Types of Laser Skin Resurfacing

Looking younger and fresher is the goal of most invasive and non-invasive cosmetic procedures, and laser skin resurfacing is no different. This form of mainly facial skin rejuvenation can make you look refreshed, but it is not always the best method to deal with those pesky crow’s feet.

Non-Surgical Skin Care Methods

Look no further if you desire to look younger with little downtime but are not too concerned if the results are only temporary. Many people prefer non-invasive methods, but they have to face facts: Surgery lasts a lot longer, and requires almost no touchups.

What is Body Contour Surgery?

There are many types of body contour surgery, or cosmetic surgery from the face down. If you fancy a bit of a breast reduction or augmentation, a tummy tuck or even some liposuction on your thighs, then this is it.

Breast Lifts and Breast Augmentations

Few people are aware of the fact that having bigger, fuller breasts through surgery often means a combination of a breast lift and implants. If you have one without the other, the result might not be exactly how you intended.

How to Correct Uneven Breasts

It’s a sad fact of life that many women suffer from asymmetry in their breasts. Sometimes this is hardly noticeable; sometimes it is apparent. If you want to correct the look of your breasts so that they appear to be almost exactly the same size and shape, surgery might be the answer.

Are You a Good Candidate for Breast Augmentation?

Any woman who desires bigger, fuller breasts is a good candidate for this type of cosmetic operation, which can give you the bust you have always dreamed of relatively quickly. The recovery period can take a while and it can be painful, but most women say the results are well worth it.

Types of Tummy Tucks

Mini and traditional tummy tucks are the two main types of tummy tucks performed today. You would need to consult with a board-certified plastic surgeon to see which one is best for you.

Pros and Cons of Liposuction

Shifting fat from localized areas where it stubbornly refuses to budge is the most common reason why people want to have liposuction. But does it really work? This articles looks into the advantages and disadvantages of this popular procedure.

Why to Get Thermage

A plastic surgery procedure that promises to smooth and tone your skin? You have got to be kidding! Well, no, actually. This FDA-approved procedure seems to really work, although there is less predictability with it than there is with surgery.

Treating Sagging Buttocks

A body lift is usually the best way to lift a droopy buttock, although there are other options. However, buttock implants are not recommended as they are made from silicone rubber – and can be incredibly uncomfortable.

How to Choose the Right Facelift

Having a long consultation with your plastic surgeon is usually considered the best way to choose the type of facelift that is right for you. After all, your face could look dramatically different for years, so take the time to know what you want.

Recovering From a Facelift

It will take about seven to 10 days to recover from a facelift after you have the procedure done. After that, the swelling and bruising will have almost subsided, and women at least can choose to use make-up to conceal any tell-tale marks.

Why to Get a Browlift

Any time a person tells you that you look sad, angry or incensed when you’re not, it could have something to do with your brow. Brows begin to sag with age, which is why people get them lifted in an attempt to appear younger and more refreshed – and less tired.

Benefits of Cheek Implants

When a woman looks at a model smiling beatifically from the pages of her favorite fashion magazine, chances are she has high cheekbones. So it’s no surprise that scores of gals are flocking to their local surgeon to mimic the look. The procedure is not as difficult as you might think.

All About Chin Implants

For decades, a weak chin in men has been taken as a sign of a weak character. If you have a weak chin, or think that your chin simply does not do justice to the rest of your face, cosmetic surgery might be the answer to your problems.

Ear Pinning in Children

Few people are aware of the fact that our ears have almost reached their adult size by the time we are age five or six. But as the cartilage is still soft, that can be a prime time for an ear-pinning operation, especially if your child is already being teased about their size.

Best Candidates for a Nose Job

People who have what is called a dorsal hump are usually the best candidates for nose jobs, as they are relatively easy to fix. Still, going to your surgeon for a consultation is always the best way, no matter what size or shape your nose it. It’s amazing what a competent plastic surgeon can do these days.

Facial Cosmetic Surgery for Men

More and more men these days are appealing to plastic surgeons to help them look younger. For a lot of men, it’s all tied in with their job, especially if they are in sales. They want the competitive advantage, and think that looking younger will do the trick.

What is Septal Surgery?

Septal surgery is done to alleviate breathing problems, although in many cases when a person has this surgery done, he cosmetic surgery performed on his nose as well. Read more to find out why.

Problems With Plastic Surgery Abroad

It might sound significantly cheaper, a lot more glamorous and a bit more fun, but having plastic surgery carried out abroad is not the recommended way to go. And if you relished the idea of recovering in some exotic foreign climate, think again.

The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.

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Laser skin resurfacing works by taking the top layer of skin away as well as part of the second layer of skin called the dermis. As the skin heals, collagen is deposited, which smoothes the skin out.

You can use laser skin resurfacing to reduce the appearance of crow’s feet, although the best thing to get rid of this common problem would have to be BOTOX. If you do opt for laser skin resurfacing, it will show an improvement, but not a permanent one; so the lines will come back. A lot of people who do it will continue to get BOTOX afterwards.

Muscle Action Responsible

The skin-smoothing effect you get with laser skin resurfacing is why this method improves fine lines and wrinkles to the area. But the reason that crow’s feet appear is due mainly to the action of the muscles themselves. That’s why if you have deeper crow’s feet you need to stop that action from happening to get rid of them, which is why you would require BOTOX.

Botox has been safely used in medical treatments for more than 20 years and received FDA approval in 2002 to be used cosmetically for certain areas of the face. This non-surgical procedure will smooth the deep, persistent lines between your brows, crow’s feet around your eyes, and wrinkles in your forehead that develop over time.

One short treatment relaxes the muscles that cause those lines to form and keeps them relaxed for an average of three months. Botox is fast, simple, and minimally invasive, with no downtime or recovery. The results are dramatic and apparent within a few days to a week.

It is more common to do laser skin resurfacing for the lower eyelids, for the fine lines and wrinkles there, than it is to do laser resurfacing for crow’s feet. Although this method does not lift the skin like a facelift would, it can provide significant improvement in the overall quality of your skin by making it look and feel smoother.

Advance Skin Preparation

In order for laser skin resurfacing to work to maximum advantage, you need time to get your skin ready. Prep times can start four to six weeks before the skin is resurfaced.

Also, it is important to keep in mind that after this procedure is carried out, there will be some down time. Treated skin usually takes up to a week to heal, and it can be even longer before you can apply makeup without worrying about the state of your skin.

The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.

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It is definitely possible to look younger using a variety of non-surgical skin care methods. The benefits are that there is no downtime, but the disadvantage is that regular repeat treatments will be required to keep up the look.

What non-surgical means is anything that involves BOTOX or one of the many the different fillers for the face or hyaluronic acid fillers. Of course, those can be used in combination with a specific skin care line where a patient uses at home products, such as Obagi products, which are specially formulated for different types of skin and different skin problems. We offer a variety of other products only found in a doctor’s office as well, such as IS Clinical, TNS-SkinMedica, La Roche Posay, and NIA24 product lines.

Non-surgical skin care methods can also include treatment with different types of lasers. For example, at our office we have an IPL, or Intense Pulsed Light, lasers to treat brown spots and veins. It can also be used  for laser skin resurfacing.

Non-Invasive and Invasive

At Ballantyne Plastic Surgery, we do non-invasive procedures as well as surgery. All these non-invasive methods are used by our patients as a way to maintain or improve your appearance without any downtime. They are popular today, and becoming even more popular, because people do not want to have significant downtime waiting to recover from treatment. They want to immediately get up and go.

However, people who choose non-invasive methods should realize that the non-surgical ones usually require more repetitive treatments to keep up the look. BOTOX, for example, smoothes the deep, persistent lines between your brows, crow’s feet around your eyes, and wrinkles in your forehead that develop over time. It is fast, simple and has a minimal recovery period. The downside is that it only lasts about three months.

Dermal Fillers

Our dermal fillers are also a way to keep your skin looking younger and fresher, and are a natural and safe alternative to cosmetic facial surgery. Dermal fillers restore volume and fullness to the skin to correct moderate to severe facial lines, folds, and wrinkles, such as the nasolabial folds or smile lines.

Dermal fillers are also used to add enhance the lip line and add volume to the lips. We offer fillers such as Restylane, Perlane and Juvederm, but they need to be topped up over time, usually within a six-month period, while Radiesse can last up to a year.

As long as people maintain their appearance through repeated procedures they will get good results. But you will have to come back again and again, whereas a facelift will last you eight to ten years before the effect wears off.

The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.

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The biggest downside of having plastic surgery abroad is that you don’t always know exactly what you are getting yourself into. You need to be very careful and become aware not only of the experiences and certification of the physician who will perform the procedure or procedures, but also of the facility itself.

Different countries have different criteria for completion of a medical specialty. We don’t usually worry when people go to Europe for plastic surgery as we think the standards are the same as they are here in the United States. It’s the Latin American or Far Eastern countries which can be a concern, where we think the plastic surgery market is a less-regulated one.

I would consider checking credentials of the surgeon as well as the facility before you go. You would also need to determine the cost involved if there were complications and thus a need for repeated trips back to the surgeon or country, or potential need for correction back here in the United States.

Why Go Abroad?

Most people go abroad for plastic surgery for one of two reasons. One is usually the expense, as they assume it will be cheaper. That is why you have to weigh the possibility of complications in your budget. What if you have to go back to have something corrected? That would make the entire experience a lot more expensive.

Another reason is that people often want to go to an area that is a bit more exotic to recover. But, the reality is that you will not enjoy whereever you are the first week after surgery. I have had friends tell me that they want to have surgery done in Argentina because they have always wanted to visit there. But I tell them they’re not going to enjoy it anyway, so why bother?

If you choose to have plastic surgery abroad, make sure you go your research beforehand and only choose a certified, experienced surgeon and a top-class facility. And don’t expect to enjoy a great vacation while you’re out there, although it might provide a safe sanctuary to recover away from intrusive glances from family, friends and co-workers.

The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.

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Thermage is a safe, non-invasive procedure. It is designed to help smooth, tighten, and contour skin anywhere on the body, and give it a naturally younger-looking appearance. It works by using radiofrequency to heat the deeper structures of the skin, including collagen fibers. The heat tightens fibers that have become loose and stretched with age. Best of all, Thermage will also stimulate new collagen growth to make your skin feel smoother over time.

Although Thermage has been around for a number of years, the latest breakthroughs in technology have made the procedure better. Its use has been expanded beyond facial aesthetics and now includes body contouring, including the treatment of cellulite. In fact, it is the only FDA-cleared single treatment for temporary improvement of cellulite.

Thermage is performed in one treatment, and most patients report immediate results that improve over four to six months and last for three to five years.

Thermage can be used to:

• Increase jaw line definition on the face
• Tighten skin around the neck
• Reduce jowls
• Improve the texture and tone of the skin
• Rejuvenate the eye area
• Reshape and tighten the abdominal skin as well as reduce inches around the abdomen and waist
• Tighten and refine upper arm skin
• Tighten skin on the thigh

Disadvantages of Thermage

The downside to Thermage is that it is less predictable than surgery. And the result that someone may get depends a lot upon their own body’s process of healing. We tell patients who undergo Thermage that the results may be anywhere from subtle to dramatic.

The results are not always immediate and it takes approximately six months to get the final results. Saying that, it definitely is safe. I have never seen a complication such as a burn or volume loss in anyone that I have treated.

The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.

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Aging, weight loss and childbirth can lead to a loss of natural skin elasticity. As a result, many women notice a sagging or drooping appearance of their breasts. A breast lift, or mastopexy, is a surgical option to restore a more youthful shape by raising the breast.

During your consultation, we will help you determine if you are a candidate for a breast lift and which lift is right for you to achieve the look you desire. The type of breast lift performed determines whether general or local anesthesia is necessary, the length of surgery, and recovery time. This procedure can also be performed with placement of breast implants to give you a firmer, fuller, and larger breast.

Breast Augmentation

Many women with small or uneven breasts due to genetics, pregnancy, or weight loss turn to breast augmentation to give themself a fuller, more proportionate breast. This procedure is one of the most frequently performed cosmetic surgery options, and can be performed in conjunction with a breast lift to correct sagging or drooping.

After an initial consultation, we assist our patients to determine what size implant they should have and whether a saline or silicone gel implant is best. Implants are placed through a tiny incision at the breast fold, base of the areola, or armpit. The operation takes approximately one and one half hours and is performed under general anesthesia.

Many of our patients elect to receive a state-of-the-art pain relief system that reduces the need for narcotics and allows for a quicker, gentler recovery. Typical recovery time is within three to seven days, with no exercise allowed before two weeks after the operation.

Implant Alone Not Always Enough

When a woman is interested in breast augmentation, it is important to determine if she needs a lift as well as augmentation. If they have too much droop or sag to the breast, an implant alone will not look pretty.

In that case, the implant will sit too high on the breast, and the nipple too low. The breast will look like it’s falling off the implant. Usually if the nipple is below the level of the natural fold of the breast then a lift is necessary.

Sometimes I see patients who other doctors have operated on, and who are unhappy with the results. The problem often is that they did not do a lift at the same time. The breast looks too full at the top and it looks like the nipple is falling off the breast.

The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.

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A facelift or rhytidectomy counteracts the signs of aging by removing excess skin, tightening the skin, and repositioning deeper structures to their proper position. Sagging cheeks, deep creases or “smile lines,” loose skin on the face and neck, and even a double chin can all be corrected with a variety of facelift techniques. The result is a more youthful appearance of the face and neck and a fresh appearance to the skin.

When choosing the right facelift for a patient, what we really try to do is discuss the patient’s desires, how they want to look after surgery, and what kind of recovery time is acceptable to them. Patients who are younger, in their early 40s or early 50s, will usually want a limited or mini facelift that addresses specific anatomical facial issues. As patients get older, they want a more dramatic facelift, they want to correct specific problems.

Less Dramatic Look

We are seeing a lot of younger patients nowadays compared to in the past. When I first started as a plastic surgeon doing cosmetic work about 15 years ago, people wanted something dramatic. They came to me when they were in their 60s and wanted to look like they were only in their 40s.

Now people just want to look a little more youthful, or retain their appearance for a few more years. We also try now to avoid that “windblown look.” You need more than just tightening when you come to a surgeon for a facelift, not just an over-corrected look.

Beware Quick Results

I think it’s important for patients interested in facelifts to make sure their physician is properly trained in cosmetic surgery. And to also ensure that you are not in a hurry to get a quick result, as you might not be happy in the long term.

In our area of North Carolina, many businesses are advertising “weekend facelifts,” for example. People just have to be careful that they understand what that means. Usually, minimal downtime means minimal results. A couple of different franchises here also advertise “quick lifts.” A quick life can mean a completely different thing to different people or different surgeons; it all really depends in who is doing the procedure.

Temporary vs Permanent

A lot of people use injectables. We even can do some cheek augmentation with injectables, treat the smile lines and do what some people call a liquid facelift. You can get some improvement with a liquid facelift, but not the same results as you would get with a real facelift. A liquid facelift is not the same as a surgical facelift.

In fact, people who come to me for a surgical facelift often choose to have other procedures done in at the same time. Other procedures frequently done alongside a facelift include eyelid surgery, browlift, laser resurfacing, rhinoplasty, and cheek or chin implants. Some patients also desire only contouring of the neck area. Those patients may be candidates for a necklift, which is essentially the lower half of a facelift, but less invasive.

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Most patients who have a facelift will be out of the public eye for about 7 to 10 days only. Beyond that period, they will probably have some swelling, but it will be so minor that only people close to them may notice, such as spouses and close family members. They themselves may notice some swelling for about a month, and while there will be some bruising as well, if you still have it after the 7 to 10-day period, you can use makeup to cover it up.

No Pain, Lots of Gain

Believe it or not, facelifts are not painful at all. Compared to the other procedures we do, such as body contouring or breast surgery, they are among the least painful of all our procedures and require a minimum amount of pain medication.

I usually do not allow my patients who have had facelifts to exercise for about two weeks after the operation. Early exercise can increase swelling and bruising. We also recommend a relatively low-sodium diet. People retain salt, so any type of processed or fast food we recommend they avoid.

Back to Work

People can go back to work in about 10 days. You probably will not notice the swelling at all after that period unless you are a spouse or family member, so you could go back to work with confidence. People would notice something different, but you’re not going to look hideous or anything like that because of the swelling or bruising.

Within two weeks of having a facelift, you can resume swimming and sports, as everything will be healed by then. Usually we have patients dye their hair prior to surgery, and wait two weeks after surgery before they dye it again. Just so they do not have any injury to the skin because of the dye.

Proper After-Care

We see our facelift patients a day or two after surgery, one week after the surgery, and then weekly thereafter for about a month. Things that would be a red flag back to the doctors that something could be wrong include swelling on one side more than on the other, which would mean a hematoma or collection of blood under the skin; or if the skin appeared dark or what we call in an s- scar form, which means it is not healing properly.

However, we need to stress that it is rare to have an infection with a facelift. The reason for that is that the blood supply to the face is so good that it is extremely unlikely you will get any infection at all.

Despite the technique used, most facelifts leave barely noticeable scars that are hidden in natural fold lines or at the hairline. These scars become almost invisible over time. You are left with a more youthful appearance of the face and neck and a fresh appearance to the skin overall.

The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.

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Having asymmetrical breasts is common. Most women have subtle asymmetry. Nobody has perfect breasts that are exactly the same. Sometimes the difference is subtle, and sometimes it is quite dramatic.

Asymmetry in breasts can come about for several reasons, usually as the result of genetics, pregnancy or weight loss, or simply a random event, when one begins to grow bigger than the other. Estrogen triggers off the development in breasts in puberty, and sometimes one reaches a larger size than its mate. Unfortunately, if the sizes are disparate, the results can be embarrassment and create a loss of self-esteem.

Corrective Surgery

When you are talking about surgery to correct uneven breasts, sometimes that means that one side will require a lift while the other side doesn’t, if it has too much droop to it. Other issues with uneven breasts may mean that the smaller breast has a larger implant, and the larger has a smaller implant to even it out.

When you have saline implants and the asymmetry is mild, it may mean you have the same base volume, but filled to different volume to even things out. In some cases, we can do a breast reduction to make one side smaller than the other.

Age is Important

Most surgeons will not perform breast operations to correct asymmetry until the patient is 18 years of age, at which time the breasts should have reached their mature size.  The recovery period will fluctuate, depending on whether you had a reduction or augmentation. If you have implants, you will probably need them removed and replaced at some stage, so be prepared for this eventuality.

Asymmetrical breasts, especially if the asymmetry is pronounced, can profoundly effect the way a woman perceives herself, and can also result in difficulty finding clothes that fit. We can easily perform surgery to correct the problem and make asymmetry a thing of the past.

The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.

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The reason why people want to have a browlift is because they feel their brow is too low. It should be above the bony rim of the eye socket. People will know if their brow has fallen quite easily if they can remember if they had had a higher brow when they were younger.

Sometimes people confuse excess skin on the upper eyelid with an eyelid problem, when sometimes the position of the brow affects the eyelid. You can have droopy and crêpey skin on the eyelid, but when you pick the brow up it completely goes away. This problem can be more on one side of the face than the other, as some people have asymmetry of the brow or the eyelid.

A browlift corrects the drooping brows by tightening the skin of the forehead and removing the muscles that cause frown lines between the brows and pull the brows down. There are two ways to do a browlift:

• Endoscopic – Four of five small incisions are made within the hairline and a light source with a camera like a laparoscope – actually a fiberoptic scope with camera attached – is used. The procedure is thus done with the surgeon watching on a television monitor. With this one, you cut less skin away but use deeper tissues to reposition the brow.
• Open brow lift – An incision is made that goes across the forehead or crown of the head, from the top of the ear on one side to the top of the ear on the other side. You are taking more of the skin away. It is usually used for patients who are older as there is more skin laxity, or for patients with particular brow asymmetry, as it is harder to get that even look with an endoscopic.

Another part of the procedure for any browlift is when you cut the corrugator muscles, as mentioned, which give you the frown lines between your brows. You do not want to have a permanently angry look, and those frown lines are also brow depressors, they pull the brow down again.

Easy Recovery

Recovery for a browlift is similar to a facelift, about seven to 10 days for the swelling and bruising to dissipate, and there should be no exercise for two weeks. Again, the operation is not too painful and is frequently carried out in conjunction with other procedures, such as a facelift or eyelid surgery.

The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.

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