Dr. Bae:
That’s right. That was a lot of tests, oral and written tests, and a lot of exams in school to become board certified, so thanks for not forgetting it.

Greg:
And I see you want to fight with me today. You got your college hat on, LSU. It’s close to mine, but I know you went to the University of Texas for a short time, didn’t you?

Dr. Bae:
No, no. I went to UT Austin, correct, but not for a short time. I went for all four years.

Greg:
Okay.

Dr. Bae:
I think I’ve told you this before. I didn’t technically graduate. I didn’t get enough credits to graduate, but I did all the stuff you have to do to be able to get into medical school, like MCAT and everything. But then I went to LSU for medical school and general surgery residency. I grew up in Louisiana, so that’s the LSU hat. I might just got out of an arm liposuction case.

Greg:
Can you at least get a UT hat the next time I see you? I mean, you went there. You could wear a UT hat for me.

Dr. Bae:
That would be totally legitimate. You are right. Out of respect to you, you’re right. I should wear a UT scrub cap next time I see you. Okay. Fair enough.

Liposuction vs Tummy Tuck

Greg:
Thank you. Now, I have a real question for you, Dr. Bae. A lot of people want to lose weight, whether it’s after having a couple of kids or maybe they feel like they can’t lose it on their own, and they’ve just gained so much weight in COVID. Is there one thing that fits everybody? Is it liposuction or how do we do this?

Dr. Bae:
Well, you just basically look at your body and if you can just pinch the skin and you pinch it and you feel like there’s fat in there, maybe you would think, oh, maybe I’m a candidate for liposuction, but then you also have to look at how much excess skin do you have? Do you have a lot of hanging skin or excess skin or wrinkly skin or stretch marks?

Dr. Bae:
The other thing you have to look at is how much of an abdominal bulge you have, like the upper part of your abdomen, and that could be a sign of a rectus diastasis, which is something when your abdominal wall stretches out because of having kids. You take those things into account, a stretched out abdominal wall, excess skin, excess fat. If it’s just excess fat, no hanging skin, no abdominal bulge, you could just do liposuction. That’d be fine.

Dr. Bae:
Then, the other option is if there is excess skin, then you would consider doing a tummy tuck. If you have an abdominal bulge, maybe that’s the only thing you have is the abdominal bulge after having kids, then you would still probably need a tummy tuck because the only way to fix the abdominal bulge is to go through a big, lower abdominal incision, like you would with a tummy tuck.

Different types of tummy tucks

Greg:
Well, what’s involved in a tummy tuck?

Dr. Bae:
A tummy tuck is, typically there’s a few different kinds. There’s a mini tummy tuck, traditional tummy tuck, extended tummy tuck. I guess some doctors will have different definitions, but in general, a mini tummy tuck is just when you’re removing the excess skin at the lower part of the abdomen. And so that means you have a nice flat tummy, otherwise just a little excess skin at the bottom. Maybe you don’t have a whole lot of excess fat. The only people I’ve found that really fit within that category of a mini tummy tuck with just that excess skin are marathon runners, who’ve had a kid. So they’ve had the kid, they still have a nice flat abdomen for whatever reason, genetically, they didn’t get stretched out abdomen.

Greg:
That’s very specific, by the way.

Dr. Bae:
That’s very specific and that’s really the truth. So they’ve worked off all the fat because they’re a marathon runner and they just have this excess skin. What we do is we make a lower abdominal incision, well below the panty line, so at least it’s hidden and they can still wear bikini bottoms and things like that. And so we just remove a strip of skin. That’s a mini tummy tuck.

Skin removal and diastasis repair

Dr. Bae:
If they’ve got more skin that’s hanging, if they’ve got stretch marks they want to get rid of, if they’ve got that abdominal bulge, then we have to make an incision along the lower part of the abdomen, still low enough that it can be hidden, just a little bit longer than a mini tummy tuck, that gives us the ability to remove excess skin, gives us access to go up underneath the upper abdominal wall to tighten that up and to do liposuction at the same time.

Extended tummy tuck

Dr. Bae:
And then if you have excess skin that wraps around the sides of your body towards the back, then that would be more like an extended tummy tuck. That’s kind of the upshot of it all is just notice whether you have excess fat, excess skin and abdominal bulge. That’ll give you an idea whether you need to do liposuction or a tummy tuck. Then depending on how much excess skin you have, how much stretch marks, how much that skin wraps around, that will help you determine what type of tummy tuck you get. I think that pretty much puts it all in a nutshell.

How to find Dr. Bae

Greg:
Yeah, that covers it. They’re truly answers for everybody. You just need a good consultation with a board certified plastic surgeon. Dr. Bae, how do they find you?

Dr. Bae:
They can find me on Snapchat, Instagram, Tik Tok at RealDrBae, R-E-A-L D-R B-A-E, not B-A-Y, and then you can check out our website, RealDrBae.com and they can check pricing on there for all those procedures, mini tummy tuck, full tummy tuck, extended tummy tuck. We got all that information on there, so that by the time you come in, you have a pretty good idea what you need and you have a good idea of how much it costs.

Greg:
Awesome. We’ll see you next time.

Dr. Bae:
Thanks so much, Greg.

Greg:
Hook ’em horns.

Dr. Bae:
Go Tigers.

The post Which type of tummy tuck is right for you? first appeared on Plastic Surgeon San Francisco | Pacific Heights Plastic Surgery.

Greg:
Hey, this is Greg from Big Bay Mornings on 99.7 NOW, and I’m here with our resident certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Bae. Hey, Dr. Bae.

Dr. Bae:
Hey, Greg.

Greg:
You look like you just got out of surgery. What you been doing today?

Dr. Bae:
I just dressed up in scrubs so people think I’m a doctor.

Greg:
That’s good. Well, I hope you are a doctor because you have one of the, or you do one of the most popular procedures out there right now. It’s a mommy makeover but I hear that phrase all the time, but I don’t quite know everything that’s going on during a mommy makeover.

Definition of the Mommy Makeover

Dr. Bae:
Every doctor maybe has a little bit different definition of a mommy makeover, but I’ll definitely try to explain what I think is the common denominator for all doctors and a mommy maker just includes making you over, getting you back to your pre-pregnancy state. And so that always includes at a minimum, something to reshape the breast and to reshape the abdomen, two things that are obviously affected by breastfeeding and pregnancy and everything. So a mommy makeover, you can be pretty confident in it, it involves a breast procedure and a tummy tuck. And just to clarify, a tummy tuck is when we remove excess skin, but also we tighten up the abdominal wall because it’s something called a rectus diastasis where the abdominal wall stretches out from pregnancy. And we reposition the belly button after removing the excess skin and the stretch marks. So that’s the tummy tuck.

Dr. Bae:
With the breast procedure, it could either be a breast lift where we just remove excess skin to lift the breast. If they’re looking pendulous from having by breastfeeding, we can-

Greg:
Love that word. [crosstalk 00:01:33]. Pendulous.

Dr. Bae:
Ain’t that a great word. I try to use it in every conversation. But we remove the excess skin to lift the breast at the very minimum, or if somebody doesn’t have really droopy breasts, but they’re deflated, then we can just put in implants. And if they have a combination of droopiness and deflation, then we can do a breast lift with implants. And the way I try to explain this to make it a little easier to remember for patients is that we talk about a mommy makeover, but then we talk about a type one, two or three. So mommy makeover, breast procedure, tummy tuck. Type one is just a breast lift. Type two is a breast augmentation where we put in implants. And type three is a breast lift with implants. So the types just help discern what breast procedure we’re doing, but hopefully that makes sense to the patient. But yeah, mommy makeover, great procedure. We can do all those procedures, the breast procedure, the tummy tuck, all in one operation.

Postop Recovery

Greg:
And the nice thing about that is if you get several procedures at once, you can do the recovery all at once and you’re not having to recover several different times.

Dr. Bae:
It’s true. Because I know people are worried about, “Oh, if I do the breast and the tummy tuck all at the same time, I’m not going to be in too much pain,” but the truth is if you get the tummy tuck, you might as well get the breast procedure because most of the discomfort or pain is going to be from the tummy tuck. You’ll have some abdominal cramping where we tighten up the abdominal wall and the breast procedure is maybe, yes, more painful, but within a couple of days, you’re going to be so happy you did them together because if you do them separately, then you have two recoveries and it’s more expensive when you do them separately, because we can save a little bit of time by combining them. So definitely [crosstalk 00:03:10] combining is the way to go.

Greg:
Save the money. Save the pain. Save the recovery. And my last question is, I don’t actually have to give birth to have a mommy makeover. Do I?

You don’t have to be a Mommy for a Mommy Makeover

Dr. Bae:
No, no. That’s a really good point. If, for whatever reason, you’ve lost some weight, maybe you’ve lost about 20 pounds, you had a gastric bypass, something like that. Surgical weight loss, medical weight loss, you’re just eating better and dieting and working out, if you’ve lost some fat and your abdomen is looking a little deflated, your breasts are looking a little deflated, then yes, you can do a mommy makeover without having kids. The other thing is we also can combine a Brazilian butt lift with a mommy makeover, because just the way the breast deflate, the butt can deflate. And we can take fat from your whole torso, liposuction, inject that into the butt. We call that a mommy makeover deluxe. That’s what I’ll say [crosstalk 00:03:59]. Every doctor has their different definitions of mommy makeover, so that’s kind of our made up term is a mommy makeover deluxe, which includes breast procedure, tummy talk, and then Brazilian butt lift. So now you know everything you need to know.

Greg:
The deluxe is with sour cream, because it always goes to the booty. Thanks Dr. Bae.

Dr. Bae:
Exactly right. My pleasure.

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

The post Bae Break: What’s a Mommy Makeover and does your mommy need one?! [video] first appeared on Plastic Surgeon San Francisco | Pacific Heights Plastic Surgery.

We’ve all been hearing a lot about Jessica Simpson’s memoir but now there are some juicy details regarding Jessica Simpson’s plastic surgery! She discusses having two tummy tucks back to back and some complications. We’ll try and break down her experience. Totally unsubstantiated of course!

Jessica Simpson’s plastic surgery

Based on excerpts we have read, Jessica (yes, we’re on a first name basis) was not in the best medical shape. She was on diet pills and other medications that were adversely affecting her liver. She says her doctors recommended she not have surgery but she did. It’s not clear if, after receiving an answer she didn’t want to hear from one doctor, that she simply went to another doctor.

Regardless, it sounds like she had a mini tummy tuck to remove the excess skin to her lower abdomen. This is not the same as a full tummy tuck. In fact, when she didn’t have the result she was expecting, she went back for a full tummy tuck against medical advice.

As I discuss in the video below, just because a patient insists on having a procedure, does not mean the doctor must do it. Obviously we don’t know all of the specifics but her surgeon could have refused to do the follow up procedure. However, they did perform a full tummy tuck. Even if the timing was not appropriate in Jessica’s case, this is an appropriate procedure for someone that has had children, where a mini tummy tuck would be lacking.

For example, a full tummy tuck not only removes excess lower abdominal skin, but it also tightens up the abdominal wall. This is called a rectus plication. A full tummy tuck also includes liposuction and removal of more skin than what’s possible in a mini tummy tuck.

Complications after her tummy tuck

She states she got an infection after the full tummy tuck. The part that’s confusing is that she describes the infection as colitis. This is an infection of the intestines. Typically when someone describes an infection after a tummy tuck, they’re referring to an infection along the skin incision. Why would a tummy tuck cause infection of the intestines? It’s possible she got an infection of the intestines due to the antibiotics she was taking after her surgery. How do you get an infection of the intestines if you’re already on antibiotics?

Great question, and here’s the answer. Your intestines normally have bacteria in them, referred to as good bacteria, that help with digestion and keeping you “regular.” If you are taking antibiotics, particularly for a long time (as you might after an operation), that can kill the good bacteria, resulting in an overgrowth of bad bacteria. This would lead to diarrhea and “colitis.” So maybe that’s what she’s talking about.

At the end of the day, safety first. Don’t allow your health to take a back seat to an unnecessary cosmetic procedure. Sure there are always risks, but leave the high risk procedures to an operation you must have. Don’t risk your life for an operation you don’t have to have!

Video explaining Jessica Simpson’s Plastic Surgery

To check pricing on a tummy tuck or mini tummy tuck from Dr. Kaplan, click here.

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

The post Jessica Simpson’s plastic surgery memoir [video] first appeared on Plastic Surgeon San Francisco | Pacific Heights Plastic Surgery.

J Lo get plastic surgery? Nope!

As you can see in this Instagram post, I stated unequivocally that J Lo looks as amazing as she does through hard work, diet and exercise. And as you’ll see in the comments on that post, many people vehemently disagreed with me. Some went so far as to suggest that I wasn’t a good enough surgeon if I couldn’t make someone look like that! Or that I didn’t have enough confidence in myself to provide someone with a result as natural as J Lo’s body! They’re missing the point.

For those naysayers out there, tell me what plastic surgery you think J Lo had? Her arms are tone and buff. Did she get bicep implants? No, she worked out!

You think she had breast implants? Oh really?! J Lo got breast implants so she could have B cup, small, shapely, appropriate-for-her-body breasts? And she got them 35 years ago before anyone took a photo of her? I mean, her breasts have looked the same at least as far back as her Grammy dress from 2000!

A tummy tuck? Yes, her abdomen looks amazing after kids. So she had a tummy tuck to tighten her rectus diastasis without any evidence of a tummy scar or incision around her belly button? With her exposing her abdomen on the reg, it’s not possible to hide scars like that, that well.

This is my point. Whatever plastic surgery people think she had, there’s no physical evidence of that, other than she looks great. Honestly, I believe people want her to have had plastic surgery more than they think she actually had plastic surgery. Because if she had plastic surgery, then they could say she has money and was able to afford plastic surgery. Whereas if she has that body through hard work, diet and exercise, then we all collectively have no excuse!

Video: J Lo did NOT get plastic surgery

Finally, to reiterate, I’m not saying plastic surgery can’t make someone look amazing. Of course it can. I have patients to prove it. But in J Lo’s case, there’s no evidence of a tummy tuck scar to suggest she got that body from anything other than hard work, diet and exercise.

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

The post Did J Lo get plastic surgery? I say no! [video] first appeared on Plastic Surgeon San Francisco | Pacific Heights Plastic Surgery.

As a plastic surgeon, I’ve heard many myths about aesthetic medicine. It doesn’t matter how often they’re repeated, it still doesn’t make them true. But consumers and potential patients certainly think they’re true after hearing them so many times. So here is the truth!

5 myths about aesthetic medicine

1. Liposuction – Myth: After lipo, I’ll get fat in other parts of my body!

Fact: Your fat isn’t that smart. It doesn’t change direction based on previous surgery. Sure you have fewer fat cells in the area where you underwent liposuction, so other areas may look fuller by comparison. But any fat intake you have will go to the same places it is genetically predisposed to go to.

For example, if most of your fat goes to your hips, it will continue to go to your hips even after liposuction to the hips. That’s why you should use liposuction as a launchpad to get in even better shape, not a shortcut.

2. Botox – Myth: I can’t lay down or work out after treatment!

Fact: Botox is not like sauce in a saucepan, it doesn’t slosh around after treatment. So when you lay down, the Botox will not diffuse over to your eyelid and give you a droop. If you get a droop, it may be because the Botox was injected too close to your eyelid in the first place.

3. Surgery in general – Myth: I can’t get the incisions wet

Fact: What’s the alternative to getting your incisions wet? They’ll just get grimy and sweaty if you don’t clean them. How is that good for a fresh incision?! Not everyone agrees so ask your doctor first but I recommend that my patients get in the shower the night following their surgery and let soap and water run over the incisions. This keeps them clean. However, do NOT soak underwater in a bathtub, swimming pool, lake or other body of water because you could be bathing in your own, and someone else’s, filth.

4. Tummy tucks and/or a breast lift – Myth: The scars will disappear eventually

Fact: You had an operation, and the only way to get rid of excess skin from the abdomen or breasts is to cut it out. That means incisions. You will always have those scars. Sure they may fade to the extent you’re happy with the scars but they will not disappear. This is also why incisions are often placed in areas that will be covered by clothing or under garments.

5. Breast augmentation – Myth: I have to get the implants exchanged every 10 years

Fact: Nope. There was a study years ago that showed about 20% of women who had breast implants had to get them exchanged after 10 years for one reason or another. Leaking implant, capsular contracture, malposition, etc. But that also means that 80% of women were just fine.

The study involved older generation implants. So if the study was done today with newer implants, the percentage could be even lower. Bottom line: if you’re happy with your implants and you know it, clap your hands…because you don’t have to change them out!

So that’s the truth on the matter. All 5 myths debunked. So tell your friends so we can put these 5 myths about aesthetic medicine to bed!

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

The post 5 myths about aesthetic medicine first appeared on Plastic Surgeon San Francisco | Pacific Heights Plastic Surgery.

Types of Mommy Makeover

In our practice, a Mommy Makeover can include a breast procedure (a lift, an augmentation or both), a tummy tuck, but also some other procedures. With pregnancy, the labia minora can stretch and cause discomfort during sex. Or possibly the labia can appear too bulky in underwear or bikini bottoms. For this reason, there are Mommy Makeover procedures that also include a labiaplasty.

With weight gain and loss during pregnancy and afterwards, the buttocks can become deflated like the breasts. That’s why we offer a Brazilian Butt Lift with some Mommy Makeover procedures. The benefit of performing these procedures in combination is that it leads to one recovery instead of multiple recoveries.

Mommy Makeover

As stated above, this procedure includes a breast lift, aug or both along with a tummy tuck. To help the patient understand all of their options when it comes to the breast procedure, we’ve divided every Mommy Makeover into type 1, 2 and 3.

Type 1 refers to a breast lift only. This is necessary when the patient has pendulous, droopy breasts after breast feeding. But they have enough breast tissue so that an implant isn’t necessary. Type 2 refers to a breast augmentation alone. This is necessary when a patient has deflated breasts and needs more volume, as with an implant. And type 3 is a combination of the two – when a patient has droopy and deflated breasts. A lift will improve the shape of the breast and an implant will restore volume.

As you’ll see below, type 1, 2 and 3 can be applied to all three kinds of Mommy Makeover that we offer in our practice.

Mommy Makeover Plus

This is a breast procedure (type 1, 2 or 3), a tummy tuck and a labiaplasty.

Mommy Makeover Deluxe

This includes type 1, 2 or 3 breast procedure as above, a tummy tuck and then a Brazilian Butt Lift to restore volume and lift to the buttocks. A Brazilian Butt Lift is the liposuction of all available fat from the torso with subsequent injection into the buttocks. Check out the video below for more details!

Video describing the 3 types of a Mommy Makeover

Check pricing for a Mommy Makeover from Dr. Kaplan by clicking here.

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

The post 3 types of a Mommy Makeover [video] first appeared on Plastic Surgeon San Francisco | Pacific Heights Plastic Surgery.

Abdominal bulge after pregnancy

The upper abdominal bulge, shown above, that occurs after pregnancy is very typical. It’s a combination of fat, excess skin and a stretched-out abdominal wall (aka rectus diastasis). Exercise alone won’t fix all three of these. Liposuction alone won’t either. But a combination of procedures is just what the doctor ordered!

During a tummy tuck, your surgeon makes an incision below your panty line. So even though it’s a long incision, it can be hidden by underwear or bikini bottoms. After the incision is made, your surgeon will perform liposuction to the abdomen and flanks but also to the upper abdomen if there is excess fat there.

However that bulge is also due to excess skin that hasn’t tightened or recoiled after the pregnancy and due to a rectus diastasis. A rectus diastasis is not the same thing as a hernia. It’s when the six pack muscles and the tough tissue (fascia) that wraps around them, separate. This leaves a weakened abdominal wall that bulges out in the middle of the abdomen.

To bring the six pack muscles back together in the middle where they should be, requires a rectus plication. This is the use of stitches, like a corset, to bring the muscles back together and remove the bulge. Working out in the gym may strengthen your six pack muscles but it won’t remove the bulge. That’s why you need a 1) tummy tuck with 2) liposuction and a 3) rectus plication to remove excess fat, skin and flatten the abdominal wall to finally get rid of that bulge after pregnancy.

To check pricing on a tummy tuck from Dr. Kaplan, click here.

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

The post Three ways to treat your abdominal bulge after pregnancy first appeared on Plastic Surgeon San Francisco | Pacific Heights Plastic Surgery.

There is so much written about stretch marks aka “tiger stripes” all across the internet. When consumers Google what to do about stretch marks, much of the information out there isn’t very good. Or accurate. Or even true. Whenever reading about treatments for stretch marks, consider the recommendations from the perspective of what someone is trying to sell you!

What to do about stretch marks

So let’s discuss this using only reputable sources: the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). This is a division of the National Institute of Health, under the US Department of Health and Human Services.

According to the NCBI, stretch marks, or “striae are a form of dermal scarring associated with stretching of the dermis. They often result from a rapid change in weight (gain and loss) or are associated with endogenous or exogenous cortico[steroids].

Striae distensae occur in pregnancy (43% to 88%), puberty (6% to 86%) and obesity (43%).

Topical management is commonly recommended to prevent and treat striae, with very little if any evidence of efficacy, according to several published comprehensive reviews.”

As stated above, topical creams won’t get rid of stretch marks. However, if stretch marks occur in the lower abdomen after pregnancy, a tummy tuck can remove them. Clearly this isn’t an option or of any interest to everyone, but it is an option.

Treatments with laser are still under investigation. Unfortunately, the definitive treatment for stretch marks is still elusive.

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

The post What to do about stretch marks first appeared on Plastic Surgeon San Francisco | Pacific Heights Plastic Surgery.

Why BMI isn’t enough

Sure BMI is better than looking at weight alone. Because even if a person weighs a lot, they may be very tall. And in that case, they would not be considered overweight.

However, BMI doesn’t take all nuances of body shape into account. For example, in the video below, the patient had a BMI of greater than 30. She would be considered obese. But there were several reasons she was a great candidate for a tummy tuck. First, she was healthy. No high blood pressure or diabetes. Second, her weight was concentrated in her thighs, not her abdomen.

So while her BMI was high, it didn’t accurately reflect the operation she wanted – skin removal from her abdomen. If most of her weight was in her abdomen, then it would be more appropriate for her to lose weight first since skin removal would not address the excess fat around her intestines (visceral fat). In her case, she her torso and abdomen were amenable to a tummy tuck and she had a great result.

If a patient is considered obese, they can still be offered a procedure. As long as no more than 5 liters of fat is removed in an operation, the patient can go home. With that limitation, they may have to come back in stages for surgery. But when patients undergo a cosmetic procedure that’s not medically necessary, there’s no reason to take unnecessary risks.

Video on Body Mass Index

Click here to check pricing on a procedure from Dr. Kaplan.

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

The post There’s more to it than BMI! [video] first appeared on Plastic Surgeon San Francisco | Pacific Heights Plastic Surgery.

Achieving the best cosmetic surgery results

The most common impediment to patients achieving their best surgical result is when they depend solely on the operation to fix everything. But as in the case study below, this patient ultimately achieves her best result by accomplishing something surgery can’t. Why can’t surgery fix everything?! Keep reading to understand why.

In this scenario, the patient had a tummy tuck. We made her abdominal wall tighter along with removal of fat and excess skin. These are typical elements of a tummy tuck procedure. But when it comes to fat removal, there are two types of fat. There is the subcutaneous fat – the fat under the skin that we remove with liposuction. And there’s the fat inside the abdomen, around the intestines referred to as visceral fat. Visceral fat can only be removed with weight loss and it’s particularly hard fat to lose.

At the time, the patient was fine with a tummy tuck that couldn’t address the visceral fat. If she did lose visceral fat in the future, her skin could tighten up on its own after a tummy tuck. What we weren’t expecting was the development of abdominal wall laxity after losing visceral fat with a keto diet. Again, the abdominal wall was tightened in the original operation. But once she lost more visceral fat, her abdominal wall had room for more tightening.

So the patient came back for more abdominal wall tightening and now has the result she was looking for. All thanks to surgery and an effective keto diet. You can see the journey in her own words in the video below.

Video: How to achieve the best cosmetic surgery results…lifestyle changes along with surgery

 
To check pricing on these procedures from Dr. Kaplan, click here.

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

The post How to achieve the best cosmetic surgery results [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.

The details in a mommy makeover

The breast augmentation portion of the procedure typically consists of a small incision either in the inframammary fold, around the areola or in the armpit. There are pros and cons for each choice, but the choice is yours depending on your case and what type of incision that you want to live with after surgery.

A gummy bear silicone implant is then inserted to give the perkiness patients desire. They can also choose between shaped or round implants depending on the look they’re going for. In some cases when there is excess droop in the breasts, a lift may be necessary. Depending on how much lift is required, it is performed with an anchor, lollipop areolar (donut) or crescent incisions.

The tummy tuck part of the procedure begins with liposuction of the abdomen and flanks. This extra step can really maximize the results of the tummy tuck. Then, a long incision across the abdomen is made, just below the panty line. The skin is elevated towards the breastbone and then the excess skin is removed. If the patient has any rectus diastasis or abdominal separation that typically results from multiple pregnancies, this is corrected by rectus plication wherein sutures are used to pull the muscles back together. Lastly, in an ideal case, progressive retention sutures are used so that drains are not required.

And wham bam, thank you ma’am, you’re all done! Checkout this video below and to check pricing on a mommy makeover from Dr. Kaplan, click here.

Mommy Makeover: The video

Oh, and for the ladies out there who haven’t had kids – if this combination surgery sounds like what you are looking for, don’t be shy in asking for the Mommy Makeover! Andon’t let the name scare you away; it’s just a name. Getting the combined procedure not only gives you one recovery period, but doing so will also save you money compared to going under for two separate procedures.

Click here for the original blog post written by @japsiecam for BuildMyBod.

The post What exactly IS a Mommy Makeover? first appeared on Plastic Surgeon San Francisco | Pacific Heights Plastic Surgery.