August 27th, 2010 Dr. Mele
Brachioplasty is the plastic surgery term for an arm lift. For large excesses of upper arm skin, there is no better treatment. While liposuction can address excess fat in the upper arm, it cannot reduce loose skin.
For women and men who have lost a significant amount of weight, the upper arm is an area that can be problematic. With weight gain, the skin expands to cover the increased size. This happens any place on the body that fat is stored, not just the upper arms. The arms, abdomen, breasts, thighs, face and back are frequently lifted and tucked after massive weight loss and post-bariatric surgery. The tailoring of excess skin is an important component of cosmetic plastic surgery, and can dramatically improve appearance. If you have lost a large amount of weight, removing the excess skin completes the transition.
Before and After Brachioplasty (Arm Lift)
 Right Arm after weight loss and before Arm Lift (Brachioplasty) |
 Right Arm after weight loss and after Arm Lift (Brachioplasty) |
Above is a woman who has lost about half her weight. She was left with a large amount of skin on her upper arms, sometimes referred to as “bat wings”. Brachioplasty (arm lift) before and after pictures are shown. The picture on the left shows the amount of excess skin present before her arm lift. The picture on the right reveals her appearance after brachioplasty. The incision is placed along the inferior border of the arm to keep it out of sight.
After Weight Loss, When is it Time to Consider a Lift?
If you have recently lost weight, or have had bariatric surgery, it is worth giving your body a year to adjust. This gives your skin a chance to contract, and your body’s digestive system a chance to absorb the nutrients you need to heal. If it has been a year, and there is still too much skin, cosmetic plastic surgery can help.
Posted in Arm Lift (Brachioplasty), Home, Post-Bariatric Surgery (After Weight Loss) | No Comments »
August 20th, 2010 Dr. Mele
Dr. Joseph Mele, guest author for ABoardCertifiedPlasticSurgeonResource.com
I was recently asked to contribute to A Board Certified Plastic Surgeon Resource, an online resource helping patients find Board Certified Plastic Surgeons. My article stresses the importance of Board Certification, and explains how to recognize a true Medical Board.
Most Medical Boards are self regulating. The long standing, traditional medical boards are also under the regulation of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). Under the ABMS the only Board specifically dedicated to Plastic Surgery is the American Board of Plastic Surgery. Other sound-alike boards, for example The American Board of Facial Plastic Surgery and the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery, have not been accepted as ABMS Boards, and thus fall outside the regulation of the ABMS.
Information about the American Board of Plastic Surgery can be found right here on the San Francisco Plastic Surgery Blog: Board Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.
For the full version of the article, click the picture below.
Dr. Mele's article on Board Certification
Posted in About Dr. Mele, Patient Safety | No Comments »
August 16th, 2010 Dr. Mele
The International Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) started its 40th anniversary meeting this weekend in San Francisco. While the majority of the meeting will be spent discussing the finer points of plastic surgery technique, Saturday was spent discussing patient safety on a global scale.
The ISAPS is leading the way in global guidelines for plastic surgery patient safety. Topics included:
- Uniform global plastic surgeon certification requirements
- Uniform global facility accreditation requirements
- Medical Procedures Abroad ™ i.e. Medical tourism
- Guidlines for patient safety
- Medical device guidelines and usage
Sunday was spent discussing Blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery) and Rhytidectomy (face lift surgery). Today was dedicated to Rhinoplasty (nasal surgery) and Mammoplasty (breast surgery: breast augmentation, breast implants, breast enhancement, breast reduction, beast reconstruction, congenital breast deformities and breast lift surgery).
Tomorrow Maria Siemionow, MD, the team leader of the first U.S. face transplantation surgery, will be making a special presentation. Tuesday will focus on aesthetic reconstructive surgery, as well as Abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) and Body Contouring (liposuction and body lifts).
The final day of the conference, Wednesday, will be spent on Cosmetic Medicine and finally Patient Safety and Complications. It’s been great so far. If you would like more information on any of these procedures, please click on any of the Categories to the left, or visit my main website: DrMele.com.
Posted in Patient Safety, Plastic Surgery Societies | 1 Comment »
August 11th, 2010 Dr. Mele
Body Art
Body art traditionally refers to tattoos and piercings, but some would say cosmetic plastic surgery is a form of body art. It is not scalpelling, but a scalpel is used. As body art becomes more main stream, questions regarding breast augmentation before and after nipple piercing come up more often than you might think.
 Preexisting Body and Nipple Piercing - Before Breast Augmentation |
 After Breast Augmentation - Body and Nipple Piercings Survived. |
Pre-Existing Nipple Piercing
If you have pierced nipples, and are considering breast implants, breast augmentation can be safely performed in the presence of pierced nipples. A few precautions need to be taken to maximize the safety and predictability of you surgery:
- The piercings need to be clean and without irritation. Irritated piercings are a set up for infection, and this could lead to an infection around the breast implants.
- The jewelry should be removed from the piercing immediately before surgery. Electrocautery is used routinely during surgery to prevent bleeding. An electric shock to your piercings would cause a burn.
- The jewelry should be replaced immediately after surgery. At the end of the breast augmentation I normally replace the jewelry to prevent the piercing from closing.
- If the piercing should become irritated or infected after surgery, it should be addressed immediately. Sometimes this means removing the jewelry from the piercing.
Nipple Piercing After Breast Augmentation
If you already have breast implants, and are considering getting your nipples pierced, I don’t recommend it. If you are still determined to get a nipple piercing, you need to be especially vigilant. Choose a reputable establishment, which uses sterile technique. Infections can occur with any piercing, and every infection has the potential to spread.
Nipple piercings can be especially problematic as the breast gland itself can become infected. This can put the both the breast tissue and the breast implants at risk, especially if your breast implants are in front of the pectoralis muscle. If there is any redness, swelling, discharge or increasing pain at the piercing site, call you plastic surgeon, and seek immediate treatment. The jewelry may need to be removed, but it is better to lose a piercing than to lose a breast implant.
Posted in Breast Augmentation, Patient Safety | No Comments »
August 5th, 2010 Dr. Mele
Allergan, the manufacture of Juvéderm XC and Vivité, is giving away a free Vivite Defining Lip Plumper to patients receiving a Juvederm XC injectable filler treatment.
Juvederm is now available as Juvederm XC with Lidocaine added for comfort. All qualifying patients receiving Juvederm between now and September 30, 2010, are eligible to receive a free Vivite Defining Lip Plumper (a $45 value).
If you are not familiar with Juvederm, it is an HA filler similar to Restylane and Perlane. This year, all three were reformulated with Lidocaine (a local anesthetic). This significantly decreases injection site discomfort compared to the HA products without Lidocaine. HA is a filler used to attenuate the appearance of moderate to deep facial wrinkles. The most frequently treated areas are the nasolabial and marionette lines, which can give the appearance of parenthesis around the mouth. (Thus the clever logo at the top of this article.) Juvederm is also used for lip augmentation, to add volume to lips.
If you have wanted to try Juvederm, or you are ready for a refresher, now is a great time to schedule a consultation appointment. Just give us a call at (925) 943-6353. Juvederm treatments must be completed by September 30, 2010 to qualify for the Vivite Defining Lip Plumper give away.
Posted in Home | No Comments »
August 1st, 2010 Dr. Mele
Dr. Joseph Mele's San Francisco Plastic Surgery Blog
Thank you for reading my Plastic Surgery Blog. The previous posting, Dr. Mele Receives the 2009 Patients’ Choice Award, pushes the number of posts on the San Francisco Plastic Surgery Blog to over 100. Not bad for a little over a year of existence.
Thanks to readers like you, the San Francisco Plastic Surgery Blog consistently ranks high on Google. Of the millions of listings found under “plastic surgery blog,” today the San Francisco Plastic Surgery Blog is once again ranked number one. While Google is constantly adjusting its rankings, the San Francisco Plastic Surgery Blog consistently ranks among the select few found on page one.
If you are new to the San Francisco Plastic Surgery Blog, I hope you find these articles useful and informative. The goal is to provide information about a wide range of plastic surgery topics in an interesting and entertaining fashion. If you are interested in a specific procedure, the ever increasing number of articles are organized by topic. You can find these topics listed to the left under Categories.
Most of the articles were inspired by the questions I receive every day in my Walnut Creek Plastic Surgery practice. I am open to requests, so if you cannot find an article addressing your area of interest in plastic surgery, let me know, and I will try to help.
Posted in About Dr. Mele, Home | No Comments »
