Jessica,
It is not unusual as women get into the middle to late 40’s for age related changes to catch up with them and begin manifesting. Of course a healthy diet and hydration are always important to the body and in turn the facial appearance. Additionally, as menopause occurs or approaches changes in hormone levels can affect skin quality and tone leading to a more rapid progression of aging. All of these things are big topics and are better addressed in person. However, we tend to look at facial aging with three main points in mind: 1) skin quality 2) gravitational effects 3) volume loss. Skin quality can be improved through sun protection, the use of good skin care products like PCA, and the addition of therapies such as Botox, Restylane, Juvederm and Fraxel laser. All of these are listed on this site with more information. The second element, gravitational effects on the face, need to be corrected through the use of surgical procedures. At 46, we usually try to limit the procedures to minimally invasive office procedures that have a quick recovery time. The third element is volume loss. This can be addressed through the use of facial fillers such as Restylane, Perlane, Radiesse and Juvederm or through the use of autologous fat. As you can see there is much that can be done to reverse the signs of aging. We would love to be able to have the opportunity to tailor a personalized plan for you. Please spend some time educating yourself on our site and please plan to come in and have a personal conversation.
Ed Buckingham
Lisa,
Yes we do perform asian or double eyelid surgery. The procedure is usually performed in the office under local anesthesia with some oral medications to relax the patient. Some patients prefer to have a deeper level of anesthesia at our surgery center, which can be arranged. 18 is certainly old enough to have the procedure. There is a limit as to how young someone can be, but it is variable based upon individual maturity levels. We would be happy to see you in consultation and discuss this further.
Ed Buckingham
Mike,
Thanks for your question regarding chin augmentation material. We use a company called Impantech for our implants. We usually us silicone implants. Silicone is a polymer of siloxane. It can be made into a liquid, gel, semi-solid or solid depending on how many molecules you link together. In the case of chin implants it is a flexible solid, ie bendable but maintains its shape. We also will us autologous fat to augment the chin in certain circumstances. I hope you find this information helpful. Please feel free to contact us with any further questions.
Ed Buckingham
Joanna,
Thanks for your question comparing Fraxel re:store and Fraxel re:pair. Fraxel in general is a fractionated laser. This means that instead of the laser removing the outer sun damaged skin in its entirety, it only removes a portion of the skin in a microscopic dottted type fashion. This improves the skin considerably, but allows healing to take place from the undamaged skin islands as well as from below. Therefore the healing is much faster and the procedure is safer than fully ablative lasers.
The Fraxel re:store is an erbium laser vs. the Fraxel re:pair which is a carbon dioxide laser, or CO2. The difference for the patient is that the Fraxel re:store leaves not only some islands of skin intact, but also leaves the outer barrier intact so that you can leave the office with sunscreen on and makeup if you desire. There is swelling for about 2 days and redness for about 5. The Fraxel re:store is a series of 4-6 treatments at approximately 1 month intervals. The Fraxel re:pair does not leave the outer barrier intact and so the patient has a little longer recovery and needs to wear ointment on the face for about 8 days and can not wear make-up. The treatment is performed in a single session however. Both lasers will improve skin pigmentation, texture and lines.
I would recommend coming in for a consultation to determine which procedure would work best for you.
Ed Buckingham
Karla,
Thanks for your question regarding why you would consider a facial plastic surgeon over a plastic surgeon for a facelift. I would advise you to look at the questions differently, a facial plastic surgeon or a general plastic surgeon could be equally qualified or not-qualified to perform a facelift. It depends upon what they have chosen to specialize in. First, lets compare the difference betwen the training of a general plastic surgeon and a facial plastic surgeon.
A general plastic surgeon receives their board certification by completing medical school, followed by 2-3 years in general surgery performing abdominal surgery, trauma surgery etc, followed by 2-3 years in plastic surgery residency performing plastic surgery of the face, body, breast, hand etc. Following their residency they may pursue a fellowship in an area to further hone their skills. This may be in cosmetic breast, body or facial plastics as well a host of other specialties related to plastic surgery.
A facial plastic surgeon obtains their board certification by completing medical school followed by a 1 year internship in general surgery and a 4 year residency in head and neck surgery, aka otolaryngology. During that 4 year training the facial plastic surgeon spends their entire focus on the face, head and neck including cancer surgery of the oral cavity and neck as well as skull base surgery, sinus surgery, reconstructive facial surgery etc. Basically, a facial plastic surgeon is immersed in the anatomy and conditions of the head and neck for 4 years. Most facial plastic surgeons then complete a 1 year fellowship in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery where they further improve our skills related to the area of facial plastic surgery they are interested in. This may be free flap head and neck reconstruction, cleft lip and craniofacial surgery or cosmetics.
Having compared the training, your question should really ask on what the surgeon has chosen to focus their practice on. If the surgeon is performing mostly breast and body surgery and only performs an occasional facelift then they might not be as adept as facelift surgery. In our case we only perform cosmetic facial surgery ie. facelift, rhinoplasty and skin cancer reconstruction on the face. Therefore we have plentiful opportunity to practice our preferred procedures and master them. In choosing a surgeon I would take a look at their website. If they look like they are focusing on breast and body and only have a few facial patients you may take a look somewhere else. If they look like they have a volume of facial patients and the results are natural and significant then they may be someone worth seeing in consultation.
I hope this helps in answering your question. I encourage you to look at our before and after photos and video gallery. Please feel free to call for a consultation if you feel comfortable.
Ed Buckingham
