Lip augmentation procedures increase the size of the lips to make them fuller and can also be used to define the vermilion border of the lips. Upper and lower lips can be treated individually or at the same time.

Lip augmentation can be accomplished either surgically or with the injection of temporary (dermal) fillers. Autologous fat injections to the lips are a longer lasting alernative to the dermal fillers.

During the fat injection procedure, fat is harvested from another area of the body, usually the abdomen, and the fat is separated, purified and injected with small needles into the lips. Because not all of the fat will survive, the lips are over-corrected at first so that the final result will meet your expectations. The procedure can be done as an outpatient with some light sedation anesthesia. This is often performed in conjunction with other procedures. The result can last 6 months to several years. Occasionally patients may wish to repeat the procedure.

The Mini Lift (also referred to as a Short scar face lift) is a less invasive procedure with a shorter recovery time than its more traditional cousin, the full face lift. The Mini face Lift is an ideal procedure for women who are just starting to note deepening lines on their face, sagging of the skin over their lower face and jaw line, and perhaps some laxity of their neck.

You may be a good candidate for this procedure if you are a woman in your early 40s and don't want to wait for noticeable signs of aging to alter your appearance. The Mini Lift is also a useful secondary procedure if you have previously had a face lift and are starting to notice the signs of age again making an appearance.

A Modified Face Lift is the right choice if you are a woman in your late 40s or early 50s and notice more laxity in your face and neck but still not very much. You surgeon will help you determine whether you are the right candidate for this procedure.

In a Modified Face Lift, the incision made to the face is similar to the Mini Lift but extends behind the ear, and there may be need for an additional incision under the chin. This allows Dr. Lofman to reposition the fallen soft tissues and tighten the lax neck muscles as well as remove more redundant skin than a Mini-Lift would allow.

The Full Face Lift is designed for you if older than 55 or have significant laxity of the soft tissues of your face and neck. While it requires a longer incision, skillful surgical technique ensures the incision is placed inconspicuously.

The Full Face Lift effectively restores your youthful appearance and should give you back at least 15 years that time has taken away. This is achieved by tightening the underlying lax muscles, doing so in a way that does not leave the typical signs of a face lift.

A face lift may also be combined with other facial procedures such as eyelid surgery or a brow lift. During your private consultation with your chosen plastic surgeon, he/she will explain in full detail the varying aspects of these different procedures and what other techniques may be available to help you achieve realistic results.

Filler agent treatments for facial aging are one of the most rapidly growing areas of cosmetic medicine. When a plastic surgeon evaluates patients who desire facial rejuvenation, they consider a three prong approach. Surgery and skin care can be vital to obtaining the best result, but the third prong includes fillers. They are a wonderful adjunct in many patients. They can improve the result of surgery in most, but in some, fillers can provide enough improvement that surgery can be delayed.

So what are Dermal fillers? They are products designed to be injected into the skin to correct and soften lines or furrows. They can also be used to increase lip volume. There is a dizzying array of products available that are made from different substances. Some products are derived from animals, and other from cadavers. Still others are bio-engineered. I currently prefer Juvederm. It is made from a substance called hyaluronic acid, which is a natural component of human skin. There is no risk of allergy, so skin testing is not required in advance of treatment. It is a gel formulation, unlike some earlier generation products that are particulate in character. The gel injects smoothly and does not result in lumps or bumps under the skin.

View Breast Implant Surgery Before and After Photos

Egg freezing is a breakthrough technology that allows women to freeze and store their eggs until a pregnancy is desired. At that time, the eggs are thawed, fertilized and transferred to the uterus as embryos.

Who May Benefit?

Many women today are postponing childbearing because they are focused on a career, are returning to school, or because they simply haven’t met the right person. For these women, egg freezing is revolutionary, not just in its technology, but in the life choices it allows them to make.

Over 50,000 reproductive-aged women are diagnosed with cancer each year in the United States. Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatments typically lead to infertility by destroying the eggs. While options vary depending on age, type of cancer and cancer-treatment plan, egg freezing can provide these women the opportunity to preserve their fertility.

And finally, egg freezing can be useful for individuals with religious or moral objections to storing frozen embryos that remain following a routine IVF cycle.

Wrinkles explained

The lines that appear between your brows (glabellar lines) actually result from muscle movement and the passage of time. You may have heard the expression "wearing your emotions on your sleeve," but in reality you wear them on your face. If you're angry or annoyed, for example, you knit your brows together. Underneath your skin, your facial muscles contract, cause a pleating of the overlying skin, and then, as anyone can see, you're frowning.

After years of crinkling and wrinkling, those glabellar lines start to linger longer and can become more pronounced. For women, whose faces tend to be more animated than men's, and whose skin is typically more delicate, these lines may appear exaggerated and more permanent.

BOTOX can help

Fortunately, there is a way to reduce moderate to severe glabellar lines. Treatment with BOTOX® Cosmetic can visibly smooth and soften moderate to severe frown lines between your brows. An improvement can be seen within days and may last up to 4 months, although results may vary. In clinical trials, nearly 90% of men and women surveyed rated the improvement in the appearance of frown lines between their brows as moderate to better 1 month after treatment.

The beauty of a BOTOX® treatment is that it's a simple, 10-minute, non-surgical process. A few tiny injections, and within days there can be a noticeable improvement in the moderate to severe frown lines between the brows that can last up to 4 months. Results may vary. And there’s no recovery time. You can even do it on your lunch break.

Often the candidates for this procedure are women who have experienced breast shrinkage following pregnancies. The procedure can restore fullness and reduce sagging. Additionally, it is often the treatment of choice for women who have been naturally endowed with small breasts.

During the initial consultation, the patient and plastic surgeon together decide what size implant will look best. The size of the implant is limited to the degree of stretch the existing breast can tolerate. The goal is to create a natural looking breast that is proportional to the size of the individual.

As is the case with any surgical procedure, there are risks associated with augmentation. Sometimes, the breasts may become somewhat more firm -- a fact attributable to the tightening of a capsule which forms around the implant. Today, the occurrence of firmness is very low. Additionally, a small number of patients note some loss of sensation in the nipple area. Also, one must realize the implants are a man-made device and can leak, requiring replacement.

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. More than 500,000 new cases are reported each year-and the incidence is rising faster than any other type of cancer. While skin cancers can be found on any part of the body, about 80 percent appear on the face, head, or neck, where they can be disfiguring as well as dangerous.

The primary cause of skin cancer is ultraviolet radiation -most often from the sun, but also from artificial sources like sunlamps and tanning booths. In fact, researchers believe that our quest for the perfect tan, an increase in outdoor activities, and perhaps the thinning of the earth's protective ozone layer are behind the alarming rise we're now seeing in skin cancers.

All too often, many people think of plastic surgeons as Doctors who decided not to pursue a more in depth field of medicine such a heart surgeon, or neurological surgeon, etc. What most do not realize is that plastic surgery is not a fly by night industry and while there are those surgeons who do a good job at furthering that myth, the majority of plastic surgeons are caring, skilled and experienced doctors with a sharp eye for the details.

Realize that plastic surgery is a very in depth field. Everyday a large number of plastic and cosmetic surgeons take a role in advancing the techniques and methods used in order to make cosmetic and plastic surgery procedures safer, and increase the probability of successful surgical procedures. Currently there are many techniques, and advancements for products such as breast Implants in clinical trials, being tested, research data is being recorded, and Patients taking part in these trails feedback and experiences are being sought- all in an effort to improve plastic surgery as a whole.

In order for a top plastic surgeon in New Jersey to excel, be successful and maintain a positive reputation, it takes a tireless work ethic, never ending study and education, and a desire to help people become the best they can be. Many of these successful plastic surgeons are also talented artists, and that natural artistic quality carries over into plastic surgery.

In short, to become and remain a successful plastic surgeon, one must always maintain a compassionate desire to help others, and do everything possible to further advance the technology, surgical methods and techniques that make plastic surgery procedures and successful results a reality.

There are many techniques available to reconstruct a breast following mastectomy. All of the techniques described here can be performed at the time of mastectomy. This is referred to as "immediate" breast reconstruction. Immediate breast reconstruction saves the patient at least one subsequent operation, and has been shown to have a significant psychological benefit, as the patient never experiences a mastectomy defect.
 

Breast Reconstruction is one of the most challenging and rewarding areas of plastic surgery in San Francisco. Dr. Kind is one of a very few surgeons performing the deep inferior epigastric perforator or DIEP flap for breast reconstruction. This technique allows for the breast to be reconstructed with the patient's own tissues, without the loss of any muscle.

It is always an excellent idea to do your research and seek out a qualified, skilled and experienced specialist like Plastic Surgeon In San Francisco Dr Kind to help answer your questions and understand the plastic surgery procedure fully before having the surgery.

If you are considering a plastic surgery procedure such as Breast Reconstruction, make sure you do your research and consult with a specialist prior to having the surgery procedure. Making sure you fully understand the procedure, the risks involved and having all of your questions answered beforehand can mean the difference between a successful procedure and a surgery nightmare. There are a lot of great information rich websites on the internet. One really informative website is lookingyourbest.com. This free site provides a wealth of plastic surgery information. This site even offers a free service to help locate a qualified plastic surgeon in your area.

Dr. James Anthony, a plastic surgeon in San Francisco, California recommends you choose a doctor who is board certified and affiliated with a reputable hospital, and is up-to-date on what is new in his field. Does your doctor offer a variety of techniques? The right surgeon can achieved marked results for Plastic Surgery Procedures.

Dr. Anthony has been in practice since the early nineties, and combines a sense of aesthetics, his surgical skills, and the latest techniques to achieve the results his patients desire. Dr Anthony feels it is crucial that his patients find his practice to be a safe and comfortable environment, as well.

"It is extremely important to a successful surgery that you find a surgeon you are comfortable with" states Dr Anthony. "You should be able to talk to him openly, expressing your concerns. Communication is key in a relationship with your doctor," especially when you're talking about what you want from the surgery. And a doctor who enjoys his work doesn't hurt, either.

There are several procedures available to help your wife see a difference in her skin condition, and procedures that can help treat fine lines and wrinkles. These two issues and related, but can be treated differently. Red skin and “blotchy” skin problems are usually treated with laser skin resurfacing and IPL (Intense Pulse Light Waves). There are several different types of laser treatments, and we will examine a few here:

Photoderm Laser/Photofacial/IPL- This light source laser effectively treats many concerns on various parts of the body including red blotchiness or blood vessels, irregular pigmentation, fine lines or general sun damage of the skin! There is relatively no downtime with this procedure.

Active FX Laser – This laser treatment can be utilized for everything from fine lines to the not-so-fine lines! Sun spots to sagging skin! This non-ablative laser produces similar results to ablative lasers, such as the CO2, without the downtime associated with them. Below is a before and after photo that illustrates the results of this laser treatment.

Fraxel Laser – This laser is a new approach to "resurfacing" the skin with many of the benefits of an ablative laser but virtually no downtime. This laser treatment eliminates old epidermal cells (brown spots or age spots) while penetrating deep into the dermis to improve fine lines, wrinkles and general skin discoloration. Your skin will be softer, smoother, fresher, with improved quality, tone and texture. Stretch marks and scars can also be successfully treated with this laser. Below is photo depicting the before and after results of a Fraxel Laser Treatment.

These are just a few of the many laser treatments available for skin resurfacing and rejuvenation. New York Dermatologist Dr Karyn Grossman recommends learning more about Laser Skin rejuvenation before electing to have a laser treatment.

Fine lines and wrinkles can be treated solely with laser skin rejuvenation, however there are other alternatives and depending on your skin condition, and other factors, one of these procedures may be right for you.

Lipotransfer - By removing fat from one area of the body where it is not wanted and injecting it into other areas where it is needed, you can achieve a soft filling effect unlike any other filler substances. By storing some of the fat and injecting it periodically, your enhanced appearance will be consistent. Fat can be used to plump up lips, fill in the nasal labial folds or the hollows of the cheeks, to "create” cheekbones and plump up hands.

Filler Lift - Dermal fillers such as restylane, Juvederm, Botox and Sculptra are commonly used in cosmetic dermatology as an instant esthetic treatment. A dermal filler injection is one of the few procedures to provide immediate improvement or enhancement of appearance with little or no down-time. There are many different fillers available today. However, it is not uncommon for physicians to suggest the use of one product for the treatment of multiple areas of concern.

As always, before choosing to have any procedure it is recommended you research your desired procedure(s) and locate a skilled, experienced and qualified specialist such as a cosmetic dermatologist. Be sure to schedule a consultation and have all your questions answered.

There are several websites out there, and alot of them have accurate , in depth information. One excellent site I have discovered for researching both surgical and non-surgical plastic and cosmetic surgery procedures is Lookingyourbest.com. Here you can not only find procedural and safety information, but they also offer a free service to help you locate the right plastic surgeon for your procedure. Remember, Taking the proper steps and understanding all this is involved with any procedure can mean the difference between a positive experience and a nightmare.