Cosmetic Surgery Office Procedures

Posted on May 28, 2010 by admin

Why Patients Love “Demo” Office Procedures

1. Computer imaging. On a computer screen, you can see the predicted result of the procedure. If your nose has a bump or is too long or the tip is too wide, all of the changes that the surgeon proposed can be seen after the “before” is morphed to the “after”. Our practice, among others, conducts remote computer imaging. If patients e-mail us photographs taken in proper views, we will perform the imaging in the office and e-mail back the results. Very cool.

2. Saline demo. Using saline to inject into the deep nasolabial creases or into a previously operated over-scooped , narrowly-pinched nose to show the result is a wonderful way for the patient to see three dimensionally “live” what can be achieved using filling injections. The filler will dissipate in two hours and photographs were taken before and after, of course, so that the patient can review them before making a decision about having either a temporary or permanent fillers.

3. Photo archives. The most comprehensive and detailed web sites will have such a large collection of before and after photos, typically numbering in the hundreds, that you will be able to identify a patient who had a situation to yours. You need to judge the “after” photos to see if you would be satisfied with the type of result shown

4. Meeting actual patients who have had similar procedures. There is nothing that beats being able to stand in someone else’s shoes to understand the process and results. Many patients act as volunteer consultants for practices and make themselves available to speak with patients who are considering the surgical procedures or injections or nonsurgical processes that they had. A wonderful way to learn and even to be able to assess the incision location and quality, etc.

Blocked Air Passages

Posted on May 20, 2010 by admin

How Do You Correct Blocked Air Passages?

Blocked air passages are extremely common. Common causes include deviated septum, nasal allergy, enlarged turbinates (turbinates are normal, shelf-like structures within the nasal passages). Some blocked noses are permanent due to abnormal architecture. For example, after a broken nose, the bones and cartilages may be shifted out of position and, therefore, compromise the airway.

Sometimes nasal blockage is temporary such as during a common cold or an allergy attack.

Regardless of whether the problem is intermittent or constant or whether or not it is caused by allergy or architectural issues, blocked noses can be helped. For nearly 100 years, a very successful operation has been performed totally within the nasal interior to straighten the deviated septum which is the most prominent player in causing the blockage and reducing the size of enlarged turbinates.

Plastic Surgery For Neck Wrinkles

Posted on May 20, 2010 by admin

Plastic Surgery For Neck Wrinkles

The one great truism about cosmetic procedures is that surgery is incapable of removing wrinkles. Surgery’s role is to correct sags and bags and reconstruct tissue.

Wrinkled skin is a matter of the skin’s deterioration. A loss of elasticity. The causes include too much ultraviolet light from years of suntanning, cigarette smoking, poor lifestyle including inadequate exercise and poor nutrition. Think of wrinkled skin as having its tiny little rubber bands within it that has given its elasticity as having deteriorated and stretched out. The skin no longer has the qualities of a new rubber band.

Understanding also that a wrinkle is the equivalent of a fault on the surface of the earth. To some level, there is a crack in the tissues of the skin just under the surface. Incidentally, wrinkles tend to occur more at sites of movement. That’s why people have crow’s feet around the eyes from squinting. They have deep vertical lines on the upper lip particularly from pursing their lips while smoking a cigarette. So you have to look at areas of functionality and understand that usually those are the areas that begin to demonstrate wrinkling earlier in life.

The neck skin is unique in that it is not as blessed as facial skin with respect to healing potential. This is very important to understand. We have very good success on the face. We can remove wrinkles by using several techniques including deep chemical skin peeling and laser treatment. These procedures are invasive although not surgical. The chemical or the laser beam invades the outer portion of the skin causing the surface tissues to be erased and inducing fresh new tissue below the surface. The new skin is indistinguishable from that of a younger person. When the skin is injured, it knows only how to regenerate brand new, fresh, younger tissue.

The neck has much less potential for healing because due to its unique anatomy and thinness, it cannot tolerate much injury. If the skin cannot be subject to a controlled injury such as from the laser or chemical, it cannot be rejuvenated.

There are things that do make the neck skin look younger. Although not as successfully as the laser and chemical facial treatments. Today, technology has delivered Intense Pulse Light and recently what seems to be a very promising technology, the second generation fractionated CO2 laser. These procedures excel in removing brown spots, eradicating the red spots and erasing that long-term sun damaged look. However, they are not as successful, at this point, as we would like them to be with respect to tightening the skin enough to make the wrinkles disappear.

But science never sleeps and technology continues to expand exponentially, we look for even better technologies and products coming down the line.