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Five Tips for a Quick Recovery Following a Facelift

stock image of a model for a blog about facelift recovery tips in NYC Facelift Recovery Tips

Following a facelift in New York City, the last thing you want is to deal with complications. By following a few simple tips, you can prepare your body to heal as quickly as possible and help avoid issues that can lead to infection.

Don’t Smoke

Smoking shrinks blood vessels and reduces the amount of oxygen that reaches your tissue. This impacts blood clotting properties and makes it harder for your body to close wounds. An open wound is at risk of developing an infection. You must stop smoking at least two weeks prior to your surgery and ignore cravings for at least two weeks following your surgery.

Be Careful About Using Over-the-Counter Medications

Medications or supplements containing aspirin, ibuprofen, and vitamin E thin the blood or increase bleeding. These situations slow the healing process. Avoid these compounds for at least two weeks before your surgery and for a few days after your surgery. If you have questions or are uncertain, always ask your plastic surgeon before taking a medication. Consult your doctor about safe options for pain relief following your facelift.

Build Up a Stock of Frozen Peas

Following your surgery, you want to keep swelling down. Stock up on packs of frozen peas before your surgery. You can also reduce swelling by keeping your head elevated when you’re resting in bed.

Resist the Urge to Peek

Do not remove your bandages, even if you’re itchy and can’t stand not knowing how you look. Wait for the doctor to do this. If you remove them too early, you risk infection. When the doctor does remove your bandages, don’t be alarmed by bruising and swelling. This is normal. Swelling generally subsides after a few days and bruising usually lasts a week or two.

Stay Out of the Sun

Avoid the sun and sunlamps for six weeks following a facelift. The heat from the sun’s rays or the heat lamp can lead to swelling.

Dr. Philip Miller, a renowned facial plastic surgeon in NYC, offers consultations to anyone considering a facelift. Contact us to schedule an appointment by calling our plastic surgery clinic at (646) 791-3025.

MicroRhinoplasty™ Offers Patients Many Benefits

Whenever a new and more effective technique is developed to aid plastic surgeons in providing better care while maintaining attractive results, it is an exciting thing. Once such advanced technique is MicroRhinoplasty™. The former method of reducing a hump or bump on the nose with osteotomy is becoming a thing of the past with MicroRhinoplasty™ moving in. Dr. Miller in NYC has adopted this technique in appropriate candidates to replace the need to fracture the bones of the nose and reposition them.

MicroRhinoplasty™ is a much less invasive procedure performed with the use of an air-powered microsaw to remove the bony hump layer by layer. Surgeons are able to have an added degree of precision that was not available before and are able to correct the flaw until the exact level of reduction needed is reached.

Rhinoplasty is one of the most popular plastic surgery procedures performed, with hump reduction being at the top of the list of most requested nose corrections. Hump or bump reduction requires that the bone or cartilage creating the formation be removed. Many patients can benefit from the MicroRhinoplasty™ technique and will enjoy the several advantages it offers. Who wouldn’t prefer to be able to spend as little as 5 minutes in the surgeon’s chair with just local anesthesia? Osteotomy, on the other hand, requires general anesthesia and a good deal longer spent in surgery. Since the nasal bones do not need to be fractured MicroRhinoplasty™, there are fewer risks of complications associated with osteotomy, such as inverted V deformity or “rocker” deformity.  Patients also experience little, if any, pain and significantly less swelling and bruising. Additionally, recovery time is shortened.

The greatest benefit of all is, of course, the newly heighted confidence the patient will feel after his or her surgery. Facial harmony will result in a more eye-catching appearance, and in a good way.

Individuals who are looking to reduce a nasal hump and are interested in exploring their options should contact Dr. Philip Miller for a personal consultation at (646) 791-3025. Dr. Miller is one of the best facial plastic surgeons with offices located at 60 East 56th, Third Floor, New York, NY.

Stem Cell Facelift in New York

stock image of a woman for a blog about stem cell facelifts in NY,NY The revolutionary use of stem cells in medicine is now being hailed as the latest breakthrough in the ongoing battle against the natural aging process. Stem cells are unique in that they are literally the tabular rasa, or blank slate, in cellular biology. They are known as “undifferentiated” cells, meaning they have the potential to be transformed into other types of cells – a liver or heart cell, or a skin cell – or regenerate old or damaged tissue.

This is why stem cells are frequently viewed as the body’s natural fountain of youth.

The Stem Cell Facelift is a new facial plastic surgery in New York utilizing adult stem cells harvested through liposuction from a patient’s own fat tissue. The fat stem cells are then separated out and comingled with stem cell growth factors, which activate and energize the stem cells. The mixture is then injected by a qualified physician into specific areas of the patient’s face to restore lost facial volume and a youthful appearance.

The technique promises a complete facial rejuvenation, and a growing number of patients are looking into this less invasive procedure with much hope and anticipation. The Stem Cell Facelift does indeed hold promise because of its efficient use of the body’s own rejuvenation potential to regrow or replace tissue that is lost as a result of normal aging. The use of stem cells has had remarkable results in the treatment of spinal cord injuries, for example.

The advantages associated with the use of stem cells in facial cosmetic procedures, however, should be weighed against any potential risks as the technology is still in its infancy. In one extreme case, a patient who had the procedure went back to her plastic surgeon with bone shards growing inside her eyelids.

Stem cell technology in cosmetic surgery is an exciting development that still has a long way to grow. One, therefore, should not overlook other non-invasive procedures with proven track records of success, such as Botox and injectable fillers used to remove facial lines and wrinkles, as well as time-tested surgical procedures like the traditional facelift.

Dr. Philip Miller is a board certified facial plastic surgeon with offices located at 60 East 56th, Third Floor, New York, N.Y. Contact our office at (646) 791-3025 for a personal consultation.

Male Rhinoplasty Surgery

Rhinoplasty for Men

A nose by any other name would smell as sweet. It makes no difference, then, whether you are a man or a woman or what kind of nose you have. Everyone’s nose has the same olfactory function, but not all noses are blessed with the same appealing shape or appearance.

male rhinoplasty surgery in new york

In increasing numbers, men are turning to rhinoplasty to change the look of their nose but without fundamentally altering its masculine structure. This is where the cosmetic goals of men and women tend to diverge. When considering nose surgery, women are often looking for significant or dramatic results to achieve a more attractive and feminine appearance. The “male nose job,” by contrast, often has more specific goals in mind. A male patient may opt for nose surgery to remove a dorsal hump or to soften the appearance of a hooked or drooping nasal tip.

Change your Nose

Other male patients are looking to narrow the width of a “dominant” nose or reduce the overall size of the nose to balance out the face. Or they simply want to improve the overall shape of the nose but without dramatically changing its basic structure. Men, in sum, want a better looking nose that unmistakably says “me, mine, and man.” They don’t want results that appear feminine. In cases related less to aesthetics and more to function, men may undergo rhinoplasty to open blocked airways or repair a deviated septum. Regardless of a patient’s gender, the techniques used in nasal surgery in New York are the same and the risks and benefits are also the same. There is a slight risk of infection or nosebleeds following nose surgery, or a temporary loss of smell. To learn more about rhinoplasty, visit medlineplus.gov

Many Men are Choosing Rhinoplasty

That many men are choosing rhinoplasty for a more satisfying appearance is reflected in the more than 240,000 individuals who underwent rhinoplasty in 2012, 25% of whom were male according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). No longer is there a stigma attached to male rhinoplasty. A good example is Iran, rated the “nose job capital of the world,” where some 200,000 people are having nasal corrective surgery each year. Many of these patients are men. In today’s unisex world there are no gender barriers in nasal surgery, just different cosmetic goals and objectives.

Schedule a Male Rhinoplasty in New York

Dr. Philip Miller is a board certified plastic surgeon and an expert in the field of facial plastic surgery with offices located at 60 East 56th, Third Floor, New York, N.Y. Call (646) 791-3025 for a personal consultation.