Archive for the ‘Virgina’ Category

Hair on Hair off

Monday, February 13th, 2012

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. In one room in our facility we spend our days putting in hair, and in another room just down the hall we take it off. Who’d of thunk?

Hair transplantation has become ever increasingly popular. So why don’t you see more people who have had it done? You probably do but you just don’t know it, both men and women. It looks that good. The days of big hair plugs, dolls head results and grand surgeries are largely gone. The state of the art is called microfollulicular grafting, basically putting in one hair at a time. It’s a daylong procedure done under a local anesthesia. Hair is taken form the back of the head and planted to restore the area of concern. The goal is to create a normal looking and age appropriate hairline. You must have an area where the hair can be harvested from and depending on the amount of hair loss you may need one or more sessions.

Laser and pulsed light technologies continue to be the mainstay for hair reduction. With the introduction of cooling technologies, better crystals and tunable flashlamps the number of patients who can achieve success has grown. Hair removal technology is imperfect. Hair grows in and out at different stages and cycles in our lives and some skin types do better than others, but for the right candidate the results can be dramatic and long lasting.

If you are interested in hair removal or an evaluation by the hair restoration group please contact us or give us a call.

Tattoo Removal – Your Options & What the Future Holds

Monday, February 6th, 2012

As I am fond of telling my kids, the key to tattoo removal is prevention. Unfortunately, most of the people I see, at my cosmetic surgery practices in Maryland and Virginia, who want tattoos off never got that advice. But here I’ll provide some options each with pros and cons.

Laser Tattoo Removal: Lasers can remove certain tattoos. The best results are when the tattoo has dark ink. Lasers target black best. Reds and greens are much more difficult to eradicate. Professionally applied tattoos often come off more easily because the pigment is at a more uniform level. The problem here is that laser removal can require multiple treatments and sometimes fail for lighter colors, or deeper pigments. Even if the tattoo is removed a ghost of the tattoo is left behind.

Excision Tattoo Removal: If the tattoo is in an area where there is excess skin around the tattoo, if the skin is loose it can be cut out. This completely removes the tattoo but will leave a scar.

Serial Excision Tattoo Removal: For moderate size tattoos the tattoo can be excised in stages giving the skin time to relax and stretch between excisions. This leaves a scar too.

Tissue Expansion Tattoo Removal: If there is not enough skin to cut out and close the tattoo area balloons can be placed under the skin to stretch the adjacent area over a few months and then use the stretched skin to close the area. This option takes time, patience and is very costly. This leaves a scar too.

Skin Graft: A large tattoo could be removed and skin grafted over the defect but this would not be particularly aesthetic. Skin grafts generally do not look like normal skin and a scar would be left where the skin is removed.

The future of Tattoo Removal: A company called freedom 2 is developing pigments that will be much easier for lasers to remove but as of this writing, I put as of this writing they aren’t available yet.

If you are interested in Tattoo Removal, I invite you to contact me to schedule a consultation at one of my practices in Maryland or Virginia. To keep waiting to a minimum I encourage you read “Sorry I Kept You Waiting for Your Consultation of Cosmetic Surgery.” For more information on other procedures of cosmetic surgery explore my website.

Sorry I Kept You Waiting for Your Consultation of Cosmetic Surgery

Tuesday, January 31st, 2012

I find myself running behind in the office and sometimes doing what I hate the most… keeping someone waiting for their cosmetic surgery consultation. I am on your side here. I don’t like waiting in the doctor’s office either.

So first and foremost if you are reading this and I have kept you waiting, or will keep you waiting, I offer you my sincere apologies. There is more to this blog however. I thought you might find it interesting to know how and why we can get backed up.

—–The cascading arrival time: While we have a good scheduling program all it takes is one late arrival to shift the schedule off kilter by 30 minutes or more. Unfortunately that will happen on average about twice during an office day at anyone of my plastic surgery practices in the Washington DC, Virginia area.

—–The exploding consult: for the average consultation we have a pretty good estimate the time it will take for me to evaluate, explain and go over treatments. However, it is extraordinarily common for a patient to book a consultation about one type of surgery but then also ask about two or three more. At 25- 30 minute per topic the math gets a little scary. Interested in knowing more about that topic, read my past blog “What Goes Together- More Than One Procedure of Plastic Surgery”.

—–The mom /friend phenomena: I love it when a patient brings a friend or family member to the consultation another set of ears and eyes is comforting and helpful. It is extremely common though that the friend or family member becomes the second consult in that room at the same time.

—–I am long winded: yes, it’s true. I love to teach and educate my patients and I don’t want anyone to leave feeling they did not get the best and most informative experience they could. So if one topic becomes 3 or if mom or friend has a question I will always feel compelled to answer it in detail.

I hope this doesn’t scare you off. A busy cosmetic plastic surgery practice is a good thing.

So a few tips: Morning consults are less prone to cascading delays, if you’re interested in many things, or so is your companion, just let us know ahead and we’ll leave more time. Bring a book just in case. Whether it’s breast, body, face, nose, or liposuction I’d love to meet you and I’ll do my best not to keep you waiting.

If you have any more questions about my office or to schedule a consultation please contact me.

PIP and safety of Breast implants

Monday, January 16th, 2012

Recently a French manufacturer of silicone breast implants, Poly Implant Prothèse or PIP, came under Investigation by the French government for using low grade silicone in their silicone gel breast implants. The French have recommended that patients with these implants have them removed and replaced as a preventive, but not urgent matter.

These breast implants are not approved for use in the United States and I have never used them in my practice. The concern is only relevant for patients who have had breast augmentation outside the United States.

The only gel breast implants approved for use in the United States are manufactured by American companies and adhere to strict quality and manufacturing requirements.

The FDA requires extensive bio-compatibility testing on all its breast implants as described in their administration’s Summary of Safety and Effectiveness Data. These guidelines have resulted in silicone shells that have been tested and shown to possess excellent strength, resilience and elasticity.

If you have any concerns or questions about what is going on in France please do not hesitate to contact our office. If you had breast augmentation surgery outside the U.S. and would like to remove or replace your gel breast implants just please let us know.

Labioplasty- reducing the size of the Labia

Monday, November 14th, 2011

When I started performing Labioplasty a number of years ago I had no Idea how popular it would become. A patient once told me that she regretted not having had it done when she had her breast augmentation; she just didn’t know that I did it. Because of her I added a “while you’re at it” section to my D.C. breast webpage to point out surgeries that are commonly combined.

Labial tissue comes in all shapes and sizes. Some have more, others less. Common concerns patients share with me include a self consciousness during sexual activity, difficulty wearing certain clothing or swimwear and even discomfort with some athletics.

There are two basic types of Labioplasty and I perform both procedures. I believe both are good as long as the patient’s goals are accomplished. The labia minora is the most commonly reduced.

Straight excision simply cuts away the redundant tissue and leaves a straight narrower labial edge. It is the simplest and removes the most tissue. Some believe that it leaves an unnatural looking edge but I have not found this to be the case.

The other method involves removing a wedge or wedges of tissue which preserves the natural edge of the labia.

Labioplasty can be done under a local or general anesthesia. I am happy to show examples in consultation but I don’t put Labioplasty photos on the web. If you are interested in a Labioplasty then contact me to schedule a consultation.