Hats Off to Plastic Surgeons!

All over the world people express themselves through their personal appearance.  Our choices in makeup, jewelry, clothing, hair color and style are our way of letting strangers know a little bit about who we are.  They help us to say something about our belief system, and they assist us in attracting like-minded individuals.  Some external expressions may be more extreme than others.  There are tribal people in South America, for instance, who paint anacondas on their faces, and even stick bamboo twigs into their facial skin to recreate the look of the whiskers of the animals they most revere.  Other indigenous people force large disks into their earlobes, forever changing the natural orientation of their ears.  But you don’t have to go deep into the jungle to witness extraordinary self expression.  Body art is extremely common these days.  Lots of people sport tattoos, some all over their bodies, and what patch of skin has not been pierced and bejeweled by someone?

The desire to look on the outside the way we feel on the inside is absolutely part of the human condition.  And the work plastic surgeons do to help accommodate this desire deserves every bit of the acclaim it receives.  Plastic surgery has the power to rebuild lives, from the outside in.  It has the power to boost our self confidence.  Not only can it keep us looking younger longer, but it can generate life-changing outcomes for people who were born with abnormalities.  Birthmarks, warts and growths can be removed through plastic surgery, and so can scars left from severe childhood acne.  Cleft lips and other disfigurements can be corrected, and so can Gynecomastia, the abnormal development of large mammary glands in males.  People who have undergone bariatric surgery for obesity can have reconstructive surgery to eliminate loose skin.  A body that won’t bounce back after motherhood can be just as psychologically debilitating for one person as a birth defect or a burn scar may be for another.  There is no end to the good work plastic surgeons can do with the technology available to them in the 21^st century.

The line between adornment and correction is a blur, and no one ought to have to suffer from the belief that they should learn to live with whatever physical aspects they happen to have—whether they were born with them or incurred them along the way.  A face lift for a middle age executive whose job requires her to impress clients daily is no more important than a facelift for a housewife who takes pride in how she looks when she meets with her book club.  The only one who knows how you feel about how you look is you.  If the right makeup, jewelry and clothing are not making the cut, you have other options.  Getting real can sometimes mean going deep, asking yourself what you are willing to do for yourself, how far you are willing to go to level the playing field, so that you make just as good a first impression as anyone else.

There are no judges here deciding who should and who should not.  The technology to change the way we look didn’t used to be available and now it is.  It’s as simple as that.  Vectra 3D Imaging takes the surprise out of procedure outcomes.  Lasers are quickly becoming to this day and age what sunscreen was to the mid 1900s.  But let us not forget that all these incredible tools are only as effective as the plastic surgeons who wield them.  And the best plastic surgeons are not only skilled and experienced by also empathic.  They know how to listen, and they know how to help.

Personal Growth—A Step At A Time

Personal growth doesn’t generally happen by itself.  It requires taking the bull by the horns, trying new things, expanding the scope of your experiences.  That doesn’t mean you have to go out and get your pilot’s license or book a climbing trip in Nepal, necessarily.  The potential for growth is there in any new experience.  Joining a stimulating book club or a French immersion class can be just as rewarding as lifting the nose of your Cessna at the end of the runway.

Besides accruing the kinds of experiences that have meaning for you, you can achieve personal growth by taking charge of your appearance.  There is almost nothing as empowering as putting yourself in the body that best defines who you are on the inside.  Dieting, exercising and maintaining good health habits are the beginning of the journey, and for some people, they may be enough.  But other people are prone to tummy flab, or loose skin, or uneven skin tone…. Or they have reached the age where gravity has begun to work against them in earnest.  Or, they are simply not happy with some aspect of a particular feature or features.

If you are one of the many people who has considered making changes to your appearance as a component of your personal growth campaign, here are some basic steps to take.

Define your goals and research methods for achieving them: Are your thighs too big for the rest of your body?  Easy.  You will want to look into liposuction.  But if you are seeking to soften your laugh lines or get rid of those frown lines on your forehead, you are going to have to do some research.

Continual advances in cosmetic technologies mean that you have more options than ever.  Should you consider facial fillers such as Botox or laser work?  Or should you go all out and get a facelift?  Or will a quick and easy fat transfer, using your very own fat, do the job?  The key here is not to rush.  There are some great websites out there that put lots of information at your fingertips, including, in some cases, super informative 3D presentations that walk and talk you through various procedures!

Once you’ve begun to educate yourself about your options, you will want to generate a list of questions and add to it every time you think of something new.  Your list should include concerns about how your personal health history will impact any procedure you might decide to have.  It should also include questions about the procedures themselves.  How long do they take?  Do they require anesthesia?  What, if any, are the risks?  How long until a patient can resume normal activities?  And of course you will want to create questions for the medical teams you interview too.  Ask about their certifications and experience, what they consider to be their specialties, and what kind of post-procedure follow-up they provide.  And do they offer payment options?

Once you’ve identified your objective, done some research and begun to make a list of questions, it’s time to start looking for the medical team that is right for you.  Most doctors feature patient before-and-after pictures on their websites, and these can be very valuable in helping you determine what kind of results a medical team is likely to be able to achieve.  But even better is making an appointment with a plastic surgery team that possesses a Vectra 3D Imager and having your own before-and-after images generated BEFORE you commit to any procedure.  That’s the magic of the Vectra 3D.  Using special software, the patient is able to view the prospective results from all angles, bringing the patient/doctor consultation to a whole new level.

Once you’ve opened the door to personal growth you are likely to find there is no stopping you.  It’s a thrill to know that living life to its fullest can be as simple as defining your goals and taking the steps to achieve them.

Back To School Can Mean New Beginnings For Moms As Well As Kids

The moment a child is born, a mother also comes into existence.  Her other labels may come and go, but “motherhood” is a permanent state, no matter how old the kiddies are.  And there used to be a time when it was a conspicuous state as well, with stretched tummies and lax breasts being its most discernible indicators.  But times have changed, and the physical mutations that a woman’s body undergoes in becoming a mother don’t have to be permanent any longer.  Thanks to modern medicine and the revolutionary technologies that support it, every woman has the opportunity not only to get her body back into its pre-maternal shape, but even, should she so desire, to take her body a step beyond.

The procedure is called the Mommy Makeover, and the doctors at San Francisco’s Plastic Surgery Specialists have become celebrated for the part they have played in making it one of the most popular cosmetic surgical procedures being performed today.  Basically the Mommy Makeover provides each woman with an array of surgical options, depending on her individual needs.  These can include breast lifts and/or augmentation, tummy tucks and liposuction.  Older moms may also want to include facial rejuvenation in their makeover package.

There are several advantages to having these various procedures performed all at the same time, under the agency of the Mommy Makeover.  First, it is cost effective to do so; in essence, you are paying for one multi-faceted procedure scheduled to occur in one place and time rather than two or three separate surgeries scheduled at various times.  Second, and more importantly, the healing/recovery period (generally two to three weeks) is far shorter than would be the collective recovery time for procedures done separately.  And third, the Mommy Makeover gives the patient and her doctors the opportunity to regard the body as a whole.  For example, one question might be, If the tummy tuck reduces the waistline by x number of inches, what size/shape breast implants will best complement the new waist contours?  The Mommy Makeover is a dynamic, creative undertaking, and the finished product can truly be a work of art.

But in spite of the lighthearted moniker, the Mommy Makeover is also a serious procedure and it requires serious consideration.  Because of its complexity, one would want a surgeon who is an expert in all of the individual procedures and who has also had many opportunities to perform them together at the same time.  Many of the best surgeons specializing in this field find it makes sense to double up, with two surgeons executing one makeover project, which, again, can cut the surgery time in half, making it even safer for the patient.  And it helps to have a support team on their staff who have experience in dealing with multi-faceted surgical procedures.  Also, plastic surgery teams that have access to VECTRA® 3D Imagers can actually allow patients to view the results before the makeover even takes place.

Back-to-school is a time of new beginnings for the kids: new clothes, new friends, new things to learn…  There’s no reason why it shouldn’t offer new beginnings for moms too.  Whether you are a young mom who has just put her youngest on the school bus for the first time, or an older mom whose kids are off to college but who has never stopped dreaming about the body she once had, now is a great time to consult with the plastic surgery team of your choice to see if you may be a good Mommy Makeover candidate.  Parenting expends a lot of energy and requires a lot of sacrifice.  A Mommy Makeover is an opportunity to turn inward and see what changes you would like to make for yourself.  A positive self image can be the precursor for taking on a string of other exciting challenges.  And women who have had Mommy Makeovers are so happy with their new bodies that they generally have no problem committing to healthy eating and exercise regimes that will keep them looking and feeling great for many years to come.

Cosmetic Surgery Advances Offer Something For Everyone

If you keep up with the latest cosmetic technologies, your head may be spinning about now.  There have never before been so many amazing options.  Look at all the fillers out there these days, everything from the ever-popular Botox to newer competitors such as Juvederm, to injectables made from one’s own fat—and even one’s own blood!  Besides being minimally invasive, these options have in common that they are affordable, take very little time, and produce results that are so smooth and natural that an observer is likely only to notice that the recipient of the procedure is “looking better than ever.”

In other words, the results are subtle.  And “subtle” may be just what you are going for.  In fact, you can go even more discrete with chemical peels and laser skin resurfacing.  These days the best plastic surgeons and skin professionals have not one but multiple lasers in their offices, because the functions of these wonderful machines vary.  There are lasers that work only with the top surface of the skin, the epidermis, softening lines and smoothing out color disparities.  Then there lasers that penetrate below the surface of the skin, into the place where collagen and elastin reside, to work at deeper wrinkles and enlarged pores.  And finally there are lasers that employ intense pulses of light that can break down uneven pigmentation and brown spots.

All of these fillers and laser procedures produce great results and can take years off your appearance.  But if what you really want is to change the shape of your chin, the size of your breasts or the volume of your eyelids, you won’t be able to get by with fillers or laser resurfacing.  Rather, you may be a candidate for old-fashioned plastic surgery.  If so, what you need to know is that while the results may be as striking as ever, the procedures are more refined than ever too.  Thanks to technology, old-fashioned plastic surgery is not really old-fashioned anymore!  And you can be guaranteed of the satisfaction of getting exactly the change you want, especially if your plastic surgery team possesses a Vectra 3D Imager, which lets you check out the results before the procedure.  Now that’s not only practical; that’s empowering.

Think of the possibilities: If having kids has changed your body in ways that displease you, you may be a candidate for a Mommy Makeover, in which breast augmentation, tummy tuck and/or liposuction can be combined, all in one procedure, to address your post-pregnancy needs.  Or you can change your entire facial structure by strategically adding chin and/or cheek implants.  The incisions necessary for such implants are tinier than ever, and yet the results can be dramatic.  Likewise, a facelift can truly give you a new lease on life.  Most plastic surgeons offer two types, a more traditional lift—and a QuickLift.  And of course there are procedures to address particular areas of your face and body.  Compression garments and cutting-edge products to address bruising and swelling make recovery from any procedure quicker and more comfortable than ever.

If you want to feel relaxed and rejuvenated, get a massage.  That steady pressure, whether on your face or all over your body, will help increase your circulation and infuse your skin tissue with nutrients, leaving your skin radiant and healthier than it was before.  If you want to knock five to ten years off your appearance, check out fillers and laser skin resurfacing options.  But if you want to change your look, go for the gold.  You won’t regret it!

See the After, Before

Plastic Surgery Specialists is one of a handful of practices in California to offer Vectra 3D imaging.  This exciting technology allows you to see how the operation looks on your actual body before “taking the plunge” for surgery.  Whether it is sizing for breast implants, results of your mommy makeover surgery, or subtle changes to your nose or chin, Vectra 3D takes the guess work out of the process.  “When you and your surgeon are on the same page most of your anxiety just goes away.  It has been worth every penny we have invested in this exciting technology,” Dr. Stanley Poulos of PSS confirms.

Call us today at 877-430-0523 to arrange your complementary imaging session.

Top 5 List of Cosmetic Surgery Procedures

Considering making a change in your appearance and not sure where to begin?  The procedures range from minor to major and the available options seem to grow by the day.  The research is dizzying and the opinions are more so.

That’s why the trusted cosmetic surgery professionals at Plastic Surgery Specialists have compiled a list of the hottest plastic surgery procedures so when the time comes to treat yourself, you’ll have some idea of where to turn.  Check out our top five list:

Liposuction: If pockets of fat—on your hips or thighs or tummy—are ruining the good things that make up the rest of your body, you may be a candidate for Liposuction.  Liposuction reshapes specific body areas by suctioning excess fat from between the skin and the underlying muscle.  The procedure requires only a tiny incision, takes very little time, and recipients can recover within a few weeks.  No wonder it is so sought after!

Breast Augmentation: Breast implants are exceedingly popular in these times, especially now that the very best plastic surgeons are working with Vectra 3D imaging, which allows patients to see the results in advance of the procedure itself.  The patient can choose between an array of implant options, and the final implants can be custom shaped to ensure that the end result is nothing less that than a dream come true.  Inconspicuous incisions, short procedure times and quick recovery make this empowering technique an all-time favorite.

Botox: Frown lines between the eyebrows, horizontal forehead lines, crows feet, and smile lines have all met their match in Botox.  Botox is based on a very simple and ingenious concept: If you weaken the muscles, underlying lines and wrinkles, you can minimize them.  Just as small amounts of, say, Iodine, are essential for good health while larger doses can be harmful, the same bacteria that causes botulism, diluted thousands of times, is used (safely) in Botox to great effect.

Eyelid Surgery: Whether or not the eyes are “the mirror of the soul”—as proclaimed by the well-known Yiddish proverb—they certainly are the feature that we focus on most when we engage with other people.  That’s why Eyelid Surgery, or Blepharoplasty, makes the popularity list year after year.  Eyelid Surgery makes it possible to remove the hooding of the upper eyelid while reshaping the wrinkles or excess fat deposits in the lower lids.  And voilà!—the sagging, drooping look that gives some faces a sad, forlorn expression is gone, revealing a younger looking you.

Rhinoplasty: Do you ever look in the mirror and wonder what your face would look like if you could only do something about your nose?  If so, you are not alone by any means.  Nose surgery, or Rhinoplasty, can improve facial balance by giving you the nose that Nature, in her quest for diversity, may have failed to provide. Chin or cheek implants can complete the procedure. The recovery time for nose surgery may take a little longer than some of the other procedures, but the results can be proportionally dramatic!

The above procedures are just the top five of the many available.  These days just about any change you’d like to see to your face or body is possible.  Mommy Makeovers that eliminate fat and excess skin and tighten the abdominal muscle girdle ensure that moms have the same chance to look fabulous that the rest of us do; Laser Skin Resurfacing, which not only corrects uneven skin and age spots but can even generate skin laxity, is sure to make the cosmetic procedure hit list as more and more people become aware of the incredible headway going on in laser technology; and while there’s no replacement for the traditional Face Lift if you really want to bring the best-looking you to the forefront, Liquid Lifts can take ten years off quickly, and with minimal recovery time.

Better yet, not only can the team at PSS help you determine what procedure(s) is best for you, they are also one of a handful of practices in California to offer Vectra 3D imaging (L4).  Whether it is sizing for breast implants, results of your mommy makeover surgery, or subtle changes to your nose or chin, Vectra 3D takes the guess work out of the process by allowing you to see how an operation looks on your actual body before “taking the plunge” for surgery.

So what are you waiting for?  Make an appointment for a consultation right away and make this summer the most memorable ever!

The Plastic Surgery Experience of Your Dreams

The percentage of people seeking information about plastic surgery options is soaring—and for several good reasons.  One is that the range of super cool gadgets available to plastic surgeons these days is growing by leaps and bounds.  Many plastic surgical teams now possess a Vectra 3D Imager, a device that allows patients to peruse the results of their surgical procedures before they even schedule them!  And exciting advances are happening in laser technologies too: Not only are there lasers that will gently burn off the top layer of your skin, taking with it those pesky skin flaws and minor wrinkles, but there are even lasers out there that stimulate the production of collagen in your skin cells, and thereby help to reverse the aging process!

The offshoot of all these new machines and technologies is that there is a whole new generation of plastic surgery procedures available too.  Sure, you can still have a traditional face lift if you like, but you also may be a candidate for a QuickLift™, the traditional face lift’s less invasive, less expensive, faster healing offspring.  Or you may decide on facial fillers, or cheek or chin implants.  Or you may be interested in a body lift, an arm lift or a tummy tuck.  There is virtually no part of you that cannot be “tweaked” to good purpose.

But before you run out and sign up for a fat transfer or a brow lift, do your homework.  Ask questions.  Become a sponge and learn everything you can about the procedures you are considering.  Here are some guidelines to make the learning process easier:

Create Your Plastic Surgery Dream Team: First and foremost, you need to find the right team of plastic surgeons/skincare professionals for your specific needs. You definitely want someone who has access to all the technologies out there, especially the Vectra 3D Imager.  But more importantly, you want a team that has lots of experience using these various technologies and performing plastic surgery procedures generally.  Take the time to scrutinize the websites of the pros that offer the most appealing options.  If you don’t see bios posted, call up and ask for them.  You’re the captain of this team; you have as much right to know about the experience level of your plastic surgeon as you would a heart surgeon.

Prepare The Questionnaire Yourself: Make a list of questions to ask once you schedule your first consultation with the team of your choice.  What are the procedures they offer?  What are the costs associated with each procedure?  What kind of anesthesia does each procedure generally require?  Who exactly will perform the procedure?  And where?  How long should you expect recovery to take?  Be creative; add to the list every time a concern occurs to you.  Don’t worry that your list is too long or that the surgical team may think some of the questions are trivial.

Get A Second Opinion: If the answers you get don’t satisfy, or if you simply feel that you’d like a second opinion, go ahead and set up another consultation with another team of surgeons/skin care professionals.  In fact, it’s recommended that you sit down with more than one group.  And if you happen to live in a small rural community that doesn’t offer many choices, consider traveling to a city that does. You want the best doctors available for your procedure—not just whoever happens to be located within a ten mile radius.  If the doctors you decide on are out of your area, more than likely they will be happy to help you to choose accommodations near their facility.

Share Your Medical History: There are certain medical conditions that can have adverse results on your surgery.  Once you’ve settled on a doctor, gather together your medical records for your surgical team.  Make sure they’re up to date and include recent lab test results.  Depending on your age and medical history, it may also be necessary for you to have a electrocardiogram, especially if your procedure of choice requires anesthesia.

Let your team know about any respiratory, digestive or neurological disorders you’ve had in the past, even if you don’t suffer from them currently.  You’ll also want to report any allergies and skin disorders.  And don’t forget to relate your history of weight gain and loss.  Also, provide your medical team with a list of medicines and herbal supplements that you take.  Even such common supplements as Gingko Biloba and Omega 3 Fatty Acids can cause bleeding in some people.

If you are planning on laser work, you should know that people with dark complexions can experience temporary (and in rare cases, permanent) discoloration.  Your doctor should do a test on your skin to see how it will react to laser work well in advance of the procedure itself.

Encourage (And Accept) Support: Be sure to get the support you need from your loved ones.  Since most plastic surgery is elective, friends and family members may treat it lightly.  You may be required to sit down with them and tell them about any fears or concerns that you might have.  Your period of recovery, even it if will be very brief, may still leave you feeling tired and emotionally drained.  The gift of a bouquet of flowers or a few of those books you’ve been wanting to read can really make a difference with your healing process.

These are incredible times to live in.  Only a few generations ago it was not uncommon to hear people say, “I don’t think of myself as old until I happen to look in the mirror.”  Well, those days are behind us.  Now we can look as good as we feel.

We know what to eat; we know about proper exercise; and we have the creams and skin and hair products that can really enhance our appearance.  Now, thanks to modern technology, there are safer, quicker and less invasive plastic surgery options than ever too.  There’s never been a better time to take advantage of them.

See Your Future, Today

How many times have you wished you had a crystal ball so that you could gain some insight into the future?  Well, we still don’t have any reliable way to guarantee that your stocks will go up or that your stress levels will come down, but in fact there are technologies out there that provide glimpses into the future—and they are becoming exceeding popular.  For instance, we now have software that can enable you to see how various color paints will look on your walls, or how various types of furniture will look in your house.  And you can even try out virtual hairstyles simply by uploading your photo onto an appropriate website.

Better yet, there is great news for anyone who has ever considered any kind of injectable filler or plastic surgery procedure.  In times past, the number one question regarding plastic surgery was, What if I don’t look the way I imagined? There is no longer any reason to rely on imagination alone.

The incredible piece of machinery that allows this transformation to come to virtual life is called the VECTRA 3D Imager.  VECTRA 3D is an advanced imaging technique that allows the patient and surgeon to preview the results of a specific procedure before surgery is ever performed.  Of course no surgical outcome is ever one hundred percent predictable, and the VECTRA 3D Imager isn’t really a crystal ball per se.  But it does go a very long way to providing the patient and doctor with accurate insights regarding the outcomes of all sorts of procedures.

VECTRA 3D empowers someone considering a procedure by enabling them to become part of the surgical process.  Many of us have at one time or another taken a photo of a hair style from a magazine to our stylist to recreate.  And while your hair may end up looking like you asked, the result wasn’t always pleasing, was it? This was because the hairdo just wasn’t the right one for you.  That kind of hit-and-miss risk is eliminated with the VECTRA 3D Imager.

Here’s how it works.  First, photographs are taken of your face or the area of your body that you want changed.  Then you and your doctor view the images on a screen.  The technology of VECTRA 3D is such that the images offer razor sharp definition of details.  VECTRA 3D also allows you to rotate the images so that you can look at potential alterations from different angles.  You can compare the results of one strategy side-by-side with another—until you find the one that works best on you… not on some magazine model.

The VECTRA 3D Imager is on its way to becoming indispensable.  People having cosmetic and reconstructive procedures find this technology invaluable.  No one wants to look in the mirror after the surgery is completed and say to themselves, “I should have done a little more—or a little less.”  VECTRA 3D enables the patient and doctor to observe the outcome of a little more or a little less before the surgery ever begins.

You wouldn’t buy a new car without sitting in the driver’s seat and taking a test drive, would you?  So why would you even think of having a procedure to your face or body without a sneak preview?