Congratulations Dr. Marosan on making the RealSelf 100 & 500 Hall of Fame!

RealSelf Hall of Fame Unveiled: RealSelf Honors Top 1,000 Highest-Rated and Most Engaged Aesthetic Doctors

Doctors From More Than 400 Cities Honored for High Patient Ratings and Ongoing Commitment to Consumer Education on RealSelf

 

     SEATTLE, Dec. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — RealSelf, the leading online marketplace to learn about cosmetic treatments and connect with medical aesthetic doctors, today announced the debut of the RealSelf Hall of Fame, an honor recognizing more than 1,000 board-certified aesthetic doctors from 402 cities across the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia for their high patient ratings and commitment to consumer education.

For eight years, the annual RealSelf 100 and 500 awards recognized doctors with outstanding records of high patient ratings who have given back to the RealSelf community by providing credible, valuable insights in response to consumer questions about elective cosmetic treatments ranging from surgical procedures to minimally invasive technologies to cosmetic dentistry. For the first time ever, RealSelf celebrates the Hall of Fame, a culmination of eight years of recognitions made through the RealSelf 100 and 500 awards program.

    “Making the RealSelf Hall of Fame requires a commitment to helping patients make informed and confident choices,” said Dr. Lara Devgan, RealSelf Chief Medical Officer and board-certified plastic surgeon. “From answering consumer questions and sharing before and after photos to encouraging patients to leave open and honest reviews, the valuable insights this group provides help make it possible for RealSelf to bring transparency to the medical aesthetics industry.”

To be included in the RealSelf Hall of Fame, doctors must have received a RealSelf 100 or RealSelf 500 award in the past. The awards program, which first launched in 2010, honors the top-rated and most engaged board-certified aesthetic doctors on RealSelf. Doctors are ranked in three categories: earning patient reviews, answering consumer questions, and sharing before and after treatment photos. In order to be recognized in any given year, doctors must maintain the distinction of Top Doctor or Top Contributor and uphold an average rating above four stars.

    “The RealSelf Hall of Fame honors the achievements of board-certified aesthetic doctors who consistently put the consumer first,” said Tom Seery, Founder and CEO of RealSelf. “It’s my pleasure to recognize this elite group of doctors for their significant contributions on RealSelf and their high standards in patient satisfaction.”

“As RealSelf grows and continues to evolve how we help consumers make smart and confident decisions, we are also evaluating how we recognize our medical community,” added Seery. “We look forward to announcing new plans for RealSelf awards and recognitions in 2019.”

The Hall of Fame inductees rank among the top five percent of the RealSelf medical community for  engagement. Together, this group has provided more than 1.8 million answers to consumer questions, uploaded nearly 200,000 before and after photos, and garnered more than 50,000 patient reviews on RealSelf.

 

Source: PRNewswire – News Provided by RealSelf

 

Breast augmentation – natural vs augmented results

Most breast augmentation patients focus their treatment plan on the enhancement of their breasts while still maintaining an overall natural appearance. During consultations, women are often concerned about going “too big” for their body frame and instead focus on choosing implant sizes that are more natural looking.

This natural trend was not always the case. Throughout most of the 90s, the overreaching trend was focused on achieving a larger, more augmented look (think Pamela Anderson on Baywatch).

There is still some demand for the augmented look. Indeed, some patients seek a procedure that produces dramatic results, and rightly so! This post will cover the differences between natural and augmented appearing breast enhancement, along with how each result can be achieved.

The natural look

Natural-results focused breast enhancement strives to enlarge the breasts while maintaining a natural looking silhouette. This involves choosing a breast implant size that complements the natural figure. Obviously the biggest advantage of natural appearing breast augmentation is that no one will know you’re augmented unless you want them to know.

Characteristics of “the natural look” include

• Breasts that have a mild slope toward the nipple;
• Breasts with most of the volume occurring in the lower half;
• Nipples that sit on the part of the breast with the most projection;
• Breasts that don’t sit too high (mid-arm level is the sweet spot);
• Breasts that feel and move like natural breast tissue.

How “the natural look” is achieved

Creating a natural appearance is part art and part science. To make sure the final results appear as natural as possible, experienced plastic surgeons must assess the patients current body frame while envisioning how many variables (implant size and shape, natural breast tissue amount, implant placement, etc.) will alter the body’s appearance. While each woman is unique, achieving more natural results usually include:

• Sub-muscular implant placement;
• Choosing moderate profile implants;
• Limiting breast implant size to keep the breasts in proportion to the rest of the patient’s body;
• A focus on limiting the width of the breast implant;
• Utilizing teardrop shape implants in cases where the patient has little to no natural breast tissue.

The augmented look

An augmented appearance is one where the breasts are accentuated. One could argue that the demand for the augmented look comes from Hollywood, where unnaturally large breasts and the attention they bring are celebrated. However, a significant portion of men and women alike gravitate toward “the augmented look” which has kept the trend alive.

Characteristics of “the augmented look” include

• Breasts positioned high on the chest;
• Prominent cleavage (creating a push-up bra effect while not wearing a bra);
• Large breasts in proportion to the body’s silhouette;
• Dramatic contouring around the breasts.

How “the augmented look” is achieved

There are a few techniques for creating more augmented appearing results. These choices include:

• Sub-glandular (over the chest muscle) implant placement;
• Choosing high profile implants;
• Choosing a large implant size that is disproportional to the patient’s body.

Ultimately the patient should decide what type of outcome she is seeking. However, your surgeon can assist and guide the decision-making process when determining which implant style and surgical techniques is best suited for the individual’s body and desired outcome.

Source: American Society of Plastic Surgeons

By Cameron Craven, MD | Austin, TX Tuesday, August 08, 2017

ThermiVa® was awarded Best Beauty Choice Product by NewBeauty® Magazine!

 

ThermiVa® is a non surgical option for feminine rejuvenation. It treats external genitalia and Vaginal Canal. The treatments use radiofrequency energy to gently heat tissue to rejuvenate collagen, and tighten the tissue.

No discomfort & NO downtime!

Learn more about Thermiva here!

Tummy Tuck or Liposuction?

 Arguably, this is the most common question of patients who want to do something about their flabby stomach.

 

Plastic surgery experts have explained the key variables that determine whether tummy tuck or liposuction, or even both, can provide the “best” results.

Skin Laxity

If there is a noticeable amount of sagging skin, which generally occurs after massive weight loss, tummy tuck is the right choice. This procedure uses an incision within the lower abdomen (concealed by the patient’s underwear) to remove the excess skin tissue.

However, patients with no or very minimal skin laxity can benefit from a liposuction-alone procedure in which 4-6 round incisions as small as a grain of rice are used to eliminate the fat. It is critical for the overlying skin to shrink around the new contour to achieve a smooth, natural-looking appearance.

Muscle Laxity

After pregnancy and massive weight loss, the once tight abdominal wall becomes loose, leading to a bulging appearance. However, a physical evaluation is needed to determine if muscle laxity and/or fat is the underlying cause of the “problem.”

“Complete” muscle repair is only possible through standard tummy tuck in which a hip-to-hip incision is used.

Patient’s Cosmetic Goals

While some people can tolerate a small amount of excess skin in their tummy area, others feel that it is a significant issue. For this reason, some patients are advised to have liposuction first then wait at least 3-4 months to determine if they would be happy with the result.

The “waiting period” will also allow the skin to shrink to the best of its ability. In general, younger patients who have avoided large weight fluctuations throughout their lives have good skin elasticity.However, liposuction can lead to scar tissue in the fat layer, which could pose some challenges during tummy tuck. But some doctors feel that since the fat has already been removed, skin excision and muscle repair could be performed quicker and more efficiently.

Combo Approach vs Staging

After careful evaluation, some patients can actually benefit from simultaneous tummy tuck and liposuction. But if there is a need to remove large volumes of fat, the consensus is to stage each surgery to minimize the surgical trauma and bleeding.

Some doctors prefer tummy tuck after liposuction, while others perform it in reverse order. However, the ideal approach boils down to the patient’s underlying anatomies and cosmetic goals, and the surgeon’s personal experience, skills, and surgical techniques.

Source: American Society of Plastic Surgeons

By Tarick Smaili, MD | Beverly Hills, CA | Monday, December 05, 2016

How Nicotine Sabotages Plastic Surgery

“Having plastic surgery? Then your plastic surgeon probably told you not to smoke. That’s good advice. But that doesn’t mean you can reach for a substitute.”

 

Nicotine wears several masks that may seem seductively harmless, but don’t let them fool you! Nicotine gum, patches, snuff, chewing tobacco, cigarettes, pipes, cigars, and even trendy e-cigarettes have one thing in common: Nicotine.

If you’re a smoker, you might have healed great after an appendectomy, so you may feel you don’t need to worry about quitting before a facelift. But plastic surgery is different. Let me explain with a layer cake. How do you cut a piece? You take a knife, and you go straight down, all the way to the plate. That’s how a general surgeon cuts to get to your appendix. Straight down.

Now, imagine cutting through just the top layer, then turning your knife sidewise, and cutting through the yummy frosting layer so you can lift off top layer. That’s what a plastic surgeon does when performing a facelift, a tummy tuck, a breast reduction, a breast lift, and hundreds of other procedures. Once the skin has been lifted, it can be pulled, stretched, moved around, and removed.

Of course, cake and flesh have many differences, like a blood supply. A cake doesn’t need it, but flesh does because blood carries oxygen, which flesh needs to survive. Without oxygen, skin, fat, and muscle die.

If a cake needed oxygen, it would have blood vessels traveling from the bottom layer all the way to the top. What do you think would happen to those blood vessels if you lifted off the top layer of cake? You’d sever them, and the top layer of cake would die.

But if we lifted only half the cake, we would leave some blood vessels untouched, and those vessels could serve the entire top layer. That’s what happens in plastic surgery. Some of the blood vessels are cut, but some are left intact. The vessels that are intact supply oxygen to the skin that has been elevated after a facelift or a tummy tuck.

So what does nicotine have to do with cutting cake? OK, let’s say those blood vessels were the size of giant drinking straws, large enough to suck up mini-marshmallows. But if we add a little nicotine to the blood, those giant straws would shrink down to the size of little red stirring straws. Small blood vessels mean less blood flow, and less blood flow means less oxygen, and less oxygen can mean tissues die.

Mixing nicotine with plastic surgery can result in other problems, too:

• Loss of cheek skin, nipples or tummy skin after a facelift, breast lift, breast reduction, or tummy tuck surgery
• Infections
• Death of fat cells (fat necrosis), causing hard lumps
• Delayed wound healing
• Thick, wide scars
• Blood clots, which can be fatal
• Increased pain
• Permanent small vessel damage adding risk even if you quit
• Loss of breast implants
• Life threatening complications like stroke, heart attack, blood clots, and pneumonia.

If you smoke and you’re planning to have plastic surgery, quit. Follow your plastic surgeon’s recommendation, which may be to quit three to six weeks before surgery through three to six weeks after (though forever is best).

Even if you don’t smoke cigarettes, you’re not off the hook if you smoke e-cigarettes or chew nicotine gum! Quit any form of nicotine, including secondary smoke (yes, send your smoking friends and family outside). Even one puff will cause your blood vessels to shrink. If you’ve scheduled surgery in the near future, and you have a weak moment, confess to your surgeon. It’s better to delay surgery than to risk having your tissue die.

After surgery, you still can’t smoke, so develop nerves of steel and think about how much you might regret that one little puff.

After all, you want to have your cake and eat it, too!

 

By Heather Furnas, MD | Santa Rosa, CA | Monday, December 12, 2016

Source: American Society of Plastic Surgeons

Plastic Surgery Tourism: Proceed With Caution

“Don’t settle for a bargain when it comes to your face or body.”

By Francisco Canales, MD | Santa Rosa, CA

Source: American Society of Plastic Surgeons

Good plastic surgery happens not only in the USA, but also around the world. However, if you are an American citizen planning to travel out of the country for a short period of time to have an elective cosmetic procedure, caveat emptor.

In the USA, there are easy ways to vet your plastic surgeon. If you look for one through the American Society of Plastic Surgeons or the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, you’ll assured of their members’ rigorous 5-8 years training after medical school, success on stringent examinations, certification by the American Board of Surgery, and continuing education.

It is difficult to judge a plastic surgeon’s credentials from thousands of miles away. Testimonials on a website and before-and-after photos are not foolproof. I have worked with excellent surgeons in many different countries, but I have also worked with poorly trained ones who practice plastic surgery in their country.

Low cost is the main attraction for going abroad. Why not get the procedure you’ve always wanted for a fraction of the cost in the USA, and sneak a little vacation? Here are the simple answers:

1. Cheap plastic surgery can be very expensive. If the surgery doesn’t turn out as expected, a revision can be more costly than the original procedure done in the USA. I get calls from patients who had plastic surgery abroad. They’re frightened by redness or from pus oozing from their incision. Now they want help from me, the U.S. surgeon. But treating my own patient is much easier than treating someone when I have no idea what was done. The complications can result in major costs that the tourist-patients are unable or unwilling to pay. The Centers for Disease Control recently warned of atypical infections that are resistant to treatment, and they all stem from another country.
2. Patients with minor problems requiring ongoing visits for weeks can be easily treated when the surgeon is in the same city or state. If the operating surgeon is out of town, a local colleague can provide care. A patient whose surgeon is thousands of miles away in a different country won’t have the same safety net. Unless her surgeon has local contacts, she may have difficulty finding someone willing to take on her care.
3. Plastic surgery is a team effort. A plastic surgeon who cares about patient safety works with a board-certified anesthesiologist in an accredited operating facility with a well-trained surgical team to promote the best outcome. A patient I saw after she’d had surgery in another country was unhappy with her facelift and she had no recourse against her surgeon. She was particularly concerned that she’d lost a massive amount of blood during surgery, necessitating transfusion of several units of blood. Such a complication is extremely rare, and the patient was left with the gnawing question of what the blood bank standards were.

A well-researched foray abroad can have a happy outcome, but choosing to travel to have cheap surgery may lead to unanticipated and expensive problems.

Don’t settle for a bargain when it comes to your face or body.

What Is Brazilian Buttocks Augmentation?

A shapely, full behind is one of the most coveted physical features in this day and age. According to Vogue Magazine, we’re officially in the era of the big booty. From Kim Kardashian and Nicki Minaj to Iggy Azalea and Jennifer Lopez, big booties have become ubiquitous on the airwaves, television, and Instagram, among other places. Gone are the days of worshipping thin, waif-like figures. Today, baby’s got back or is in the process of getting it via Brazilian buttocks augmentation.

Also known as a Brazilian butt lift, Brazilian buttocks augmentation is a fat transfer procedure that provides aesthetic enhancement of the contour of the buttocks. A Brazilian buttocks augmentation improves the shape of the buttocks by lifting it, increasing its size, improving its firmness, and potentially correcting any imbalances. Tired of having a flat or saggy behind? If you want a fuller and sleeker backside, a Brazilian buttocks augmentation might be the answer to your woes.

How It Works

Unlike butt implants, a Brazilian buttocks augmentation doesn’t require a surgeon to open a slit in the skin and insert a saline or silicone implant. During a Brazilian buttocks augmentation, a surgeon performs liposuction, taking fat from other parts of the body and re-injecting it into the buttocks. The fat is purified prior to injection so that only the best tissue is used. Typically, surgeons harvest fat from the back, stomach, hips, and thighs. Additional liposuction can be performed around the buttocks to improve its appearance and contour.

A major advantage that Brazilian buttocks augmentation has over butt implants is increased safety. Buttocks augmentation is a closed procedure, so the risk of infection is lower. There’s also no worry of rejections and other issues because foreign items aren’t inserted into your body. Nevertheless, the results of a Brazilian butt lift are often very dramatic and attractive because it combines the fat transfer procedure with liposuction.

What to Expect

The Brazilian buttocks augmentation in Seattle and Bellevue is typically performed on an outpatient basis. It can take anywhere from about an hour and a half to four hours to complete, depending on the amount of fat removed, the patient’s desired outcome, and the areas being treated.

After the Brazilian butt lift procedure, you may experience some bruising, swelling, and discomfort. You cannot sit directly on your buttocks for up to three weeks. You may also be required to wear a special garment that controls swelling for three weeks following the procedure. After about four weeks post-op, you should be able to resume normal daily activities.

Obtain a Shapely and Sexy Rear End with Brazilian Butt Augmentation

If you feel that your butt is too flat and you would like to have a round, perky, and prominent behind, the Brazilian buttocks augmentation procedure is an excellent choice. A Brazilian butt augmentation can improve your self-confidence and the way you feel about your body by improving the size and shape of your rear end. The Brazilian butt lift is also appropriate for those who have lost a lot of weight and feel like their buttocks lacks shape.

People often find that it’s difficult to make an impact on the buttocks area with exercise alone, so they opt for a Brazilian butt lift to make their buttocks more full and firm. Because the Brazilian butt augmentation procedure involves using fat from your own body, it is one of the most natural and safest ways to enhance your buttocks.

Click here to read more about our Brazilian Butt Lift, or give us a call at 425.450.1994 to make an appointment to discuss your goals for treatment.

By Bellevue Plastic Surgeons

Why Wear A Compression Garment After Plastic Surgery?

The benefits of wearing a compression garment and why it is important after plastic surgery

Cosmetic or plastic surgeries can have positive, long-term effects when healing is initiated early and one of the most important elements of achieving successful results is to follow your surgeons’ instructions and the consistent use of compression and post-surgical garments.

What are compression garments?

Compression garments are specially designed elastic apparel worn after surgical procedures and throughout recovery. They provide additional support by contouring to the body or body part. Plastic surgeons generally recommend using a compression garment following liposuction, a tummy tuck (abdominoplasty), arm lifts (brachioplasty), facial procedures, male gynecomastia, breast reduction or augmentation and many other types of surgical sculpture procedures.

What are the benefits of wearing a compression garment after plastic surgery?

Compression garments have multiple medical benefits such as reducing swelling after a surgical procedure and decreasing the risk of a blood clot. By speeding up the blood flow, compression garments also assist in flushing harmful fluids out of the body during post-surgical recovery.

They also help control sudden uncomfortable movements like coughing or sneezing, decreases the amount of bruising and assists the loose skin in retracting or shrinking. Compression garments provide patient comfort and accelerate the healing process.

How can wearing a compression garment help my body heal faster after plastic surgery?

When applied correctly, compression wear can increase blood circulation around surgical areas to accelerate healing, reduce swelling, flush out harmful fluids and stabilizes the surgical site, minimizing discomfort. The result is not only a shorter recovery time, but a cleaner surgical area with minimal scarring.

How long do I wear a compression garment after plastic surgery?

As with any post-surgical conditions, the duration of use for a compression garment is highly dependent upon your own recovery and your surgeon’s instructions. Larger, more invasive procedures will require a lengthier timeline for your compression garment and recovery in general. The type of procedure can also determine the use of your garment, because certain techniques pose greater risks of complication. Typically, compression garments are worn for 1 to 4 weeks following surgery, but only your surgeon can definitively tell you when to stop or resume certain activities throughout recovery.

Compression garments accomplish many important goals following plastic surgery. The garments help maintain the improvement in contour, reduces the swelling in the area which will accelerate healing and create a better result as well.

Will not wearing my compression garment affect my final result?

A number of studies have been conducted on whether or not wearing compression garments following a plastic surgery procedure will affect the results and evidence does suggest that doing so can be extremely helpful.

Are compression garments comfortable?

While compression garments are snug, they are carefully made so that they are not too tight around the patient’s frame. In addition, the compression garments are made of breathable materials to ensure that patients are as comfortable as possible when they are wearing their compression garment.

If you’re content in general with your body but the frustration over persistent areas keeps plaguing you, it might be time to schedule a consultation with an experienced plastic surgeon.

Together, you can develop a unique treatment plan to reveal your existing assets, and eliminate those little flaws for good.

Have one of those frustrating imperfections you would like to disappear?

Dr. George Marosan, a plastic surgeon with Bellevue Plastic Surgeons, specializes in liposuction and body contouring techniques. His unique practice philosophy is based on the belief that your treatment is more than cosmetic; it is a medical procedure that requires expertise.

Anyone who wants a shapelier, more sculpted figure and would like to discover more about all the services Dr. Marosan offers in the Seattle, Redmond or Bellevue, Washington areas, call 425.450.1994 or use the onlinecontact form to make an appointment for a consultation.