Face
Scar-free Eyelid Surgery
Facial Wrinkle Removal (CO2 laser)
Nose Reshaping (Rhinoplasty)
Chin Augmentation
Botox Injection
Collagen injection
Dermabrasion
Body
Breast Lift
Breast Reduction
Breast Reconstruction
Spider Vein Injections
Laser Hair Removal
Eyelid Surgery (Blepharoplasty)
More than any other facial feature, the eyes have a tremendous impact on your appearance. It is said the eyes are the ‘windows of the soul.”
Often, the eyes are the first place to show aging, because the skin around your eye is half as thin as on the rest of your face. Eyelid surgery can improve that “tired look;” remove bags, pouches and excess skin from under and over the eyes; and make you look years younger.
Blepharoplasty removes fat – usually along with excess skin and muscle – from the upper and lower eyelids. It can correct drooping upper lids and puffy bags below your eyes. Eyelid surgery can be done alone, or combined with other facial procedures such as facelift or browlift.
Most eyelid surgery leaves invisible scars – incisions are made following natural lines and creases and usually disappear within a few months. If no excess skin needs to be removed, the lower lid incision can be made inside the lower lid. Otherwise the incision is made just below the lashes. Fine wrinkles of the eyelids are removed with the laser.
After surgery, the upper eyelids no longer droop and the skin under the eyes is smooth and firm.
Eyelid surgery usually takes 1-2 hours. It can be performed in the surgical suite at Georgia Plastic Surgery or in the hospital outpatient department. There will be swelling and some bruising. You should expect to be out of work one week.
Wrinkle Removal – Laser Resurfacing
Laser resurfacing removes areas of damaged or wrinkled skin, layer by layer, to minimize fine lines; treat facial scars or areas of uneven pigmentation; or remove birthmarks or tattoos.
There are a variety of lasers used in laser surgery – each one is designed for a very specific purpose. For example, lasers that refresh the skin emit a different color of light than lasers that remove birthmarks or tattoos. The C02 laser reduces wrinkles and refreshes skin on the face.
Lasers such as the copper vapor, the pulsed dye, the argon, and the neodynium: YAG get rid of or lighten small spider veins, red moles and port wine stains (purple facial birthmarks). The ruby laser, the alexandrite, the KTP and the copper vapor have the ability to remove dark spots and dark tattoo ink.
Laser resurfacing offers advantages over other resurfacing methods – precision, little (if any) bleeding and less post-operative discomfort. However, in some cases, alternative resurfacing methods such as chemical peels, may be preferential. Your doctor will discuss options with you during your consultation.
Laser resurfacing is performed in the hospital outpatient department or in the surgical suite at Georgia Plastic Surgery. The procedure takes 30 minutes to one and half hours, depending on how large of an area is involved. Expect some swelling and discomfort after laser resurfacing.
Recovery time will depend on the number of layers penetrated with the laser, but expect about 10-14 days out of work. Some redness may occur after that, but Georgia Plastic Surgery’s aesthetician will assist you with camouflage makeup techniques. You will need to diligently care for the skin during the healing process.
Laser resurfacing is often combined with another cosmetic procedure, such as facelift or eyelid surgery.
Nose reshaping can reduce the size of the nose, improve the tip or the bridge, remove a bump, narrow or widen the width or even improve the angle between the nose and the upper lip. Rhinoplasty can be performed either to meet aesthetic goals or for reconstructive purposes – to correct birth defects or breathing problems.
Your doctor will discuss your reshaping goal with you during the consultation and pre-operative visit. During the surgery, the skin of the nose is separated from its supporting framework of bone and cartilage, which is then sculpted to the desired shape.
Then, the skin is redraped over the new framework. Most rhinoplastys are performed from within the nose, with the incision inside the nostrils. In some cases, however, the incision is made at the base of the nose.
Nose reshaping takes about 2 hours. It can be performed in the surgical suite at your doctor’s office or in the hospital outpatient department. Following the surgery, you can expect some swelling and bruising for a week or so. You should expect to be out of work one week.
Chin Augmentation
Many people have a chin that is too small or underdeveloped. They look at their profile and are disappointed. They believe that a small, undersized chin projects an image of weakness.
When the chin is undersized, it affects the entire face. It can make an overbite appear much more pronounced and severe. This condition can be corrected through chin augmentation, which can enlarge and improve the contour of an undersized or receding chin.
An implant may be used for your chin augmentation. A small incision is made inside the mouth or underneath the chin. The implant goes into a small pocket created next to the chin bone. Another option is to cut a portion of the chin bone and move it forward slightly. This option is done from inside the mouth and there is no scarring.
Chin augmentation takes one hour. It is performed in the surgical suite at Georgia Plastic Surgery or in the hospital outpatient department. There will be swelling and some bruising. You should expect to be out of work 3-5 days.
Botox Injections
Botox is a temporary solution for “frown lines” and “crow’s feet” around the eyes and forehead wrinkles. Botulinum toxin (Botox) has been used therapeutically in humans for over 20 years. In the past several years, plastic surgeons have started using it in a variety of aesthetic facial procedures.
Botox is applied in a set of tiny injections which take about 10 minutes. The toxin takes 7 to 10 days to take effect and lasts 3-6 months. It works by weakening the muscles of facial expression which are under the skin.
Once the tone of these muscles is weakened, the pull of the muscles relaxes and the skin flattens out. Some wrinkles of the face are not amenable to correction with Botox. Botox is utilized to enhance your appearance and does not take the place of standard facial plastic surgeries such as facelift and eyelid surgery.
Botox injections are administered by your doctor’s office. Expect minimal to no bruising at the injection site.
Breast Lift (Mastopexy)
Gravity, pregnancy, breast feeding, weight gain and weight loss ñ all take their toll on the breasts. As the skin loses its elasticity, the breasts often lose their shape and firmness and begin to sag.
A breast lift is the solution. A breast lift can reshape, rejuvenate, firm up, lift up and shape up sagging, shrinking breasts. It can also reduce the size of an enlarged, stretched areola (the dark skin around the nipple). In addition, if your breasts are small or have lost volume, breast implants inserted in conjunction with mastopexy can increase both their firmness and their size.
For a breast lift, your doctor should make incisions following the natural contour across the breast and around the areola. Next, he removes excess skin from the lower part of the breast. The nipple, areola and underlying breast tissue are lifted up to a new higher position and the skin that used to be above the nipple is now brought down, around and together to reshape and lift the breast.
The procedure takes about 2 hours. Breast lift can be performed in the surgical suite at Georgia Plastic Surgery or in the hospital outpatient department. You should expect to be out of work 3-7 days.
Breast Reduction (Reduction Mammaplasty)
Big breasts can be a problem physically and psychologically. Both adult women and teenagers with oversized breasts choose to have breast reduction, a procedure which reduces the size and reshapes large breasts by removing excess skin and underlying tissue.
If you have large, sagging breasts you may be a good candidate for breast reduction. If your breasts are sagging but not overly large, a breast lift may be all you need.
Breast reduction involves making incisions horizontally and vertically following the natural contour of the breast. Excess tissue, fat and skin are removed and then the nipple, areola and underlying tissue are moved to a new, higher location.
When the breasts are extremely oversized, itís sometimes necessary to completely detach the nipple before it is relocated. With the nipple in the new location, skin on both sides of the breast is moved down and around the areola and brought together. This firms up and shapes the breast.
The procedure takes about 3-4 hours. Breast reduction is performed in the hospital outpatient department. You should expect to be out of work 10-14 days. Breast reduction is often covered by insurance.
Breast Reconstruction
For most mastectomy patients, the loss of a breast is a severe emotional loss. A loss of self-esteem, femininity and self. Breast reconstruction strives to replace not just the breast, but the emotional loss as well. The breast reconstruction process may begin at the time of your mastectomy or can occur weeks to years afterward.
There are different approaches to reconstruction which vary according to the type of mastectomy and the condition of the breast skin. When there is enough skin and if itís loose and thick enough, reconstruction may be achieved through a simple implant or prosthesis.
When there is not enough skin to accommodate an implant, additional skin from another area is needed. This donor skin is called a ìflapî which consists of not only skin, but the muscle and blood vessels that sustain it. Often the broad muscle in the back and its overlying skin is used as donor tissue.
The flap is detached and moved underneath the skin (ìtunneledî) to the breast area where it is sutured to the local skin forming a pocket for the implant. Another technique uses a flap from the abdomen which is tunneled to the breast area, folded on itself.
If the mound is large enough, no implant will be needed. Another technique involves a skin or tissue expander placed beneath the chest muscle which over several weeks is filled with a saline solution. To reconstruct the nipple and areola, additional surgery may be necessary.
Reconstruction is usually performed in the hospital and lasts 2-7 hours. You should expect to be out of work 14 days.