As a double board-certified plastic surgeon who has been specializing primarily in facial rejuvenation for over twenty years, I have developed both a comprehensive understanding of the aging process and a keen eye for how to address each patient’s unique concerns. Thanks to genetics, lifestyle habits, and other factors, everyone ages in their own way, which means that despite the common misconception, facelifts aren’t a one-size-fits-all way to turn back the clock. For many patients, getting the best results means combining either a face lift or my minimally invasive Band Aid Mini Facelift with other procedures, like eyelid surgery, facial liposuction, or a brow lift. In the case of my Band Aid Facelift, even a combination of surgeries may be able to be performed in-office using gentle numbing. My video below offers a more detailed explanation of these options.
The technique of performing multiple plastic surgeries in one operation is sometimes misunderstood as being less safe. But the truth is that as long as you’re under the care of an experienced board-certified plastic surgeon, you’ve completed all of the necessary health screenings and other pre-surgical preparations, and you’re committed to your post-surgical care, these procedures can be an effective and manageable way to maximize your cosmetic surgery results. To discuss how I can help you be your most confident and beautiful self, schedule a pre-surgical consultation. Or, for more plastic surgery tips and helpful information, follow me, Dr. John L. L.eRoy, on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.
Every patient is understandably nervous before plastic surgery. It is, after all, a medical surgery, and they’re anxious to see if they’ll be happy with their results. But in fact, most of what’s necessary to achieve the best and safest possible results is done before you step foot into an operating room (or an in-office procedure room, in the case of minimally invasive procedures like my Band Aid Facelift). One such precaution is ensuring that you’re truly receiving the ideal procedure for your needs, and sometimes the answer is not as obvious as you might expect—this is why honest communication is so important during your consultation. Take the neck for example – many patients who want a more shapely neck and chin area aren’t sure whether they should be looking for liposuction or a neck lift, so let’s take a closer look.
There are a number of different reasons the underside of your chin or your neck may look larger or less toned than you would like it to: excess fat, skin laxity, and loose muscles. This is what determines what procedure will give you the results you want.
If you have excess fat under the chin but have significant skin elasticity (which is most often the case for younger patients as well as those whose skin has simply aged slowly), your best bet will more than likely be Band Aid Liposuction. I developed this procedure to be a minimally invasive version of liposuction, so it can be performed in-office with gentle numbing, leading to a milder and much shorter recovery period. In fact, many patients are back to work or their other daily activities in 1-3 days.
For patients whose neck muscles have become lax, a neck lift can produce the most successful result. In addition to using sutures to tighten and revitalize the neck muscles, this surgery also involves re-firming the skin throughout the neck and jowl area to minimize the wrinkles and sagging which happen with age.
However, it’s important to determine whether it’s actually your neck that you want to rejuvenate or if your true focus is on the jowls. In this case, the procedure best suited to your needs is likely my Band Aid Mini Facelift. Much like Band Aid Liposuction, this surgery is performed in-office with gentle numbing for minimized healing time, and it can target the specific facial area where you want to see improvement by reducing excess skin and lifting the underlying facial tissue for a more youthful contour.
But what if you find that you’re bothered by more than one of these aesthetic issues? This is the case for many of my plastic surgery patients, and fortunately, each of your concerns can often be addressed in one procedure by combining Band Aid Liposuction with your neck lift or Band Aid Mini Face Lift.
To the average eye, it can be difficult to determine the specific culprit behind your cosmetic frustrations. While educating yourself about the options is a great first step, don’t underestimate the importance of a consultation and honest communication with a board-certified plastic surgeon. After specializing in cosmetic surgery for the facial area for over twenty years, I’ve developed the expertise to design the ideal solution for each patient’s needs. To get started, contact our office to schedule your appointment. Or, for more plastic surgery tips and helpful information, follow Dr. John L. LeRoy on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.
About John L. LeRoy, M.D., F.A.C.S.: Dr. John LeRoy is an Atlanta-based plastic surgeon devoted to providing exceptional aesthetic care for over 20 years. He is a member of the American Medical Association, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, and the Georgia Society of Plastic Surgeons. Dr. LeRoy is best known for his Band Aid procedures: the innovative line of minimally invasive cosmetic procedures he has developed and perfected since 1997, including his Band Aid Facelift, which he has performed for over 5,000 patients. He studied cosmetic surgery at the prestigious Manhattan Eye, Ear & Throat Hospital in New York and is board certified by both the American Board of Plastic Surgery and the American College of Surgeons.
Every patient has his or her own unique reasons for seeking plastic surgery. For many, it’s to reverse the effect aging has slowly had on their appearance. For others, it’s to finally give themselves the gift of correcting an issue they’ve struggled with for years, like a bump on their nose or asymmetrical breasts. But there is a select group of plastic surgery patients whose goal is to finish a journey toward improved health and confidence they’ve been working on for months or years: post-weight loss patients. For these dedicated individuals who have lost extensive amounts of weight, excess sagging skin can sour their victory by leaving them with discomfort and a less desirable appearance than they had envisioned. Fortunately, cosmetic surgery offers a variety of options for many areas of the face and body.
Neck Lift
While most patients associate a neck lift with facial rejuvenation, the procedure can also be an effective way to repair the sagging skin left behind after excess fat under the chin has been eliminated. This lax skin can make you look larger than you are, even after you’ve reached your goal weight, so a neck lift can help you look both thinner and younger.
Arm Lift or Band Aid Arm Lift
Aging alone can cause the skin below the upper arm to sag, but weight fluctuations can accelerate and exacerbate the process. The decision between a traditional arm lift (or brachioplasty) and Band Aid Brachioplasty will depend on the degree of excess skin you have, but in both cases, the incisions are made as discretely as possible based on your specific needs.
Breast Lift or Male Breast Reduction
The chest area (for both men and women) is not immune from skin laxity. For women, the result is often breasts that are lower than the patient wishes they would be, and in this case, a breast lift can return them to a more youthful position. For men, excess tissue can create the appearance of breasts, and this concern can typically be addressed with a male breast reduction, which removes the unnecessary skin and breast tissue for a more contoured chest.
Tummy Tuck or Band Aid Tummy Tuck
One of the most popular post-weight loss plastic surgeries is the tummy tuck, which removes loose skin from the abdominal area and, if necessary, also repairs separated abdominal muscles and reduces excess fat. For those who have a smaller amount of unwanted skin, my Band Aid Tummy Tuck may be the best option. Like the other Band Aid procedures I’ve developed, this surgery is minimally-invasive, and can be performed with gentle numbing in my comfortable office setting, resulting in significantly less recovery time and scarring.
Liposuction or Band Aid Liposuction
While it may seem strange to discuss surgical fat removal for patients who have just finished losing a large amount of fat, some patients find themselves with stubborn areas which simply will not respond to diet and exercise. In these situations, either traditional liposuction or Band Aid Liposuction (depending on the amount of fat to be removed) can be the perfect finishing touch for weight loss patients to give them the aesthetic contours they’ve been looking for.
As a board-certified plastic surgeon, my goal is to help every patient be their most confident and beautiful self, whether that means restoring a more youthful facial appearance or giving them newly-defined body contours. If you’re ready to make 2016 the year you’re truly happy with your look, schedule a consultation with me, Dr. John L. LeRoy. Or, to stay up-to-date on the latest plastic surgery news, special offers, and other helpful information, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.
Featured in the latest issue of Atlanta Magazine, my Band Aid plastic surgery procedures have become a popular way for patients to address a number of cosmetic concerns with less scarring, downtime, and cost than traditional plastic surgery, and with only gentle numbing instead of general anesthesia. Band Aid procedures are only available with me, Dr. John LeRoy, and while you’ll be in good hands with a double board-certified plastic surgeon, there are also steps you can take to make your procedure as successful as possible.
Follow all instructions closely. At your pre-surgical consultation, I’ll give you instructions for both before and after your surgery, including medications to avoid, directions for caring for your incision, activity limitations, and more. Following these instructions closely is rule #1 for ensuring the safest and best possible results.
Make sure you choose the right procedure for your needs. This may seem like a no-brainer, but there are probably more options than you think. For example, if your goal is to look younger, do you need a Band Aid Facelift, a Band Aid Brow Lift, or Band Aid Eyelid Surgery? Once you’ve narrowed down what it is you want to improve, I can help you find the ideal procedure.
Have a support system and a plan. The plastic surgery process may go more smoothly with family and friends in your corner to help you with the physical and practical aspects of your recovery (like child care, preparing food, etc.) as well as the emotional stress that may accompany your experience. Make sure you have someone ready and willing to help, like a spouse or someone who can stay with you for a day or two.
Use non-surgical procedures to maintain the results of an age-defying surgery. While the Band Aid Facelift and other surgeries aimed at facial rejuvenation can take years off your appearance, there’s no way to stop the aging process, so as the years go on, new wrinkles and skin laxity will form. One way to keep looking youthful for longer is to address these new signs of aging as they arise with non-surgical treatments, like Band Aid Skin Tightening or Band Aid Laser Skin Resurfacing.
Have realistic expectations. Regardless of how successful your results are, you won’t be happy with them if you’re expecting the impossible. To get an idea of what the surgeries you’re considering can accomplish, review plastic surgery before and after pictures and look for patients who are as similar to you as possible in bone structure, degree of aging, or other features that will impact your results.
Use the right skincare regimen after your procedure. Especially if you’re focused on keeping a youthful appearance, your regular skincare routine may contain some products that are effective but aggressive. After your surgery, follow my instructions about caring for the area around your incision and stick to gentler products, like non-soap cleansers and fragrance-free moisturizers.
If your surgery focused on facial rejuvenation, maintain your results with changes to your daily routine. Even small changes can go a long way toward slowing the aging process and prolonging your new, younger look. Try these tips:
Wear broad-spectrum sunscreen with at least SPF 30 every day.
Use moisturizer daily.
Wash your face twice per day to fight the effects of pollution and other environmental factors.
Switch to a satin pillowcase, which doesn’t crease your skin while you sleep like cotton does.
Don’t neglect your neck – this area ages too, so use the same skincare regimen on your neck that you use on your face.
Eat plenty of richly-colored fruits and vegetables because of the antioxidants they contain.
If you chose a body contouring procedure, maintain your post-surgical weight. Band Aid Liposuction and a Band Aid Tummy Tuck can give you a slimmer, sleeker look, but they don’t prevent you from gaining weight in the future. An unhealthy diet and lack of exercise can make new fat accumulate in and around the area where you had liposuction, and weight fluctuations can add laxity to the abdominal skin your Band Aid Tummy Tuck made firm, so after your surgery, it’s important to keep up with healthy habits.
Regardless of whether your journey toward self-confidence leads you toward a Band Aid procedure or a more extensive surgery, it’s important to remember that your results are a collaborative effort between you and your surgeon. To begin discussing how I can help you become your most confident and beautiful self, schedule a plastic surgery consultation. Or, for more helpful tips, plastic surgery news, and special offers, join me on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.
As one of the most popular plastic surgeries in the country, liposuction is quite well-known. Many people already know that the procedure removes excess fat from the treatment area by suctioning the fat through a narrow tube. However, fewer people realize that there is a way to make the procedure minimally invasive—a unique surgery which I developed and called Band Aid Liposuction.
Band Aid Liposuction is performed in-office with gentle numbing, and is designed for patients who have particularly small areas of unwanted fat. As a result, the treatment can be an ideal option not only for patients who have tiny pockets of fat in the typical areas (like the abdomen), but also for patients who have excess fat in smaller areas that few people think of in connection with liposuction. Check out some of the areas where Band Aid Liposuction can be highly effective in creating slimmer body contours with minimal downtime:
Every patient has their own unique goals, needs, and priorities, and choosing the correct procedure is an important step toward getting the best possible results. For example, patients who have not only unwanted fat but also excess, sagging skin on their midsection are better suited for a tummy tuck (abdominoplasty). To start discussing how cosmetic surgery can help you become your most beautiful and confident self, schedule a consultation with me, Dr. John LeRoy, or join me on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.
Neck Lift
