Cosmetic Plastic Surgery Blog in New York, NY | George Lefkovits M.D.

Post-Liposuction Appearance

2008-07-25T13:20:00.001-04:00

The goal of any body contouring procedure is to look good. With liposuction, the hope is that removing localized pockets of fat will improve your appearance by making you look trimmer in areas that you have been unable to target on your own. There are three main concerns people have about their appearance following liposuction, though: loose, hanging skin, postoperative dimpling, and scars.

The Good News
Loose, hanging skin can result from a liposuction procedure. The degree to which it occurs depends on the quality of your skin. If your skin has good elasticity, the amount of hanging skin will be low, as the skin retracts. The good news is that the amount of loose skin is about the same as you would experience if you were able to lose that fat with diet and exercise.

The Better News
Dimpling is a known risk of liposuction, but postoperative dimpling can be avoided by a skilled surgeon, who can keep from passing the liposuction cannula too close to the skin and thereby creating dimples. With proper technique, including your adherence to Dr. Lefkovits' postoperative instructions, it is highly unlikely that you will see dimpling following your liposuction procedure.

The Best News
Scarring from liposuction, although a concern among patients, is actually very minimal. The incision lengths for insertion of the liposuction cannulae are half an inch or less (sometimes as small as 1/8 inch). Although there will be several of these incisions, they generally heal up very well, leaving only minimal scars. Some patients may experience hyperpigmented areas around the incision site, but this is not true scarring.

The appearance of a treated area following liposuction is usually very good. If you would like to learn more, schedule a consultation with Dr. Lefkovits at Park Plaza Plastic Surgery today.

Breast Shape after Enlargement

2008-07-22T13:16:00.001-04:00

Breast enlargement has the primary effect of enlarging a woman's breasts. Typically, this will also change the shape of breasts, but the shape of the final breasts is related to the initial breast shape, which is determined by external aspects of a woman's gross anatomy.

Factors that influence the final shape of a woman's augmented breast include the shape of the rib cage, the shape of the chest muscles, the shape and depth of the breast bone, the relative volume of original breast tissue to the size of the implant. In addition, surface level characteristics such as the quality of the skin, especially its elasticity, the size and position of the nipples, and the position and character of the existing breast folds will also have an impact. All of these are the factors that influenced the initial shape of the breast, so it is a reasonable start to imagine that the shape of your post-op breasts will be similar to the shape of your pre-op breasts. This conservation of breast shape is desirable in most cases to create a natural appearance following your breast enlargement surgery. You should expect, of course, that the curvature below the breast will be increased, and the slope of the top of the breast will be decreased. If you look at our breast enlargement before and after gallery, you can get a sense of what features will be preserved.

To keep your breasts positioned optimally on the chest, and to keep the implant symmetrically behind your breast tissue, the breast is normally expanded equally above and below the current breast placement. Depending on the shape of your chest, breast implants may cause your breasts to move slightly toward one another, but it is best to avoid removing too much of the tissue between the breasts to prevent the occurrence of symmastia (aka breadloafing), in which breast implants touch.

And, of course, if you do not like the shape of your current breasts, different surgical techniques may be used to give your breasts a better postoperative shape.

To learn more about the likely postoperative shape of your breasts, schedule a consultation with Dr. Lefkovits at Park Plaza Plastic Surgery today.

Body Contouring Risks Related to BMI

2008-07-18T13:13:00.001-04:00

A study published in the July/August issue of the peer-reviewed organ of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, Aesthetic Surgery Journal, showed that the risk a patient incurs during body contouring procedures is strongly related to the patient's body mass index (BMI).

Researchers conducted a retrospective review of 129 patients who underwent a single body contouring procedure between 1993 and 2004 and correlated complications experienced with BMIs. Patients were divided into the five descriptive categories commonly used along with BMI: ideal (BMI less than 25), overweight (BMI 25-30), obese (BMI 31-35), morbidly obese (BMI 36-40), and severely morbidly obese (BMI 41 and greater). Researchers distinguished between minor complications (such as infection, seroma, and hematoma) and major complications (including serious wounds, rehospitalization, and death).

Results indicated a significant difference between the ideal candidates and others. Whereas ideal candidates had relatively low risks (3.3 % for minor complications and 6.6 % for major complications) severely morbidly obese candidates had much higher risk (46.9 % for minor complications and 43.7 % for major complications). The study serves as a quantitative reminder that body contouring procedures like tummy tucks and liposuction are not weight loss procedures. Instead, they serve to help you improve your appearance beyond what you can accomplish on your own through diet and exercise.

If you have been working out and dieting, but are still unhappy with your appearance, Manhattan cosmetic surgeon Dr. Lefkovits can help. Contact Park Plaza Plastic Surgery today to schedule your consultation.

Factors that Can Influence Your Postoperative Cleavage

2008-07-14T13:10:00.001-04:00

Breast augmentation is a procedure to improve the appearance of your breasts. There are a number of factors that make up the appearance of your breasts, including size, shape, and symmetry. Depending on your preferred style of dress, cleavage can also be an important aspect of the appearance of your breasts. Breast augmentation enlarges the breasts, and it can preserve the shape. Usually, it will also enhance cleavage, although the degree to which it does so depends on the anatomy of your chest.

Cleavage is defined as the space between the breasts that is exposed, and the amount of cleavage is a combination of the depth and length of the hollow as displayed. This can be changed by wearing different outfits, but limits are placed on it by the physical characteristics of the breasts.

The normal shape of a woman's chest is a curve on either side, with a relatively flat front and a slightly depressed sternum. This is an excellent starting point for achieving good postoperative cleavage. In women with this chest shape, the breasts are located on the front of the chest, and once the breast implants are placed, the majority of the implant will project forward of the sternum.

Some women have a significantly depressed sternum. This will tend to push the breast implants toward one another and, although good cleavage can be achieved, the depressed sternum may lead to additional pressure on the intermammary cleft that can increase the risk of symmastia.

For women with a protruding sternum, it can be more difficult to achieve good postoperative cleavage. Although the breasts may have a good appearance and shape, they may be too divergent to achieve good cleavage comfortably, and the protruding sternum can reduce the relative projection of the breasts.

If you would like to learn more about your potential to achieve good cleavage following breast augmentation surgery, schedule a breast augmentation consultation with Dr. Lefkovits at Park Plaza Plastic Surgery today.

Rhinoplasty Aesthetics

2008-07-11T14:19:00.001-04:00

During the early Renaissance, artists were inspired by the discovery and collection of numerous works of classical art. Greek and Roman sculpture, in particular, were so revered that artists verged on idolatry as they slavishly sought to imitate the classical forms. However, the greatest of what we currently refer to as Renaissance art, the work of Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo, is notable primarily for the way it breaks out of mere emulation into seeking the highest possible achievements in the creation of character and the expression of emotion in a movement sometimes known as "Mannerism."

In a similar fashion, cosmetic surgery used to adhere to a strictly classical notion of what made a nose attractive. Rhinoplasty was governed by angles and proportions that were considered absolute as Plato's forms. The bridge of the nose was supposed to have an angle of 115-130 degrees from the vertical, and the nose itself should be the 3-4-5 right triangle we all remember from high school trigonometry.

Nowadays, though, cosmetic surgery recognizes that all faces are not identical, and that the best results for your rhinoplasty are determined by the way that the appearance of your nose interacts with the rest of your face. Following a rhinoplasty, the proportions of your nose should not be governed by mathematical ratios that came to a long-dead philosopher after days of involuntary fasting or a night of heavy drinking.

Although this development is generally positive and will lead to better results for the majority of people, it does have one major caveat. Without the governance of pure mathematics, a rhinoplasty is governed only by the innate sense of aesthetics of the plastic surgeon. This means that you have to be careful in your selection of a plastic surgeon and choose one with a demonstrated record of successfully judging what makes a nose harmonize properly with the rest of the face.

To see the evidence of Dr. George Lefkovits' innate sense of aesthetics, contact Park Plaza Plastic Surgery today to schedule a consultation.

Buttock Augmentation

2008-07-07T14:17:00.001-04:00

Buttock augmentation is an operation that has shown an increased popularity in recent years. While many women and men imagine making their buttocks smaller, it is becoming an increasingly popular thing to have them enlarged. The goal is rounded, attractive buttocks for both men and women. Some of these men and women never developed substantial buttocks. Others found that the very exercise which made them slender and attractive in other parts, erased the fat deposits in t heir posteriors but did not replace them with sufficient gluteal muscle to retain the desirable rounded appearance.

In fact, the procedure more than doubled in popularity from 2006 to 2007. The procedure had seen significant growth since its introduction, but never anything so significant as this. One reason for the dramatic increase is the cultural acceptance of larger buttocks that has gone on in the media. "Fat-bottomed girls" had been something of a joke in mainstream culture until the 1990s, when "Baby Got Back," became a number one single in 1992, breaking into the mainstream consciousness that women with large buttocks could be attractive. Large buttocks gained more exposure with the popularity of celebrities like Beyoncé and J. Lo. However, the trend remained predominantly a phenomenon among the African-American and Latino communities until very recently.

But now large buttocks have made a major demographic shift. Mainstream culture has now fully embraced the thought that men and women with large buttocks are attractive. Although it is unlikely to rival breast augmentation for popularity, now people of all ethnicities are seeking buttock augmentation to achieve the perfect look.

If you are interested in buttock augmentation, contact Dr. George Lefkovits at Park Plaza Plastic Surgery today to schedule a consultation.

Why Are More Men Seeking Cosmetic Surgery?

2008-07-03T14:12:00.001-04:00

Cosmetic surgery for men has risen dramatically in recent years. Although at Park Plaza Plastic Surgery, we have long recognized the desire men have for cosmetic improvement, the recent trend is noteworthy.

Although it was not recognized, men have always sought cosmetic improvement for the same reasons as women:

Self-confidence
Personal vanity
Attractiveness for dating, or for a spouse or partner
Career advancement

But if these reasons have always been around, why the precipitous increase in men seeking cosmetic surgery?

There are many possible reasons why men would be seeking cosmetic surgery now more than ever. First, with a relatively low-job recovery in the economy, competition to be the best in the workforce has dramatically increased. Men are trying to avoid looking old and tired when they go for their job interviews, or even just to keep their jobs against young firebrands full of energy.

Also, with elevated divorce rates, the number of older men dating has also risen. Along with that, the image of what women are looking for in a man has changed. When women were less capable of making a living for themselves, it was more important for women to find a man who could take care of them. But these days many women, especially likely dating candidates for divorcees, are more likely to be self-sufficient and therefore choose men based on other criteria, including appearance.

Finally, the media plays an important role. Leading men have always been sex symbols of a sort, but in the past they were not as highly promoted for their bodies as women. In general, men's fashions have been concealing rather than revealing, but this is changing. Marketing of men's bodies to promote men's fragrances and cosmetics have further contributed to the increased pressure on men to look their best.

If you find yourself uncomfortable or insecure with any facet of your appearance, contact Park Plaza Plastic Surgery today for a consultation.

Transaxillary Breast Augmentation

2008-07-01T16:16:00.001-04:00

Transaxillary breast augmentation is a breast augmentation technique that uses an endoscope to place breast implants without make an incision on the breast. Instead, the incision is made in the armpit. The endoscope is used to make the pocket for the breast implant then move the implant into place. Only saline implants can be used during this procedure because they come deflated from the manufacturer and can be rolled to fit through the endoscopic track. Once the implant is placed in the pocket, it is inflated.

The primary benefit of the transaxillary technique for breast augmentation is that there will be no scar on the breast, but it does have a number of drawbacks. It is difficult to create symmetrical pockets using the transaxillary technique. Women who undergo transaxillary breast augmentation have a higher reoperation rate for asymmetric breast implant placement, and since reoperation is difficult with an endoscope, an inframammary or periareolar incision may have to be used anyway.

In addition, as with other endoscopic surgeries, complications can be more difficult to deal with. In particular, it can be difficult to control excessive bleeding during endoscopic surgery in the unlikely event that it occurs.

The biggest drawback to transaxillary breast augmentation is that if you experience hypertrophic scarring, it is highly visible. Although scars from breast augmentation usually heal well, the risk of having a pronounced red scar in the armpit must give one pause.

To learn more about breast augmentation options, please contact Dr. Lefkovits at Park Plaza Plastic Surgery today to set up a consultation.

Cosmetic Surgery for Men

2008-06-27T16:14:00.000-04:00

Recently, news media outlets have been talking about men getting plastic surgery. They are treating this as news largely as a result of recent statistics that show substantial increases in the number of men receiving cosmetic treatments. According to the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (ASAPS), the number of cosmetic medical treatments performed on men grew by 17 % to comprise 9 % of the total procedures performed last year.

That men are seeking cosmetic surgery is no surprise to us at Park Plaza Plastic Surgery, where men already make up 30 % of our patients. We have long been performing cosmetic procedures on male patients, and we know how to make the cosmetic procedure experience as comfortable as possible for men who may feel sensitive as a result of the common perception that cosmetic surgery is something for women only.

Our years of experience performing cosmetic surgery on men means that we have separate books of before and after pictures showing the positive results we can achieve for male patients. There is an entirely different aesthetic for the male body and the female body, and there is no reason why a man should have to try and guess from a picture of a woman's body what kind of results he might get from a cosmetic procedure.

We also maintain separate office hours for men, who are made to feel more comfortable with other men in the waiting room. The men-only hours create a very fraternal atmosphere making the entire experience more comfortable and rewarding.

If you are a man seeking cosmetic surgery, please contact Park Plaza Plastic Surgery, where we invest in giving men the best possible results.

A Word about Salesmanship in the Cosmetic Surgery Industry

2008-06-24T16:13:00.000-04:00

Some surgeons will try to present you with the latest new machine that is designed to do one thing or another, but such claims should be regarded with skepticism for two reasons. First, many technologies are developed and put into application without proving their effectiveness. Few of these technologies are actually harmful, but many of them do not represent significant improvements, so that you are paying for gewgaws, bells, and whistles, not a better procedure. Evaluate not just the claims, but the actual results of any potential procedure.

Second, and more important, though, is that any new piece of machinery is just an instrument, and an instrument is only as good as the surgeon who uses it. Aesthetic surgery is not like optical refraction, which can be measured with an interferometer. A cosmetic surgeon is an artist and a sculptor, and his results depend on his innate sense of aesthetics and his technique. A surgeon needs talent, and that talent improves as it is honed with practice and experience.

Cosmetic surgery may be an optional medical procedure, but it is still a medical procedure. Your decision should be made on the basis of facts and evidence, not on the basis of a sales pitch. When you are considering working with a cosmetic surgeon, ask to get information in the form of a thorough, knowledgeable description of your procedure and before and after pictures of the doctor's results before making your decision.

Dr. George Lefkovits has been practicing cosmetic surgery for nearly 25 years, and his results speak to his aesthetic sense and his technique. Some examples of before and after pictures are given in the procedures pages, but to see a more complete set, please schedule a consultation today.

Transumbilical Breast Augmentation (TUBA)

2008-06-19T16:10:00.002-04:00

Transumbilical Breast Augmentation (TUBA) has been promoted for many years as the "next big thing" in breast augmentation because it promises breast augmentation with no scarring. However, nearly twenty years after its introduction, it is practiced by very few plastic surgeons. In an industry where every doctor is looking for a marketing edge with new technology and techniques, that statistic speaks for itself. TUBA may have some advantages, but overall these are outweighed by other considerations.

The Promise of TUBA
Proponents of TUBA call it "scarless breast augmentation." In the procedure, an incision is made in the navel, then tracks are made to the breasts with an endoscope. The endoscope is then used to form the pockets in the breasts for placement of the implants. Next, deflated and rolled saline implants are moved up to the pockets. The implants are then filled to the appropriate level to complete the augmentation. The end result is breast augmentation with only a tiny scar far from the breast.

The Problems with TUBA
There are many problems with the TUBA procedure, however, that prevent it from becoming widely adopted. The TUBA procedure can only be performed with saline implants, meaning that women who want the superior aesthetic result of silicone cannot have the TUBA procedure.

Because the procedure is performed remotely, it is difficult for doctors to obtain a good result with the TUBA procedure. In particular, forming symmetric pockets that will lead to symmetric breasts following the surgery is more difficult, leading to a higher reoperation rate.

Breast augmentation is surgery, and all surgery carries risks, no matter how it is performed. If you do experience complications during your cosmetic surgery, it can be harder to address those complications using the tuba technique. Finally, revision surgery may be more difficult and may require an approach via an inframammary or periareolar incision anyway.

To learn more about breast augmentation procedures, please contact Dr. Lefkovits at Park Plaza Plastic Surgery today to set up a consultation.

Liposuction

2008-06-16T16:06:00.002-04:00

Liposuction is one of the most popular cosmetic surgery procedures, with nearly half a million treatments performed in 2007. The demand for liposuction treatments has driven a high level of innovation in the machinery used for liposuction, but it is important to remember that "new" does not always mean "improved."

The basic procedure for liposuction is that suction is used to remove fat from the body. It is a classic operation today that has withstood the test of time with consistently good results for patients. It is used not as a weight loss technique, but to target stubborn deposits of fat that are unresponsive to diet and exercise.

Dr. George Lefkovits has been performing liposuction procedures since 1985, and he has tried all the variations of the procedure currently available. He prefers to use what is known as tumescent liposuction. Tumescent liposuction is a variation on the traditional liposuction technique, that you can read more about in an earlier post. It is a classic operation today that has withstood the test of time with consistently good results for patients.

Although the potential risks associated with powered and ultrasonic liposuction techniques are reason enough not to use them for Dr. Lefkovits, there is another reason why he prefers the tumescent liposuction technique. Liposuction is the most basic tool in body contouring--the reshaping of the body to give it a pleasing experience--but any tool is only as good as the user. A cosmetic surgeon is an artist and a sculptor, and ultimately the results achieved through cosmetic surgery depend more on the skill of the artist than on the tool used.

Dr. Lefkovits has found, however, that the newer liposuction techniques, primarily designed to make the procedure easy, fast, and convenient for the surgeon, disrupt his ability to perform fine adjustments in the body sculpting technique, which can ultimately lead to a result that is less artistic. It is the fine adjustments performed by the surgeon that make the difference between just fat removal and actual body contouring.

To learn more about getting the best results from a liposuction procedure, contact Park Plaza Plastic Surgery today to set up a consultation.

Breast Reduction Using Liposuction: A Viable Option?

2008-06-12T18:15:00.001-04:00

The traditional methods for breast reduction involve incisions that leave scars on the breasts. For most patients, these scars heal well with proper postoperative care, but in other patients, especially those with darker skin, such as African-American women, the scars resulting from breast reduction may be seen as a significant barrier to getting the procedure. Using liposuction-only breast reduction surgery may provide an alternative for these patients that is effective and results in less scarring, according to some studies.

Breast reduction is often a medically-necessary procedure. In addition to the self-consciousness that some women with hypertrophic (large) breasts feel, they may present with a number of significant secondary effects, including:

Back, neck, and shoulder pain
Shoulder ruts
Breathing difficulties
Intertrigo (skin inflammation and/or infection) of the breast crease

For these women, a breast reduction will represent significant relief. However, many of them are prevented from having the procedure by fear of scarring.

A recent study suggests that for these women liposuction can be used as a primary modality for breast reduction, if the hypertrophy is primarily the result of fatty tissue and not glandular tissue, the same circumstances under which gynecomastia may be treated with liposuction only. The study, published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, showed that all patients who underwent liposuction breast reduction saw a significant improvement in breast-related symptoms. The study was small, however, and, although suggestive, does not constitute definitive proof of a clinical technique. Other studies of liposuction-only breast reduction have been similarly small, and the technique is not generally practiced.

To discuss breast reduction, liposuction and other procedures, please contact Park Plaza Plastic Surgery today for a consultation.

Postoperative Care for Best Liposuction Results

2008-06-09T18:12:00.001-04:00

As a cosmetic surgeon with many years of experience, Dr. Lefkovits knows that the surgery is only part of the secret to achieving excellent body contouring results with liposuction. To help you achieve the best results, Dr. Lefkovits knows that what you do after surgery is very important.

Rest, of course, is key to recovery. Don't rush back to work or back to exercise. You should plan on taking three days or a week off from work.

Dr. Lefkovits practices a precise course of post-operative treatment to help expedite the healing process and to enhance the cosmetic result. This course includes massage and ultrasound treatment. You will also wear compression garments to help healing and complete the body contouring results of liposuction.

Rest does not mean complete inactivity. Light exercise such as walking can stimulate healing in the body, but you should be careful to not overdo it. You should be able to start easing back into your exercise routine about two weeks after the procedure.

If you would like to learn more about how Dr. Lefkovits takes care of you before, during, and after your liposuction surgery, contact Park Plaza Plastic Surgery today to set up a consultation.

Liposuction Target Areas

2008-06-05T18:09:00.000-04:00

According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), liposuction is the most popular cosmetic surgery treatment practiced today. One reason for its popularity is its universal applicability. Both men and women can benefit from liposuction. There is virtually no area of the body that cannot be treated using liposuction. Areas commonly treated using liposuction include:

Face and neck
Arms
Male breasts
Abdomen
Flanks
Back
Buttocks
Thighs
Knees

Many patients have multiple areas treated. These areas can be treated during successive sessions, or, sometimes, during a single session.

Liposuction can remove excess fat, but it cannot remove excess skin, so persons with poor skin elasticity may need a tummy tuck, thigh lift, or other body lift to achieve optimum results.

To learn more about liposuction, contact Park Plaza Plastic Surgery today to set up a consultation.

Doctors Consider Breast Augmentation with Fat Grafts

2008-06-03T18:04:00.001-04:00

At a recemt American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) conference, doctors discussed the possibility of using a woman's own fat, rather than breast implants, as the material of breast augmentation.

Autologous fat transplantation, the moving of fat from one part of the body to another, has been used in some procedures, including the Brazilian Butt Fill practiced at Park Plaza Plastic Surgery, and transplanted fat is sometimes used as a facial filler. The possibility of using autologous fat harvested during liposuction for breast augmentation is still under evaluation in clinical trials but has received much praise from its proponents. According to these doctors, breast shaping with fat "allows for dramatic or subtle shaping of the breast in a manner previously not attainable," and they note that the "telltale signs of implants and surgery are absent--the resultant breast is completely fluid and natural appearing."

In recent studies of breast reconstruction, reconstruction with body tissue has shown a far lower rate of infection and other complications than breast reconstruction with implants, so transplanted fat might reduce complications associated with breast augmentation as well.

However, there are still many unanswered questions relating to the long-term questions about the safety and efficacy of the procedure. The main concern is the low survival rate (from 50-75%) of transplanted fat cells. The dieback of fat cells may lead to malformation if used in breast augmentation, or may require retreatments to achieve satisfactory results. In addition, some are concerned that the procedure may lead to the development of cysts, calcification, and scarring, while others fear that the transplanted fat can lead to an increased incidence of cancer.

Until the efficacy and risk of breast augmentation with autologous fat are determined, breast implants will continue to be used for breast augmentation. Still, some day in the not-too-distant future, a woman may be able to move the fat in her body around to make her figure exactly how she wants it.

If you are interested in breast augmentation, liposuction, or other body contouring procedures please contact Park Plaza Plastic Surgery today for a consultation.

How Effective Is Laser Hair Removal?

2008-05-30T17:13:00.000-04:00

Laser hair removal is one of the most effective treatments available for semi-permanent hair removal. After 5-6 treatments, the average patient sees up to an 80 % reduction in hair density in treated areas. Laser hair removal is effective on both men and women, and can be used to treat hair in nearly every part of the body.

Although anecdotally patients and doctors claim that the procedure works better on people with fairer skin, clinical studies show that it is effective for people of all skin types, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has also approved it for use on all skin types. Effectiveness is more dependent on the hair color, and persons with darker skin may experience more burning as a side effect.

The reason why effectiveness depends more on hair color is that laser hair removal works by a process known as selective photothermolysis. That is, the hair follicles, dense in melanin, tend to absorb more of the light energy from the laser, transforming it into heat that kills the follicle. However, in the past dark-skinned people were also subject to serious burns because the laser light was also absorbed by melanin in the epidermis.

The CoolGlide laser used by Park Plaza Plastic Surgery represents an important innovation in laser hair removal that bypasses the epidermal melanin. The CoolGlide laser is a ND:YAG laser that emits radiation at 1064 nm, in the infrared portion of the spectrum. For a long time, this wavelength was considered ineffective in laser hair removal, because it is not well-absorbed by melanin, but this turns out to be the secret to its effectiveness. Because it is not well-absorbed by melanin, the radiation does not immediately impact even the darkest skin, allowing the photothermolytic gradient between the hair and the skin to work over time. With pulse lengths optimized for your skin and hair color, CoolGlide can kill the hair follicles while sparing the skin.

In addition, the efficient gold-plated copper skin-cooling mechanism prevents the buildup of heat in adjacent areas of the skin, so that as the laser wand moves over the skin only the treated area is heated, again minimizing the chance of thermal damage to the skin. Laser hair removal should not be confused with laser skin resurfacing, which actually ablates (removes) the outer layers of the skin.

Laser hair removal is not completely permanent. Virtually everyone who has the treatment experiences permanent hair reduction, but to maintain hairlessness may require maintenance treatments every six months or year.

To learn more about laser hair removal and how effective it is likely to be in your case, contact Dr. Lefkovits at Park Plaza Plastic Surgery to set up a consultation.

Gynecomastia Causes

2008-05-27T17:00:00.000-04:00

Gynecomastia revision or male breast reduction, is one of the most popular cosmetic surgical procedures sought by men, especially men aged 39 and under, and experienced a 5 % growth from 2006 to 2007, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

What is Gynecomastia? Gynecomastia is Greek for "woman’s breasts," and it refers to a condition in which men's breasts are enlarged and embarrassing. Gynecomastia proper (as distinct from weight-related gynecomastia) is a hormonal condition, although many cases of gynecomastia have no known cause. In other cases, the most common causes are:

Medication that includes hormones or affect hormone pathways, including:

Cimetidine (marketed as Tagamet) and omeprazole (Prilosec)
Spironolactone (Aldactone, Novo-Spiroton, etc)
Imatinib (Gleevac)
Risperidone (Risperidal) and other antipsychotics that affect dopamine levels

Hormone fluctuation during puberty
Increased estrogen production (sometimes related to testicular cancer or hyperthyroidism)
Kidney or liver disease

When seeking treatment for gynecomastia, it is important to determine whether any serious health conditions are the cause of the enlarged breasts. In most cases, the condition can be corrected by first identifying and addressing the underlying cause, then utilizing liposuction to shrink the man's breasts. In some cases, it is also necessary to remove glandular tissue.

Sometimes, weight gain can cause a man's breasts to become enlarged. This is not technically gynecomastia, and should be treated cosmetically as part of a body contouring program. In addition, weight gain can sometimes lead to an increase in estrogen levels, creating gynecomastia in the true sense.

To learn more about gynecomastia, its causes and treatments, contact Dr. Lefkovits at Park Plaza Plastic Surgery today for a free initial consultation.

Facial Rejuvenation

2008-05-21T16:55:00.001-04:00

Although the brain gets a lot of credit, the face is one of the most highly-evolved parts of human anatomy. From both verbal and nonverbal communication to eating, breathing, and perceiving the world, nearly every human function depends on the face, which not only accomplishes its job, but does so with style and beauty. Unfortunately, there's a price to pay. As they say, the candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long and for many of us the face begins to look old suddenly, dramatically, and at a dismayingly young age. However, plastic surgery is able to rejuvenate the appearance of the face in many cases, helping you to look younger longer.

Although some fear that cosmetic surgery may make their face look stiff, fake, and plastic, the opposite is more likely. Cosmetic surgery can correct your perpetually angry or tired appearance and allow you to better express yourself with your face.

Some treatments can improve the appearance of the whole face, such as laser skin resurfacing, which can reduce age spots and fine wrinkles across the entire face. In considering the effects of age on your face, it is often useful to consider the face in terms of three regions, the brow/forehead, the eyes/cheek, and the mouth/neck region, which experience particular effects of aging, and are treated together.

Brow/Forehead
As you age, the constant action of your muscles in the brow, constantly contracting and releasing, can lead to a habitual conditioning of the nerves so that they signal the muscles to remain contracted, leading to deep, dynamic wrinkles in the forehead. Botox injections block these habitual signals and allow your brow muscles to relax into a more natural expression. In addition, gravity pulls your brows down, making them hang low and contributing to the angry or tired appearance of your face. For some deep furrows not easily correctable with Botox and for this low-hanging brow, a brow lift is the answer.

Eyes/Cheeks
Aging produces similar conditioning of the muscles around the eyes as in the brows, leading to crows' feet, also correctable with Botox. The hanging eyelids that become more pronounced as the skin loses elasticity with age can be corrected with eyelid surgery, at the same time that you address the puffy lower eyelids. In addition, fat transplantation can address the hollows underneath your eyes. As you age, you lose fat in the face, which can be corrected with cheek augmentation.

Mouth/Neck
The loss of fat has a profound impact on your lips, which grow thinner as you age, which can look very unattractive, especially in women. Facial fillers can address this thinning of the lips, and can also correct the smile lines or "parentheses" around your mouth.

In the lower face, the effects of gravity have a serious impact, drawing the skin and muscles down. This can lead to hanging jowls and a wrinkled "turkey neck." However, a facelift can pull up the jowls and neck, correcting the sagging of skin and muscles.

This is obviously just a brief rundown of some of the major problems many people face as they age. If you have noticed the effects of aging on your face and would like to learn how they might be corrected, contact Dr. Lefkovits today to set up your initial consultation.

Eyelid Surgery for a More Youthful Appearance

2008-05-19T16:51:00.001-04:00

Although the more youthful, glowing skin and reduced wrinkles people see as a result of laser skin resurfacing is good, perhaps nothing refreshes your appearance as completely as eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty). If you find that people often ask you "what's wrong?" when nothing's wrong, or if people frequently comment that you look tired, you may want to consider eyelid surgery. Eyelid surgery can correct a perpetually angry or tired appearance that results from drooping eyelids.

Specifically, eyelid surgery corrects:

Drooping upper eyelids
Excessive skin in the upper or lower eyelids
Puffy lower eyelids
Involuntarily narrowed eyes

Blepharoplasty also has a relatively short recovery period. You will experience some swelling, possibly some bruising, which you can minimize with an ice pack. There is not usually very much postoperative pain associated with the surgery, and most patients can return to work after a week or so.

To learn more about eyelid surgery, please contact Dr. Lefkovits at Park Plaza Plastic Surgery today for your initial consultation.

When to Take a Load Off: Breast Reduction

2008-05-16T16:48:00.001-04:00

Although breast enlargement is one of the most popular cosmetic surgery procedures in the country, ironically breast reduction is not that far behind. Between 100,000-150,000 women every year have breast reduction surgery. There are many reasons why women seek breast reduction surgery, including:

Disproportionate appearance
Breasts are unattractive because too long, wide, or have stretch marks
Back pain, neck pain, grooves in the shoulder from bra straps
Breasts interfere with exercise or prevent you from engaging in athletic activities
Self-consciousness about breast

If you have any of these problems, breast reduction can help you. Breast reduction is not considered a solely cosmetic operation, and in many cases may be covered by your medical insurance.

However, sometimes your breasts may be sagging and unattractive not due to their size, but due to the effects of gravity and a loss of skin tone. In this case, a reduction may not be necessary - you may get good results from a breast lift instead.

Dr. Lefkovits can help you determine what would be the best course of action. Based on your concerns and your goals and on an evaluation of your physical condition, Dr. Lefkovits can recommend a treatment that can get you looking and feeling your best. Contact Park Plaza Plastic Surgery for an initial consultation.

When to Get Your Breast Augmentation Surgery

2008-05-13T16:44:00.001-04:00

If you are considering getting breast augmentation surgery in preparation for a special event, such as your wedding, a class reunion, or even just to be ready for the swimsuit and sundress season, it’s important to have your surgery done long enough before the event that your breasts can look their best when you want to show them off.

Breast implant surgery makes your breasts immediately larger, but it takes time for your breasts not just to heal, but to settle into place. Immediately following breast augmentation surgery, your breasts may look unnatural. Not only will there be some bruising and some swelling (that will subside quickly), but the breast implants will initially seem to be too high. As part of the implantation procedure, a large pocket is made for the implant, and the implant is placed high in the pocket, then allowed to settle down into the bottom. This helps the implant stay loose in its pocket, which keeps the implant soft and natural-feeling. The process of settling takes a different amount of time in every case, but in general it’s best to have your procedure done at least 6 weeks before any big occasion for best results.

If you are considering breast augmentation surgery and want to learn more about making yourself look your best at a special occasion, contact Dr. Lefkovits at Park Plaza Plastic Surgery, to set up an initial consultation.

Tummy Tuck vs. Liposuction

2008-05-08T16:39:00.001-04:00

When patients seek correction for a larger-than-desired abdomen, a physical examination will determine whether liposuction or a tummy tuck is the appropriate procedure.

In liposuction, a small incision is made, and through this incision, a cannula, or hollow tube, is inserted. Suction is applied to the tube, and fat is suctioned out of the body.

Abdominoplasty is a more complicated procedure, involving a longer scar in the bikini area, in which excess skin (as well as some fat) is removed, and the muscles of the abdomen are tightened.

So, liposuction is used when you have stubborn pockets of fat that are resistant to dieting and exercise and when the skin elasticity is satisfactory.

An abdominoplasty becomes necessary to treat:

Loose, sagging skin
Slack abdominal muscles
Stretch marks

Although this can serve as a guideline, the only way to really know which procedure is right for you, though, is to schedule a consultation with Dr. Lefkovits, If you are considering an abdominoplasty in the Bronx, New York, contact Park Plaza Plastic Surgery today for a free consultation.

Tumescent Liposuction

2008-05-05T16:37:00.000-04:00

Liposuction is the removal of fat through suction of the fat-bearing areas of the body. In this procedure, a small incision is made, and a cannula (narrow tube) through which the suction is applied. Traditional liposuction could be accompanied with a significant amount of tissue damage.

To reduce the amount of damage caused by liposuction and to facilitate the removal of fat, tumescent liposuction injects a significant quantity of fluid into the areas to be treated. This fluid is largely saline solution, although it contains some anesthetic and epinephrine, which causes the blood vessels to constrict, reducing bleeding.

Powered liposuction techniques can cause tissue damage. Ultrasonic liposuction can cause tissue burns. Tumescent liposuction allows for protection of your tissue while also allowing the best possible contouring of the treated areas.

To learn more about your liposuction options, contact Dr. Lefkovits at Park Plaza Plastic Surgery to set up a consultation.

The Facelift: A Recent Innovation in Science and Art

2008-05-01T16:32:00.001-04:00

The facelift is a very recent discovery in plastic surgery. Nose and ear reconstruction were practiced in ancient India. Eyelid surgery was successfully practiced in the sixteenth century. Abdominoplasty (without navel reposition), what we would call rhinoplasty, breast lift, and breast reduction were all well-accepted procedures by the mid-nineteenth century, but facelifts were not invented until well into the twentieth century.

At first, facelifts were only made by repositioning the skin on the face. These could reduce sagging and wrinkling as a result of excess skin, but their effects were short-lived. It was not until the 1970s that the secret to longer-lasting facelifts was discovered. Plastic surgeons realized that by repositioning the Superficial MusculoAponeurotic System (SMAS), a thin layer of muscles and connective tissue just under the skin, plastic surgeons found they could increase the lifespan of the results. However, they also found that the SMAS facelift had a longer recovery time and could lead to some change in your appearance.

Over the years, plastic surgeons have continued to innovate new facelift techniques and have learned how to get long-lasting results without a radically altered, tight, or pinched appearance. However, the facelift remains one of the more difficult procedures performed by a cosmetic surgeon, depending heavily on the artistry and experience of the surgeon.

If you are considering a facelift, choose your surgeon carefully. At the very minimum, you should have a board-certified cosmetic surgeon performing your facelift. Select one with in-depth training, years of experience, and good results. Dr. Lefkovits is a board-certified cosmetic surgeon who has received in-depth training not only in plastic surgery, but in the deeper anatomy of the face, throat, and ears. He has taught plastic surgery, and is a member of numerous regional, national, and international plastic surgery societies.

If you are interested in learning more about how Dr. Lefkovits can put his training at your service to get you the best possible facelift, please contact Park Plaza Plastic Surgery today to set up your consultation.