CosmeticSurg blog: Expert insights from Dr. Ricardo L. Rodriguez

One of the biggest concerns patients have with any surgery is the amount of pain they will have to endure afterwards. This is especially true in cases of Breast augmentation and other cosmetic surgery procedures since the patient is undergoing elective surgery and wants the best experience possible. Pain itself can have a negative impact following surgery. In fact, it’s the main cause for readmission to a hospital after cosmetic surgery. When patients are in pain, they tend to breathe in short, shallow gasps which results in poor oxygen delivery tot he tissues that, in turn, affects healing. Besides, when the lungs don’t fully expand, patients are more prone to additional complications such as pneumonia. To prevent this, patients need pain relief. The traditional way is pain pills but there’s a better, less nauseating method for treating post-op pain.

What are the most common sizes of breast implants used in Breast augmentation? To find out, we did an analysis of the last 125 cases of Breast augmentation procedures performed by Dr. Rodriguez in our surgery center located in Baltimore, Maryland. So what styles and sizes of implants were most popular? Glad you asked!

Patients today are doing a lot of research about the upper Lip lift,. One of the most frequent questions I get is if the surgery involves the muscle of the upper lip. Patients want to know if my technique involves only the skin, or if I lift the muscle in any way. My Lip lift technique involves lifting the skin only, and I do not involve the muscle. It seems one of the biggest proponents of technique incorporating the muscle is Dr. Randall Heyworth in California. In 2008, he and I met on a trip to China representing the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, and I enjoyed his company. But I have a different approach to the upper lip lift and I will explain why.

We get quite a lot of questions regarding Lip lifts, so here’s a quick video of me talking about what techniques I consider to be the key for getting the most successful Lip lift. The goal of the upper lip lift procedure is to raise the upper lip to a more youthful.

Since the 1990’s Plastic Surgeons have reliably used fat grafting as a way to improve and enhance the cosmetic appearance of the face, breast, hands, feet, hips, and buttocks. However, more recently, clinicians have documented the therapeutic benefits of fat grafting in the healing of wounds and scars, as well as fat’s ability to repair damage to breast tissue following radiation treatment.

Following surgery, in an effort to repair damage to your dermis, your body forms new collagen fibers – which results in a scar. This new scar tissue will look and feel different than the surrounding tissue. A normal scar will generally appear somewhat flat and pale and will typically fade with time. In fact, many scars eventually become undetectable to the naked eye. However, some scars follow a more disruptive path, and can even get worse as time goes on. When the body produces too much collagen in an effort to repair the damage it can result in a ‘raised’ scar. These are considered ‘bad scars’ or ‘adverse scar conditions’ and they can unfold following any incision, including an incision made during a Plastic Surgery procedure.

Patients contemplating a Brazilian butt lift procedure should be aware of the risks, specifically the risk of PFE, and should consider the following to minimize the risk involved. As a BBL patient, you should be sure to:

1. Choose a board certified plastic surgeon (American Board of Plastic Surgery)
2. Have your surgery performed in an accredited surgery center (AAAASF, JCAHO)
3. Ask your surgeon about injection technique details
4. Use IV sedation with tumescent solution instead of general anesthesia

 In the Liposuction procedure, the cannula is the long slender rod which is used to extract fat from unwanted area. I will explore the evolution of the liposuction cannula and discuss why cannula size is important to get a good Liposuction result.

Adipose tissue has a higher population of stem cells than bone marrow. Enough said. The tissue which has the highest population wins. Read more about this in Dr. Rodriguez’s CosmeticSurg blog.

Many young women come to my office when they start noticing a little bit of ‘extra skin’ on their eyelids, or sagging upper eyelids. They have heard about Eye lifts (blepharoplasty), and how easily it can be performed under local anesthesia. Naturally, they are very interested because the procedure is performed in the office and takes only 1-2 hours. However, the Upper eyelid lift is not an ideal procedure. I don’t think the results are as good as a brow lift. Furthermore, if too much skin is taken off, the eye lids will have a had time closing and the patient can suffer with dry eye syndrome. In fact, I usually prefer to perform a Brow Lift instead of an Eyelift in order to achieve a better result. The Brow Lift will elevate the brow to it’s youthful position, and in the process it will lift the upper eyelids. The result is a refreshed natural appearance.

The Brow lift is the new Eyelid lift.  If you want to refresh the upper eyelids, the Brow lift is oftentimes a better alternative than the traditional upper eyelid surgery. Dr. Ricardo Rodriguez, a Yale trained Plastic Surgeon explains why the brow lift is a better alternative than the eye lift in his Brow lift video.

The Botox Detox procedure is the endoscopic Brow lift. The Brow lift not only permanently smooths the forehead wrinkles, but you get the added advantage that your upper eyelids become lifted to yield a longlasting, youthful, and refreshed appearance. The modern day brow lift or forehead lift is a two hour procedure done thru small incisions behind the hairline. An endoscope is used to lift the brow to a more youthful position. The procedure can be done under IV or twilight anesthesia in an outpatient surgical facility. Recovery is very quick- within one week you should be back at work. During the post operative week, you will have minor bruising which can be covered with makeup.

Lipo to the love handles means different things to different plastic surgeons. Many surgeons consider liposuction to the love handles as just liposuction to the front flanks. They do not take any fat from the backside. Lipo to the full flanks is lipo to the love handles and liposuction to the back flanks. The back flanks is the area immediately above the buttocks.

As with any surgery, the body lift comes with possible complications and potential revisions as it lifts and tightens the entire lower part of the body. The good news is that most complications are relatively minor and can be handled post operatively in the office setting.

In general, possible complications from the Body Lift procedure include: fluid accumulation, hematoma, seroma, infection, poor wound healing (wound separation), asymmetry, unfavorable scarring, numbness or other changes in skin sensation, fat necrosis and deep vein thrombosis (primarily associated with General Anesthesia).