Cosmetic surgeries help improve proportion and symmetry in specific areas of the body. Our surgeons at Somerset Plastic Surgery offer cosmetic procedures for the face, body, and breast. Here are three tips for navigating the choices with cosmetic surgery:
1. Decide on Your Appearance Goals
Knowing what your appearance goals are can help you make decisions about what types of cosmetic surgery to explore. Facelifts, brow lifts, and other facial procedures can tighten the skin to help reduce signs of aging. Other factors cosmetic surgeries can help with include:
- Trauma correction: Cosmetic procedures are able to reshape parts of the body that have been impacted by physical trauma. Rhinoplasty, or nose reshaping, can augment the nose to repair issues and help patients breathe easier.
- Excess skin removal: After significant weight loss, excess skin may remain on the arms, thighs, waist, or abdomen. Cosmetic procedures such as body and arm lifts help remove surplus skin and tighten the remaining skin.
- Body shaping: Liposuction and abdominoplasty help sculpt the body by removing fat from the abdomen, waist, hips, and buttocks. Abdominoplasty tightens core muscles to help shape the abdomen.
Cosmetic breast procedures can augment the shape and size of breasts for improved proportion. Women with large breasts may experience back and neck pain. Breast reduction removes glandular tissue and excess skin to make the breasts smaller and help reduce physical pain.
Somerset Plastic Surgery offers online before and after photos. Looking at before and after photos allows you to see the results of cosmetic procedures and decide what benefits you are looking for. They allow you to create realistic expectations of what cosmetic surgeries can do for you.
2. Consult With a Plastic Surgeon
Plan a consultation with an experienced plastic surgeon to learn more about cosmetic surgery procedures. Meet with a board-certified plastic surgeon who follows high safety standards. At the beginning of the consultation, talk to the surgeon about what your appearance goals are. This allows the surgeon to create a customized treatment plan for you.
Your surgeon will go over your medical history to determine whether you are a candidate for cosmetic procedures. This includes reviewing the state of your general health, your lifestyle, what medications you’re taking, and your family’s medical history. Some medical conditions, such as diabetes, may increase procedure risks. If you have one of these conditions, the surgeon will provide you with safe alternatives. To save time during consultations, we offer intake forms so patients have the ability to fill out their medical history ahead of time.
The consultation process includes a physical examination of the area you plan to have altered, such as your forehead or nose. The surgeon may take photos or measurements of this area. Your surgeon will check to see if your anatomy fits the requirements for the procedure.
Our surgeons at Somerset Plastic Surgery offer clear communication about our cosmetic procedure processes and expectations. This includes an outline of the procedure, with details about how the surgeons will perform the surgery. Your surgeon will answer the questions you have about our cosmetic surgeries to help you make educated decisions.
3. Learn About Combined Procedures
Some cosmetic procedures are able to be combined to reduce recovery time and help you fulfill more of your goals for your appearance. Possible combinations include:
- Arm and body lifts: Arm lifts remove excess fat and skin from the arms, while body lifts tighten skin on the abdomen, thighs, and back. A combination of these procedures allows for comprehensive body shaping and contouring.
- Breast augmentation and lift: Breast augmentation uses implants to alter the size of the breast, while a breast lift helps reduce sagging. Combining these surgeries allows you to customize the position of your breasts, and it reduces scarring.
- Face and neck lift: Combining facelifts and neck lifts removes fat and tightens loose skin around the face and neck simultaneously. This can help you achieve a more youthful look.
Somerset Plastic Surgery provides Botox injections and blepharoplasty. Botox injections temporarily block nerve impulses to smooth out crow’s feet and facial wrinkles. During blepharoplasty, or eyelid surgery, excess skin is removed from the eyelids to reduce sagging. Botox treatments are able to be used with blepharoplasty to tighten the areas around the eyelids and reduce wrinkles.
Surgeons are able to combine liposuction and abdominoplasty procedures. This combination helps reduce fat throughout your body and shape your waist. During your consultation, talk with the surgeon to see if it is possible to combine your selected procedures into a single surgery.
Cosmetic Surgery at Somerset Plastic Surgery
We offer Juvéderm as a cosmetic treatment to smooth wrinkles and tighten skin. We provide new and returning patient documents online for additional convenience. To learn more about cosmetic surgery procedures at Somerset Plastic Surgery, schedule an appointment with us today.