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After having undergone a tummy suck surgery there are a few things that you should expect. These things do not only include the possible outcome of the procedure but also the recovery period and things you may have to deal with.

For starters there are the temporary symptoms that are associated with the immediate postoperative time period. These symptoms can include things like swelling of the abdominal region, tenderness of the incision, bruising over the entire abdominal region, numbness of the skin and even the swelling and bruising of the male’s scrotum or the female’s labia. It is important that you learn more about these postoperative symptoms so that you can better prepare for them after having undergone your tummy tuck.

It is important that when your surgeon gives you the list of postoperative suggestions that you follow them closely as the surgeon has the experience of many surgical procedures and knows what will and will not be beneficial to your quick recovery.

You will most likely wake up every morning with swelling and pain in the abdomen but as the day goes on these will generally fade away. It is very important that when you first start to feel the pain associated with the tummy tuck start that you take your prescribed pain medications. It is important not to wait until the pain is unbearable as doing so may slow down the recovery process. You may also want to quit smoking to help speed up the recovery.

The outcome of the tummy tuck surgery is that you will have a more defined and contoured figure than what you had prior to the tummy tuck procedure. This figure will most likely be more youthful looking as well. While the chance of scars cannot really be prevented it is important to speak with your surgeon and ask for suggestions pertaining to minimizing you chances of having an unsightly scar as they will know what does and does not help minimize scarring. Also make sure that you show up to all of your scheduled postoperative checkups as it is in these that your surgeon may be able to detect a complication that may be associated with the tummy tuck surgery.

By: Dr. Jim Greene

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Not infrequently I get requests from patients for the desire to transform a round face into a more shapely appearance. One cause of a round face is that the patient is overweight. A full neck, round cheeks, and a lot of subcutaneous fat throughout the face creates a generalized fullness that creates a fat and round face. These patients know full well that they are overweight and some liposuction of the neck and buccal lipectomies may make some difference. But weight loss will probably make the most difference in these cases. And these procedures should not be performed until some weight loss has been achieved.

But the overweight patient is not what usually makes up the ’round face’ patient. Most commonly these are younger patients that are not significantly overweight and are usually closer to being more height and weight porportionate. They may have some mild fullness in the cheeks and neck but often their bony prominences (cheeks, chin, or jaw angles) may be somewhat deficient. The approach to these patients must deal with both hard and soft tissues issues to be effective at improving the face’s angularity and definition.

In addition to the fullness of the cheeks and neck, the next most important consideration in facial shape improvement should look at the chin. Often it may only be midly short in the horizontal dimension but the width of the chin is also important, particularly in the male patient. Chin implants today can provide more projection as well as width in many different sizes. Placed through a small incision under the chin bone, a chin implant can lend more definition and squareness to the lower face from subtle to dramatic results.

Upper facial fullness, more specifically midfacial fullness, can be achieved through cheek implants. Placed into position by incisions inside the mouth under the upper lip, cheek implants can provide good highlights through three-dimensional enhancement of the bone as it wraps around the area below the eye. An amazing aray of cheek and midface implants is available to provide a lot of enhancements around this important facial landmark. When paired cheek implants are combined with a chin implant, an upside down triangle of change is created that directly opposes a more round or oval facial shape.

Jaw angle implants are always a possibility but these are rarely needed in most really round faces. They can produce some lateral facial fullness but this is not usually helpful in ‘de-rounding’ the face in most patients.

The procedures of buccal lipectomies, neck and jowl liposuction, chin and cheel implants make up the usual plastic surgery tools for facial rehaping. Which one or a combination of procedures is most helpful for improving facial definition is best determined by careful computer imaging study during the consultation with your plastic surgeon.

By: Dr Barry Eppley

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Reducing scars following surgery is one of the most important problems following plastic surgery. It is important to minimize scarring and reducing downtime.

Decrease Anxiety

During pre-op (before surgery) is necessary to decrease overall anxiety. Stress within the body system could have a dramatic effect on your immune system. Your immune system will react slower and is unable to fight against foreign organism which results in a longer recovery period.

Education

Education is very important in reducing overall anxiety. Make sure you ask your health professional plenty of questions like the possible complications, expectant recovery time, and the type of surgical procedures performed. Any other personal issues need to be addressed. Talk to your family and friends to help you deal with these issues and if you can’t reach anyone, seek counseling.

Exercise

Exercise is essential in reducing recovery times and scarring after plastic surgery. Exercise will facilitate overall blood circulation throughout your body and is a great stress reliever. Furthermore, meditation and yoga can have a positive effect on reducing stress.

It is well known that facial exercises is a great way to improve facial muscular strength and blood circulation but it also a powerful tool to prevent any surgical complications. Facial exercises help to break up tough scar tissues and in addition, help to stimulate new nerve and blood capillaries to grow within the soft tissue.

Lymph Drainage Therapy

Lymph Drainage Therapy (LDT) is a very gentle and extremely effective exercise. It should be part of your daily exercise regime as part of you pre and post operation treatment plan. The lymphatic system in your body has three functions: Removal of excessive fluids from body tissues, boost the immune system and to transport and absorb of fat throughout the circulatory system. Stimulating the lymph system will all decrease the chances of plastic surgery complications and scarring.

The main benefits of LDT are reduction of pain/discomfort, swelling, improves elasticity of the elasticity of the tissue, stimulation of the immune system and improve rest and relaxation.

Avoid Cigarettes and Alcohol

If you had completed surgery, you should avoid smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages immediately. These activities can have a serious effect on your recovery time. Smoking and drinking can dehydrate and therefore decreases blood circulation in the soft tissues. Drink plenty of water and avoid salty foods.

Follow Plastic Surgeon’s Advice

Follow your surgeon instructions, you shouldn’t take any anticoagulants (anti-blood clotting drugs) like warfarin or aspirins, as they will increase bruising and may cause internal bleeding. Take at least a week away from your daily routine and avoid all stressful situations.

The majority of patients will become depressed during the transition period following surgery. You might not see significant positive effect after surgery because of the swelling and bruising but it will eventually go away. Therefore, it is important to have a positive attitude and always, always smile!

By: Tu Tran

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Plastic surgery information is sometimes contradicting and inaccurate. Some people would claim that the procedure is safe while some have stories to tell regarding real plastic surgery gone wrong. Is the idea of it going wrong really fact or fiction?

Plastic Surgery

Some life instances would require people to go into reconstructive surgery in order to save their lives and to restore damaged bodily functions. Even such a critical procedure however requires patient consent. Since cosmetic surgery is not a matter of life and death, it is generally more elective than reconstructive surgery and has been the subject of a lot of sites on procedures that have gone wrong. Perhaps more and more people are wondering why others volunteer to put their bodies in danger.

Modern plastic surgeons and plastic surgery practitioners may tell you that today’s latest innovations on the field present almost zero risk. Numerous capable practitioners really do great jobs that generally satisfy patients. It is still a fact however that pictures of such still circulate online. It is also a fact that there are actually law firms that specialize in bad plastic surgery. What does this tell you? If some lawyers see this as a lucrative area to set their sights on then cases of such must therefore be a reality. The figures say too that one in four people have had some bad surgical reaction or experience.

What Can Go Wrong

In any case, let’s assume that plastic surgery is, indeed, safe. Granting that bad surgery cases are rare and isolated, you would still be most unfortunate if you became the rare recipient of incorrect procedures.

It cannot be denied that possible risks are damaging to the individual. In minor cases you may just have to bear prolonged bruising or swelling. More serious problems however can also happen which may just include some of the following:

- Leakage or hardening of implants

- Reactions to medicine or anesthesia

- Slippage of implants

- Drooping, disproportionate or asymmetrical breasts

- Extensive scarring and possibly disfigurement

- Too much skin removed

- Death

- Nerve, tissue, muscle or organ damage

What Happens After

Naturally, a bad procedure can lead to other things such as more medical bills and more work absences. You might also have to run after the doctor responsible for such procedure and the legal battle could be inconvenient, costly and long. The worst thing that could happen is that you might end up looking worse than before the surgery and your new look could be permanent. Although the physical pain may eventually diminish, the emotional pain can drag on for a long time.

What You Can Do

Try natural methods before going into plastic surgery. Try the natural way of trying to get a better appearance and resort only to surgery if all else fails.

Trust only a certified plastic surgeon. A certification is the best way to ensure that your doctor has had the necessary number of years of training and has passed the required exams.

By: Trina Rowde

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Once a person undergoes a cosmetic surgery operation, he or she must be prepared to any risk that may be encountered. To survive from any surgery operation is too hard and would take a longer time before one can finally see the good end result. It is normally required by all doctors, that after the cosmetic surgery the patient should undergo for plastic surgery recuperation. Of course you would not want to experience troubles after the operation. That is why it important that you have proper knowledge about the things that has to be avoided or not. You have to listen and understand carefully some advises of your surgeon after cosmetic operation.

There are things that you have to consider before you decide to undergo for surgery. You need to know your reasons why you have to proceed with the operation. Is it really the way for you to have a better life? Can this truly make you happy? You have to assure yourself that you need this and be prepared to take risk. Just put it in your mind about the expectations and goals that you want to achieve, so you won’t blame yourself at the end. You need to think on how you will look like after the operation or after you have recovered from the surgery. Everyone is aware about the fact that while on recovery period, there are no much changes that appear from the physical looks of the patient. It takes a long process and in many cases, the patient looks worse than before she or he has undergone the operation. Therefore, just after the surgery, it is important for the patient to know the correct process of plastic surgery recuperation.

Plastic surgery could really enhance the personality of a person both physically and emotionally. Some believed that it could merely develop one’s confidence in facing people of all ages. Plastic surgery recuperation should be given more importance to the possibly to get good results and achieve the desired goal. Meaning, one has to take several sacrifices by throwing out some habits that has been accustomed throughout his life.

As part of the plastic surgery recuperation, one has to take some rest through the entire week and must avoid doing heavy works. The condition of the patient for the first two days after the surgery will be very critical and one has to admit that he or she cannot work independently. You might get bored and hate yourself, thinking that you are being irresponsible and lazy from doing important tasks, but this just a part of the healing process to keep yourself safe.

You need to take this plastic surgery recuperation a serious matter. Perhaps you can do the process by simply having a vacation to avoid stress and keep away from things that might trigger your sensations.

By: Joseph B. Adams

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Are you living in Fort Worth and planning on having a plastic surgery procedure in the next few months? Well, no matter when you decide or have scheduled your procedure, you are probably worried about how long your recovery time might take and be able to resume to your normal life and schedule.

When meeting with your plastic surgeon, this is probably a good question to ask him. Plastic surgeons understand that you are a very busy person and probably have family to look after. They will do all they can to ensure that you have the least down time and possible and get you back on your feet in no time!

There are exactly five factors in having a speedy recovery from your plastic surgery procedure. Use these factors to discuss your procedure with your doctor and ask him what he does to make sure that they all go well.

First, the plastic surgeons need to be conscious about each incision they make and the medical tissue glue that they use. It is so important that your doctor makes the least amount of incisions during your procedure. It is also very important for your doctor to use high quality tissue glue to help speed up the healing of each incision.

Second, the plastic surgeon need to an anesthesiologist who uses short acting anesthesia and anti emetic medications. Recovery time lessens when your doctor uses the short acting anesthetic agents and well as anti emetic medications. This will also allow you to come out of the comatose stage that you are in while the procedure is being performed.

Third, the plastic surgeon should put you on some really good pain medications, but make sure that they are not addicting. With any major operation, you will be in a lot of pain after you are done. It is vital to your healing process that you have some really good pain killers which will allow you to heal quicker and much easier.

Fourth, the plastic surgeon should put you on some medication before and after the procedure that will help reduce the swelling and bruising. If you have had plastic surgery before, or know someone who has, you know that swelling and bruising is definitely going to happen. There are, however, some medications that your doctor can prescribe you that will help reduce those painful side effects.

Fifth, the plastic surgeon should provide you will some skin cream to apply to the surgical area to help speed the healing. Most of these creams will help assist with swelling as well.

Just keep in mind that the more experienced a plastic surgeon is, the faster your recovery time will be as well. Make sure that they are certified by the board and have either been practicing for about five years, or have done some serious shadowing and training with the best doctors in the country.

By: Greg Shuey

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Fat is not your friend, and you can spend a lifetime trying to get rid of it.There are lots of common solutions, but there is one new one that is taking the world by storm. It is called lipoabdominoplasty.

It is a tummy tuck and liposuction combo procedure that absolutely works miracles in transforming a tub of rippling flab to a flat, sleek, sexy belly. A good plastic surgeon is like a wizard, transforming you into a new you, and lipoabdominoplasty is what gets it done.

This is a new procedure in the world of plastic surgery. It uses new techniques created by recent research findings, and has only recently started to be practiced in the United States. It’s better than going in for a tummy tuck and then getting a liposuction separately.

With lipoabdominoplasty, the liposuction is simply part of the tummy tuck operation. But, that’s not its only benefit. Here are some more.

1. Lipoabdominoplasty cuts down on recovery time. First, the surgeon gets rid of some of the fat. This ensures that the tummy tuck goes more smoothly because the doctor can get to the tissue more easily, without being impeded by fatty tissue. It also cuts down recovery time significantly. This procedure is great for those who want to get back into the swing of things as soon as possible.

2. It is very effective. The results with lipoabdominoplasty are much better than those of a regular tummy tuck. Getting rid of the fat first allows the doctor to shape the tissue underneath more easily.

3. Its an option for smokers. Traditionally smokers have had a hard time getting successful abdominoplasty. This is because it is much tougher for smokers to recover from any plastic surgery operation, and they are more at-risk for healing problems. With an easier recovery, lipoabdominoplasty makes getting a flat, sexy stomach a more viable option for those who smoke.

4. The way it’s done now, a lipoabdominoplasty leaves a smaller scar. By sucking out the fat first, the doctor has easier access to the tissue underneath your belly. This means they can make a smaller incision, and you have less evidence that you got the tummy tuck in the first place.

5. Also because of the small incision, there is less blood lost during the procedure and recovery time. This is a big comfort and cuts down on recovery risks big time.

6. There is no numbness after the procedure. Numbness around the belly that causes discomfort and can last for weeks is a common side effect of tummy tuck. By removing the fatty tissue first, your doctor can keep the nerves around the belly in tact. Cut nerves are the reason for the numbness often experienced with a regular tummy tuck.

7. With a lipoabdominoplasty, there is less pain than a regular tummy tuck.

Not every plastic surgeon does lipoabdominoplasty, so shop around for a plastic surgeon who is skilled in the procedure. Lipoabdominoplasty is the newest and most effective way to remove unwanted fat and tissue from your belly. It has lots of benefits over the old tummy tuck routine. Let it get you the flat belly you’ve been dreaming of.

By: A Aaronson

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I read a recent article that reports that drinking directly from water bottles can cause just as many upper lip wrinkles as smoking. I wouldn’t doubt it as any activity that makes your lips pucker, which activates the orbicularis oris muscle which encircles the mouth, can cause wrinkles to appear on the upper lip. The development of such wrinkles is a function of both the activity and how often it is done. Drinking water these days for some people is about as frequent as a regular smoker who does one or two packs per day.

As a general principle, wrinkles form on the face perpendicular to the direction of action of the underlying muscle movement. For example, horizontal forehead wrinkles are the result of their vertically-oriented and moving frontalis muscle which extends from the brows upward into the scalp. Since the mouth’s main muscle (like the eyes) is a sphincter or encircling muscle which lies parallel (horizontal) to the upper and lower lip (except at the corners), it is no surprise that the lips (particularly the upper) develops vertical wrinkles in some people. The other factor that highly contributes to lip wrinkles is the thickness of your skin and the size of your lips. (which is interrelated) The thicker your skin, the less likely you will ever develop them. You rarely see lip wrinkles in people with thicker skin such as African-Americans and people of Middle Eastern descents for example. (and they have larger lips to begin with….as their skin is thicker)

Treatment of lip wrinkles is a challenging problem. I tell patients to think of it as improvement as there is no complete cure in most cases. For small and fine lines that are mainly located at the junction of the skin and the lip, an injectable filler can make a nice improvement…provided you find it acceptable to have a larger lip size. (whichever you desire) When the lip wrinkles are deeper and run higher into the upper lip, the concept of skin resurfacing comes into play. This typically means lase resurfacing and the question is how deep to go with how long of a recovery that will be acceptable to the patient. When the lip lines and wrinkles are more severe, I usually use a combination of making the lip bigger with injectable fillers and resurfacing the skin with a laser. This is usually done under local anesthesia in the office unless the patient is having other major facial surgery, such as a facelift, where the procedure would be then performed in the operating room. There is some current debate between the laser techniques of resurfacing or peeling and the use of fractional (fraxel) laser treatments, but there is no hard clinical evidence at this point to say conclusively that fractional laser treatments are better. In the more severe cases, a small amount of Botox to help reduce the amount of muscle movement can also be helpful when done with fillers or laser resurfacing but you must be careful to not use to much lest you make your smile have an unnatural appearance.

Alternative treatments for lip wrinkles through skin modification are currently being evaluated. One method is to combine laser resurfacing with the use of sandpaper (yes I said sandpaper), known as laserbrasion. With laserbrasion, a combination of upper skin removal is done first with the laser and the deeper skin areas are taken down with sandpaper. The concept here is that the use of sandpaper causes less trauma (no heat) and will heal faster without the prolonged redness. And it is just as effective as the laser but safer and with less complications than if one used traditional dermabrasion. The other method is known as percutaneous collagen induction therapy. (PCIT) Like aerating your lawn, making very tiny holes throughout the upper lip with a small wheel lined with microscopic needles cuts into the deepest portions of the skin. As this heals it causes the skin to thicken which helps reduce the amount of visible wrinkling.

Upper lip wrinkles in some women are unavoidable and can be very troubling. Injectable lip fillers, laser resurfacing, and Botox can help but there is no permanent cure. The alternative treatments of fractional laser treatments, laserbrasion, and collagen induction therapy are interesting but it is too early to know if they will offer better results.

By: Dr Barry Eppley

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Long known as a gorgeous and exciting travel destination, a surprising fact is that Costa Rica plastic surgery, and other medical procedures performed here, are the draw for 14% of all visitors. Over 90% of these visitors are from North America, due to its proximity and the ease of traveling to Costa Rica.

So the obvious question: Why is Costa Rica plastic surgery is drawing so many people?

The most obvious answer would be cost. Costa Rica plastic surgery costs as much 50-70% less than it would in the United States, Canada, or Western Europe. This is the case because Costa Rica is still a third world country in the sense of per-capita GDP, despite being much more developed than its neighboring countries. What this means is that wages are lower for doctors, nurses, and other health care practitioners, and the cost of living is much lower here. Moreover, government subsidized healthcare helps keep the cost of private healthcare low.

Perhaps most relevant to Americans is the relative lack of malpractice suits. As a result of being the most litigious country on the planet, healthcare costs have skyrocketed in the US to compensate for malpractice insurance. Malpractice suits in Costa Rica are rare, and those that succeed usually just cover medical expenses.

The idea of not having recourse in the event of malpractice is something that scares many people who have thought about having cosmetic surgery in Costa Rice. However, if you are looking at standards of safety in the top ranked private institutions of Costa Rica you would see that their success records are on par with, if not better than, the majority of hospitals in the US.

If quality is your concern, take heart: there are numerous well-qualified and internationally certified surgeons and doctors in the Costa Rica plastic surgery industry. At the best hospitals and clinics you will find many surgeons who have been trained in the US, Canada, and Europe. The top-flight CIMA Hospital is associated with the prestigious Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. The Clinica Biblica hospital is accredited by the JCI, the international branch of the United States’ most highly regarded and stringent healthcare accreditation agency. With the quality of healthcare here, and the success rate of procedures, your risk is minimal and no greater than in the US, all at a fraction of the price.