What would you say if I told you there is now a way to get rid of some of that unwanted fat without surgery? No incisions, no anesthesia, no downtime and no pain? We are very pleased to be the first in this area to offer Vaser Shape...brand new European technology now available in the United States through Sound Surgical Technologies. I have been offering Vaser Liposelection (the internal ultrasound liposuction device currently used in the OR) now for over 5 years, and have received much technical support from the company in order to be the first provider in our area for this exciting new technology.
Vaser Shape is a new external ultrasound device that incorporates a dual beam technology of ultrasound energy below the skin's surface to melt fat. Each beam of energy passes harmlessly through the skin to the fatty tissue layer. The dual beams then converge together in a V-shaped configuration below the skin in the fatty layer to cause apparent fat cell destruction. We believe that the body's own lymphatic system is then stimulated to allow absorption of the contents of the fat cell and its eventual elimination from the body...and voila!...the loss of inches occurs!
Although the technology is brand new in the United States, the results from Europe are very nice, even seeing results after a single treatment. SST recommends a series of 4 to 6 treatments to see the very best results, and series of treatments can be repeated if desired by patients. An extra benefit of the heat below the skin may be some slight skin retraction and smoothing as well as true fat reduction. European results show significant longevity of the effect, as long as good diet and exercise practices manage weight stability.
This technology will certainly not replace, or maybe even equal, results achieved with traditional liposuction or surgical body contouring procedures, such as tummy tucks or liposuction, however, it is so nice to now have another option beside surgery to offer patients. I also foresee the benefits of the lymphatic drainage, deep tissue massage and cellulite control (indications for which the device already has FDA approval),as an additional advantage for our surgical patients, as massage of the skin and lymphatic drainage of normal swelling fluid after surgery is such a vital component of the post-operative care recommended for the best surgical results.
Vaser Shape treatments are performed in the office without anesthesia, and feel much as a hot rock massage would feel. The typical treatment time is 2 areas in about an hour, and although costs per treatment in Europe and some parts of the US where it is available approach $1200 to $1500, we will be offering the Vaser Shape series of 4 treatments at an introductory package price of $2600.
You may call our office now to schedule your first treatment, and be sure to check in here periodically or visit us on Facebook for more updates on exciting new technologies! Thanks for being a follower...
Best regards,
Julene
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Really awful lip augmentations : (
Okay...I've about had it...I am getting really, really tired of seeing really awful lip augmentations. It's no wonder that, as I embark on a series of lip augmentation treatments for a new patient, that I need to park it on my stool and have an honest discussion of the goals of the procedure. In fact, I often spend a good bit of time at the beginning of many new patient consultations calming valid patient fears. I believe many of the fears that a new patient shares with me are founded on the fact that the bad results are out there...everywhere!
As I tell my patients, especially those who do not know me well yet, plastic surgery is very simple...if you have a plan, a good aesthetic sense, and a good understanding of what the patient wants. Of course, we always have to plan for the unexpected, but in reality, the unexpected is a rare event.
As far as lips are concerned, there is a natural, very beautiful shape to the upper and the lower lips. Rarely, should we ever augment the upper lip exactly as we do the lower lip, or with the very same amount of injectable product. The aesthetic goals may be to ease lip lines, shape the lips, or to make them fuller. As a surgeon, I don't have to always have the goal of making the lips fuller, and this is perhaps what amazes and scares patients the most...that their lips will be HUGE after the procedure. I think that fear stems from the fact that some lip injection results out there look, simply put, like "sausages up and sausages down"! The poorly done lips have lost all sense of natural beauty and proportion in the attempt to create fullness. Sometimes they look very irregular and lumpy.
The upper lip should maintain a Cupid's bow shape, have natural eversion (or pout) at the border of pink lip vermillion and white skin, and have a central fullness that tapers down gracefully to the outer corners. The lower lip should have a natural pout as well, and central fullness, and the lips should maintain a proportion of fullness; that is, the lower lip should be 1/3 fuller than the upper lip (ie, the upper and lower lips have a fullness ratio of 1/3 in the upper to 2/3 in the lower). Too often, as injectors create fullness, they will continue to inject only the upper lip, and this eventually causes an imbalance in the upper and lower lip proportionality, with the upper lip overbalancing the lower lip.
I love to inject lips, and I will tell patients these things, so they better understand my recommendations, and also so that together, we can maximize benefit and reduce overall cost of the injectable materials as we maintain youthful lip contours.
What are my favorite lip injection materials? I love the hyaluronic acid products, such as Restylane and Juvederm, because they are so malleable and longlasting. I dislike the permanent products, because they are too artificial looking, too stiff, poorly animate, or because they are...too permanent. They are less flexible as the patient ages, and cause more problems than they fix in my opinion. They do not replace "like with like", because what we lack often in hypoplastic lips is collagen that provides fullness, or fat...not Goretex or mineralized bone pieces. I like fat injections also, if the patient has fat which can be harvested, although the cost is a bit higher than the shelf products, due to the harvesting step required for fat transplantation and the preparation process necessary to ensure good fat healing and retention.
Lip augmentation by injection of Restylane or Juvederm is an office procedure in my hands, under just a numbing cream and ice, although we also provide lip blocks as well upon request. My office employs 2 nurse injectors, in addition to myself, and we use injectables that last 9 to 12 months or more. The cost depends on how many syringes are needed. I will often treat lip lines by just injecting along the lip edges, and this has the added benefit of shaping the lips better and creating a bit of lip eversion which is very pretty. Injecting the lip edge stretches the lines smooth, and prevents the need to inject each of the vertical lines, which is more painful and can cause ridges where the wrinkles used to be. Injecting just the lines themselves also too often distorts the lips. After the lines are corrected, more product can be injected if desired to create as much fullness as the patient needs. Swelling is temporary, bruising is rare, and both usually dissipate within 24 hours.
Beware...a great lip augmentation can be very addictive!!!
So go ahead...pucker up!!!
Best,
Julene
As I tell my patients, especially those who do not know me well yet, plastic surgery is very simple...if you have a plan, a good aesthetic sense, and a good understanding of what the patient wants. Of course, we always have to plan for the unexpected, but in reality, the unexpected is a rare event.
As far as lips are concerned, there is a natural, very beautiful shape to the upper and the lower lips. Rarely, should we ever augment the upper lip exactly as we do the lower lip, or with the very same amount of injectable product. The aesthetic goals may be to ease lip lines, shape the lips, or to make them fuller. As a surgeon, I don't have to always have the goal of making the lips fuller, and this is perhaps what amazes and scares patients the most...that their lips will be HUGE after the procedure. I think that fear stems from the fact that some lip injection results out there look, simply put, like "sausages up and sausages down"! The poorly done lips have lost all sense of natural beauty and proportion in the attempt to create fullness. Sometimes they look very irregular and lumpy.
The upper lip should maintain a Cupid's bow shape, have natural eversion (or pout) at the border of pink lip vermillion and white skin, and have a central fullness that tapers down gracefully to the outer corners. The lower lip should have a natural pout as well, and central fullness, and the lips should maintain a proportion of fullness; that is, the lower lip should be 1/3 fuller than the upper lip (ie, the upper and lower lips have a fullness ratio of 1/3 in the upper to 2/3 in the lower). Too often, as injectors create fullness, they will continue to inject only the upper lip, and this eventually causes an imbalance in the upper and lower lip proportionality, with the upper lip overbalancing the lower lip.
I love to inject lips, and I will tell patients these things, so they better understand my recommendations, and also so that together, we can maximize benefit and reduce overall cost of the injectable materials as we maintain youthful lip contours.
What are my favorite lip injection materials? I love the hyaluronic acid products, such as Restylane and Juvederm, because they are so malleable and longlasting. I dislike the permanent products, because they are too artificial looking, too stiff, poorly animate, or because they are...too permanent. They are less flexible as the patient ages, and cause more problems than they fix in my opinion. They do not replace "like with like", because what we lack often in hypoplastic lips is collagen that provides fullness, or fat...not Goretex or mineralized bone pieces. I like fat injections also, if the patient has fat which can be harvested, although the cost is a bit higher than the shelf products, due to the harvesting step required for fat transplantation and the preparation process necessary to ensure good fat healing and retention.
Lip augmentation by injection of Restylane or Juvederm is an office procedure in my hands, under just a numbing cream and ice, although we also provide lip blocks as well upon request. My office employs 2 nurse injectors, in addition to myself, and we use injectables that last 9 to 12 months or more. The cost depends on how many syringes are needed. I will often treat lip lines by just injecting along the lip edges, and this has the added benefit of shaping the lips better and creating a bit of lip eversion which is very pretty. Injecting the lip edge stretches the lines smooth, and prevents the need to inject each of the vertical lines, which is more painful and can cause ridges where the wrinkles used to be. Injecting just the lines themselves also too often distorts the lips. After the lines are corrected, more product can be injected if desired to create as much fullness as the patient needs. Swelling is temporary, bruising is rare, and both usually dissipate within 24 hours.
Beware...a great lip augmentation can be very addictive!!!
So go ahead...pucker up!!!
Best,
Julene
Monday, August 30, 2010
Choosing a surgeon...choose carefully!
Unfortunately, there was some negative publicity last week in our plastic surgery community. This led me to some introspection regarding my chosen profession (cosmetic plastic surgery), and I wish to share a bit about some personal thoughts on the matter...thoughts I seem to have quite frequently.
I have often considered myself very blessed to have discovered a profession which allows me to inject a lot of myself in the care of my patients, very many of whom are female, and I love what I do. After many years of rigorous college academic preparation, medical school, two surgical residencies, and years of clinical practice, I feel I have earned the true honor of getting to know and care for my female patients. I respect them, I value their intellect and understanding of the cosmetic plastic surgical process and experience, and I really value the relationships I have built with my patients over the years. It never ceases to awe and amaze me regarding the amount of trust that is required of any surgical patient when they elect to undergo a surgical (or even non-surgical) treatment by a surgeon.
These patients may know us well already at the time of their treatments, or they may have just come to us upon the recommendation of a friend, family member, health care or other professional, but at some point, they make the decision to allow me to operate on them, or to treat them in some way. I (personally) do intensely feel a weight of responsibility to provide the best treatment experience available to these patients, and do truly feel honored to have been chosen by them. I think that if all physicians felt this degree of intimacy and privilege with their patients, that we would never read or hear of some of the negativity that sometimes surrounds this profession...lawsuits, sexual misconduct, poor outcomes from poorly selected procedures, or procedures performed on poorly selected patients, lack of attention to safety measures, lack of sound surgical judgement in selection of procedures or their combinations in properly accredited facilities, and on and on...
I am very proud of the road taken which has led me to the place where I believe my patients have selected a plastic surgeon who truly cares about them, involves them in sound surgical decision-making prior to embarking upon a plastic surgical plan, and a surgeon who has strived to maintain the highest standard in achievement of excellent surgical results.
My advice to prospective patients has always been to do your homework, insist upon open and honest communication, ask questions, seek referral opinions of other patients and professionals, pay attention to board certification and membership in aesthetic and professional societies, look for involvement in new research and technology, and maybe above all, look for a great feeling of rapport and even friendship with the surgeon you choose. If it doesn't feel "right", it probably isn't, and don't just look for the cheapest price in making your final decision. You deserve a surgeon and staff with whom you can foresee a long and enduring relationship. My staff and I believe that anyone can be fooled once, but it is the returning patient we feel who most honors us in our endeavors to be the best small practice around.
Best wishes!
Julene
I have often considered myself very blessed to have discovered a profession which allows me to inject a lot of myself in the care of my patients, very many of whom are female, and I love what I do. After many years of rigorous college academic preparation, medical school, two surgical residencies, and years of clinical practice, I feel I have earned the true honor of getting to know and care for my female patients. I respect them, I value their intellect and understanding of the cosmetic plastic surgical process and experience, and I really value the relationships I have built with my patients over the years. It never ceases to awe and amaze me regarding the amount of trust that is required of any surgical patient when they elect to undergo a surgical (or even non-surgical) treatment by a surgeon.
These patients may know us well already at the time of their treatments, or they may have just come to us upon the recommendation of a friend, family member, health care or other professional, but at some point, they make the decision to allow me to operate on them, or to treat them in some way. I (personally) do intensely feel a weight of responsibility to provide the best treatment experience available to these patients, and do truly feel honored to have been chosen by them. I think that if all physicians felt this degree of intimacy and privilege with their patients, that we would never read or hear of some of the negativity that sometimes surrounds this profession...lawsuits, sexual misconduct, poor outcomes from poorly selected procedures, or procedures performed on poorly selected patients, lack of attention to safety measures, lack of sound surgical judgement in selection of procedures or their combinations in properly accredited facilities, and on and on...
I am very proud of the road taken which has led me to the place where I believe my patients have selected a plastic surgeon who truly cares about them, involves them in sound surgical decision-making prior to embarking upon a plastic surgical plan, and a surgeon who has strived to maintain the highest standard in achievement of excellent surgical results.
My advice to prospective patients has always been to do your homework, insist upon open and honest communication, ask questions, seek referral opinions of other patients and professionals, pay attention to board certification and membership in aesthetic and professional societies, look for involvement in new research and technology, and maybe above all, look for a great feeling of rapport and even friendship with the surgeon you choose. If it doesn't feel "right", it probably isn't, and don't just look for the cheapest price in making your final decision. You deserve a surgeon and staff with whom you can foresee a long and enduring relationship. My staff and I believe that anyone can be fooled once, but it is the returning patient we feel who most honors us in our endeavors to be the best small practice around.
Best wishes!
Julene
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Upcoming Events
Take advantage of our Fall specials - October 1, 2010 - October 31, 2010 ONLY!
Botox $9.00 per unit*
Juvederm Ultra XC $425/syringe (REG $550)
Juvederm Ultra Plus XC $450/syringe (REG $600)
40% off all laser procedures over $400**
30% OFF ALL SKINCARE
Skintyte - buy 1 area get 1 area
of equal or lesser value 1/2 off!
*RN injection
**Excludes Skintyte
Botox $9.00 per unit*
Juvederm Ultra XC $425/syringe (REG $550)
Juvederm Ultra Plus XC $450/syringe (REG $600)
40% off all laser procedures over $400**
30% OFF ALL SKINCARE
Skintyte - buy 1 area get 1 area
of equal or lesser value 1/2 off!
*RN injection
**Excludes Skintyte
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Mommy Maintenance
As mothers, we spend a lot of our time taking care of our families. How do we fit attending to our own needs into our already jam-packed schedules? Well, there is never a perfect time to concentrate on yourself...so stop waiting for that perfect time...it's now!
Do you ever look at a picture of yourself, maybe several years ago, and think..."What was I complaining about back then?" It's a fact...we will all get older and lose a bit of our old selves if we just let it happen. It is actually possible to get back your little bit younger and fitter shape, but you may just need a little (or a lot) of assistance. As I tell my patients every day...it's not all your fault, so stop beating yourself up, and it's OK to seek some help from a surgeon who can change your shape. You may want to do as much as you can on your own first, by perhaps losing those 5 to 10 pounds, but then do yourself a favor...go at least see someone you trust (or me!) and see if you are a candidate for reshaping your loving body! A tummy tuck or breast enhancement procedure may be just the thing to give you that fresh start you've been looking for!
Although working out, diet and exercise may help a bit as a start, it is often impossible...I did say impossible...to COMPLETELY correct loose skin or muscle of the abdomen after pregnancy and aging in many cases with totally nonsurgical methods. A tummy tuck with liposuction is a great way to finish up the reshaping process and give women a better body than they had even before pregnancy. The tummy tuck I prefer today has evolved into a total recontouring of the trunk, waist and abdomen...a true combination of skin and muscle tightening of the front of the tummy and waist, and liposuction of the waist, flanks and back fat (up to the bra line even!). In most patients, it is possible to lose over 10 to 15 inches total... 5 to 8 inches from the waist alone...and most patients say they NEVER looked so good! Patients usually choose to stay one night in our private rooms for around $250 per night...probably more for a night to themselves than for any real medical reasons, they walk around immediately the night of surgery, and we provide a 4 day pain pump that is implanted under the skin , and over the sit-up muscles that are tightened, so recovery is described by the patients as even easier than a C-section!
Tomorrow...or soon...we'll talk about breast enhancement procedures after pregnancy and aging...stay tuned!
Do you ever look at a picture of yourself, maybe several years ago, and think..."What was I complaining about back then?" It's a fact...we will all get older and lose a bit of our old selves if we just let it happen. It is actually possible to get back your little bit younger and fitter shape, but you may just need a little (or a lot) of assistance. As I tell my patients every day...it's not all your fault, so stop beating yourself up, and it's OK to seek some help from a surgeon who can change your shape. You may want to do as much as you can on your own first, by perhaps losing those 5 to 10 pounds, but then do yourself a favor...go at least see someone you trust (or me!) and see if you are a candidate for reshaping your loving body! A tummy tuck or breast enhancement procedure may be just the thing to give you that fresh start you've been looking for!
Although working out, diet and exercise may help a bit as a start, it is often impossible...I did say impossible...to COMPLETELY correct loose skin or muscle of the abdomen after pregnancy and aging in many cases with totally nonsurgical methods. A tummy tuck with liposuction is a great way to finish up the reshaping process and give women a better body than they had even before pregnancy. The tummy tuck I prefer today has evolved into a total recontouring of the trunk, waist and abdomen...a true combination of skin and muscle tightening of the front of the tummy and waist, and liposuction of the waist, flanks and back fat (up to the bra line even!). In most patients, it is possible to lose over 10 to 15 inches total... 5 to 8 inches from the waist alone...and most patients say they NEVER looked so good! Patients usually choose to stay one night in our private rooms for around $250 per night...probably more for a night to themselves than for any real medical reasons, they walk around immediately the night of surgery, and we provide a 4 day pain pump that is implanted under the skin , and over the sit-up muscles that are tightened, so recovery is described by the patients as even easier than a C-section!
Tomorrow...or soon...we'll talk about breast enhancement procedures after pregnancy and aging...stay tuned!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)