Posted on May 15, 2012 in Chin Implant, Facial Plastic Surgery, Neck Liposuction
There was a recent report that discussed the noted rise in number of facial plastic surgery patients seeking chin augmentation with chin implant surgery. This is a great example of one of my patients who was seen back in the office following chin implant surgery. She simply desired to have more definition along her lower face and upper neck region. Her chin was notably recessed and poorly defined mostly as seen from the 45 degree angle view and the profile view. I performed a chin implant surgery (termed chin augmentation with a chin implant) to bring the chin forward with improved definition. In combination with this, I performed liposuction of the neck region to give an even more pronounced change in her appearance. As you can see from her before and after photos, there has been a marked improvement in the definition seen along the jawline. She almost looks as if she has lost considerable weight. In fact, though, the chin has been projected forward using an appropriately sized chin implant. The neck was then given a more angulated look by liposuctioning the excess fat away. Overall, you can see that she has much more chin definition and shape now while still looking quite natural. If you or someone you know is interested in chin and neck enhancement surgery, do not hesitate in contacting our office today!
Before and After Chin Implant
Posted on May 1, 2012 in Ear Lobe Reshaping, Otoplasty
We are now seeing an increasing number of patients coming to our practice for repair of their gauge earring defects involving their earlobes. This is yet another example of a patient who previously had gauges in his ear and decided to stop wearing them. Unfortunately, like many patients out there, the remaining hole, or defect, in the earlobe was still quite visible. As you can see in the photos provided here, the hole can be seen even from across the room. He finally consulted with our office to discuss his options. I ended up recommended what is considered a standard office-based surgical procedure (otoplasty or ear reshaping) to repair the gauge earring defect. This was done under local anesthesia much like going to the dentist. The procedure took about an hour to do both ears, which had gauge earring defects. The adjacent skin of the earlobe was used to close the holes on both sides. Using meticulous suture technique, both defects were able to be closed very nicely. As you can see here, the end result is a very fine scar that is barely visible to the naked eye. The earlobe now looks essentially completely normal without any signs of having undergone a surgical procedure. If you have had gauged earlobe piercings in the past and are now looking to have the gauge earring defect closed, contact our office today to schedule a complimentary consultation with one of San Diego’s foremost experts in otoplasty surgery.
Before and After Gauge Earring Defect Repair
Posted on April 17, 2012 in Facial Plastic Surgery
Dr. Hilinski has just added another example of facial reconstructive plastic surgery to our ever-growing San Diego facial plastic surgery photo gallery. This latest case involves a female patient from San Diego who developed a bony growth (called an osteoma) involving her forehead region. Not only was the growth becoming more esthetically displeasing, it was also causing her pain and discomfort. Dr. Hilinski ended up performing the reconstructive facial surgery to remove the bony growth through hidden incisions. The end result is shown in our reconstructive facial plastic surgery photo gallery and demonstrates how this type of surgery can provide a significant improvement with very little evidence of having had something done. If you happen to have something similar to this particular patient and require reconstructive facial plastic surgery in San Diego, CA, please do not hesitate in contacting our office today.
Posted on April 2, 2012 in Dermal Fillers, Injectable Filler, Juvederm, Perlane, Restylane
This case example is a great learning case to visually see what dermal fillers can do for excessively deep, unwanted facial lines and wrinkles. This male patient from San Diego, CA was unhappy with a deep horizontal line across the forehead region. Although Botox injections could help minimize worsening of the line by stopping the underlying muscle movement, Botox injections were not sufficient to fully erase the line in its resting state. Instead, he required dermal fillers to smooth out the undesirable deep wrinkle. Dermal fillers include the more popular hyaluronic acid fillers, such as Juvederm, Restylane and Perlane. This particular patient opted to have Juvederm injections of the forehead region to correct the unwanted wrinkle line. During a 20 minute office-based procedure, Juvederm was injected just underneath the skin to push the deep aspect of the crease closer to the surface. This resulted in a marked improvement in contour across the central aspect of his forehead. And when comparing the before and after Juvederm injection photos, you can easily appreciate how much less noticeable the horizontal forehead wrinkle is following injectable filler treatment. This is the type of cosmetic improvement that would likely never be achieved with use of Botox injection alone, especially in the male patient population in the forehead region. If you are bothered by deep forehead lines and wrinkles and wish to have them treated during a quick, minimal downtime office-based cosmetic treatment, contact our San Diego facial plastic surgery office today to consult with Dr. John Hilinski – one of the most expert dermal filler injectors in the region.
Before and After Forehead Dermal Filler Injection
Posted on March 26, 2012 in Lip Enhancement
We have seen a recent surge in requests by patients who desire to have their upper lip lifted. This is also referred to by many patients as an upper lip shortening procedure, since the actual vertical lip length is reduced in size. The reason our office has seen such a marked increase in requests for upper lip lift surgery is because my practice is so focused on facial plastic surgery, including the many niche procedures that are involved with this highly dedicated specialty. This particular blog entry highlights upper lip shortening, or upper lip lift, surgery using a case example of a female patient from San Diego, CA. In the adjacent patient photo, you can see that the vertical height of her upper lip (indicated by the double red arrow) is somewhat excessive, or long. This creates a disproportionate balance in the face with many patients being quite bothered by this appearance. Other upper lip lift candidates come in noting how the elongated upper lip covers too much of their teeth for their liking. Patients with an elongated upper lip are looking to have the upper lip shortened by removing some of the excess upper lip skin. That is precisely why it is called a lip shortening procedure. By virtue of how the lip is lifted upward, it is also commonly referred to as an upper lip lift. The end result of this type of cosmetic lip surgery is a shorter upper lip with better overall balance in terms of the facial appearance. In addition, the pink portion of the upper lip becomes more visible with an added sense of fullness – a very desirable change in shape and size when it comes to female lip enhancement. To learn more about upper lip lift surgery, or upper lip shortening procedures, designed to create a more beautiful upper lip appearance, link here to our webpage fully dedicated to this particular cosmetic upper lip treatment. This growing section of our website also features several patient examples of upper lip lift surgery.
Posted on March 20, 2012 in Neck Lift, Neck Liposuction
This is another great example of how neck liposuction can help provide improved definition along the upper neck region in patients from San Diego, CA. This female patient consulted with Dr. Hilinski because of his expertise in providing superior cosmetic results in the face and neck region. Her main desire was to look more rejuvenated by creating improved definition under the chin and along the upper neck region. Many neck liposuction patients often times describe this area as being excessively full under the chin. Others call it their double chin deformity. No matter how it is described, patients are referring to unwanted fatty deposits under the chin extending into the upper neck region.
Neck Liposuction Evaluation in San Diego, CA
On examination, that is precisely what was found in this particular female neck liposuction patient. When feeling her neck and jawline, there was an excess of unwanted fat under the chin (called the submental region) and along the upper neck. The end result was a lack of definition along the jawline. This can be seen in the adjacent photo diagram showing her appearance prior to having neck liposuction performed. As you can appreciate, there is extra volume under chin that is contributing to a more rounded appearance of the neck as seen from the side view (white arrow). Ideally, her jawline and neckline would meet where the curved red line is drawn to allow a more defined look. In this particular patient, the skin was still quite healthy with excellent elasticity. This term refers to the rubber-band like quality that allows skin to swiftly snap back into place when pinched and pulled – much like an elastic band. Elasticity is a very important quality to have when being considered for neck liposuction since you need to rely on the skin to ‘shrink’ down once the fat has been removed. If the skin is lacking in elasticity, it will simply just hang down after the fat has been removed – leaving the neck looking arguably even worse.
Neck Liposuction Treatment San Diego, CA
In patients like this one, neck liposuction can often times be performed successfully using local anesthesia. Meaning, you don’t have to be put to sleep completely in order to have neck liposuctioning performed. In this particular case, the neck liposuction was performed in our private surgical suite after giving her a low dose oral sedative (much like a sleeping pill). Once she was feeling relaxed, the neck area was then injected with a specialized solution containing a numbing agent to provide complete anesthesia from the chin down across the neck. This is called tumescent (pronounced “too-mess-ent”) anesthesia when a dedicated pump is used to ‘fill’ the tissues under the chin with the chosen anesthetic solution. All the while, the patient is alert and breathing on her own – just not able to feel any pain in the region where the liposuction is planned.
San Diego Neck Liposuction for Improved Definition
The actual liposuction of the neck region is performed through a very tiny incision made under the chin and just behind the earlobes. A very narrow (2-3 millimeters) liposuction cannula (or rod) is gently placed under the skin directly into the fatty tissue layer. The excess, unwanted neck fat is then liposuctioned out using a medical vacuum device. During the procedure, it is very important to try and remove the overly prominent fatty neck tissue in a symmetric manner so that both sides of the neck appear equal in contour and shape. Once the excess fat has been liposuctioned out, the short incisions are closed with fine sutures (stitches). Since the patient did not require a general anesthetic for the neck liposuction, a bandage was placed around the neck and she was allowed to go directly home within minutes of finishing the procedure.
Neck Liposuction Beautiful Results in San Diego, CA
The neck bandage was removed in 4-5 days following the neck liposuction procedure. As the healing process unfolded, her neck skin would progressively shrink-wrap up to reveal the newly defined changes. This is the part that relies heavily on the skin elasticity that was referenced earlier in the blog discussion. As time continued, her neck contour became better and better as the outline of her jaw became increasingly visible and the angle of her neck became more refined. The results of her neck liposuction are shown below. As you can see, she looks fantastic following neck liposuctioning! Overall, her face and neck appear much thinner with improved definition. If you look at her jawline, in particular, you can see how much better the shadowing is following liposuction of the neck. Whereas her jawline was previously being ‘masked’ by the excess fat, it can now be readily seen as a result of the neck liposuction. And what happened to all that skin that was covering the fatty bulge under the chin? It has now shrunk wrap as a result of the skin elasticity forcing it to take the new shape of the freshly contoured neck. When looking from the side, or profile, view of the face and neck, you can really begin to appreciate just how much change in contour has been realized following liposuction. And perhaps the best thing is that she still looks like herself – just a more defined, refined, rested version of herself.
Neck Liposuction Plastic Surgeon in San Diego, CA
If you are interested in pursuing neck liposuction by a San Diego board certified facial plastic surgeon with dedicated experience in cosmetic neck contouring, contact our office today to meet with Dr. John Hilinski – one of San Diego’s best neck liposuction surgeons.
Posted on March 12, 2012 in Blepharoplasty, Eyelid Lift
I tell patients all the time that one of the facial plastic surgery procedures that provides the most ‘bang for the buck’ is upper eyelid lift surgery. This particular case example highlights this point precisely. This male patient from San Diego, CA presented to our clinic with a desire to have his upper eyelids enhanced. He simply wanted to have more definition along the upper eyelid region along with improved symmetry. As you can see from the adjacent preoperative photo diagram, his right upper eyelid was more droopy than his left. We often describe this in terms of excess heaviness of the upper eyelid. In some cases, this excess upper eyelid skin can even hang down onto the actual eyelash line, completely obliterating any sign of the normal upper eyelid crease. In this particular case, the patient was an ethnic male who had moderately thick skin. This matters because thicker, ethnic skin does not necessarily heal as quickly and nicely as thin, fair skin does when it comes to facial plastic surgery. But with excellent surgical technique, successful results can be achieved even in ethnic upper eyelid lift patients. We discussed in detail this patient’s desire to have more definition along the upper eyelid region as well as more symmetric upper eyelids. This would require an upper eyelid lift procedure, also known as a blepharoplasty (pronounced blef-are-o-plasty). Fortunately, this type of facial cosmetic eyelid surgery can be performed essentially under local anesthesia. Meaning, the only thing necessary is injection of a numbing agent along the upper eyelid region – similar to what is used when going to the dentist. In rare cases we will also provide an oral sedative, but this is only for those patients who are prone to anxiety. The actual upper eyelid lift surgery takes approximately 45 minutes to an hour to be completed. This typically involves taking the excess upper eyelid skin away and carefully sewing the upper eyelid skin together to recreate a nice, new, defined upper eyelid crease. A good majority of the incision (and, therefore, scar) is hidden in the natural upper eyelid skin crease so that there is very little sign of having had and upper eyelid lift. There is some swelling and mild bruising of the eyelid region for about 3-4 days with most patients seeing resolution of this by the end of the week. Most patients will return to their normal daily activities 6-7 days following an upper eyelid lift procedure. The following series demonstrates this particular ethnic, male patient’s upper eyelid lift before and after photos. As you can see, he has a nice overall improvement in terms of the upper eyelid region. His upper eyelid crease is now more defined and symmetric when looking at both sides. Taking a step back, you get the sense as well that he is just looks more rested. He still looks like the same person – just a more rejuvenated version of himself. If you are interested in having an upper eyelid lift procedure performed, contact our San Diego facial plastic surgery office today!
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