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

The Crescent lift mastopexy is a surgical technique used when only a minimal Breast lift is needed. It avoids a lot of scars, yet lifts the breast to result in a perky breast. Read about it this Breast lift technique performed by Dr. Ricardo Rodriguez in Baltimore. 

Patients who call our office looking for Breast augmentation information are usually also gathering total surgical cost prices as well as financing information. This week, our office did a little bit of secret shopping to find out what the average cost of a Breast augmentation procedure costs in Baltimore. Remember that Breast augmentation total costs depend on whether you select silicone or saline Implants. We compared costs of both.

There are two ways to enhance the appearance of the buttocks that include the usage of Liposuction techniques. They are the Brazilian butt lift and the B’more butt lift. The B’more butt lift is a refined version of Lipo 360. The Brazilian Butt Lift involves liposuction of your entire torso and then injection of the fat into the buttocks. Both procedures will improve the shape of the buttocks. 

Getting the best results for a Body lift is a function of  the surgeon’s surgical markings, and taking out the right amounts of fat and skin. Surgical markings will seal the fate of how the wound is closed. Taking out too much fat and skin can be a big problem for the closure. If the top layer closer is too tight, the wound will separate post operatively. I believe that the Lockwood technique provides the best method for excising precisely the right amount of fat and skin.

The average amount of operating room time required for the Lower body lift procedure is 7-8 hours and it can be performed under general anesthesia or IV sedation. With the procedure taking so long, it is normal to ask yourself these questions: ‘How can risks be reduced with a Body lift?”, “Can the choice of anesthesia reduce the risks?”

The Liquid facelift. I first heard about it from Heidi Rebuck, a Juvederm and Botox rep from Allergan. “The Liquid facelift” is basically what I did with my male patient, using a filler with Botox, but I think these pictures of “The Liquid facelift” are worth a thousand words. Basically, the patient in the photo (courtesy of Allergan) had Botox to forehead and “crow’s feet” wrinkles around the eyes, with tissue fillers to the lips, nasolabial folds (folds that go from side of nostrils towards the corners of the mouth), and possibly under the eyes. The change is dramatic and substantial.

In 2006, I gave a lecture on the Body lift procedure to other surgeons in my hospital. In gathering the information for my talk, two things struck me when reviewing the literature published by other physicians. In summary, the current literature concluded that: 1) Surgeons are still reporting complications with the Body lift procedure. These complications include wound separations and seromas 2) Plastic Surgeons are still “learning about the procedure” My impression is that surgeons are having these problems because they do not use the Lockwood technique of body lifting. I use the Lockwood technique and feel very confident with the procedure and my results. Let me give you a brief history about the Body lift procedure, and how Dr. Ted Lockwood evolved the procedure.

Restylane and Juvederm etc., are wonderful options for tissue fillers, but their effect seems to be measured in months. Sculptra can provide volume to many of the same areas, but for a longer period of time (12-24 months). This is increasingly becoming a good choice for many  of my Baltimore patients. 

History is full of disruptive innovations: Just look at what e-mail did to the postal industry, the Ford Model-T to the transportation industry, and Wikipedia to the traditional encyclopedia. All three of these “disruptive innovations” revolutionized their respective industries via low-cost, democratic solutions. Luckily, we are at the forefront of an exciting disruption in the healthcare industry via Apple’s upcoming iWatch.

Laser resurfacing is a procedure which is aimed at rejuvenating the face. It works by evaporating the top layers, the epidermis, of your skin causing a regeneration of new skin. While it is an effective method for prompting fresher, more youthful facial glow, there is a great alternative to consider if you are seeking a younger looking face. In fact, I am using laser resurfacing less and less in favor of fat grafting for facial rejuvenation. Why? Because with laser, regeneration of the skin is prompted by destruction and that destruction can also cause fat volume loss whereas with fat grafting, regeneration of the skin is prompted by adipose stem cells which reside in the fat that is injected and there is no additional facial fat loss. Here is why some people experience facial fat loss after laser resurfacing.

Dr. Rodriguez explains why some people need a Lip Lift instead of a Lip augmentation. Beautiful lips are identified by a nice cupid’s bow and having the perfect amount of space between your upper lip and your nose. Find out whether you need a lip augmentation or a lip lift with Dr. Ricardo Rodriguez on his Cosmeticsurg blog.

We so often see photographs of celebrities that have duck lips. If you don’t know what I am referring to, please tune into the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and take a look at most of the women. You know the story–the lips protrude out like duck bills because too much filler is put into the lips. While Taylor wins the prize, Kyle is catching up to her. It does look terrible. So, how can YOU have fuller lips without getting duck lips?

Many surgeons state that they are ‘board certified’. But, in what specialty? More importantly, is that specialty an approved specialty according to the American Board of Medical Specialties, ABMS? Learn more about why Board certification in an approved ABMS specialty is important by watching Dr. Rodriguez’s Cosmeticsurg video blog.

It is no secret to biotech investors that stem cell stocks suffered dramatic declines in 2011. To be more specific, they were taken out to the woodshed and beat to smithereens. Robin Young summarized that the market capitalization of all the public stem cell sectors declined by 25% in 2011 compared to the previous year. In 2011, total market cap of the entire publicly traded stem cell sector was only $ 3.4 Billion. Every single publicly traded stem cell stock declined in value, except for one company, Mesoblast (ASX: MBX). At this year’s Stem Cell Summit in NY, Robin Young attributed the steep sector decline to ‘regulatory pushback’. That is code speak to mean that the FDA reversed some of the previous favorable decisions from the past. In one example, an allograph product fom Allosource was already approved, but now the FDA was reclassifying the product from tissue to drug causing major upheaval in the industry. However, the good news is that 2011 is now over!

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal highlighted a Korean Plastic Surgeon who is popularizing the so called Smile Surgery. MSN News also recently featured an article about smile surgery, called a “smile lipt,” – a combination of the words “lip” and “lift.” While this procedure may sound odd, there are definitely some patients who are good candidates for this procedure. I have performed it in my practice in Baltimore. Some people have a distinct permanent frown type expression and Smile Surgery can help them because it lifts the corners of the mouth. It helps change the permanent sad or angry look to a more pleasant expression. This technique is different than a traditional lip lift procedure, as that technique focuses solely on the long space between the upper lip and the base of your nose.