Facelift

In time, gravity, sun exposure, and the stresses of daily life take their toll on our faces and necks. Deep creases appear beside the mouth, the jaw line slackens and becomes jowly, and the neck develops loose folds and fat deposits. Facelifts counteract these signs of aging by tightening muscle, removing fat, and trimming excess skin, giving your face a fresher, youthful look. After surgery, some patients look 10-15 years younger.

What can a facelift do for me?

Facelifts, technically known as rhytidectomies (literally, “removal of wrinkles”), rejuvenate the mid- to lower face and neck. When every thing else fails and anti-aging cream, lotion and consistent upkeep of the skin fail most patients resort to considering facelift. Facelifts are most effective for patients who want to correct:

  • Midface sagging
  • Deep creases under the eyes
  • Deep creases between the nose and mouth (nasolabial folds)
  • Jowls due to loss of muscle tone
  • Sagging areas of fat
  • Loose skin and fat under the chin and jaw

What won’t a facelift correct?

Facelifts can produce a dramatic improvement in appearance for patients with the problems mentioned above. However, facelifts do not stop the aging process; in time, signs of aging will gradually appear once again. Further, facelifts will not rejuvenate the brow, eyelids, nose, and some of the midface. Patients who want to improve these areas may consider combining a facelift with a brow lift or eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty).

Injectable soft-tissue fillers, facial implants and skin resurfacing can also enhance the effects of a facelift.

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Breast Augmentation

Breast augmentation is one of the most frequently performed cosmetic surgery procedures in the U.S. and one of our most popular services. Breast augmentation can give women with small or unevenly sized breasts a fuller, firmer, better-proportioned look through the placement of saline or silicone implants in the breast.

Patients elect to undergo breast augmentation for many different medical and aesthetic reasons, including balancing breast size, compensating for reduced breast mass after pregnancy or surgery, and correcting a congenital breast defect. Patients enjoy great-looking, natural-feeling breasts that are one or more cup sizes larger after the operation.

Fully Customized Breast Enhancement

We know that every woman is unique in both her desires and her body shape. With that in mind, we take the time during the pre-operative consultations to learn what each patient hopes to gain from breast augmentation surgery and to decide which implant type and implant placement is best. In this way, every one of our patients enjoys completely customized treatment designed with her specific goals in mind.

Complementary Procedures

Breast augmentation can achieve dramatic and beautiful results on its own as well as in conjunction with other cosmetic surgery or non-invasive procedures. We sometimes recommend combining breast augmentation with other procedures such as a breast lift for more satisfying results.

Saline and Silicone Gel Breast Implants

Breast implants are silicone shells filled with either saline (salt water) or silicone gel. Both implant types are very safe, and each offers its own advantages. We will help you decide which kind is right for you. During surgery, we will place the implants behind each breast, underneath either breast tissue or the chest wall muscle.

After many years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved silicone breast implants for breast augmentation surgery. Surgeons are proud to offer patients the option of silicone gel-filled breast implants, since they are much softer and feel more natural than saline-filled breast implants. Also, the new developments in chicago breast augmentation using the naturally curved implants have been developed in the last 5 years.

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Facial Plastic Surgery

Forehead Lift (Browlift)

Browlifts can revitalize drooping or lined foreheads, helping you to look less angry, sad or tired. Using either traditional or minimally invasive (endoscopic) methods, the muscles above the eyes are altered to smooth lines and raise the eyebrows for a more youthful appearance.

The procedure is often combined with other operations such as blepharoplasty and facelifts to improve the look of the eyes and other areas of the face.

Blepharoplasty (Eyelid Surgery)

Blepharoplasty can rejuvenate puffy, sagging or tired-looking eyes by removing excess fat, skin and muscle from the upper and lower eyelids. It may be performed for cosmetic reasons or to improve sight by lifting droopy eyelids out of the patient’s field of vision. The procedure is usually performed in an office with local anesthesia in as little as 45 minutes. Blepharoplasty can be combined with a facelift or BOTOX® treatments to raise the eyebrows or reduce the appearance of wrinkles, crow’s feet or dark circles under the eyes. Over the last two decades a new technique has emerged from the University of Chicago Medicine called the transconjunctival approach which leaves no visible scring around you eyes. The procedure was developed by the Chicago eyelid surgery professor Dr. Anthony J. Geroulis and has gained main stream acceptance in the plastic surgery field.

Facial Implants

Whether or not we notice it consciously, full cheeks are often a part of how we judge a person’s face. Cheek implants can have a major impact on the appearance and self-confidence of patients whose cheeks have thinned or sunken due to age, illness or other causes. Likewise, the chin helps provide harmony to the facial features. Often, patients come to the office desiring a smaller nose when, in fact, a chin augmentation provides a balance to the facial features. Implant sizes and shapes to augment the cheek and chin are tailored to each patient’s desired appearance. Continue Reading…

Liposuction

Liposuction, the single most popular cosmetic surgery procedure in the U.S. today. Liposuction sculpts the body by removing undesirable fat that has not responded to diet and exercise from the abdomen, waist, hips, buttocks, thighs, knees, upper arms, chin, cheeks and neck. Liposuction not only offers the opportunity to slim and contour chubby areas of the body; by removing the fat cells, it also ensures that these areas will not accumulate fatty deposits in the future.

Personalized Care

Doctors know that all patients are different, both in their body shapes and in what they wish to achieve with liposuction. We take as much time as necessary during every pre-operative consultation to learn what each patient wants to liposuction to do for them, and to decide which technique is best. In this way, every one of our patients enjoys completely customized treatment designed with his or her specific goals in mind.

Liposuction Techniques

The liposuction procedure begins with the injection of a solution composed of saline (salt water), a local anesthetic called lidocaine, and a small amount of adrenaline to decrease bruising and bleeding. This is known as either the tumescent or super-wet technique, depending on the ratio of the fluid to the fatty tissue being removed.

Once this solution has been introduced into the area planned for liposuction treatment, the doctor proceeds with one of two different methods of liposuction currently approved by plastic surgeons: suction-assisted lipectomy (SAL) or ultrasonic-assisted lipectomy (UAL).

In both methods, a tiny incision is made in as inconspicuous a place as possible. In SAL, a cannula (small tube) is inserted and moved back and forth beneath the skin, breaking up the fat layer and suctioning it out. In UAL, ultrasonic energy is used to liquefy the fat before it is suctioned out with a cannula.

The liposuction procedure may last from one to five hours, depending on the amount of fat being removed. The doctor will use either local anesthesia or general anesthesia, again depending on the size of the area(s) being treated as well as several other factors. We will discuss which method is best for you during your pre-operative consultation.

Recovery

After liposuction surgery, drainage tubes, compression garments and antibiotics may be needed to facilitate the healing process. Patients are encouraged to walk as soon as they are able, and many return to work within a few days. Strenuous activity should be avoided for about a month.

Results of Liposuction

Results are visible immediately, and improvement often continues as swelling subsides during the first three months. Doctors make sure that scars from the liposuction cannula insertion point are small and inconspicuous.

Risks of Liposuction

Risks are uncommon when the liposuction is performed by a qualified surgeon. Nevertheless, they do occur, and may include the following:

    • Infection
    • Delays in healing
    • Fat clots or blood clots
    • Shock
    • Fluid accumulation
    • Burns
    • Perforation injury
    • Lidocaine toxicity
    • Unfavorable drug or anesthesia reactions

Irregularities in appearance are possible, such as asymmetric or “baggy” skin, numbness and pigmentation changes.

Arm and Body Lift

Body Lift (Belt Lipectomy)

bodyliftBody Lift | Arm Lift | Boston | WellesleyThe body lift is performed to remove loose, excess skin from the torso and upper legs. It offers an improvement in appearance for patients who have lost significant amounts of weight due to childbearing, diet, exercise or bariatric surgery. The procedure is often combined with others such as breast lifts and arm lifts to retain a proper body proportion.

Arm Lift (Brachioplasty)

armlift

After substantial weight loss, weight gain or simply from the effects of aging, skin on the upper arms can become inelastic, loose and flabby. Arm lifts, also known as brachioplasty, remove that excess skin and fat. Patients who have significant amounts of fat may want to consider combining the procedure with liposuction.

Abdominoplasty – Tummy Tuck

Abdominoplasty, often called a “tummy tuck,” is a very popular surgery in America. Tummy tucks help to flatten and shape the abdomen and waist by removing excess fat and skin and tightening muscles. Our doctors have been performing abdominoplasties with excellent cosmetic results for many years. Patients love the look of their new flat stomachs after surgery under our doctors’ exceptional care.

Who is a good candidate for a tummy tuck?

The best candidates for abdominoplasty are in good physical condition with pockets of fat or loose skin that haven’t responded well to diet and exercise. We can also help older, slightly obese people whose skin has lost some of its elasticity.

Abdominoplasty can also be useful for women with stretched skin and muscles from pregnancy. Results from the tummy tuck procedure will likely diminish if women continue to bear children, so we advise patients who plan to become pregnant to delay abdominoplasty.

We also encourage patients who intend to lose a lot of weight to wait before undergoing the procedure, since skin in the abdominal area typically loosens after substantial weight loss.

Customized Treatment for Optimal Cosmetic Results

We take the time during every pre-operative consultation to learn what his patients want to achieve from a tummy tuck both for their bodies and for their self-confidence. By listening to what patients have to say and closely examining them rather than performing a one-size-fits-all procedure on every person, we provide patients with completely customized treatment that takes into account their specific goals.

The Tummy Tuck Procedure

Abdominoplasty takes approximately two to five hours under general anesthesia. The surgeon will make two incisions: one from hipbone to hipbone close to the pubic area, and another around the navel. He or she will separate the skin from the abdominal muscles, which are then pulled together and stitched into place for a firmer abdomen and narrower waist. He or she will stretch the skin flap down and over the newly tightened muscles, remove excess skin, and reattach the navel in a natural position. Finally, he or she will close the incisions and apply sterile surgical dressings over the sutured areas.

Recovery after Abdominoplasty

A temporary tube may be inserted to drain excess fluid from the surgical site. Recovery time ranges from two weeks to a few months.

Tummy Tuck Results

Abdominoplasty will leave a scar spanning the lower abdomen from hip to hip. We are very careful to make the incision low enough for even a bikini to conceal the scar.

With a balanced diet and regular exercise, results are long-lasting.

Risks of Abdominoplasty

Though rare, post-operative complications from surgery are possible. They may include infection, blood clots, and poor healing, which may require further surgery.

Patients who have had previous abdominal surgery should know that their old scars could be raised, stretched or generally more noticeable after the procedure. A scar revision procedure after abdominoplasty may minimize the appearance of an unsightly scar.

Partial Abdominoplasty (Mini Tummy Tuck)

Partial abdominoplasty is similar to abdominoplasty except a shorter incision is made and the skin is only lifted to the navel, which does not have to be moved.

Breast Reduction

Large breasts can cause pain, improper posture, rashes, breathing problems, skeletal deformities, and low self-esteem. Breast reduction surgery is usually done to provide relief from these symptoms. Performed under general anesthesia, the two- to four-hour procedure removes fat and glandular tissue and tightens skin to produce smaller, lighter breasts that are in a healthier proportion to the rest of the body.

Breast reduction surgery is not recommended for women who intend to breast-feed, since many of the milk ducts leading to the nipples are removed.

During the procedure an anchor-shaped incision is made from the new location of the nipple down to and around the crease beneath the breast. The surgeon removes excess glandular tissue, fat, and skin, relocates the nipple and areola, and reshapes the breast using skin from around the areola before closing the incisions with stitches.  Liposuction may be needed to remove excess fat from the armpit area, and in some cases when only fat needs to be removed from the breasts, liposuction alone is used for breast reduction.

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Rhinoplasty – Nose Job

Rhinoplasty, or nose surgery a.k.a nose job, is one of the most common plastic surgery procedures performed today. It can reshape, reduce or augment a person’s nose to achieve facial harmony and boost self-confidence. It may be performed as a reconstructive procedure to correct a birth defect or an injury such as a broken nose.

Rhinoplasty may be performed for functional rather than cosmetic reasons as well. Combining nose reshaping with septoplasty or endoscopic sinus surgery can effectively treat certain breathing problems, such as those caused by a deviated septum.

What can rhinoplasty do for me?

Rhinoplasty is an excellent procedure for achieving the following:

  • Balance the size of the nose with the other facial features
  • Modify the width of the nose at the bridge
  • Improve the nasal profile, including removing humps or depressions
  • Contour a nasal tip that is too large, “boxy,” drooping or upturned
  • Change the angle between the nose and the mouth
  • Narrow and reshape the nostrils
  • Correct asymmetry or deviation

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Breast Lift

A woman’s breasts may droop as a result of the natural effects of aging, heredity, gravity, pregnancy, breastfeeding or weight loss. A breast lift, also called a mastopexy, is performed to return youthful shape and lift to breasts that have sagged or lost volume and firmness.

What can a breast lift do for me?

Breast lifts rejuvenate the breasts by trimming excess skin and tightening supporting tissues to achieve an uplifted, youthful contour. After a mastopexy, the breasts are higher on the chest and firmer to the touch. Breast lifts can also reposition and reduce the size of the areola—the dark skin surrounding the nipple—which may have stretched or drooped.

Breast size does not change after a breast lift, nor does the fullness or roundness in the upper part of the breasts. Women who desire larger, smaller or more rounded breasts may want to consider a breast augmentation or breast reduction together with a breast lift.

Am I a good candidate for a breast lift?

The best candidates for breast lift are women whose breasts meet some or all of the following conditions:

  • Breasts sag
  • Breasts have lost shape or volume
  • Breasts are flat, elongated, or pendulous (hanging)
  • Breast skin and/or areola is stretched
  • Nipples or areolas point downward
  • Nipples or areolas are located in the breast crease when breasts are unsupported
  • One breast is lower than the other

It is also very important that breast lift candidates:

  • Maintain a stable weight
  • Are generally healthy
  • Do not smoke
  • Discuss realistic goals with their plastic surgeon

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