The holidays are the most wonderful time of the year to visit your plastic surgeon. It’s no secret that requests for plastic surgery spike during the holiday season since this is when patients want to look freshened-up for holiday parties. It’s also a time for school vacations, time to relax, family gatherings, photo sessions, and an opportunity to get freshened-up for those office parties.
New Year’s resolutions are often made where we promise to eat healthier, exercise more, and be our best selves. In preparation for this, the holidays are the best time of the year to undergo plastic surgery and many different non-surgical rejuvenation procedures.
Many patients take advantage of extended holiday breaks to book a cosmetic surgery appointment with Dr. Florence Mussat, a Board-Certified Plastic and Reconstructive surgeon in Downtown Chicago who has been in private practice for over 20 years.
The Trend Is All About Timing
You could be seeking a cosmetic procedure such as a breast lift, liposuction, or a facelift. Or you might be looking to refresh your looks with minimally invasive aesthetic procedures like instalift or medical skincare. But regardless of your plans, be prepared to join many other patients eager to be seen for their end-of-year appointment.
The holiday season is the perfect time to undergo that facelift surgery and get yourself ready for the summer swimsuit season. During the holidays, you typically get to take some time off work, which gives you enough time to heal and recover from your surgery. Allowing yourself a 2-3 week recovery period is essential for obtaining ideal and long-lasting results. You will need to avoid heavy workloads during this time, but you may get to spend more time hanging out with the family!
Companies often shut down over the holidays for a few days. Find out if your company does, as this may be the perfect opportunity to schedule a procedure. Not only does this give you some downtime, but it is also the ideal amount of time for recovery from a plastic surgery procedure. Of course, the colder winter weather will keep you indoors for much of the time, so you’ll be able to wear loose, comfy clothing over those compression garments while going through your recovery.
The Trend That Keeps on Giving
Your life is busy, and sometimes taking time for yourself must seem near impossible. However, the holidays tend to be a time when you can slow down and enjoy time for yourself and with our loved ones. Whether it’s to look your best or finally to do that one thing you’ve wanted to do just for you, the holidays tend to be the ideal time.
Contact Us for Your Plastic Surgery During the Holidays
With the help of Dr. Florence Mussat, you can enjoy that much deserved aesthetic surgery during the upcoming holiday season. Schedule a personal consultation with her online or by calling (312) 751-9000 today!
You probably don’t notice it because the results are subtle and natural-looking, but more and more of the men around you look as good as they do thanks to plastic surgery. Male plastic surgery has been on the rise for years, and it continues to grow as the idea becomes more acceptable in our culture.
So, what do men ask about when they come in for plastic surgery consultations? Here are their top five questions:
1. How Much Time Will It Take?
Men tend to be looking for quick results: fast treatments and a minimum of downtime. Many men don’t want to take time off from work for a procedure or recovery. They often seek treatments that fit into breaks in their schedules or require as little vacation time as possible. Many end up making the time for cosmetic surgery, accepting the trade-off of a few days of downtime for long-lasting results. However, more gravitate to faster and less invasive treatments.
2. Will I Look Natural?
Everyone wants a natural look from cosmetic treatment — men and women both — but men are typically even more particular about coming out of the procedure without obvious signs that they’ve had work done. For men, that takes a plastic surgeon with an understanding of male aesthetics. Some imperfections can enhance a masculine look, for example, while over-correcting wrinkles or other signs of facial aging can make a man look feminine. When done well, male plastic surgery makes a man look age-appropriate and strong.
3. How Much Will It Hurt?
They may act tough, but men also want to know how much the treatment will hurt. It may be that women are more used to trading pain and discomfort for beauty than men are. The good news is that most men are surprised by their capacity to handle the short-term discomfort of plastic surgery and are usually relieved by how quickly it dissipates.
4. Will I Look Younger?
Both men and women seek plastic surgery to look younger, but there are often subtle differences in their goals. Men typically desire to have more hair on their heads, less body fat, and more chiseled facial features. It’s essential to be clear about your aesthetic goals and listen to the surgeon’s honest assessment of the changes that the procedure can make. You’ll want to go into the treatment with realistic expectations and a full understanding of the process.
5. Is There a Less Invasive Alternative?
Because men are looking for speed and a minimum of discomfort in their cosmetic treatments, they are often drawn to non-surgical alternatives. It’s a good idea to use your consultation with your plastic surgeon to understand the pros and cons of all of your options — both the short-term negatives, such as downtime, discomfort, and the long-term benefits in lasting results.
Anyone who’s struggled with their weight knows that shedding excess fat is only half the battle. For many people, keeping weight off over the long term is the most challenging aspect of dieting. Fad diets have a very high failure rate (over 95% of these diets fail within three years), and even medically-supervised weight loss doesn’t work for everyone. As such, any tool that might encourage lifelong weight stabilization is very much worth investigating.
Abdominoplasty for Sustained Weight Loss
Though it cannot replace a healthy lifestyle, emerging evidence shows that abdominoplasty (tummy tuck surgery) can help eligible candidates maintain a healthy weight. According to a study published in the medical journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, women who undergo tummy tuck surgery after successful weight loss are much more resistant to subsequent weight gain than women who have had no plastic surgery.
The 20 patients examined in this study had an average BMI of 30 (indicating obesity) before they began preparing for tummy tuck surgery. One year after recovering from surgery, an impressive 14 of those patients had achieved an average BMI of 23, which is safely within the “healthy” range. This is significant when you consider the fact that the normal odds of recovering from obesity are just one in 124 for females (and one in 210 for males).
The amount of weight loss experienced by the study group greatly exceeded the amount of tissue removed during abdominoplasty. (Only five to ten pounds of tissue are removed during tummy tuck surgery.) This indicates that most tummy tuck patients continue to lose weight even after having surgery and therefore clearly buck the trend of weight regain.
How does Tummy Tuck Surgery Aid in Weight Maintenance?
The role that abdominoplasty plays in long-term weight loss is more than just psychological. Researchers believe that having tummy tuck surgery may actually increase satiety (the ability to feel full after eating a standard portion of food). Three fourths of all patients who have undergone abdominoplasties say they experience greater satiety after meals. They also report that they’re less likely to snack during the day.
Researchers aren’t completely sure why abdominoplasty improves appetite regulation. This effect may be linked to the realignment of patients’ abdominal muscles and connective tissues. During tummy tuck surgery, the linea alba (the band of tissue that joins the lateral halves of the abdominal muscles) is strengthened and repaired. This allows the abdominal muscles to exert a strong “corseting” effect on the stomach, potentially reducing its capacity. Another theory suggests that removing abdominal tissue alters the neuroendocrine system, lowering the amount of appetite-promoting hormones excreted by the body.
Regardless of the mechanism of action behind it, this reduction in appetite has powerful implications for weight maintenance. Most people who diet experience an increase in appetite that’s directly proportional to the amount of weight they’ve lost. (The human body prompts the consumption of 100 extra calories for every two pounds of fat lost.) Circumventing this inevitable surge of hunger is probably key to preventing weight regain.
It’s far too early to recommend tummy tuck surgery to all patients who have struggled with obesity in the past. However, eligible candidates who require abdominoplasty (to repair damaged abdominal muscles and remove loose skin) should take these facts into consideration when assessing the pros and cons of surgery.
To learn more about the benefits of abdominoplasty, contact Dr. Florence Mussat to arrange a personal consultation. She can assist you surgically and provide safe, effective medically-supervised weight loss to help you maintain your results.
Achieving massive weight loss is physically and emotionally freeing, but it also presents new challenges for patients. Foremost among these is loose, hanging skin: Most people who have lost more than 50 pounds notice folds of excess skin around their abdomen, thighs, and arms. Women also typically experience a reduction in breast volume, which can make the breasts look droopy or flat.
Unfortunately, loose skin doesn’t usually firm up on its own over time, even if the patient is young. Most massive weight loss patients require one or more body contouring procedures to achieve full comfort and confidence.
What are the Benefits of Body Contouring after Massive Weight Loss?
Body contouring after extreme weight loss is usually recommended for medical reasons. Left untreated, folds of loose skin tend to cause chafing and irritation, and they frequently limit a person’s ability to exercise. Over time, they may even become infected. By removing excess skin, body contouring procedures eliminate these risks.
Research has also shown that having body contouring is an important part of long-term weight maintenance. Patients who have one or more cosmetic procedures after massive weight less are less likely to regain weight than patients who have no cosmetic surgery. Not only does body contouring make it easier for patients to stay active, it confers important emotional benefits. When weight loss patients achieve a physique that they’re truly proud of, they become much more motivated to lead a healthy lifestyle.
Which Procedures Should You Consider?
Some people who have lost a significant amount of weight only require tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) surgery. This is more likely to be the case if you’ve lost less than 100 pounds or most of your excess weight was centralized around your abdomen. Usually, however, massive weight loss patients need to have what is known as a “body lift.” A body lift is a specialized series of operations designed to address skin laxity and remaining unwanted fat in multiple locations. It may include arm lift, thigh lift, buttock lift, tummy tuck, and breast lift surgery (for female patients).
These operations won’t be performed all at once. Instead, a body lift is performed in several stages, starting with the lower body and working upwards. Because body lift surgery is so comprehensive and complex, few plastic surgeons offer it. Dr. Florence Mussat is one of only a few plastic surgeons in Chicago who specialize in this procedure.
When to have Body Contouring after Weight Loss
Before you can have a body lift, you’ll need to show that you can maintain a healthy weight. Patients who are still overweight have a greater risk of experiencing complications during and after surgery, so it’s essential to reach a normal BMI before you proceed with treatment. You’ll also need to be in good overall health: If you experienced diabetes or cardiovascular disease due to your weight, you’ll need to have those conditions treated successfully before you tackle the challenges of surgery.
Forming realistic expectations is another important aspect of preparing for a body lift: Patients must understand that some scarring is to be expected after this type of procedure. Most people must also work hard during recovery to achieve and maintain the shape they want. Having cosmetic surgery is the first step, but you’ll also need to work out and take excellent care of your skin if you want truly stunning results.
Dr. Florence Mussat provides thorough, compassionate care to all of her post-bariatric and medical weight loss patients. It’s her goal to help patients stay safe, healthy, and motivated as they commit to leaving obesity in the past. If you would like to learn more about her personalized approach to body contouring, contact her Chicago plastic surgery clinic at 312-751-9000.
Going to the doctor with a variety of debilitating, mysterious symptoms is difficult enough; being told those symptoms have no cause can be crushing, embarrassing, and hurtful. Unfortunately, this is the experience thousands of women suffering from breast implant illness are forced to endure. At this time, breast implant illness is not recognized by the scientific community. Still, Dr. Florence Mussat has personally treated numerous women who claim their symptoms were relieved after they underwent breast implant removal. In her view, it’s essential that medical practitioners retain an open mind and persist in trying to understand the causes of breast implant illness.
What is Breast Implant Illness?
“Breast implant illness” is an umbrella term that covers a wide range of symptoms believed to be related to silicone breast implants. Breast implant illness is different than having a ruptured implant. Ruptured silicone implants leak silicone gel into the body and usually cause the rapid onset of localized irritation (requiring immediate explant surgery). On the other hand, women with Breast implant illness complain their symptoms developed gradually after having undergone breast augmentation with implants. Patients with breast implant illness report experiencing fatigue, brain fog, chronic pain (either around the breasts or throughout the body), skin rashes, an irregular heart rate, anxiety, hair loss, and endocrine dysfunction, among other symptoms.
What Causes Breast Implant Illness?
The confusion over breast implant illness stems from the fact that silicone is thought to be a biocompatible material. Silicone is inert, meaning that it shouldn’t—in theory—react with human tissue or leach chemicals into the body. For this reason, silicone is used in a wide range of implantable medical devices, as well as being the material of choice for cosmetic implants.
This does not, of course, mean that silicone is guaranteed to be without risk. For many years, experts believed that the plastics used in baby bottles were safe; today, however, we know that the BPA they contained can cause a wide range of health problems. And silicone, while it appears to be inert, is not a completely natural substance. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not derived from sand alone; it’s actually a composite material that contains a number of synthetic additives. It’s, therefore, possible that silicone contains a compound we simply don’t yet realize can be harmful.
Furthermore, it’s important to remember that everyone’s body is different. Substances that don’t cause any adverse reaction in one individual can provoke a dramatic immune response in another; this is why allergies exist. It’s possible that some patients’ bodies identify silicone implants as “invaders,” and this sets off a cascade of troubling symptoms. Emerging evidence has already linked silicone breast implants to a slightly elevated risk of anaplastic large cell lymphoma, a type of cancer that begins in the immune system, lending credence to the idea that silicone implants can disrupt normal immune function. According to a large-scale study of 99,993 breast augmentation patients, silicone breast implants may be linked to an increase in the risk of developing other autoimmune diseases (Sjogren syndrome, scleroderma, and rheumatoid arthritis) and cancers (melanoma). This study, which was conducted by the Department of Plastic Surgery at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, also found that having breast implants can lead to reproductive challenges, notably stillbirth.
Bacteria may also play a role in the development of breast implant illness. Research has shown that most cases of breast implant illness occur in patients who have had textured (rather than smooth) silicone implants inserted. It is thought that the textured surface of these implants gives bacteria a better “foothold,” allowing it to proliferate. The patient’s immune system must then constantly fight back against this low-grade infection, giving rise to ongoing flu-like symptoms.
Regardless of what causes breast implant illness, it’s obvious that this condition is a genuine phenomenon. Many women complaining of breast implant illness who have undergone explant surgery report that their symptoms resolved shortly afterward. Clearly, more research needs to be done: Only when we understand this puzzling condition can we make breast augmentation safe for everybody.
