COSMETIC
PLASTIC
SURGERY
PROCEDURES AT A GLANCE

Your procedure may require sedation or general anesthesia. A full medical history including diagnostic tests is recommended.

Part of this medical history requires that you provide candid answers to questions about your general state of health, including:

• A full disclosure of health history including any illness, prior surgery of any kind and complications from prior surgery
• All types of allergies and any reaction to prior anesthesia
• Current medications, the use of vitamins, herbal supplements, alcohol, tobacco and drugs
• The use of oral contraceptives by women

Before surgery, you must follow all of your plastic surgeon’s instructions. This may include:

• Stopping smoking
• Stop taking certain types of medications that may increase your risk of abnormal bleeding

On the day of surgery, you may be asked to:

• Avoid eating or drinking anything within a defined time period prior to surgery

Follow all post operative instructions carefully, including cleansing and at-home treatment regimens, and avoiding sun exposure. Your cooperation will influence the outcome of your procedure.

Your surgeon may also:

• Evaluate your general health status and any pre-existing health conditions or risk factors
• Examine and measure you
• Take photographs for your medical record
• Discuss your options and recommend a course of treatment
• Discuss likely outcomes of your plastic surgery and any risks or potential complications
• Answer all of your questions thoroughly and clearly
• Welcome questions about professional qualifications, experience, costs, and payment policies
• Make clear the risks of surgery and possible outcomes
• Leave the final decision to you

Safety first: You have the right to expect that your surgery will take place in a surgical facility or hospital that is safe and well equipped. Facilities with accreditation from a recognized accrediting organization have demonstrated that they have appropriate equipment and staff to safely monitor patients and deal with potential complications.

Only members of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons may display the ASPS Member logo. This symbol of excellence in plastic surgery is what to look for when choosing a surgeon. It tells you that you are choosing a physician who is certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery® (ABPS) or The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada®. Although board-certification by the American Board of Plastic Surgeons or The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and membership in ASPS cannot guarantee the results of your plastic surgery, choosing a qualified surgeon is an important first step in helping to assure your safety and satisfaction.

• No surgery can achieve perfection, and there is no guarantee that the results will look exactly as you wanted or hoped for.
• Plastic surgery can reshape your body, not your life. Although enhanced appearance after surgery may improve your self-esteem, plastic surgery will not solve career, marital or emotional problems.
• Do it at the right time, when you don’t feel exceptional stress and when you have emotional support available.
• Do it for you, not to fulfill someone else’s desires or to try to fit any sort of ideal image.
• Be prepared to tolerate some discomfort during and after surgery, as well as the possibility of scars or other side effects.
• Understand the risks of plastic surgery.
• Prepare to pay for your surgery if your insurance does not cover the costs, as is the case for most elective cosmetic plastic surgery.
• Know that plastic surgery is not suitable for everybody, especially people who are prone to mood swings or erratic behavior, who abuse drugs or alcohol, or who are receiving treatment for clinical depression or other mental illnesses.
• Patients under the age of 18 need parental consent for surgery and must also have achieved certain milestones in growth and physical maturity.

Procedural steps: An incision within the natural crease of the upper eyelid allows access to remove excess skin, muscle and underlying fatty tissue. Using an incision inside the lower eyelid, fat is removed or redistributed and the muscle is modified to correct a baggy lower eyelid.

An incision just below the lower lash line allows excess skin to be removed. Laser resurfacing may be used to smooth lower lid skin.

Recovery: Bruising should subside in five to 10 days and swelling should subside in two to four weeks. Final results may appear in one to two months. Incision lines will continue to refine and fade for one year.

Procedural steps: Brow lift surgery can be performed using an endoscope (a thin tube with a camera on the end) and special instruments placed through small incisions made within the hairline. This allows the tissue and muscle beneath the skin to be adjusted, correcting the source of visible creases and furrows in the forehead. Some surgeons prefer to perform a browlift through what is called a “coronal incision.” The coronal incision is created from ear to ear across the top of the head, within the hair-bearing skin.

For women with very high foreheads, an incision just at the anterior hairline may be recommended. In this way the brow can be lifted without altering the height of the front hairline. The resulting scar, while somewhat more visible, can often be hiddenwith bangs.

Recovery: Swelling should subside in two to four weeks. Final results may appear within one to two months. Incision lines will continue to refine and fade for up to one year

Procedural steps: Depending on the degree of change you’d like to see, your neck lift choices include a traditional neck lift incision or a limited incision neck lift. A traditional neck lift incision often begins in the hairline at the level of the sideburn, continues down and around the ear and ends in the posterior hair. Fat may be sculpted or redistributed from the jowls and neck. The tissue underlying the neck skin is repositioned, and commonly the platysma muscle is tightened. Skin is redraped over the uplifted contours and excess skin is trimmed away. A separate incision under the chin is often necessary for liposuction of this area and for repair of the muscle. Sutures or skin adhesives close the incisions.

A limited incision neck lift may involve incisions only around the ear. While the incisions are shorter, the results may be more limited. Incision lines are closed with sutures and perhaps skin glue. Sutures may be dissolving, or may need to be removed after a few days.

Recovery: It may take several weeks to months for swelling to fully dissipate and up to six months for incision lines to mature. Once healed, the incision lines from a neck lift are usually well concealed within the hairline and in the natural contours of the ear. Your final result should not only provide a more youthful and rested appearance, but also help you feel more confident about yourself.

A facelift is designed to correct all of these aging features, restoring a more youthful, rested appearance with uplifted contours and improved tone in facial skin and underlying muscle.

Procedural steps: Typical incisions begin within the hairline, above the temple and continue along or just inside the ear, ending behind the ear. This allows access to tighten underlying tissue, remove excess fat and reduce sagging skin. A second incision under the chin is sometimes necessary. If skin tone is good and only mid-face aging or excess fat in the neck will be corrected, abbreviated techniques with shorter incisions may be used. Liposuction techniques may assist with removal of fat deposits.

Recovery: Swelling and bruising should subside within two to four weeks. Final results may be apparent in one to two months. Incision lines will continue to refine and fade for one year.

• Improve age spots and black heads
• Improve hyperpigmentation (patches of darkened skin)
• Exfoliate your skin, resulting in a refreshed appearance

• Lessen the appearance of stretch marks
• Reduce fine lines and wrinkles
• Reduce enlarged pores
• Treat acne and the scars left by acne

Procedural steps: Imagine a very fine sandblaster and you’ll get a picture of how microdermabrasion works. It uses microparticles, or a diamond-tipped wand, to remove the top layer (epidermis) of your skin and stimulate new skin growth. Microdermabrasion helps to thicken your collagen, which results in a younger looking complexion.

Recovery:There is no down time or recovery period. Your polished new look should be long-lasting, depending on the severity of your skin damage and the number of treatments you receive. Many people have two microdermabrasion treatments per month at first and then one per month as part of a maintenance plan.

Procedural steps: A pharmaceutical filler substance or your own fat is injected below the skin surface to fill hollow areas and creases, or plump the lips and back of the hands. Fat is typically taken from the inner thigh or abdomen.

Recovery: Swelling should dissipate in two to five days, or one to two weeks with fat injections. This procedure produces temporary results, lasting a few months to several years or more, based on the filler used, treatment site and individual patient factors. Some products may be permanent.

Procedural steps: Appropriately sized and shaped implants will be carefully selected and placed, most commonly in the cheek, chin, jaw or nasal region. Incisions inside the mouth or discreetly placed external incisions create space in soft tissues for implant positioning and support.

Facial implants are generally performed as an outpatient procedure under local anesthesia with or without sedation; general anesthesia may be recommended.

Recovery: Your results will be almost immediate. Initial swelling should subside in two to four weeks, and dissipate in one to two months, as final results appear.

Recovery: You should see a change within six to eight weeks following surgery, with continued refinement for six to 12 months. Cartilage is a flexible and growing tissue; therefore results following surgery are not fully predictable.