How do I select the right plastic surgeon?
The choice of a plastic surgeon is as important and as personal as your choice of any physician. Here are some issues to consider:
- Expertise: Make sure you’re speaking with a board-certified plastic surgeon who shares your views on quality of life issues and your goals for personal health and wellness.
- Partnership: Before you agree to undergo any procedure, you and your plastic surgeon should be exploring – together — the motivations for why you might be considering a certain procedure.
- Research: Consult the American Society of Plastic Surgeons or the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Web sites. They contain additional resources designed specifically for patient education.
- Patience: You have plenty of time to consider your options when it comes to cosmetic surgery. It’s your body, your health and your decision. You should never feel rushed or pressured into making the decision to undergo elective cosmetic surgery.
What does it mean when a doctor isn’t board-certified?
Board certification is a credential a physician chooses to obtain after medical school and residency training. Lack of certification can mean that the surgeon did not complete the training requirements of the American Board of Plastic Surgery, completed training outside theU.S. orCanada, completed surgical training in an osteopathic program, elected not to take an examination or was unsuccessful on the examination.
How do I know what treatment or procedure is right for me?
You and your doctor should be asking questions like, “How long has this issue been bothering you?” and, “How do you see the potential for improvement from the procedure impacting your life?”
Plastic surgeons understand that the more specific the patient can be in framing any bothersome issues that have led the patient to consider elective cosmetic surgery, the higher the likelihood of a successful surgical outcome.
Remember, too, that all procedures – even the less-invasive ones like fillers and lasers – carry risks and side effects. Be sure to discuss all the risks and concerns with your surgeon.
An accomplished plastic surgeon can deliver the desired enhancement in your appearance if you are a reasonable and realistic candidate for surgery. What no surgeon can do, however, is say whether your enhanced post-operative body image will improve your relationship with your spouse or make you more desirable to a potential employer. That part is entirely up to you.
Your plastic surgeon should have hospital privileges to perform any procedure that you are considering.
You and your surgeon may decide to operate in a free-standing ambulatory surgery center or an office-based operating room that is not affiliated with a particular hospital, but you should know that all plastic surgeons who are members of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons have pledged to operate only in facilities that are fully accredited. This means that your operating room experience will be conducted to the same high standards that are in place in a hospital.
Having privileges to admit patients and operate at a reputable hospital means the plastic surgeon has satisfied the hospital’s credentialing committee, the Medical Board and Board of Trustees of that Institution, and that they are competent and qualified to perform the procedures they’ve been granted credentials to perform.
For many patients, it’s a great comfort to know that a plastic surgeon’s performance, background and experience are under review by his or her peers and colleagues. A doctor operating without hospital privileges is not subject to the same degree of peer review. Also, if a complication occurs, a non-certified surgeon may not be able to coordinate your care should you need admission to a hospital for subsequent treatment.
Achieving privileges at a prestigious hospital typically means the surgeon has satisfied stringent requirements or has special skills and abilities. After all, having the best doctors, nurses and staff is what helps makes a hospital prestigious in the first place.
Should the hospital or facility where I have my procedure be a factor in selecting a plastic surgeon?
Your Plastic Surgeon should have hospital privileges to perform the procedures that you are considering. You and your surgeon may decide to operate in a free standing ambulatory surgery center or an office based OR that is not affiliated with a particular hospital. But you should know that all Plastic Surgeons who are members of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons have pledged to operate only in facilities that are fully accredited. This means your OR experience would be kept to the same standards as in the hospital setting. Having privileges to admit patients and operate at a reputable hospital means the Plastic Surgeon has satisfied the credentialing committee, Medial Board and Board of Trustees of that Institution that they are competent and qualified to perform the procedures they have granted credentials to perform. It’s a great way of knowing your Plastic Surgeon’s performance, background and experience is under review by his/her peers and colleagues.
A doctor operating without having hospital privileges is not subject to the same degree of peer review. And, if a complication ensues they may not be able to coordinate your care should you need admission to a hospital or subsequent treatment there! Traditionally, achieving privileges at a prestigious hospital means the Surgeon has satisfied particularly stringent requirements or has special skills and abilities. After all, having the best doctors, nurses and staff is what helps makes a hospital prestigious in the first place!
How does my age help determine which procedures are right for me?
A life stage approach to beauty helps a woman always maintain her personal best. Age-maintenance procedures that utilize less-invasive and more cost-effective techniques can deliver results that look far more natural than other, more radical surgical choices. Contact us today to discuss how we can help you achieve your very best using age-appropriate procedures that may include:
For women age 20 and beyond:
- A robust program of medically indicated skin care utilizing topical medications and appropriate levels of sun block
- Liposuction, but only if a realistic trial diet and exercise have not allowed you to achieve your goal of improved body contour
For women age 30 and beyond:
- Botox and filler treatments
- Microdermabrasion and laser hair removal
- Laser resurfacing and light treatments
For women age 40 and beyond:
- Central face lift
- Eyelid rejuvenation procedures
For women age 50 and beyond:
Post-menopausal women typically experience changes in their bodies that need to be taken into account when considering cosmetic enhancements. Among the most important issues:
- Physiological age as opposed to chronological age: A woman’s overall health, height for weight index, types of environmental and sun exposures and underlying health conditions will matter more than how old she is.
- Tendency to lose fat and tissue in the face: Restoration of subcutaneous tissues by use of filler, fat grafting or repositioning by surgical procedures is one of the great advances in facial reconstructive surgery over the past two decades.
- Non-surgical facial treatments: Many patients have experienced successful and satisfying outcomes with fillers, neurotoxin, micro-derm abrasion or light-based facial rejuvenation treatments extending well beyond their 50s and 60s.
These are among the many reasons why a personal consultation with Dr. Grant will help you understand the cosmetic options that will best meet your overall goals and expectations.
Is Life Stage Personal Enhancement appropriate for men as well as for women?
While we can all agree that a man’s aesthetic needs typically differ from those of a woman, a Life Stage Personal Enhancement approach to maintaining one’s personal best is equally appropriate. Because men tend to age at a fairly standard rate independent of a sudden dramatic decrease in hormone levels typically experienced by women, their plan for life stage balance in maintaining their facial and body esthetics is much more straightforward and remains consistent throughout a man’s adult life.
For men age 30 and beyond:
A man’s circulating testosterone level begins to decrease after age 30. Because of this, the most important thing a man can do to keep himself looking as youthful as possible is to continue to work at building and maintaining his muscle mass. A regular program of aerobic exercise for cardiovascular fitness plus weight training in order to mitigate the natural aging consequences of decreased muscle mass is essential.
For men age 40 and beyond:
The use of Botox and fillers has become much more common for men in their 40s and 50s who are beginning to deal with the loss of skin elasticity in the face. Because a man’s face has a more robust blood supply than a woman’s face, any personal enhancement treatments must be oriented specifically to the male face in terms of depth of peeling, energy levels for light base treatments and frequency of application of topical medications. The most common aesthetic procedure for men in this age group involves rejuvenation around the eyes. Eyelid surgery when done well can help rejuvenate a man’s face without stigmatizing him as one who has had facial cosmetic surgery.
For men age 50 and beyond:
Men in this age group will typically experience increasing amounts of skin accumulation along the jaw line in the neck. Traditional face lifts and neck lift approaches do not work particularly well in men because the scars cannot be hidden under a hairline, particularly if the hair is receding or if the man chooses to wear his hair short. One advantage that men have over women, though, is they can have a direct excision of redundant skin of the neck through a geometric pattern, which hides the scar in the area between the bottom of the chin and the Adam’s apple. Many male patients who have this neck skin excised and who end up with an excellent contour with an L-shape appearance to the angle between the chin and neck often camouflage the scar while it is healing by growing a beard.
Of course, the basic information presented here can’t tell the whole story and any man’s specific situation – whether involving body contouring, increased fattiness in the breast tissue, rhinoplasty or something else – will require a personal assessment in order to reach the best recommendations from a Life Stage Personal Enhancement perspective.
What are injectables and how do they work?
Botox is an injectable treatment created from a purified protein. It is effective in the treatment of crow’s feet, forehead wrinkles, and neck folds. Botox smoothens out lines by preventing the facial muscles from contracting into wrinkles. A small dose of Botox is injected with a needle into the muscle blocking the nerve impulses that cause the contractions. The lines gradually relax giving you a refreshed natural looking appearance. The treatment itself only takes a few minutes and will take effect in three to four days, while maximum results are achieved in 7-10 days. Gradually over three to six months, the Botox effect will fade, and the muscle action will return. When the frown line starts to reappear, a simple repeat treatment is all that is necessary to maintain the desired result.
Juvederm is a gel made of hyaluronic acid – a naturally occurring substance in your skin that helps add volume and hydration. It temporarily adds volume to facial tissue and smoothens away facial wrinkles and folds. The procedure itself takes minutes and the effects can be seen immediately. They last up to a year.