Facial Plastic Surgery Procedures in Atlanta, GA performed at the Maloney Center
Blepharoplasty can be both a functional or cosmetic surgical procedure intended to reshape the upper eyelid or lower eyelid by the removal and/or repositioning of excess tissue as well as by reinforcement of surrounding muscles and tendons. When an advanced amount of upper eyelid skin is present, the skin may hang over the eyelashes and cause a loss of peripheral vision. The outer and upper parts of the visual field are most commonly affected and the condition may cause difficulty with activities such as driving or reading. In this circumstance, upper eyelid blepharoplasty is performed to improve peripheral vision. Patients with a less severe amount of excess skin may have a similar procedure performed for cosmetic reasons. Lower eyelid blepharoplasty is almost always done for cosmetic reasons, to improve puffy lower eyelid "bags" and reduce the wrinkling of skin.
When a scar is of the contracture type, surgery generally involves removing the scar tissue entirely. Skin flaps, composed of adjacent healthy, unscarred skin, are then lifted and moved to form a new incision line. Where a flap is not possible, a skin graft may be used. A graft involves taking a section of skin tissue from one area and attaching it to another, and time must be allowed following surgery for new blood vessels and soft tissue to form. Z-plasty is a method to move a scar from one area to another, usually into a natural fold or crease in the skin to minimize its visibility. While Z-plasty does not remove all signs of a scar, it does make it less noticeable.
A facelift, technically known as a rhytidectomy (surgical removal of wrinkles), is a cosmetic surgery procedure used to give a more youthful appearance. It usually involves the removal of excess facial skin, with or without the tightening of underlying tissues, and the redraping the skin on the patient's face and neck. In 2004, the facelift was the fifth most popular cosmetic surgery performed after liposuction, rhinoplasty, breast augmentation and blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery).
In the traditional facelift, an incision is made in front of the ear extending up into the hairline. The incision curves around the bottom of the ear and then behind it, usually ending near the hairline on the back of the neck. After the skin incision is made, the skin is separated from the deeper tissues with a scalpel or scissors (undermining) over the cheeks, chin and neck. At this point, the deeper tissues (SMAS - fascial suspension system of the face) can be tightened with stitches, with or without removing some of the excess deeper tissues. The skin is then pulled upwards and backwards and the amount of excess skin to be removed is determined by feel. The excess skin is then removed and the skin incisions are closed with sutures and staples.
Skin resurfacing or chemical peel is a body treatment technique used to improve and smooth the texture of the facial skin using a chemical solution that causes the skin to blister and eventually peel off. The regenerated skin is usually smoother and less wrinkled than the old skin. Thus the term chemical peel is derived. Some types of chemical peels can be purchased and administered without a medical license, however people are advised to seek professional help from a plastic surgeon or dermatologist on a specific type of chemical peel before a procedure is performed.
A forehead lift, also known as a browlift or browplasty, is a cosmetic surgery procedure used to elevate a drooping eyebrow that may obstruct vision and/or to remove the deep “worry” lines that run across the forehead and may portray to others anger, sternness, hostility, fatigue or other unintended emotions.
Patients commonly request rejuvenation surgery on the forehead because the area is large enough to comprise the major focal and expression point of the upper face, the eyes notwithstanding. Given time and gravity, the muscles that hold the forehead smooth become loose and weak, allowing deep wrinkles to appear. Correction of a wrinkled forehead usually leads to a more youthful look. Patients requesting the procedure commonly range between 40 to 60 years of age.
Chin implants or chin augmentation using surgical implants can alter the underlying structure of the face, providing better balance to the facial features. This operation is often, but not always, performed at the time of rhinoplasty to help balance the facial proportions. Chin augmentation may be achieved by manipulation of the jaw bone and augmentation utilizing this technique usually provides a more dramatic correction than with the use of prosthetic implants.
Chin implants are to build a better profile. Patients’ own bone is donated from ribs and from part of the pelvis (the ilium.) Unfortunately, use of donated bone implants in chin augmentation, even the patient’s own, appears to be associated with a higher rate of infection, even after the implant has been in place for decades.
Chin augmentation is still popular because it’s a relatively easy operation for the patient while producing noticeable changes in the silhouette of the face. This type of surgery is usually performed by a facial plastic surgeon.
Mentoplasty or Genioplasty is a type of cosmetic surgery that is used to improve the appearance of a person's chin. This can take the form of chin height reduction or chin rounding by osteotomy, or chin augmentation using implants.
A particular process, known as a sliding genioplasty, involves removing a horseshoe-shaped piece of the chin bone and sliding it either backwards or forwards, finally fixing it in place using titanium screws. This type of surgery is usually performed by an oral and maxillofacial surgeon.
Facial Liposuction surgery is performed to actually remove unwanted deposits of fat cells from the body. The facial liposuction surgeon uses a special tube called a cannula. The cannula is inserted through a tiny incision placed in an inconspicuous location on the face or neck. Through the cannula, the fat cells are extracted. Resulting in a resculpting of bulging areas into more attractive and more youthful facial contours.
In younger patients, Facial Liposuction may be done alone. In older patients, it may produce optimal results when combined with a facelift, browlift, eyelid or nose surgery. It is often performed with the addition of chin or cheek implants for better definition.
Otoplasty Surgery, is cosmetic surgery that changes the appearance of a person's external ears. Otoplasty can take many forms, such as bringing the ears closer to the head (often called ear pinning), reducing the size of very big ears, or reshaping various bends in the cartilage. Other reconstructive surgical procedures deal with the deformed, or abscent-microtic ears. Ear surgery(otoplasty) can involve a combination of moving, reshaping, adding, or removing structural ear elements. This procedure is usually performed by either an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, plastic surgeon, or ENT surgeon.
The external ear(pinna), is made of a thin structural cartilage cover over with thin skin. Ear deformity results from distorted, damaged, or missing ear elements. Many otoplasties are performed not because of actual deformity, but because the individual is displeased with the shape of their ears.
Lip enhancement or Lip augmentation is a type of cosmetic surgery that aims to improve the appearance of the lips by increasing the fullness via enlargement.
Some of the first widely used lip augmentation surgery substances were:
- Autologen, an injectable dermal material made from the patient’s own skin. No risk of allergy exists but the results are very temporary because the body quickly absorbs the material.
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- Collagen requires an allergy test because the material is extracted from bovine hides. It lasts anywhere from four weeks to three months because it is also absorbed into the body. However, the allergy test must be observed for four weeks.
- Dermalogen is taken from the patient’s skin and through a laboratory process made into a high concentration collagen that can be injected into the lips. Some studies indicate it lasts somewhat longer than collagen.
- Alloderm is donor tissue taken from cadavers and then denatured, purified and treated to remove viable cells that could pass along disease. Under a local anesthesia, Alloderm is placed into the mucosa, or body, of the lips in small rolls to make them larger. Alloderm can also be placed into the vermillion, the pink area of the lip, to provide definition and a sharper border.
- Radiance, a synthetic, laboratory produced solution containing calcium hydroxylapatite (bone) suspended in a gel that has been safely used in medicine for years. Some studies indicate Radiance can last between three and five years. One researcher (Tzikas) found in a study of Radiance on 90 patients that 59 percent felt when injected, moderate to severe pain which disappeared two to five minutes later. But the substance produced results for an average of two years with a few patients reporting the plumping effects being sustained as long as three to five years. Of the 90 patients, four required surgical intervention due to nodules in the lips.
- Gore-Tex Implants. In medical uses, Gore-Tex is known as EPTFE, or expanded polytetrafluoroethylene and, commercially as Advanta, UltraSoft and SoftForm. The EPTFE is delivered to surgeons in strips that are 1/16 inch (2.4mm) and 3/16 (3.4 mm) diameter tubes.
Rhinoplasty Surgery is a cosmetic surgical procedure which is usually performed by an Otolaryngologist, Maxillofacial Surgeon, or general Plastic Surgeon in order to improve the function (reconstructive surgery) and the appearance of a person's nose. Rhinoplasty is also called a "nose job". Rhinoplasty can be performed to meet aesthetic goals or for reconstructive purposes to correct birth defects or breathing problems.
Hair Replacement Surgery or Hair Transplantation involves transplanting bald resistant hair follicles from the back and sides of the head (donor areas) to a person’s bald or thinning areas. The transplanted hair follicles will typically grow hair for a lifetime because they are genetically resistant to going bald.
Since hair naturally grows in follicles that contain groupings of 1 to 4 hairs, today’s most advanced techniques transplant these naturally occurring 1 – 4 hair "follicular units" in their natural groupings. Modern hair transplantation can achieve a natural appearance by mimicking nature hair for hair. This recent hair transplant procedure is called "Follicular Unit Transplantation." Given the improved naturalness of hair transplantation surgery hair loss sufferers are increasingly selecting this hair loss treatment.
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