can sometimes begin after the operation is over and accumulate under the skin.  The blood needs to be evacuated and the bleeding stopped.  Occasionally this will require a return to the operating room. Smaller hematomas can be drained at the bedside.  The incidence is about 5% of cases. When properly dealt with hematomas do not affect the outcome of the operation. Seroma - serum [...]