We all want to get rid of this unwated fat. However, think about taking the fat from unwanted places and putting it where you want it? Take it out from the waste and putting it in the butt to make it round and attractive or putting it in the breast to make a natural soft breast? This fat is free and is yours. You do not have to pay for implants. You can also put it in your face to get rid of wrinkles, or in your lip to make them larger. So next time you say get rid of my fat think again. Recycle, recycle, recycle.
As we age not only does the skin becomes less elastic and thin, but our bony skeleton also becomes thinner and smaller. The fat “baby fat” disappears and it all results in hanging empty skin with less architectural aesthetics. The atrophy of the fat is addressed with fillers. The skin thinness and lack of elasticity is addressed with various lifts whether face lift, abdominoplasty, breast lift or mons pubis lift. Some require arm lifts, and thigh lifts as well. In some areas the fat disappears more than others. For example how often we hear people say-”if I loose enough weight for my thighs to be thin my face becomes too gaunt”.. Therefore often we do liposuction on the thighs which stubbornly hold on to fat while our face looses it very quickly. So now what about the shrinking skeleton. We all know that with age we get shorter. However, we also know that even tho we look better after a facelift the area around the mouth rarely improves. ASK DR. STEPHEN COLEN who is trained as a dentist as well as a plastic surgeon. He will be the firtst one to tell you that in order for the area around the mouth to improve very often one may need to do onlay grafts to fill out the bone area under the upper lip so that the lip will not hang like a curtain with pleats. Only grafts could also be put under the base of the nasal vestibule so that the nose will not look too long and hooked as our face shrinks. Often we hear people say -”she is so photogenic”. This is often said about models or actresses. They usually have in common a squere and strong bone structure which we loose as we get older. So there are many ways to look younger besides just lifts, skin fillers and botox. ONLAY grafts can also be very necessary.
Finally we have someone who takes pride in showing her body. Michelle is confident and, therefore, showing her arms is not a big deal. Her confidence obviously is so strong that no one even dares to criticize what she does. Her husband who is the most powerful man in the world and quite the looker himself adores her. Why does he adore her?? For the same reason that everyone adores her. It is her confidence in herself that makes him respect her as he beams with pride everytime she is around. Sooo- what does that tell you. Your self confidence is very important. How you feel about yourself is the key. Your feeling about yourself says tons and communicates to all whether you are great, just so and so or a true failure to be dismissed. So you must boost your confidence and pride in yourself whatever it takes. Diet, exercise, a new lipstick and makeup or haircu or a bit of fillers, botox, latisse to bat those long eyelashes, fraxel for good skin, lipo for skinny arms, or a tuck here and there. Vaginal tightening anyone, or labiaplasty for great confident sex life?????? Your self confidence will boost your relationship, get you a job or keep you on the job. You are what you think you are and not what they say you are.
Many ask for smart lipo. I think it is a great name for a procedure. You almost believe that this lipo is Sooo smart that it knows where the fat is and will get rid of it completely through some unbelievable new laser technology. Like a car without a rider as this car does not need one as it is smart enough to drive itself. There was a TV show like that once. Here is my take on it. The people who are selling this machine figured it out that if they make the public believe that this is the best thing since chicken soup, people will want it and doctors will buy it to satisfy the demand. Sooo the marketing is great and people want it and doctors buy it. SMART LIPO indeed. Smart lipo is a long procedure and one can only accomplish limited areas. The patient gets injected with a local anesthetic in the skin and then local anesthetic is injected into the area to be suctioned. Then a laser probe is inserted and it heats up. There are dials and whisles to alert the doctor if too much heat is generated as that may cause a burn. If too little is generated then nothing happens. Different heat values are needed in different depths of the fat. That heat melts the fat around it like a fat is melted on a skillet. Then you get a regular liposuction in that area to remove the melted fat. One must go to a very experienced doctor as the laser use adds an element of risk. We do not want to burn any nerves or important structures with this laser. Only limited areas can be done and if you have extensive areas to do you may need to have multiple visits. Same results can be accomplished with regular liposuction or a liposuction with ultrasound. With the regular lipo you can do more areas take out more fat with less risk. However, the doctor must work harder to remove the fat which has not been melted first with this laser.The smart lipo is said to make the skin shrink after lipo. Skin shrinks after any lipo but the extent depends on the skin texture itself. Well, I am not impressed but if you like the idea then make sure you have a good doctor. Frankly I am waiting to have a blue tooth machine that all I need to do is just pass the wand next to the fat and have it transfered to the garbage can by the blue tooth technology. Then we will definitely have smart lipo.
I often ask my patients that if they have a choice would they rather have a young body or a young face. Hard decision-However, most want a young body. Interesting, but not surprising. A sexy or a sensuous young body is always admired and aspired to. People spend hours in gym, pilatis, running, biking, hiking-all in order to preserve youth of body. Men whistle at the site of a sexy young body more than at a young face. Therefore, liposuction, tummytucks, breast lifts and reductions are so popular. The buttock lift is also gaining in popularity. The scars are hidden in creases and the buttock looks tight and uplifted. Great look in jeans. Women who have body surgery are proportionally happier than those with face rejuvenation surgery.Many inquire about vaginal and labial rejuvenation surgery both becoming more popular and talked about in the US. It used to be done most often in Iran and Eastern regions of the world. However, as people have become more mobile and many different ethnic groups migrate west that surgery is taking hold all over the world. It is safe and leaves no scars. Now you can become younger in all respects. It is a new era where women are much more aware of their own anatomy and are not afraid to verbalize what it is that they want. While doing a tummytuck we often also raise the pubis and thus one feels uplifted in all respects. All these surgeries are safe if done by reputable and experienced doctors. Do not be afraid to inquire about them and see which if any are good for you.
New year and new hopes and dreams and expectations. We want to feel as good as we can so we must look as good as we feel. New resolutions–go on a diet and loose 5 lbs. Go to the gym at least three times a week. Yoga for relaxation, deep breathing rather than screaming when we are angry and so on. However, there are certain maintenance activities which we must do to look good. Just like we repaint a kitchen, or redo a bathroom or fix a million other things we own. We do own our bodies and those need fixing and maintenance as well. Soooo-my friends we must maintain our skin with the proper creams. Those who have dry skin must put on more oclusive creams those with oily more drying and those with age spots and shallow wrinkles and irregular texture perhaps the fraxel treatment would be of value. Deep crevices by our lips, or nose should be filled in and the frown lines that make us look very angry could benefit from botox. Our leg spider veins must be looked after, and tx either by laser or by injection. All these tx are well within a budget that over a year could be manageable. Of course never discount the liposuction of those thighs that will not go away no matter what. Never discount the breast lift for those breasts that sag deeper and deeper into a depressed and sorry state. Oh my-am looking in the mirror and now what on earth happened to my stomach. It used to be tight and now it also buldges. Well after 6 mo of sit ups if it aint gone perhaps a tummytuck might be in order. Many women who are determined and loose over 50 lbs now undergo skin trimming surgery. After the mons pubis is lifted, one looks down and lol!!!!look at those hanging labia. Well, even there is help for these stretched out hanging labia that look like elephant ears. One can reduce them, plump them and make them look virginal. How about that. Even the vaginal introitus can be made tighter and feel much better during sex. Ah yes, sex–what is that. Well, when you feel good you may want to indulge a bit????The lucky thing in all this is that these conditions are fixable. It is not a terminal condition altho life is. Therefore, fix and indulge before those cataracts start coming cause by then it will not matter. Would love to see you in the office to discuss, tummytuck, breast lifts, facial injections and treatments, liposuction or labia reduction or just a chat about it all. 2008-so what; 2009-now what.
I am down here in Florida and the weather is beautiful. Many young women with great bodies are on the beach. Many have had breast augmentations and most probably liposuction judging from the discreet small incision marks on their legs. However, to most they look great. Breast augmentation if done with saline implants can be totally scarless. The implants can be put in through the axilla or armpit leaving a small mark in the already present creases. These breast augmentations look natural and feel natural. It is easy to read mammograms and biopsies can be done without worrying that a sac containing silicone will be ruptured. Even if they do rupture it is only water and one can remove the implant through the armpit and place a new one into the already present pocket. One should consider breast augmentation with saline implants. Even tho they are not mentioned much in the magazines they are I feel superior to silicone. Less scar, mammography is easier and biopsy can be done without the same concern. If they leak they can be easily removed. If silicone leaks it is a much larger procedure to fix it. So call our office and find out more about saline breast augmentations.
Plastic Surgeons Dr. Helen S. Colen, M.D., Dr. Stephen R. Colen, M.D., & Dr. Kari L. Colen, M.D.,
serving Manhattan, New York City, Ridgewood, Englewood Cliffs, Hackensack, Alpine,
Toms River, Westwood, Garden City, Princeton, Morristown, Pine Valley, and the surrounding areas.