March 4th, 2010 admin
Liposuction is one of the most commonly performed plastic surgery procedures. It is a very effective technique for removing areas of unwanted fat that are not responsive to diet and exercise. The procedure can be performed on a wide variety of body locations such as the abdomen, thighs, hips, arms, chin, “saddle bags” and “love handles.”
If you have several areas on your body with more fat than you would like, then perhaps liposuction is a viable option for you. But before you can make the decision about pursuing liposuction, naturally you should know a little something about it. For example, how does liposuction get the fat out?
Before the procedure, the areas of your body that are going to be treated are first marked by your surgeon and then fluid is injected into in to these areas in order to make it easier for your plastic surgeon to remove the fat and sculpt the tissues. Anesthetic is injected into the same area as well to help reduce pain along with a medication that helps reduce bleeding.
Once the body area has been prepared, your plastic surgeon will then make several small incisions to access the fatty tissues beneath the skin. The incisions are strategically located in natural skin folds to reduce the visibility of the scars. Through these incisions, small tubes called cannulas are inserted to pull out the fat. Unlike a tummy tuck, there are virtually no scars with liposuction.
There are also several ways to perform liposuction as well. For example, the “traditional” method described above is called “tumescent” liposuction. There are also power assisted, ultra sonic and the new “smart” liposuction techniques as well. Each has its own risks and benefits and should be discussed in detail with your surgeon before proceeding.
In general, liposuction is an outpatient procedure. Following your surgery most surgeons ask their patients to wear a compression garment for several weeks. Applied properly, this garment will help speed healing and prevent fluid collections under the skin which can be a possible complication of the procedure.
It is important that all patients understand that liposuction is not a weight reduction procedure. In fact, liposuction is best applied to people of normal or near-normal weight who only want to address specific fatty areas and smooth away bulges on their bodies. Overall it should be looked upon as a refining technique and is not at all recommended for the grossly overweight or obese patient. Are you a candidate for liposuction? The best way to find out is a consultation with your board certified plastic surgeon.
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March 1st, 2010 admin
Breast augmentation can be a confusing procedure for patients as I find they do not fully understand the variety of implants available, the costs and the post operative changes to the breast. Therefore I’ve come across a good blog from Dr Brian Glatt of Morristown, NJ. It answers a lot of questions that I find patients usually ask concerning saline vs silicone.
Still, the best way to decide which implant is right for you is to a private consultation with your plastic surgeon.
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February 18th, 2010 admin
The US Olympic Team made history yesterday by snagging six gold medals in the Vancouver Games. Leading the pack were Lindsey Vonn’s gold in the downhill, Shaun White’s gold in the half pipe and Shani Davis’ gold in the 1000m speed skate. As this article in Sports Illustrated states, it was the best day in US Olympic history for American athletes.
Particularly interesting was Shaun White, who had already won the gold before his second and final run in the half pipe , who let it all hang out as he made an unprecedented twist move to cap his performance.
Lindsey Vonn was able to win gold despite a painful shin which has hampered her for the last 10 days.
All in all, the greatest day for US Olympic athletes.
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January 4th, 2010 admin
The split earlobe is a common problem for women. It can be from wearing earrings that are too heavy or from an accident in which the earring is pulled through the skin thus splitting the lobe. Happily it can be fixed with a simple in office procedure. The patient should refrain from wearing earrings in the area for several weeks following the repair.
It should be noted that most insurances will pay for the repair.
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December 15th, 2009 admin
11. Are there any techniques that I’m not aware of to perform the same procedure?
12. How long should I take time off of school, work etc. to heal properly?
13. Is there much pain?
Personally I’ve always found pain to be a personal experience. Overall though, I find that most cosmetic procedures are not inordinately painful for patients.
14. Which medications will you prescribe for me?
Your surgeon should definitely tell you this.
15. Which type of anesthesia will I be getting?
Some procedures can be done under many different types. The choice should be a combination of what the patient likes and what the doctors feels comfortable giving.
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December 2nd, 2009 admin
As everyone knows now the former Miss Argentina, Solange Magnano died during a buttock lift from a pulmonary embolism (blood clot to the lungs). Unfortunately complications can happen with any kind of surgery. Even if the surgeon does everything right problems can arise. There is an old saying in surgery,”If you don’t have any complications, you’re not doing enough surgery.”The best we can do as surgeons is make sure that the patient we operate on is in the best shape or the procedure and we take all the precautions we can to minimize risk.
This article on CNN.com
highlights some of the dangers involved with cosmetic surgery. No surgery, no matter who performs it, is totally risk free. Your surgeon should inform of all risks before the procedure. Fortunately accidents like what happened to Ms. Magnano are very rare and plastic surgery overall is safe. Just make sure you have a properly certified surgeon by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and the surgery is done in an accredited operating room. If you do that , you’re off to a good start.
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November 30th, 2009 admin
When you go for your plastic surgery consultation, here are the first five of 42 questions you might consider asking:
6. How many (insert Procedure here) have you performed?
7. How many revisions of your own work do you perform?
All surgeons perform revisions of their work. It just goes with the territory. Also ask if you will be charged for such work and how much.
8. Would you be willing to perform cosmetic surgery on a loved one?
In all honesty, some people would and some would never. I don’t think there is a correct answer for this question, but the reasons for or against may give you some insight in to your surgeon’s personality.
9. Why are you or are you not a good candidate for this procedure?
10. What are the complications of this procedure?
Very important question. There are complications for hang nail surgery. Your surgeon must absolutely must inform you of this as a matter of protocol. If he/she does not, find another surgeon.
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November 7th, 2009 admin
Just a note for all prospective plastic surgery patients.
You should always inform your surgeon of all medications that you are taking. However, you should also be aware that herbs and herbal medications, including common ones like garlic, ginseng and echinacea, can cause severe bleeding and greatly compromise the results of the procedure. Not only is bleeding an issue, but also some herbs can interfere with heart function and anesthesia.
Therefore, before you go under the knife, make sure you tell your surgeon everything you’re taking in addition to your usual meds. It can make a huge difference.
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August 16th, 2009 admin
There is a great article in the New York Times about the “quickie” facelift. I confess I don’t know how it’s done or who the people are who do them, but I do know it took me nine years of surgical training and several more years in practice to learn how to do a good one. I also know that we never discuss “their” methods of performing a facelift at our annual meetings. And finally, I notice from this article that there are no plastic surgeons performing them at these centers. So what does it all mean?
I suppose it means that there is no free lunch. If what they were doing was so great we’d all be doing it. Conformity in plastic surgery is a beautiful thing. If everyone is doing it, then it probably works, if only a handful of people are doing it it probably doesn’t. As I said before, I am quite ignorant when it comes to the “quickie” facelift, and I intend to keep it that way.
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April 29th, 2009 Kenneth M. Rose MD
As I’ve already mentioned a few times, liposuction is not for the overweight or obese. That being said, what else can happen that during your liposuction procedure that may lead to a poor result.
In general liposuction is a great procedure for the right candidate. However, a common problem is uneven or wavy areas. These are usually the result of the surgeon misjudging the surgery as it goes along. It can happen to anyone. Correction requires a small repeat operation.
Another problem is fluid collection. This usually happens when a compression garment is not worn properly after surgery or the patient takes aspirin or similar drug. Besides stopping the medication immediately, the collection should be drained in the office and the compression garment worn as much as possible.
Still as I mentioned, liposuction is a great procedure. But like any surgery, be aware that nothing is guaranteed.
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