Category Archives: Las Vegas Plastic Surgery

Endoscopic Brow Lifts

endoscopic brow lift Technology has provided many advances in all different types of surgical procedures. One of these new technologies, called the endoscope, has been the key development in this trend. It helps surgeons in nearly every specialty, which includes plastic surgery. With this new technology comes a less invasive procedure.

How do I know if I’m a candidate for this procedure?

Surgeons examine the face as a whole to better determine which procedures should be put into place to create the most balanced natural appearance. When evaluating the face for any procedure, the face is typically divided into three zones: face/neck, brow, and eyes. As these techniques and technologies advance, the analysis of the face became more complex and changed relationships between these zones. If a brow lift is being considered, the upper region of the face will be examined, as well as the face and neck to determine what effects the procedure may have. Just because a brow can be raised does not mean it should be. Consider the following if you wish a brow surgery to be done:

  • Your brows are low from heredity or from changes associated with aging
  • You wish to improve the symmetry of your eyebrows
  • You wish to change the shape of your eyebrows
  • You wish to remove the static wrinkles from your eyebrows
  • You wish to decrease the function of muscles in the brow that cause dynamic wrinkling.
  • You wish to remove excess skin from above your eyes

How is this procedure done?

A scope with a xenon light is the most commonly used endoscope. This will provide a small incision size that is very minimal comparatively. It will also provide adequate light to see what is being done underneath the instrument. A wide variety of instruments are used in this procedure.

Several small incisions are typically made just behind the hairline. This is then done to lift the skin above the brows just enough to improve their appearance. If one has a high hairline or is balding, the incisions or scars can be well placed within a forehead crease.

Fixation may be required in order to keep the brows in place. This type of procedure simply means that titanium screws can be placed in the hairline to hold the skin and bones in place. However, these procedures can be done and successful without fixation, but are far less predictable.

As with any medical procedure, be sure to consult your doctor before you undergo this surgery. While less invasive with the endoscopic tools, it may still be very painful post-op. Talk to your doctor to see if you are a good candidate, and to learn more about the procedure and techniques associated with this surgery. This surgery is approved by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and can be very successful in creating that beautiful, high-brow look you are going for.

Reynolds Reconstruction can help you with your Endoscopic Brow Lifts in Las Vegas. Contact us today to learn more.

 

Understanding Skin Cancer

skin cancer las vegasSkin cancer is a common condition in the United States and the world today. This article will explain more about skin cancer and what it is.

What is skin cancer?

Skin cancer, commonly known as Melanoma, involve abnormal changes in cells on the outer layers of the skin. This type of cancer is by far the most common type of cancer in the world, which makes up for about 75% of all cancer diagnoses. Most cases are cured, but this disease is a major health concern because it affects so many people. The incidence of skin cancer is rising, even though in most cases it could be prevented by limiting the skin’s exposure to UV radiation.

This type of cancer is about three times more common in men than in women, and the risk increases as one gets older. Most people who are diagnosed with skin cancer are between ages 45 and 54, although many forms of the disease are often found in those of younger age. If you or any close relatives have had skin cancer, you are more likely to get the disease.

Every skin tumor in time becomes visible on the  skin’s surface, making skin cancer the only type of cancer that is almost always detectable in the early stages, which makes it easier to diagnose and treat quickly, and gives a better chance of a full recovery.

What causes skin cancer?

Excessive exposure to sunlight is the main cause of skin cancer, as well as the most commonly known cause. Sunlight contains ultraviolet rays that can alter the genetic material in skin cells, which cause mutations. Sunlamps, X-rays, and tanning booths can generate rays that damage skin. These can also cause malignant cell mutations. Most carcinomas are linked to prolonged and chronic sun exposure. Melanoma is more associated with infrequent exposure that causes sunburns that scorch. One blistering sunburn during ones childhood can double a person’s risk for developing melanoma later in life.

As well, fair-skinned people are more susceptible to skin cancer, because they are born with less melanin in their skin, which causes them to have less protection from the sun. People with many freckles or moles may also be very susceptible to melanoma.

Skin cancer is a very difficult condition, but if caught early, can be treated quickly and usually presents good chances for a proper recovery. Seeing a plastic surgeon for skin cancer treatment is a wise idea, simply because they can help detect problems early on and provide diagnoses for the problems. This also allows for proper reconstructive surgery if necessary. This type of surgery may be required if the melanoma is over a large portion of the skin that needs to be removed, or if there are other symptoms that may change the appearance of the body after it is removed.

Talk to your doctor today if you are concerned you have skin cancer. If you think you might, you may need to get it removed immediately. As well, it is imperative that you start now to protect yourself from prolonged sun exposure.

To learn more about skin cancer, click here.

 

lip augmentation las vegas

Lip Augmentation Surgery

lip augmentation las vegas

Lip augmentation is a procedure that is used by a lot of people today in Las Vegas in order to get a fuller, plumper look in the lips. It is a relatively safe procedure and can be done with or without surgery. This article will explain more in depth about what to expect when considering lip augmentation.

What is lip augmentation?

To put it simply, lip augmentation is a procedure that will give you fuller, and plumper lips. A common way this is accomplished is through an inject-able filler placed into the lips. These fillers are known as “dermal fillers” and can be injected either directly into the lips, or around the mouth. The most common fillers that are injected are made of substances that are typically found in the body. A previously used agent, Collagen, is used less often today, because there are more dangers associated with it, and the newer compounds have proven more effective, as well as less dangerous.

These types of fillers can improve the following characteristics of the lips:

  • Volume
  • Shape
  • Structure

Unfortunately, these injections do not last forever, but typically for about 6 months. After the effects have worn off, more injections can be done to maintain the look you desire in your lips.

What are the benefits of these injections?

  • The amount can be carefully controlled. Because it is being directly injected into your skin, your doctor can measure carefully how much he places in the area, and thus can control how much lip volume is created.
  • The treatment can be given gradually. These can be given during different appointments, thus allowing the desired results to be achieved and look like a more natural process.
  • Less bruising. Because this is a natural substance found in the body, it is likely that there will be less bruising than with other fillers.

What are the risks?

Common side effects and risks include:

  • Swelling and bruising
  • Bleeding from sites of injections
  • Tenderness and Redness at injection sites

Some other known possible serious side effects may include:

  • Lip asymmetry (parts of your lips are different sizes)
  • Infections
  • Allergic reactions causing itching, swelling, and redness
  • Severe and prolonged bruising

If you experience any of these symptoms or develop a fever, call your doctor immediately to seek attention.

Lip augmentation can be a great procedure that can enhance the appearance of lips, but it may not be right for you. Be sure to consult your doctor before undergoing this procedure. Fortunately, the possible bad side effects will simply go away on their own after a while. Just like the treatment will need to be repeated, this is also true about the side effects. There are not likely any serious complications from this procedure, yet it is still wise to do your research before deciding to undergo it yourself. Be sure to find a doctor in whom you can trust to give you the best care possible, and to make sure you are a good candidate.

 

breast reconstruction - Silicone gel-filled breast implants

Silicone Gel Implants: Part Two

Silicone Gel Implants – Part 2

Silicone gel-filled breast implants

In the last article, the use of saline breast implants was discussed. The first two generations of this type of breast augmentation implant were described in a bit more detail. In this article, the fourth and fifth generations of the silicone gel implant will be discussed.

In the 1980s, models of the Third and of the Fourth generations of breast implant devices were sequential advances in manufacturing technology, such as elastomer-coated shells that decreased gel-bleed, this is the filler leakage, and a thicker increased-cohesion filler gel.

Sociologically, the manufacturers of prosthetic breasts then designed and made anatomic models of the natural breast and shaped models of round and tapered, that realistically corresponded with the breast and body types of women. The tapered models of breast implant have a uniformly textured surface, which reduces the rotation of the prosthesis within the implant pocket. Round models of breast implant are available in smooth-surface- and textured-surface- types.

Since the mid-1990s, the Fifth generation of silicone-gel breast implant is made of a semi-solid gel that mostly eliminates the occurrences of filler leakage and of the migration of the silicone filler from the implant-pocket to elsewhere in the woman’s body.  Studies of this fifth generation report low incidence rates of capsular contracture and of device-shell rupture; and greater rates of improved medical-safety and technical-efficacy than that of early generation breast implant devices.  For more information about breast implants and breast augmentation, please clink on this link.

Click this link to go to read Silicon Breast Implants-Part 1.

Silicone Breast Implants: Part One

Silicone Breast Implants – Part 1

Las Vegas Breast Implants

As a medical device, there are five generations of silicone breast implants, each defined by common model-manufacturing techniques.

The modern prosthetic breast was invented in 1961, by the American reconstructive surgeons Thomas Cronin and Frank Gerow. The first augmentation mammoplasty was performed in 1962. There are five generations of the breast implant model types that are filled with silicone gel; each generation of breast prosthesis is defined by common model-manufacturing techniques.

The Cronin–Gerow Implant, prosthesis model 1963, was a silicone rubber envelope-sac, shaped like a teardrop, which was filled with viscous silicone-gel. To reduce the rotation of the emplaced breast implant upon the chest wall, the model 1963 prosthesis was affixed to the implant pocket with a fastener-patch, made of Dacron material which was attached to the rear of the breast implant shell. In the 1970s, manufacturers presented the second generation of breast implant prostheses that featured functional developments and aesthetic improvements to the technology:

The first technological developments were a thinner-gauge device-shell, and a filler gel of low-cohesion silicone, which improved the functionality and the size, appearance, and texture of the silicone-gel breast implant. Yet, in clinical practice, second-generation breast implants proved fragile, and suffered greater incidences of shell rupture, and of filler leakage through the intact device shell. The consequent, increased incidence-rates of medical complications precipitated faulty-product.

The second technological development was a polyurethane foam coating for the shell of the breast implant; the coating reduced the incidence of capsular contracture, by causing an inflammatory reaction that impeded the formation of a capsule of fibrous collagen tissue around the breast implant. Nevertheless, despite that prophylactic measure, the medical use of polyurethane-coated breast implants was briefly discontinued, because of the potential health-risk posed by a carcinogenic by-product of the chemical breakdown of the polyurethane foam coating of the breast implant.

After reviewing the medical data, TDA-induced breast cancer was an infinitesimal health-risk to women with breast implants and did not justify legally requiring physicians to explain the matter to their patients.

The third technological development was the double lumen breast implant device, a double-cavity prosthesis composed of a silicone breast implant contained within a saline breast implant. The two-fold, technical goal. The cosmetic benefits of silicone-gel enclosed in saline solution. A breast implant device the volume of which is post-operatively adjustable. Nevertheless, the more complex design of the double-lumen breast implant suffered a device-failure rate greater than that of single-lumen breast implants.

Click Here for Part 2 of this series