Liposuction has been practiced for decades. It can be performed using several methods. The traditional “dry” techniques have largely been replaced by wet techniques. The most common term used for this is tumescent liposuction.
Tumescent liposuction allows for the removal of larger volumes of fat, while providing increased predictability and safety. It also improves your post operative comfort, while decreasing swelling and bruising. Ultrasonic liposuction and laser liposuction are additional modalities that may provide additional benefits for selected patients. Since they come with additional risks, I do not use them for every patient. There needs to be some additional benefit for me to accept the additional risks.
Liposuction Video – Body Beautiful
What follows is part two of a segment from KRON4′s Body Beautiful, discussing Liposuction San Francisco. The 800 number in the video was for the live show only. If you have questions about liposuction, please use the contact form provided to the left, or call my Walnut Creek Plastic Surgery office directly at (925) 943-6353.
This segment reviews liposuction and liposculpture in general. Any advice needs to be reviewed with a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon prior to the decision to proceed.
In this video you will see Liposuction Before and After Pictures of:
Liposuction of the Abdomen
Liposuction of the Flanks (Sides)
Liposuction of the Thighs
Liposuction of the Lower Back (Love Handles)
Questions from viewers answered include:
Can liposuction help an uneven C-section scar?
How can a C-section scar be treated?
Liposuction?
Scar revision?
Tummy Tuck?
Can Liposuction treat Cellulite?
Can Liposuction remove 30 pounds?
More information is available on the Liposuction Page of my main web site.
Liposuction is always one of the most popular cosmetic plastic surgery procedures. Last year it was the second most frequently performed cosmetic surgery with almost 300,000 liposuction procedures performed in the Unites States alone.
Liposuction Video – Body Beautiful
What follows is a segment from my appearance on KRON4′s Body Beautiful discussing Liposuction San Francisco. The 800 number in the video was for the live show only. If you have questions about liposuction, please use the contact form provided to the left, or call my Walnut Creek Plastic Surgery office directly at (925) 943-6353.
This segment reviews liposuction and liposculpture in general. Any advice needs to be reviewed with a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon prior to the decision to proceed.
In this video you will learn:
How popular is Liposuction?
How many pounds can be removed with Liposuction?
What is Liposuction?
What is Tumescent Liposuction?
What is Smart Lipo?
What is Lipo Disolve?
What is Ultrasonic Liposuction?
What is Laser Liposuction?
What are the popular areas treated with Liposuction?
How are Liposuction and Diet and Exercise complementary?
Who is the ideal candidate for Liposuction?
More information is available on the Liposuction Page of my main web site.
The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) have released their annual statistics on cosmetic plastic surgery for 2009. Surgical and non-surgical procedures are tallied and compared to previous years. Overall the numbers are down 2% from 2008, but still up 147% since 1997, when the statistics were first compiled. Of the almost ten million procedures performed in 2009, 85% were non-surgical and 15% were surgical. He are some quick facts, a link to the full statistics can be found at the end of this article.
Additional information can be found on the ASAPS web site, or downloaded here. It is a large file, and may take a while…
*Dr. Joseph Mele offers these procedures through his Walnut Creek Plastic Surgery Office. Search the San Francisco Plastic Surgery Blog categories to the left, or click on the links above for more detailed information available on DrMele.com.
San Francisco Bay Area, Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, Joseph A Mele MD FACS, appears on KRON4′s Body Beautiful with host Vicki Viviakis, on Monday, March 22, 2010, at 11AM. The topic for the day: Liposuction San Francisco. If you have questions about liposuction, or any cosmetic plastic surgery, the established Walnut Creek Plastic Surgeon will answer them, on the air. An 800 number will be supplied during the show, so you can call and have your questions answered, live.
Body Beautiful will air from 11:00 AM until 11:30 AM, Monday, March 22, 2010, right after the KRON4 Morning News. If you will be unable to watch the show live, you may still submit your questions, prior to taping, via e-mail. Please tune in for what promises to be an informative, interactive broadcast about cosmetic plastic surgery.
If the red color of the lips (the vermillion) is with barely visible, adding volume may not be enough. If the vermilion is short, over filling may lead to increased projection without adequately increasing the height of the vermillion. This can result in a “trout pout”, rather than a fuller more voluptuous lip.
Lip advancement surgery can help. This is not the most mainstream lip enhancement, but in carefully selected patients it is the best option. Originally designed to improve the function and appearance of the lips after removing lip cancer, it preferentially enlarges the red part of the lip (the vermillion). The upside, lip advancement surgery will reveal more vermillion and can be done with or without increasing lip volume. The down side, it leaves a scar along the border of the skin and the vermillion of the lip.
Here is an example of an average scar at 4 months after surgery. The volume is stable at this point in time, and the scar will continue to improve, it is hard to see already. Most patients can cover the scar one week after surgery with lipstick.
Lips before lip advancement with reduced height.
Lips after lip advancement with full restored height.
Lips before lip advancement with lip skin projecting farther forwards than the vermillion.
Lips before lip advancement with lip vermillion now projecting farthest forwards.
If you have very thin lips, that are barely visible when the lips are at rest, lip advancement surgery may be the answer to how to achieve fuller lips. If dermal fillers increase lip projection forward, but are not revealing more vermillion, lip advancement may help. Lip advancement surgery is the most direct and effective method of increasing the amount of red lip that shows.
Several alternative methods are available for enhancing your lips. To learn more click on the links below:
In case you haven’t heard, BOTOX Cosmetic® (aka Botox) has a competitor: Dysport®. BOTOX Cosmetic® was the first to market here in the United States, and has enjoyed a monopoly, until now. Dysport® was first to market in Europe, and has now made it across the pond.
FDA Approved for Facial Wrinkle Reduction
Dysport® received FDA approval last year. It is very similar to BOTOX Cosmetic® in terms of onset of action and duration. While they are not equivalent, they are very similar. Both block unwanted muscle motion, and both reduce stubborn frown lines.
Dysport® came to market at a slightly lower price, but BOTOX Cosmetic® countered with customer loyalty, and discount coupons. The Dysport® people are once again trying to shake the status quo with the Dysport® Challenge™.
The Dysport® Challenge™
In my Walnut Creek Plastic Surgery Office, during March and April of 2010, you can get $75 off any Dysport® treatment. Plus another $75 off your second treatment whether you love it or leave it.
Love It
If you love Dysport® you can get another $75 off your next Dysport® treatment.
Leave It
If do not love Dysport® you can get another $75 off your next BOTOX Cosmetic® treatment.
For all the details visit DysportUSA or click the logo at the top of this article.
Botox/Dysport Day
The next Botox/Dysport Day in the office is Wednesday, March 17, 2010. Happy Saint Partick’s Day.
If this is too soon, the April Botox/Dysport Day is April 21, 2010.
Dermal fillers (Restylane®, Juvederm® and Perlane®) are the most popular way to enhance the lips. The procedure is safe, effective, predictable and relatively simple. It is the best way to “try out” large lips, as it is reversible. In order to maintain your results with lip filler, you need periodic touch-ups. These can be from 3 to 12 months apart depending on your lips.
Sometimes an alternative treatment is desired that has the potential to last years. Lip surgery can give longer lasting results. The local lip tissue can be advanced from inside the lip to provide fullness (V-Y lip advancement), or dermal tissue can be taken from elsewhere on the body and used as implant (dermal grafting).
This entry focusses on V-Y lip advancement, a procedure that rearranges the lips tissues to preferentially give fullness to the vermillion (the red part) of the lip. For information on other methods of lip enhancement, please see the links at the bottom of the page.
Lip Enhancement with Local Tissue Rearrangement
The upper row shows before and the lower row shows after lip enhancement with V-Y flaps. The soft tissue of the lip is moved forwards to enhance the fullness and natural curves of the lips. (Click picture for an enlarged view.)
This particular type of lip enhancement borrows fullness from the inside of the lip to enhance the outside. The soft tissue inside the lips can be pushed forward to enhance lip fullness and the central pout.
The Pro’s and Con’s of Surgical Lip Enhancement
The Advantages:
No artificial materials are necessary … no allergies or foreign body reactions.
Stability … Soft tissues won’t migrate.
Softness … Since lip is enhanced with lip, it feels like lip.
Results … Longer lasting results
The Disadvantages:
Recovery … weeks rather than a few days with the fillers.
Size … maximum volume is limited to the soft tissue available.
Cost … more than one filler treatment, but often less costly over time .
Complications … overall complications rates are low, but slighter higher than with fillers.
Alternative Lip Augmentations
Several alternative methods are available for enhancing your lips. To learn more click on the links below:
The two main goals of lip enhancement surgery are to:
Increase lip volume, and
Increase the amount of vermillion (the red part of the lip) seen.
To accomplish these different goals, different procedures may be selected.
Lip Enhancement Surgery – Volume, volume volume
Lips: Woman in her late 50's with thinning lips before lip implants (dermal grafts taken during a facelift)
Lips: After lip enhancement with dermal grafts. Notice restoration of the balance and projection of the lips.
Adding volume to the lips is how lip fillers work. Dermal fillers like Restylane®, Juvederm® and Perlane®, add volume from right off the shelf. The amount of volume is virtually unlimited, and can be added directly to where it is needed.
Surgery can add volume too. This can be accomplished with:
Lip Implants
Natural Implants (Dermal and/or Fat Grafts)
Man-Made Implants (Gortex, Silicone)
Man-Made Natural Implants (Restylane, Juvederm, Perlane, Collagen – man made but normally found in the lips)
Rearranging the soft tissue already present in the lip (V-Y flaps, lip advancement flaps)
This article focuses on Lip Implants, information on the other available methods of lip enhancement San Francisco, and lip augmentation can be found via the links at the bottom.
Lip Augmentation With Man Made Materials
Gortex® and SoftForm®
Lip implants have been used for years. The most frequently used artificial lip implants are made of Gortex®. It was selected because it is soft. In fact, one of the most popular Gortex® lip implants is named SoftForm®. While it can work well in carefully selected patients, unfortunately, it is not soft enough. I am not a fan of artificial lip implants for several reasons.
Because lips move, and because lips are softer than artificial lip implants, lip implants can:
Tether the lips, and prevent the lips from stretching when smiling fully (even when the implants is sectioned).
Be felt along the edges.
Can cause a visible bulge at the ends of the implant (especially with motion).
Can erode through the skin causing exposure and infection requiring removal of the implant
Silicone Lips
Silicone is available in two forms for lips: Solid (Silicone Lip Implants) and Liquid (Injectable Silicone). I am a fan of neither. Solid implants have the same problems as Gortex® implants, except worse. They are more stiff and thus more likely to erode and get infected.
Liquid silicone injections are even less predictable. They may give you the softest, poutiest lips one day, and then become hard, lumpy and uncomfortable without warning. Once this happens, it is rarely correctable, ask Lisa Rinna. Last year, while touring for the release of her book, Rinnavation, she confessed to having silicone injected into her lips. She also disclosed her personal silicone lip injection problems.
Lip Augmentation With Your Own Cells
Dermal Grafts
Because of the recent advancements of dermal fillers, I rarely use artificial lip implants any more. Instead, when injectable can’t do the trick, I rearrange what is already there. Dermal tissue can be taken from elsewhere on the body and used as an implant (dermal grafting), or the local lip tissue can be advanced from inside the lip to provide fullness (V-Y lip advancement discussed in the next article).
A small incision is made hidden in the corner of the lip, and the dermis is inserted under the vermilion. The results are similar to adding volume with a filler; however, can be much longer lasting. The swelling after this type of surgery lasts longer too. Instead of a couple days, it may take a couple weeks.
Fat Grafting
When more volume is necessary, fat can be retained on the dermal graft. This adds volume, with better volume predictability and better contours than injecting free fat grafts.
Free fat grafting is when fat is removed (liposuctioned) from one area, and reinjected into an area where more volume is desired. For small volumes this can be safe and predictable, and I use this technique most frequently for the nasolabial folds (the parenthesis around the mouth). On the lips it can be more problematic. We want soft lips, especially when kissing, and free fat grafting can cause firm lumps in the lips. Because better alternatives are now available, I rarely use free fat grafting to the lips.
These are minor surgical procedures, and can be done as an outpatient with local, sedation or under anesthesia. Lip augmentations can be done as a stand alone operation, or can be incorporate as part of plan for overall facial rejuvenation. My patients considering a facelift are frequently also experiencing lip thinning. A lip enhancing procedure can be incorporated to solve two problems at the same time.
Alternative Lip Augmentations
For information on other methods available for enhancing your lips, click on the links below:
Nothing says youth like full lips. Research shows that full lips are a requirement for a youthful face. Grace Gold of AOL’s StyleList reports in The Pursuit of Beauty: The Secret to Youth: Full Lips. Her inspiration? An article in the DailyMail.
Thin is Not Always In
It is an unfortunate truth that as we age, our lips shrink. Whether conscious or unconscious, the size of the lips is one of the most important variables programmed into our brains’ youth calculator. In other words, thin lips are aging. There are several ways to turn back the clock on lip aging, and dermal fillers are currently the most popular treatment.
Off the shelf dermal fillers, are safe, effective and convenient. These lip fillers are supplied as prefilled, single use syringes. Any volume can be used, and a simple block with local anesthesia, makes the procedure an in office option. All three of these products have received FDA approval for new formulations with Lidocaine in the mix to ease the injections.
What Makes Lip Fillers so Popular?
Lips before enhancement with a Dermal Filler (Restylane®, Juvederm® and Perlane® are the most popular in the US)
Lips after enhancement with a Dermal Filler. Notice the augmentation and preservation of the normal curves.
The advantage of this type of lip enhancement is its simplicity. I can choose different products for different lips. Lip enhancement can be performed in the office, with local anesthesia if needed, and the results are quickly apparent. There is sometimes mild discomfort, swelling, and bruising, which normally resolve quickly. While the enhancement is instant, it is best to have a few days for the lip augmentation to settle before an important event.
Dermal fillers provide two main benefits for the lips: increased volume, and wrinkle reduction. Lip enhancement is performed for small, thin lips, to increase volume. In this situation, the main goal is to increase the size of the lips. Lip enhancement can also be used to smooth the wrinkles that can form around the lip. Sometimes called Smoker’s Lines, they can occur without smoking. Often radially aligned, the wrinkles that form around lip edges can cause the lipstick to bleed. For lip wrinkles, the primary goal of lip enhancement is to attenuate the aged appearance. Both volume enhancement and wrinkle reduction may be desired for the same pair of lips, and these techniques can be easily combined for optimal results.
The longevity of the results can vary. Most results last 3-6 months, and many patients experience longer satisfaction. It is the perfect product to try out larger lips. The volume can be gradually increased to your comfort, and maintained.
But, what if you are looking for a longer lasting result? The are several surgical alternatives for enhancing lips. While no results are permanent, surgery can give longer lasting, natural results.
