April 30th, 2011
I have been in private practice in plastic and reconstructive surgery for thirty-three years since completing my fellowship training. As I have aged my practice has changed from reconstructive to almost entirely cosmetic practice. I have enjoyed cosmetic surgery and the great variety of patients I have met and made happy. However I have always regretted giving up other aspects of my specialty such as trauma reconstruction and cleft lip and palate surgery on infants.
My bucket list included performing cleft lip and palate surgery on some mission trips. It is so rewarding to correct a severe cleft lip and allow a child to smile again without covering his face. My problem was renewing my training before going. Fortunately about a year and half ago an opportunity arose for me to retrain myself in these skills. A good friend of mine who had devoted his career specializing in craniofacial surgery offered to mentor me to renew my training.
Following this I applied to Operation Smile to go on a mission trip. Recently my application was approved and I will be going to Lima, Peru for ten days in May to operate on children with these congenital deformities. It is certainly a dream come true and a win win scenario. Not only will I get to learn and operate but also I will get to help a child smile again. I urge you all to learn more about this organization that has been traveling all over the world for twenty-five years providing this wonderful service. Please visit their web site at Operationsmile.org.
Hopefully this will be just a first step on long adventure with blogs of the trip to come.
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August 28th, 2010
Recovery time after brachioplasty will vary with the type of procedure performed. Patients undergoing liposuction will have mild swelling which gradually recedes over a couple of months. Compressive garments are worn for a month and most patients can return to the gym in two the three weeks and back at work in a week. With skin resection, healing and recovery take longer with time off work up to two weeks and strenuous activities up to three to four weeks. Often this procedure is combined with other body contouring surgery, which can prolong complete recovery. Swimming may be permitted in as little as two weeks with good healing.
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August 27th, 2010
Because fat grafting uses your own fat, a significant amount of the transferred fat will survive permanently. Some of the grafted cells may die and the procedure may be repeated but when compared to temporary fillers, the lifespan of grafted fat is much longer. Permanency of graft is also affected by the processing of the graft and the injection technique. Fat deposited in small “pearls” does better than a larger volume placed at one time.
Fat seems to survive better when grafted to upper cheeks, upper nasal region and lower orbital area than the nasolabial folds, lips and lines around the mouth.
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August 26th, 2010
If resection of excess skin is required, then there will be permanent scars from arm lift surgery. In mild cases the excess skin can be removed with a short scar hidden in the armpit. As skin excess increases a T-shaped scar or longitudinal scar down the inner aspect of the upper arm is produced. Brachioplasty scars may take up to eighteen months to fully mature. While these scars can be long, they usually are well accepted by patients with severe weight loss producing “bat wings.”
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August 25th, 2010
Depending upon the area to be grafted and the amount of fat required, fat grafting may be an office procedure or done under general anesthesia. When facial fat grafting is performed, a relatively small of fat is required that is removed under local anesthesia. An area of the abdomen or thigh serves as a donor for fat removal with a small syringe. The fat is then processed by spinning to remove small blood cells and serum. The processed is then transferred to very small syringes and then injected in minute “pearls” to produce the desired change. Bruising and pain are minimal and the procedure may take about an hour. Fat augmentation of the buttocks requires much larger amount of fat and is usually performed under general anesthesia and takes about two hours. If you want more information about this procedure feel free to contact us.
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August 14th, 2010
Fat grafting has multiple indications from augmenting buttocks to providing lost volume in the face due to aging. Contour defects from previous liposuction or injury may be improved with fat grafting. Younger patients may request increased cheek fullness or correction of depressions in the lower eyelids. As people age, fat volume in the face decreases producing increased skin sagging. Many of these problems can be improved with fat grafting.
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August 13th, 2010
Patients consider brachioplasty to improve the shape or reduce the size of their arms. During you consultation an assessment is made of your skin quality, elasticity, fat distribution and whether there is excess skin present. A measurement of the ratio of the arm thickness from front to back is compare to the amount of hanging from the mid arm axis to the bottom. This helps your surgeon identify patients who may benefit from liposuction alone or combined with skin removal. Patients with severe excess skin after weight loss are usually not candidates for liposuction and require skin excision employing a scar in the axilla, an axillary scar with a T extension or a scar extending down the inner aspect of the upper arm. The procedure performed is determined after a though evaluation of the above mentioned factors. To find out more, contact Aesthetic Plastic Surgery of Indiana.
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August 6th, 2010
Fat grafting is a plastic surgery technique for transferring fat cells from one area of the body to another. This an autologous graft, which is the patient’s own fat so there is no rejection problem or reaction which can sometimes occur with synthetic fillers. Other advantages include many areas to harvest fat and when used in small amounts, the procedure is non invasive and can be performed under local anesthesia. With good graft take, results are more long lasting than temporary fillers.
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August 5th, 2010
Brachioplasty is a body contouring technique for improvement in appearance of the upper arms. With the advent of bariatric surgery, an increasing number of patients present to the plastic surgeon’s office with large amounts of sagging skin of the upper arms. These patients usually have skin of poor elasticity with minimal fat and so called “bat wings”. In the majority of cases the best approach is excision of the excess skin using an incision along the inner arm extending from the elbow to the axilla. The major drawback to this procedure has been the extensive scar that is produced that may take up to eighteen months to mature. However because of the problems produced with excessive weight loss, the performance of this procedure has increased dramatically. To find out if brachioplasty would benefit you, contact Dr. Richard Linderman of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery of Indiana.
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July 29th, 2010
Cosmetic surgery is rarely covered by insurance reimbursement and cost is a major consideration in proceeding with a particular procedure. By combining surgical procedures, total operating time and anesthesia charges are reduced, as initial startup fees are higher for the first hour of surgery than in succeeding hours. In most cases a discount by the surgeon is given when more than one procedure in done at one time. Dr. Linderman encourages his patients to consider combining procedures if patient safety and results are not compromised. An added bonus of combo surgery is less overall recovery time and anesthesia effects. Common surgeries that are performed together include breast surgery and tummy tuck, tummy tuck and liposuction, and facelift and tummy tuck.
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