Founder, Ricardo L. Rodriguez MD, Baltimore Plastic Surgeon Medical Director, Cosmetic Surgery Facility, LLC Board-Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
CosmeticSurg blog: Expert insights from Dr. Ricardo L. Rodriguez
Dr. Ricardo L. Rodriguez, a Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon in Baltimore, Maryland shares his expertise and vast career experiences with various plastic surgery procedures. In his articles Dr. Rodriguez offers trusted guidance on elective surgery, helping you make informed decisions on how to look and feel your best.
The images you see in the media place very high goals as to what is a “normal” body type. Keep in mind some of these people showing their bodies have had plastic surgery themselves (and/or very good airbrush artists). “I have no bottom and no butt if that makes sense. My boyfriend tries to pinch me and there is NO GRIP!” Yes, what you say makes sense. Indeed, if you look at the pages of many fashion magazines you will see models with “no bottom and no butt”. For many years liposuction to reduce the size of the butt was all the media talked about. The beauty ideal was to have as little butt as possible. Jennifer Lopez (J-LO) changed that!
There are many ways you can get a Butt augmentation, but like everything in life, each has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Some procedures are new and experimental, some have stood the test of time. The use of hydrogel for butt augmentation is a new approach. The technique is possible, but in my professional opinion, impractical for several reasons.
I went to see Dr. Rodriguez on Sept 25th for Lip Advanta Implants and Sculptra. I was greeted by the nicest staff and made to feel very comfortable. I was more than briefed on every option that I asked about to ensure a confident choice in procedure. After my procedure, I was a bit terrified by the immediate effects of surgery (swelling), but the entire staff assured me that the swelling was completely normal.
Most patients seeking facelifts say that coworkers or family members tell them “they look tired” all the time. They then proceed to pull upward on their neck or lower cheeks mimicking the effect they want from surgery. To make a point, I sometimes cover my face and ask what color my eyes are. They always get it right (my eyes are brown). I then ask whether I have bands in my neck (I have one). Invariably they say they didn’t notice. So, what’s the point I’m trying to make? People make judgments about how old your face looks from your eyes, not your neck or jowls. There is a famous study where the picture of a woman was put on a screen. A subject looks at the picture. Behind the screen there is a camera that tracks the eye movements of the subject looking at the picture of the woman…
A few days ago I was seeing a patient who was thinking about having the Brazilian butt lift. Two things struck me about the conversation – One was the fact that so many patients are now requesting a procedure that is relatively new. The second was that I am doing the procedure more frequently on women of all ethnicities. As I was showing the patient my collection of pre op and post pictures I noticed quite a few Caucasians and Orientals. This makes me think that for whatever reason, there is a cultural shift going on about what constitutes an attractive figure.
Most times, when doing a Brazilian butt lift, I end up using every last drop of fat I can get to get the best possible butt augmentation. This is because after the meticulous extracting procedure, only a fraction of the fat is suitable for fat transfer.A few patients, however, store a lot of their fat predominantly in their abdomen and flanks, with very narrow hips proportional to their body.I had always been very good at getting their waist as narrow as I could to highlight the buttock, but the hips remained untouched.
One question I always clarify: What is the labiaplasty procedure is designed to do? Does it enhance sexual experience, improve the appearance of the vagina, or both? Since the procedure is a type of ‘vaginal rejuvenation,’ there is a lot of confusion from the media as to what exactly the goal of the procedure is. Furthermore, many gynecologists equate vaginal rejuvenation mainly with sexual enhancement. However, for most plastic surgeons, the purpose of the Labiaplasty procedure is to improve appearance only. Let’s review the media sound bites from both gynecologists and plastic surgeons…
The size of the cannula used in tumescent Liposuction can make a difference in the surgical result. You are more likely to get a smooth result if your surgeon uses a thin cannula . Read about the types of cannulas from Dr. Ricardo Rodriguez in Baltimore, Maryland.
Fat injection techniques are now being used in reconstructive breast surgery. Dr. Rodriguez, a Yale trained plastic surgeon explains why Breast reconstruction with fat injections may be a good choice for lumpectomy patients. Read about this new frontier of Plastic Surgery in his Cosmeticsurg Blog.
In practical terms, for a Westerner, a Rhinoplasty usually means taking the bump out of the nose, making it thinner, and making it look straight from the side view. The Asian nose usually does not have a hump, but instead tends to be flat in appearance. Thus Asian patients ask for more projection. Surgeons enhance the nose by augmenting it with a silicon insert to get it to look “straight” from the side view. This enhancement eliminates the flat look. When the nose is remodeled with a silicone insert, it will make the nose look thinner. Surgery of the tip is also different because in the western patient one has to reduce the size of the tip cartilage and put sutures in it to narrow the shape. When using the silicon insert in the dorsum, the tip is usually pulled up and the shape of the nostril is refined as it becomes narrow and taller. In a few cases the tip cartilages may require sutures, but usually the procedure is simpler than in the western nose.
Yale Plastic Surgery Residency was unique in that they taught via the Socratic Method instead of the Great Master’s Method used by other teaching programs. In the Socratic method you arrive at knowledge through a process of questioning and answering. The process stimulates logical thinking and illuminates ideas.
In order to get your desired surgical result for a Rhinoplasty (nose surgery), you should explain the nose you want using certain descriptive terms with your plastic surgeon in your initial consultation. Dr. Rodriguez explains how surgeons think about the nose and what terms you should use to describe the things you want to change about your nose.
An emerging alternative for breast reconstruction after lumpectomy with radiation is fat grafting to the breast. Fat grafting has been successfully performed for years, but the full healing powers of your own fat is a new frontier in Plastic Surgery. Read Dr. Rodriguez’s CosmeticSurg blog to find out more.
Dr. Rodriguez discusses the difference between fat injections for Breast augmentation and stem cell enhanced fat injections to the breast. He cites the ASPS position paper regarding fat transfer. Read about it in his CosmeticSurg blog.
The primary goal of a Facelift is to achieve a natural, refreshed appearance, not a ‘done’ look. Dr. Ricardo Rodriguez, a Yale trained board certified plastic surgeon, explains more about achieving a great face lift and his unique approach.
