Skin Plastic Surgery

Surgery survey of the swanky Beverly Hills

2009-01-28T12:40:00.000+08:00

Hollywood’s annual cosmetic surgery survey of the swanky Beverly Hills Institute’s clients lists the top six most-requested A-list features in Hollywood’s operating theatres. “The list used to be dominated by classic beauties ? Catherine Zeta-Jones, Julia Roberts and Halle Berry ? but this year’s list is full of new talent, including Sienna Miller and Eva Longoria,” says Dr. Richard W. Fleming.

Most Wanted Cheeks: Naomi Watts
Old trend: Solid cheek implants — a big operation and costly.
Now: Adding volume with injections is quick, reverses the downward slide of time, and brings out your eyes.

Most Wanted Eyes: Sienna Miller
Old trend: An overdone rabbit-in-the-headlights look.
Now: “The most desired eyes are Sienna Miller’s, i.e., more voluptuous with heavier lids.”

Most Wanted Nose: Jessica Alba
Old trend: A teeny ski slope.
Now: Noses are stronger with less flesh and bone removed. “The ideal is that nobody can tell you’ve had your nose done,” says Dr. Fleming.

Facelift

2008-12-07T14:01:00.005+08:00

Despite increasing consumer demand for less invasive procedures for facial rejuvenation, facelifts are making a comeback with female and male baby boomers. According to the latest statistics released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), facelifts are up 14 percent for patients ages 40 and over, with nearly 116,200 procedures performed in 2007. Facelifts, the sixth most popular surgical cosmetic procedure, have also increased 14 percent for women and 16 percent for men since 2006.

“Facelifts have been on the decline since 2000,” said ASPS President Richard D’Amico, MD. “With the advent of injectables like Botox and fillers such as Restylane and Juvederm, many baby boomers thought they would substitute for a facelift. However, our latest statistics show patients now know they get the best results when surgery and injectables are used together. Facelifts are critical to lift and reposition skin and underlying tissues, while injectables are vital for plumping and restoring volume.”

Gravity is not kind to any of us! One of the areas we see the effect of gravity and the environment the most, is in the face. This can give us an old tired look. This is the major concern of people considering facelifts.

The good news is that today's facelifts restore the normal youthful appearance to the face while avoiding that unnatural "over stretched" look.

The areas most improved are the jaw area, the neck and the fold from the nose to the side of the mouth (nasolabial fold). To do this, the deeper layers of the face are lifted upward and the skin is tightened. This is accomplished by delicate incisions which are hidden beneath the hairline and behind the ear. There is also one tiny incision underneath the chin.

To achieve the most benefit from a facelift, good skincare is essential. That's why we include a package of skincare products individually designed by Licensed Aesthetician Heather McNeal for all of our facelift patients.

Many of our facelift patients, both men and women, are now consulting with Nurse Injector Jill Maze before or after their surgery to improve the areas not treated by a facelift. Treating lines and wrinkles in the brow area and forehead as well as restoring youthful fullness to the lips compliments the results of a facelift. Combining a facelift with Botox and Juvederm completes your youthful new look.

Before & After (Facelift, Bleph): This patient is 67 years old. She came to Dr. Reath with concerns about facial aging. She was particularly concerned about her "droopy upper eyelids". Here she is afterward looking happy and wide awake after her facelift and upper lid blepharoplasty.

The Operation

Today's facelifts are done as out-patient procedures and do not involve an overnight stay in the hospital. The operation takes between 3 and 4 hours. Many people like to combine a facelift with other procedures such as eyelid surgery, a forehead lift and nose surgery (rhinoplasty). Once patients have recovered from the anesthetic, they go home in the care of their family.

Recovery

Helping our patients manage a speedy recovery is one of our primary missions. Most people take off between ten days to two weeks of work after their facelift. Expect to be up and about in a day or two, and have the stitches removed in less than a week.

If you are considering a facelift and have questions you would like answered, click on Ask Dr. Reath and Dr. Reath will personally answer your email.

Beware of the “Thread Facelift”

This procedure was the topic of concern at the latest ASAPS meeting because it has received some media attention. A good facelift will produce results that last several years and look natural. It requires a board-certified plastic surgeon with the training to reattach facial tissue in several different places, on several different levels, to create a desirable result.

On the other hand, the “thread facelift” is performed using a barbed suture threaded just underneath the skin of the face and tightened. This results in a very unnatural look. Usually, the “thread facelift” is performed by physicians who are not trained and board-certified in plastic surgery. Unfortunately, we have had patients come to our office wanting us to correct the results of this procedure, and it is not easily fixed.

Liposuction

2008-06-10T19:17:00.001+08:00

Before

After
Liposuction may be termed in a variety of ways to describe the procedure designed to remove localized fat in one or more areas of the body, including abdominal liposuction (stomach liposuction), face liposuction (chin liposuction and cheek liposuction), neck liposuction, as well as liposuction of the thighs and arms.

Most people who choose liposuction are women, but male liposuction has become more and more popular in recent years.

The Liposuction Procedure
This plastic surgery procedure is typically performed under general anesthesia, but in some cases, local anesthesia. The decision for which type of anesthesia to use involves both you and your doctor and takes into account how much time the surgery takes. Time in surgery varies, depending on the size of the area being treated, but it is usually less than an hour. However, many people choose to treat multiple areas, which will increase the total time. General anesthesia is also preferred for people who wish to avoid the possibility of anxiety or discomfort that they may associate with the procedure.

With more recently developed techniques such as tumescent liposuction, local anesthetics provide both a numbing effect and a means to help remove fat. Also, a local anesthetic may be better when removing small areas of fat in one region that doesn't require much time in surgery.

Fat deposits adhere to the underside of the skin and can be removed if they can be dislodged. First, you would receive a local anesthetic in the area to be treated, as well as any additional anesthetics that you and your doctor decide upon. Your surgeon would make an incision and insert a cannula (a long, hollow needle) under the skin, scraping it along the underside skin surface to loosen the fat deposits. The fat deposits are then sucked into the vacuum through a tube connected to the cannula. More here

Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon's plastic surgery

2008-05-16T00:42:00.000+08:00

Early this year bombshell Mariah Carey, the 39-year old singer married 27-year old rapper-actor, Nick Cannon.

Mariah had breast augmentation as well as laser liposuction . Possibly she had facial procedures to minimize the appearance of aging, including dermal injections such as Botox, Juvederm and laser skin treatments to maintain her smooth, poreless, wrinkle-free complexion such as Fraxel, Active Fx, and CoolTouch. A more drastic procedure is a possible rhinoplasty (nose job) to slim her nose as well as possible liposuction on her abdomen and thighs. Probably she needs a breast job to help her boobs stay firm and resist the force of gravity.

Nick her much younger husband does not need much plastic surgery but an obvious chin implant was carried out recently.

Skin Care and Cosmetic Surgery Glossary

2008-05-15T22:29:00.000+08:00

Abdominoplasty: A surgical procedure done to flatten your abdomen by removing extra fat and skin, and tightening muscles in your abdominal wall. This procedure is commonly referred to as a tummy tuck.

Acne: A skin condition characterized by the excess production of oil from sebaceous glands in which the pores become blocked with dead skin cells

Acne scar: Scars due to severe acne. They can range from deep pits to scars that are angular or wavelike in appearance.

Age spots: Small flat pigmented spots that are most often seen on areas of the body that have been exposed to the sun over a period of years. Age spots usually occur after the age of 40 and are common on the face, hands, and arms.

Albinism: An inherited disorder in which there is no pigmentation in skin, hair or eyes, due to the absence of melanin, the substance that gives skin its color

Alopecia: The complete or partial loss of hair

Autologen: A material used in lip augmentation to produce a look of fuller lips. Autologen is derived from your own skin and then injected into the lips.

Azelaic acid: A naturally occurring substance found on normal skin that can be used in skin care products to treat mild acne

Benzoyl peroxide: An antibacterial medication used to combat the bacteria that aggravates acne

Beta hydroxy acid: An oil-soluble exfoliant derived from fruit and milk sugars that is commonly found in skin-care products. Beta hydroxy acid is used to treat wrinkles, blackheads, and photoaging. Salicylic acid is an example of a beta hydroxy acid.

Blepharoplasty: A primarily cosmetic surgical procedure of the upper or lower eyelids. The procedure involves the removal of excess skin, and sometimes muscle or underlying fatty tissue.

Breast augmentation: A surgical procedure done to increase breast size

Botox: A substance derived from botulinum toxin that works by preventing nerve impulses from reaching the muscle, causing the muscle to relax.

More here

Skin Cosmetic Laser Surgery

2008-05-08T08:41:00.000+08:00

Thermage, Laser treatments for acne, Photodynamic Skin Rejuvenation with Levulan, Fraxel and Profractional laser treatments are some of the latestest treatments for the skin.
Removing excess skin and fat and then pulling old looking skin tight is a traditional method of skin treatment. After that "old fashion" treatment you would a tight, old looking skin, giving you more of a haggard look. You appear more "plastic" and everyone would know that you just had a face-lift.
However, with the lastest innovation of Laser surgery,your skin will looked smoother,younger and natural. Good plastic surgery should make you look lovelier and without people knowing you had a surgery.

Surgery of the skin :Skin biopsy

2008-05-07T09:42:00.000+08:00

Surgery of the skin is usually performed by dermatologists or skin specialists plastic surgeons. In most situations, local anaesthesia is used. Types of skin surgery include:

Skin biopsy
Excision of skin lesions
Curettage & cautery
Skin grafting
Mohs microscopically (for difficult skin cancers)
Cryotherapy (liquid nitrogen)

Why do you need to have a skin biopsy?
Skin biopsies are performed to help with the diagnosis of your skin condition.
There are two situations in which this usually occurs:
To find out the different types of rashes or skin lesions. Skin biopsy could provide some information in this process.
If you are a suspect of skin cancer, biopsy is taken to confirm that the skin cancer is present. The biopsy may also give the dermatologists information on the types of skin cancer you are having and then would prescrible the best possible types of treatment.

Demi Moore - $600,000 on Plastic Surgery?!

2008-05-07T09:14:00.000+08:00

Friday, September 14, 2007
Demi Moore - $600,000 on Plastic Surgery?!
ABC Chicago

Demi Moore reports having some "$600,000 worth of plastic surgery. That includes breast implants, collagen injections, liposuction and a $12,000 procedure to lift sagging skin around her knees."

She pays much more than the average patient at Beverly Hills prices, but it is still pretty amazing.