Liposuction: To Ultrasound or Not To Ultrasound: Part II in the Liposuction Series

Liposuction has become sophisticated.  In the 1990s, I was like everybody else.  I performed liposuction with a little numbing medication and a vacuum tube--that was it!  While it worked well, I could not contour so easily or so completely.  Occasionally, I had contour irregularities.

However, I now employ pretty fancy technology for liposuction (and I almost never do traditional liposuction anymore.)  My preferred technique includes...

• tumescent anesthesia
• ultrasonic liposuction

Liposuction Safety: Part I in the Liposuction Series

While Americans idealize thin and fit bodies, we tend to spend our money on cars (rather than running shoes), televisions (rather than tennis racquets), and fast food (rather than fruit).  The result is that we gain weight, and we’re not happy about it.

    

So, what do we finally do?  We join gyms and eat sensibly.  We follow strict diets.  The pounds come off.  And we look (and feel) great.

    

However, there are always a few areas that we just can’t slim to our satisfaction…

    

No matter how many miles I run, I just can’t get rid of “my saddlebags.”  I look just like my mom and my Aunt Amy.

- Patient E.M.

    

I do 50 sit-ups per day, but I just can’t get a thin waist.  I have a “spare tire” around my stomach, just like my dad.

- Patient S.U.

    

For focal fat deposits that are the result of our genetic heritage, I recommend liposuction…

    

Liposuction is performed by inserting a small hollow tube, called a cannula, through one or more tiny incisions near the problem area. Incisions are usually less than one-quarter inch long and are placed inconspicuously within the skin folds or contour lines. The cannula is connected by tubing to a suction unit.  As I guide it around your torse, it literally vacuums fat away!  The end result is a slimmer contour and a firmer-looking body.

    

Despite its conceptual simplicity, liposuction is probably the most misunderstood operation in plastic surgery.  Some common myths…

    

Restylane, Juvéderm, Radiesse, Sculptra: Filling Up Your Deflated Face (Rather Than Lifting It)

Many of us bemoan weight gain with age.  One of the common refrains heard in our office is “How I wish I could be as thin as I was in high school!”

    

The scales don’t lie.  Most Americans do tend to get heavier as they grow older.  However, fat doesn’t increase consistently around our bodies.

    

While tummies and hips tend to collect fat as we grow older, other areas tend to lose it.  In particular, the years melt away the “baby fat” from our cheeks, and this deflation signals facial aging.

    

Likewise, osteoporosis doesn't just affect the bones in our legs and back.  The bones of our face also lose their bulk.  We lose the "strength" of our jaw lines, and our orbits expand so that our eyes look increasingly "deep set."

    

Our friends see these effects in our faces long before X-rays pick up changes in our bone densities.  And what are our friends really seeing?  WRINKLES, FOLDS, and LINES!!

    

As our cheeks grow hollow, we develop “parentheses lines” on the sides of the nose and mouth.  Our lips themselves, too, lose their plumpness.  Loss of volume in the lips and cheeks contributes to the “smoker’s lines” that begin to radiate from our lips—even if we’ve never puffed on a cigarette.  The corners of the mouth may start to turn down, conveying sadness or anger—even though we may tend to be happy.

    

Fortunately, new soft-tissue fillers have been designed so that you don’t have to accept “deflation.”  Via injections—as a minor procedure in the office—fillers can restore volume to the facial skin, producing a smoother, more youthful appearance.

    

The common location that my patients request fillers are...

Is Botox About to Get Some Competition? Reloxin to Arrive in the U.S.A.

Medicis (the maker of Restylane and Perlane) is poised to bring a Botox competitor--Reloxin--to the U.S. market.

Plastic surgeons have increasingly employed injectable agents to ameliorate facial aging.  In fact, going under the needle has become 4-5-fold more popular than submitting to the knife!

The two common classes of injectables are...

• Muscle relaxants (Only one muscle relaxant is commonly used in the U.S.A.:  Botox)
• Soft-tissue fillers (such as collagen, Restylane, Perlane, Juvederm Ultra, Juvederm Ultra Plus, Radiesse, Sculptra, and Artefill)

While the list of "fillers" has grown long in the past few years, Botox has never really had any competition in the U.S.  Myobloc and a variety of creams have purported to be "better than Botox."  But, you know what?  They aren't.

But that just might change.  And change could be a very good thing.