Looking for a treatment of tech neck? Well first, let’s discuss what tech neck is. With everyone staring at their smartphones, they notice their neck fullness when in selfie mode. That results in one of two things: a realization that they’ve always had that fullness but never noticed before. Or they’ve given themselves that fullness by always looking down at their phone! Either way, you have minimally invasive options.

Kybella for treatment of tech neck

Kybella is a liquid, the consistency of water, that is injected approximately 20 times a centimeter apart to the area of concern in the neck. The treatment is repeated 2 to 6 times over the course of months until the patient reaches their desired result. Each treatment costs about $800 but varies among doctors.

One critical detail is that after each treatment, the patient’s neck will swell for about a week.

CoolSculpting for treatment of tech neck

CoolSculpting is a non-surgical treatment that requires an applicator placement to the fat portion of the neck. It works by freezing the fat and thereby killing the fat. The treatment takes 35 minutes and must be repeated 6 weeks later. Each treatment costs between $750 and $1000. There is no neck swelling afterwards.

Neck liposuction for treatment of tech neck

While it’s understandable that everyone wants a non-surgical treatment, there is a point where it becomes pointless if 1) it ultimately costs as much as a surgical treatment and 2) requires many treatments to 3) still not get the patient where they want to be.

So yes, neck liposuction is surgery, but it’s only one small 3mm incision behind the chin. All of the fat that concerns the patient can be removed in one procedure that takes about 30 minutes. The neck is swollen for several days but not necessarily a week and not as much as Kybella. Short, sweet, effective and about the same price as non-surgical options.

So what should you do?!

Decide what is most important to you. If you’re a non-surgical treatment-or-bust kinda person, even if it requires multiple treatments and not reaching 100% of your goal, then go for Kybella or CoolSculpting. If you can’t take the time off and want to be done in one treatment session, then neck lipo is for you!

Video reviewing the pros and cons of Kybella, CoolSculpting and Neck Lipo

To check pricing on all of these services from Dr. Kaplan, click here.

Click here for the original blog post written by Dr. Kaplan for BuildMyBod.

The post Kybella, CoolSculpting or Neck Lipo for treatment of Tech Neck! [video] first appeared on Plastic Surgeon San Francisco | Pacific Heights Plastic Surgery.

Pain point: surgical vs non-surgical

Let’s say a patient is trying to decide between liposuction or non-surgical fat freezing with CoolSculpting (CS). First and foremost is education. I emphasize to the patient that these procedures are not equivalent. CoolSculpting won’t produce the same results as liposuction. Even the folks at CoolSculpting would agree.

So I ask, what’s your pain point? If they’re a candidate for both procedures, what’s more important to them? Getting a 25% fat reduction (CS) without surgery or 85% with liposuction (surgery)? What’s a greater concern? Surgical downtime (liposuction) vs no downtime (CS)? Obvious results (lipo) vs more subtle results (CS)?

The decision is ultimately up to them if they’re a candidate for both procedures but it’s critical they have reasonable expectations regarding the results.

Pain point: shape vs incisions?

Here’s another example from a recent patient. She wanted a breast lift. She was very clear that she wanted perky breasts (improved shape) without implants. Forgoing implants in a breast lift is totally reasonable because the success of the lift is mostly dependent on removing excess skin. If minimal skin needs to be removed to tighten the “skin envelope,” fewer incisions are required. And conversely, more skin removal, more incisions.

If someone has a slight droop or ptosis to their breasts, an incision only around the areola (well hidden) allows the removal of enough skin to give an adequate lift. See photo above. If they have more droop, they’ll need a “lollipop” lift (see below). That’s an incision around the areola and extending down to the fold under the breast. If they have a greater degree of droop, then they’ll need the “anchor” incision which includes the “lollipop” incision plus an incision within the fold under the breast.

With that background, they have a decision to make. Is their pain point achieving the perkiest breast possible? Then that may require the “lollipop” or “anchor” incision to remove more skin. If they want fewer incisions, they need to understand they won’t get as much lift. So again, what’s your pain point? Nicely shaped breasts with more incisions that will fade with time or droopy breasts with fewer incisions? The pain point, and resulting answer, is different for everyone!

To check pricing on any of these procedures, click here.

Click here for the original blog post written by Dr. Kaplan for BuildMyBod.

The post What’s your pain point when it comes to cosmetic surgery? first appeared on Plastic Surgeon San Francisco | Pacific Heights Plastic Surgery.

Techniques to reduce breast size

First and foremost, CoolSculpting does not or is not designed to reduce breast size in women. Typically, breasts in women are composed mostly of breast tissue, not as much fat until later in life. Since CoolSculpting reduces fat and not fibrous breast tissue that creates milk, it would not be very effective for a woman.

However, for a man, there may be a better chance. While men have some breast tissue, typically behind their nipples, their chest is made up mostly of fat. For this reason, a CoolSculpting applicator can be placed on the male chest to reduce fat.

As with any patient, this issue ultimately boils down to expectations. So while CoolSculpting can potentially reduce breast size in the male patient, will it be enough of a reduction to make the patient happy? Tough to tell. The patient needs to understand that the fat reduction is 25% at most. They may still have breast tissue behind the nipple that is their main concern. This won’t be affected by CoolSculpting at all.

There’s also the issue of skin tightening. Aggressive liposuction can result in skin tightening but the skin will not tighten as much after CoolSculpting. In the end, a good old-fashioned operation may be the best way to ensure meeting the patient’s goals. You can read more about gynecomastia correction (surgical correction of male breasts) here.

To check pricing on CoolSculpting or gynecomastia correction from Dr. Kaplan, click here and here respectively.

Click here for the original blog post written by Dr. Jonathan Kaplan for BuildMyBod.

The post Can CoolSculpting reduce breast size? first appeared on Plastic Surgeon San Francisco | Pacific Heights Plastic Surgery.