Female Surgical Procedures

Breast augmentation surgery is intended to improve the shape and size of your breast tissue. However, the greatest benefit of the procedure is improving your self-image.

Common reasons people choose to have breast augmentation surgery include:

• Bust size is out of proportion to the rest of the body
• Self consciousness about your size
• Shape and tone of breast has changed due to weight loss
• Changes in size and firmness of breasts after pregnancy
• Dresses that fit around hips do not fit at the bust line
• One breast is noticeably larger than the other

Breast reduction surgery, also known as reduction mammaplasty, removes excess breast fat, glandular tissue and skin to achieve a proportioned breast size for your body. Breast reduction surgery can also help to alleviate the physical discomfort associated with large breasts.

Breast reduction surgery may be a good option for you if you experience any of the following:

• You are bothered by the feeling that your breasts are too large
• Your breasts limit your physical activity
• You experience back, neck and shoulder pain caused by the weight of your breasts
• You have regular indentations from bra straps that support heavy, pendulous breasts
• You have skin irritation beneath the breast crease
• Your breasts hang low and have stretched skin
• Your nipples rest below the breast crease when your breasts are unsupported
• You have enlarged areolas caused by stretched skin

Sometimes fitness and weight loss efforts can only take you so far to your ideal figure. If you want a body that is firmer and more proportionate a thigh lift may be right for you.

This surgery reshapes the thighs, both inner and outer, by reducing excess skin and sometimes fat, resulting in smoother skin and better-proportioned contours of the thighs and lower body. You should know that thigh lifts are not intended strictly for the removal of excess fat. Liposuction can achieve fat removal where skin has good elasticity. In some cases liposuction is used in conjunction with a thigh lift to obtain your desired look.

Liposuction, also known as lipoplasty, is especially good for women and men who are of normal weight but have isolated pockets of fat that cause certain areas of their body to look disproportionate with the rest of their body. These fat deposits are sometimes the result of heredity and usually do not respond to diet and exercise.

Areas that respond well to liposuction include:

• Thighs
• Hips and buttocks
• Abdomen and waist
• Upper arms
• Back
• Inner knee
• Chest area
• Cheeks, chin and neck
• Calves and ankles

The tummy tuck, or abdominoplasty, is an operation intended to remove extra skin and fat on the abdomen as well as tighten the abdominal wall. It will provide a flatter, smoother abdominal and hip profile.

The most common reasons for tummy tucks are:

• Appearance of abdomen after child birth
• Extra (redundant) skin after weight loss
• Stretch Marks
• Fat collections that do not respond to dieting
• Weak bulging abdominal wall

Labiaplasty surgery addresses the enlargement of inner lips (labia minora), which are of concern to many women. In some cases, this enlargement develops during puberty and is problematic beginning in the teen years extending into adulthood. In other women, the enlargement occurs during the childbearing period and is of both cosmetic and functional concern.

There are three common female genital plastic surgeries:

• Labiaplasty (correction/reduction of inner lips)
• Vaginoplasty (restoration of contour and tightness)
• Clitoral unhooding (removal of excessive tissue)

A lower body lift can improve the shape and tone of the underlying tissue that supports the fat and skin. Excess sagging fat and skin are removed and dimpled, uneven skin can be improved.

Areas that respond well to body lifts include:

• Abdominal area, locally or extending around the sides and into the lower back area
• Buttocks, that may be low, flat or shaped unevenly
• Groin that may sag into the inner thigh
• Thigh, including the inner, outer or posterior thigh, or circumferentially

An arm lift, or brachioplasty, reshapes the upper arm along the under portion from the underarm to the elbow. Fluctuations in weight, aging, or heredity can cause your upper arm to sag and droop. While exercise may strengthen and improve muscle tone, it cannot address excess skin that is no longer elastic or contains localized fat pockets.

An arm lift can address these problems:

• Reduce excess sagging skin that droops down
• Tighten and smooth underlying tissue that defines shape
• Reduce localized fat pockets in upper arm

The most visible part of your body is your face. It is also the first and most visible part of the body that shows the signs of aging. If you wish to look as good as you feel, a facelift may be the answer for you. A facelift smoothes the loose skin on your face and neck tightens underlying tissues and removes excess fat. The end result is a smoother, firmer and fresher look.

You may be a candidate for a facelift if you have the following conditions:

• Wrinkles, excess fatty tissues or loose skin in the neck
• A deep line that runs from the corner of your nose to the corner of your mouth.
• Loss of well defined jaw line
• Wrinkles in the cheeks and sagging skin near the cheekbones

Your eyes are the most intriguing and revealing facial feature. They are also one of the most visible parts of your body to show signs of aging. Eyelid surgery technically called blepharoplasty is a surgical procedure to improve the appearance of the upper eyelids, lower eyelids, or both. The result is a more alert and rested appearance.

You may be a candidate for eyelid surgery if you have some of the following conditions:

• Eyelid puffiness and dark circles under the eyes
• Bags under the eyes
• Drooping upper lids
• A tired or sad appearance
• Impairment in your vision due to excess upper eyelid skin
• An angry or worried appearance

Many of our female patients who come in for a brow lift do so because frequently they are told they appear angry, tired or worried even when they are happy and well rested. A brow lift can minimize the creases (frown lines, worry lines) that develop across the forehead or those that occur high on the bridge of the nose. It improves what are commonly referred to as frown lines; and repositions a low or sagging brow.

The shape and appearance of your nose may be due to heredity or an injury. Whatever the reason, if you don't like the look of your nose a rhinoplasty, or nose surgery, may be right for you. Surgery of the nose can change the physical characteristics as well as any structural problems that may affect breathing.

Rhinoplasty can accomplish the following aspects:

• Nose size, in relation to other facial structures
• Nose width, at the bridge
• Nose profile, with visible humps or depression on the bridge
• Nasal tip, that a is large or bulbous, drooping, or too upturned
• Nostrils that are large, wide or upturned
• Nasal asymmetry and deviation

A weak or undeveloped chin in a female can make the nose appear larger and the neck ill-defined. With just a few millimeters of augmentation to the chin, the entire profile of the female face can be improved.

You may want to consider a chin augmentation procedure if you have the following concerns:

• Dissatisfaction with your facial profile due to a small chin
• Dissatisfaction with your facial profile due to poorly defined chin

Ear surgery, or otoplasty, is usually performed to set prominent ears back closer to the head or to reduce the size of large ears. For the most part, this surgery is performed on children between the ages of four to 14. Ears are generally fully grown by age four and the earlier the surgery, the less teasing the child will go through. Ear surgery may also be performed on adults and does not carry additional risks on older patients.

Ear surgery can also address the following issues:

• Lop ear-tip seems to fold down and forward
• Cupped ear - usually a very small ear
• Shell ear-curve in the outer rim, as well as natural folds, are missing
• Large or stretched earlobes
• Lobes with large creases or wrinkles

BOTOX Cosmetic (Botulinum Toxin Type A) is used to treat the dynamic frown lines caused by over-active muscles. Facial lines result from muscle movement and the passage of time. When the muscles around the eyes, forehead and mouth contract, they cause the skin to develop permanent wrinkles or furrows. BOTOX cosmetic is a quick and minimally invasive procedure for both women and men and consists of a few tiny injections. Medical uses of Botox also include treatment of hyperhidrosis (excessive underarm sweating and migraine headaches. Your doctor will decide where to place the injections to achieve the best results. BOTOX can be used to cosmetically treat lines and wrinkles involving the:

• Forehead
• Crow's feet
• Glabellar area (Prominent frown line or furrow lines between your brows)
• Frown lines at the mouth and lip
• Muscle bands in the anterior neck

Injectable fillers have been extensively used and are safe for filling in deep wrinkles, and augmenting facial areas that have experienced soft tissue loss or descent with aging. There are a variety of fillers that our physicians use and they will make treatment recommendations based on individual needs and desired results. Premier Plastic Surgery offers the following dermal fillers:

• Evolence
• Juvaderm
• Juvaderm Ultra
• Radiesse
• Fat
• Sculptra

More information soon . . .

Scar reconstruction or revision can include non-surgical and surgical scar revision procedures to improve the appearance of scars due to trauma, previous surgery, burns or any other reason. Scar reduction techniques can address both cosmetic concerns as well as functional limitations due to contractures and decreased motion.

Our Board Certified Plastic Surgeons have extensive training and expertise in treating:

Surgery can address the following issues:

• Minor scars from acne or other surface irregularities
• Hypertrophic, thick scars
• Hyperpigmented (dark) or hypopigmented (light) scars
• Keloids
• Depressed or concave scars
• Major scars from trauma or burns
• Contracted scars