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

Although women tend to be very aware of the adverse effects of winter weather on their skin, men often pay less attention, and may suffer serious adverse consequences.

Your skin is the outer protection for your body, and when the weather outside is frightful, it is your skin that bears the brunt of the damage. One of the main dangers your skin faces is the dryness of winter weather. Cold, winter air contains much less moisture, and it draws the moisture out of your skin, especially when driven by fierce winter winds. This is also a problem for indoor air. Although the fire may be delightful, heating the air actually increases its ability to draw moisture from your skin. And it's the same for forced-air heat, unless you have a home humidifier.

Another significant problem is sun exposure. You may think that when you're out there waiting for the bus on a cloudy day you aren't getting any sun, but UVA rays are essentially the same strength no matter what the cloud coverage. And UVA radiation penetrates deep into the skin, playing an important part in skin aging, the creation of facial wrinkles, and skin cancer, so it's a good idea to wear sunscreen all year long.

To help combat the negative effects of winter weather on your skin, men too need to think about nourishing their skin and exfoliation. You can use facial and body washes with antioxidants like vitamins A, C, and E to supplement the skin's store of nutrients. Shaving is also a good way to scrape away older, dead skin cells.

Finally, as winter weather begins to wane, it may be time to consider a nourishing chemical peel to restore your skin after all the damage it's suffered over the hardest seasons of the year. You might also look at wrinkle treatments like BOTOX® Cosmetic injections if you find yourself looking a lot older this spring, when the rest of the world is suddenly young and refreshed.

To learn more about improving the health of your skin and keeping the visible signs of age at bay, please schedule a consultation with Manhattan plastic surgeon Dr. George Lefkovits today.

According to a recent study, women who received treatment for their significant breast asymmetry experienced a significant improvement in their self esteem and overall quality of life.

Some amount of breast asymmetry (unevenness of size or shape in breasts) is normal, but a small number of women have significant asymmetry that leads them to feel self-conscious and may reduce their quality of life. Breast asymmetry can be corrected surgically with breast augmentation, breast reduction, breast lift, or a combination of procedures.

The study evaluated 35 women who underwent surgery for correcting breast asymmetry with questionnaires designed to evaluate physical and emotional characteristics to determine quality of life. Women filled out the questionnaires at three months and six months postoperatively. The results showed that women experienced statistically significant improvement in vitality, self-esteem, and overall mental health.

The study, although small, shows that women experience positive psychological benefits when they seek treatment for conditions like breast asymmetry. To learn more about breast asymmetry and whether you are a good candidate for surgical correction, please schedule a consultation with New York plastic surgeon Dr. George Lefkovits today.

If you look at your face and feel that your appearance is either too masculine or too feminine, you may wonder whether anything can be done to help you look more like you feel you should look. The answer is: yes. Actually, the physical differences between a masculine face and a feminine one are very subtle, and often can be addressed with a number of treatments.

The nose is one of the most common areas that women feel makes their face look too masculine. A large, projecting nose contributes significantly to a masculine appearance, but a rhinoplasty can reshape the nose subtly, reducing the projection, changing the shape of the tip, and narrowing the bridge to convey a more feminine appearance.

Men often complain about a receding chin or a narrow chin that conveys a feminine appearance. Chin implants can contribute to a more masculine jaw shape and help give you a strong, masculine appearance.

Although high cheekbones tend to be a masculine feature, on an otherwise feminine face they can convey an elegant, striking appearance. Cheek implants can refine the contours of your face, and convey masculinity or strength.

In all these cases, the changes can be subtle, but make a big difference. You will still look recognizably like you, but you will be a little more masculine or feminine, depending on your desire. To learn more, please call or email D. George Lefkovits for an initial consultation.

Tubular breasts (also called tuberous breasts) are breasts that have not developed normally. Instead of a wide base that allows for breasts to become round, tubular breasts have a very narrow base and maintain that narrow size, but may be long often with enlarged or puffy nipples. Women with tubular breasts do not just have small breasts, they have breasts with an unusual shape that commonly leads to self-consciousness or even social isolation.

But if tubular breasts are making you feel uncomfortable and are affecting your ability to be involved socially or romantically, there is a solution. Breast implants can be used to improve the size and shape of tubular breasts. You can have breasts that are normal in size and shape.

But before you have breast augmentation to improve your tubular breasts, you should remember that correcting them is not the same operation as breast augmentation performed on more commonly-shaped breasts. As a result of their different development process, tubular breasts have muscle and other tissue connections that must be addressed to allow your breasts to assume a normal shape after breast augmentation. Before getting your tubular breasts corrected, talk to your plastic surgeon about his experience with tubular breasts.

New York plastic surgeon Dr. George Lefkovits has extensive experience in breast augmentation, including the correction of tubular breasts. During your consultation, he can show you women with breasts similar to yours and talk about their experience and results, and talk to you about the results you may experience. To learn more, please schedule a consultation with Dr. Lefkovits today.

There are two hard questions everyone wants answered before they come in for a consultation: How much will it cost? and How much will it hurt? Unlike most plastic surgeons, we have answered the cost question, and will also do our best to answer the pain question. Of course, this question goes beyond just hard: it is in fact impossible for us to tell you how much postoperative discomfort you will experience after your plastic surgery, because pain is subjective. Nonetheless, our experience has given us a general idea of the relative discomfort involved in each of the major plastic surgery procedures. Of course, for all procedures you will be prescribed pain medication adequate to control your discomfort during your recovery.

Minor discomfort is typical of rhinoplasty, subglandular breast implant surgery, eyelid surgery, and breast lift procedures. Most of our patients report these procedures being less painful than they expected, but your expectations and experience may differ.

Moderate discomfort is typical of facelift, buttock augmentation, submuscular breast implant surgery, breast reduction, and liposuction.

Significant discomfort is typical of tummy tuck procedures.

In most cases, the level of discomfort is related to the level of improvement you see. For example, liposuction removes just fat, but a tummy tuck may remove not only fat, but also skin and involves tightening of the abdominal muscles. Another variable to consider in thinking about postoperative discomfort is not only the level of pain, but also its duration. Included in our fees chart are estimated times required for recovery, which can be used to estimate how long your discomfort may last.

For most of these procedures, discomfort is measured in days, but results are measured in years. If pain is a concern for you, we invite you to schedule a consultation with New York plastic surgeon Dr. George Lefkovits, who can share with you the personal experiences of some of his previous patients and you can make an informed decision about whether the procedure is right for you.

It is becoming a more and more common phenomenon: teen girls telling their parents that they want bigger breasts for graduation. Parents often find themselves taken aback. Their daughters and smart and pretty and should feel no need for surgery to feel self-confidence. Mothers may look at their daughters and say, "If only I had your body," and tell their daughters they have no reason for plastic surgery.

But if your daughter makes this request, it is best not to be judgmental. You may not understand how she feels, but as a recent study showed, women of all ages dislike the size and shape of their breasts. About 65% of women aged 18-25 are unhappy with their breasts, and the majority of them wish their breasts were larger.

And, if you are looking for a graduation gift that will help your daughter navigate the complex social world of college, you could do worse than breast implants. College years are when women are under the most pressure to uphold society's high standards of beauty, and if she feels she is falling short, it can seriously impact her self esteem. The less mental energy she devotes to worrying about her small breasts, the more she can spend on schoolwork and positively adapting to college society.

But, even if you sympathize with her request, you might still feel uncomfortable. What should you do then?

A flat denial is not a good decision--it may give breast implants the appeal of "forbidden fruit," and lead your teen to seek them out without the benefit of your support and input. Instead, help her figure out if this is really what she wants. Help her with research and attend surgeon consultations with her. Make sure she understands the risks and complications of breast implants, and make sure she understands how to select a good surgeon.

And if, at the end of the process, she still wants breast implants and you still feel uncomfortable, you can decide what you would like to spend on a graduation present and give her the money and make it her decision. After all, a graduation gift is partly an acknowledgement that your little girl has become a woman and will have to make decisions for herself.

Please schedule a consultation with New York plastic surgeon Dr. George Lefkovits today to learn more about breast implants so you and your daughter can make an informed decision.

A trend that continues strong in plastic surgery is the popularity of mommy makeover procedures. Although some had though the trend had tapered off in 2008 women keep coming in for this popular package of procedures.

A "mommy makeover" is a customized package of plastic surgery procedures that help older women restore their figures after childbirth. Pregnancy and the early years of a child's life can be hard on a woman's body. A woman's body undergoes dramatic changes during pregnancy, many of which cannot be reversed with diet and exercise. In addition, many women find that with the demands of those early childhood years they just don't have the time and energy to devote to their appearance. So women seek mommy makeovers to undo some of the changes their body has undergone during these years. The most popular procedures in a mommy makeover are breast enlargement or breast lift and a tummy tuck, but the packages are designed to address your particular concerns.

Plastic surgery mommy makeovers are only a small part of a continued cultural emphasis on older women looking, acting, and feeling more vigorous and, frankly, sexy. In addition, women in their forties and even fifties are commonly seen taking pole dancing classes, dressing more provocatively, and enjoying rowdy girls' nights out.

A couple of years ago, this blog took the standpoint that mommy makeovers were not as popular as some supposed. It turns out that not only were we wrong, but the trend is continuing strong.

If you would like to learn more about your own mommy makeover, please schedule a consultation with New York plastic surgeon Dr. George Lefkovits today.

Dr. Lefkovits has been interviewed and featured in the Life & Style and the Globe magazines as well as numerous other publications.
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