Many women who consider breast augmentation worry about scarring or wonder if there is a “scarless” breast augmentation. Since all surgery involves cutting the skin, scars are an inevitable by product. When it comes to breast augmentation, many women who come to my practice are interested in having no scar whatsoever on their breasts. This is something we can accomplish.

Many years ago I learned the transaxillary approach to breast augmentation whereby a very small incision is made underneath the armpit, a fairly inconspicuous spot from an aesthetic standpoint, and the implant is inserted. This area also tends to heal very quickly and often after…

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Posted in: Breast Augmentation,Breast Surgery

We often have patients ask what is the best non-surgical device we offer for fat reduction – CoolSculpting or Vanquish? Since we offer both CoolSculpting and Vanquish, let’s take the opportunity to compare the devices.

CoolSculpting is the older technology, and because we were the first plastic surgery office in Michigan to offer the treatment, we have seen many results over the past years, some favorable others less so. CoolSculpting is FDA cleared and uses “cryolipolisis” or fat freezing to target the fat cells. The CoolSculpting device works somewhat like a vacuum with paddles that suck the fat between the paddles. At first the device feels very…

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Posted in: coolsculpting,Vanquish
Tags:coolsculpting,Vanquish

Fat grafting has become extremely popular for patients who wish to augment one area of the body and reduce another. The current popularity in buttock augmentation has many people seeking out this procedure. Typically, the fat is harvested through liposuction, the fat cells are then injected into another area of the body where more volume is desired. However, there are other areas of the body that can also benefit from fat grafting, including those who have lost volume in the face, or those who want some natural filler for breast augmentation, or even adding some sculpting to the shoulders, legs or stomach to create more definition.

The…

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Posted in: Fat grafting
Tags:fat grafting

We’re excited to introduce Vanquish FLEX, a new non-surgical method of contouring thighs through radiofrequency technology. Many of our patients work hard at keeping in great shape, but are troubled by small areas of fat that are hard to reduce through diet and exercise alone. Areas of fat around the thighs can be particularly difficult to address with our existing non-surgical fat reducing technology: CoolSculpting and Vanquish.

The issue in treating the thigh area successfully in the past has been the configuration of the devices. CoolSculpting uses cryolipolisis to freeze fat, but requires the area to be pulled into the treatment paddles:…

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Posted in: Vanquish
Tags:vanquish flex

Everyone wants beautiful lips that are full, natural looking, and free from lip lines. Traditionally, wrinkles around the mouth as a result of smoking, puckering and just plain living, have been one of the more difficult areas for plastic surgeons to treat successfully. These lines are not typically corrected with a facelift or any other type of surgery.

Fortunately, there are now some new tools that we have to help treat those fine lines around the mouth, the deeper lines between the nose and corners of the mouth, and enhance the lips without the awful puffed up Hollywood lips that most women and men abhor.

For the lines between the corners of…

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Posted in: Belotero,Exilis Elite,Restylane Silk
Tags:Exilis,Juvederm,Restylane,Restylane Silk

The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery statistics for 2014 indicate that more men than ever are opting for plastic surgery. This certainly has been the case for our practice at the Center for Aesthetics and Plastic Surgery.

Over the past five years, the increase in male cosmetic procedures has risen by 43% nationally, with blepharoplasty, male breast reduction and facelift being the most popular surgical procedures. For non-surgical procedures, Botox, dermal fillers, non-surgical skin tightening and Intense Pulsed Light are the most popular.

At our practice, these same trends apply, although non-surgical fat reduction procedures like CoolSculpting and Vanquish are also extremely popular with…

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Posted in: In the News
Tags:male plastic surgery,Plastic surgery

Fractional Laser Skin Resurfacing can be a confusing term. What is fractional laser skin resurfacing and why might it be something for you to consider for rejuvenating your skin?

Fractional laser resurfacing is recent laser technology, performed in the office that rejuvenates the skin and offers minimal recovery time with a low risk of complications. It is considered to be fractional because it is able to treat very specific areas of the skin while sparing others, resulting in  smoother, refreshed skin.

Some laser skin treatments are ablative and others, like our ICON IPL laser, are non-ablative. What is the difference? Lasers operate with various wavelengths for different…

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Posted in: Laser Treatments
Tags:fractional laser,IPL laser,laser resurfacing

After all the holiday consumption, January often finds people consumed with losing some of the extra fat they picked up from November to January. It is not surprising that January through March are a very busy times in our office for non-surgical fat reduction techniques Vanquish and CoolSculpting. But what, exactly, is the difference between the two procedures?

CoolSculpting is an FDA cleared fat reduction technique that literally freezes a specified area of fat. It is an office procedure that takes about one hour per area (flanks would be considered two areas); so many people have two-hour sessions per treatment. CoolSculpting requires no anesthesia….

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Posted in: coolsculpting,Vanquish
Tags:coolsculpting,Vanquish

For those who want to experience what it would be like to have fuller breasts but without committing to a breast augmentation, a new technique developed by New York plastic surgeon, Dr. Norman Rowe offers patients a chance to experience “vacation breasts” but only for about 24 hours with saline breast injections.

The technique basically takes about 20 minutes to perform. The injection site, at the edge of each nipple is anesthetized, and about a half liter of saline solution (salt water) is injected into each breast and, voila- instant breasts. The body then absorbs the salt water naturally within about 24 hours.

According to Dr. Rowe, who has performed many of…

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Posted in: Breast Augmentation,Breast Surgery
Tags:breast augmentation

It came as great news yesterday that the FDA approved Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Ideal Breast Implant for use in the U.S.

Back at our Virgin Islands Workshop in 2010, a friend and plastic surgery colleague, Dr. Robert Hamas, introduced plastic surgeons at our meeting to a prototype for an implant he had developed. The new implant, which he called the Ideal Implant®, combined the best of silicone gel and saline implants.

Dr. Hamas felt that many women liked the natural result of the silicone gel implants, but preferred the safety of a saline implant should the implant leak or rupture. Regular MRI scans are typically the only way women can detect a leak…

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Posted in: Breast Surgery,Ideal Implant,In the News
Tags:Ideal Breast Implant