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Chemical Peels
Chemical peels, an alternative to surgery, minimize the appearance of wrinkles and other skin defects on the face, neck, chest, hands, legs, and arms. A chemical solution, which “blisters” and “peels” away the top layer of skin, is applied to the area (usually the face) to reveal new, smoother skin.
Chemical peels are light, medium, or deep. Light peels, which take about 10 minutes, are often repeated over time since the results are not long-lasting. Moderate sun damage, fine lines, and weathered skin respond best to medium peels, which take about 15 minutes and are usually done many times over weeks or months. Deep peels, used on patients with many dark age spots, extensive wrinkling, precancerous growths or mild scarring, can take several hours, but the results are long-lasting.
Chemical peels are performed as an outpatient procedure, usually without anesthesia. The Cooper plastic surgeon will evaluate the patient’s skin type and condition and recommend the appropriate type of chemical peel.
Soft Tissue Fillers: Fat Injections and Collagen Injections
Soft tissue fillers are generally used to “plump up” and minimize visible facial defects (e.g., wrinkles, furrows, and hollows), giving the skin a smoother and more pleasing appearance. Results from injectable fillers last from several weeks to indefinitely; they are not permanent. Repeat treatment may be necessary. Soft tissue fillers can be used alone or in combination with other procedures, such as a facelift. Soft tissue fillers such as bovine collagen and your own fat are effective for contouring specific facial sites and correcting depressions and scars.
Fat Injections
Fat-injections entail removing unwanted fatty deposits from the patient’s abdomen, thigh, or buttock with a large needle or tube (cannula) and re-injecting the purified fat beneath the facial skin. Fat cells are most often used to correct skin depressions or indentations, minimize forehead wrinkles, enhance lips, or fill in “sunken” cheeks and “laugh lines” between the nose and mouth.
Collagen Injections
Injectable collagen, which comes from purified bovine (cow) collagen, is used primarily to fill wrinkles, lines, and scars on the face, neck, back, and chest. Collagen can also be used to fill out “sunken” cheeks, lips, deep facial wrinkles, creases and furrows. Collagen can be injected or implanted. The collagen substance, which also contains a local anesthetic like lidocaine, can be injected with a tiny needle directly into the skin area being treated. When collagen is used for the lips or “laugh line” area, a local anesthetic may be used.
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Dr. Martha Matthews, Head, Division of Plastic Surgery, discusses Botox injections as a minimally invasive alternative to plastic surgery. | |
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Botox (Botulinum toxin) Injections
Botox injections are used to paralyze certain facial muscles which cause wrinkles (frown lines and crows feet) and facial spasms (e.g., in patients with Bell’s palsy or nerve injuries). Botulinum toxins are purified substances that come from a bacterium that blocks the nerve signals from the brain to the muscle. When very tiny amounts of botox are injected into a specific facial muscle, the muscle’s impulse is blocked. This causes the muscle to relax and weaken, which immobilizes the underlying cause of lines, prevents wrinkles, and relieves facial spasms.
The botulinum toxin takes effect about three to seven days after treatment and generally lasts for about three to four months. Botox can be injected periodically. With repeated treatments, the muscle may get thinner, which can produce longer-lasting results.
Soft Tissue Fillers: Collagen Implants
Collagen, which comes from purified bovine (cow) collagen, is used primarily to fill wrinkles, lines, and scars on the face, neck, back, and chest. Collagen can also be used to fill out “sunken” cheeks, lips, deep facial wrinkles, creases and furrows. Collagen can be injected or implanted. When collagen is implanted, a tiny incision is made at the site, the implant is inserted and positioned, and then the incision is closed with a small stitch.
Endoscopic Brow Lifts
A brow lift corrects loss of skin elasticity, “frown” lines, and/or wrinkling across the forehead. Previously, a brow lift required a cut near the hairline that ran from ear to ear and resulted in scarring, hair loss, long recovery periods, and months of scalp numbness. Cooper plastic surgeons can perform an endoscopic brow lift with several small incisions (about one inch or less) behind the hairline.
Endoscopic Facelifts
A facelift removes excess fat, tightens underlying muscles, and re-drapes the skin on the face and neck. Endoscopic techniques allow Cooper plastic surgeons to address the middle part of the face, including the “laugh lines” and lower eyelids. During a “traditional” facelift, the surgeon makes large cuts beginning in the hairline above each ear, running in front of and around each ear, and back into the hairline behind each ear. During the minimally invasive procedure, surgeons use a small telescope and make small incisions around the hairline near the temples, under the lower eyelid lashes, and inside the mouth to reposition the deeper tissue over the cheekbones.
Endoscopic facelifts work well for most patients; those with a lot of loose skin may need a traditional facelift. An endoscopic facelift can be combined with other minimally invasive procedures, such as an endoscopic brow lift. The Cooper surgeon will recommend the appropriate procedure(s).
Neck Liposuction and Platysmaplasty
Neck lifting is a simple procedure that uses one or more surgical approaches to tighten muscles in the face or remove fat. Liposuction (lipoplasty) and neck muscle tightening (platysmaplasty) are used to contour the neck. During liposuction, small incisions are made in the neck area so that a little tube (cannula) can be inserted to remove unwanted fat deposits. Neck liposuction is often performed at the same time as a neck lift or a face lift.
Platysmaplasty, or repair of a separated neck muscle, reduces the loose look of sagging skin in the neck area and under the jaw line. Small incisions are made under or behind the ear and sometimes under the chin. A section of fat muscle may be removed and then the ends are sutured together at the front section of the neck. The skin can be brought together under or behind the ear to further firm up the appearance of the neck.
For patients with larger fat deposits and very loose neck muscles, liposuction can be combined with muscle tightening (a corset platysmaplasty). Done under sedation and local anesthesia, this procedure is performed through a one-inch incision hidden in a wrinkle under the chin. Through this small incision, both liposuction and muscle tightening are performed to create a thinner, more angular face. The results are often more dramatic than liposuction alone. The Cooper surgeon will recommend the appropriate procedure. |
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