Colorado Springs Liposuction – Does Surgery Hurt?: When all else fails to get rid of excess fat for the ideal body image, many turn to liposuction. However, there is always the concern about liposuction surgery pain that may make a person hesitate. It is best to know all the facts before going into surgery of any kind and the Mayo Clinic (www.mayoclinic.com) as well as John Hopkins (www.hopkinsmedicine.org) give valid advice. According to plasticsurgery.org, anesthesia is a factor related to any discomfort often experienced after a procedure. When a local anesthesia is used, there will generally be pain experienced the day after the anesthesia has completely worn off. When general anesthesia is required, suggesting a more extensive operation, the pain persists for a longer amount of time with greater severity, often resulting in a need for some type of pain reliever. Whle patients can expect the worst of their symptoms to be over within four days, they should understand that there can be a feeling of discomfort that persists up to eight weeks after a procedure.

The pain with local anesthesia is generally not intense and can be managed with over the counter medication. However, general anesthesia results in much more painful symptoms because there is not the presence of an anesthetic on the body in the affected area. A prescription will most likely be required as would be called for after any kind of surgery. If a person is prepared for what is ahead, it is much easier to deal with the after effects. Pain can be reduced by leaving incisions without sutures and with the use of compression garments. The combination of both tend to reduce swelling and discomfort over time. It is recommended that patients remain active onvr their surgery is completed. However, anyone who has had to use general anesthesia may be more limited in what they are able to do and will have a longer recovery time as well.

When considering liposuction, its important to explore one’s options and talk to a plastic surgeon about reducing liposuction surgery pain. The use of local anesthesia is the recommended way to go for the best possible outcome. Research the doctors who are available in the area, find the one that suits both the budget and has good reviews. The next step is to set up a consultation to discuss all of the details of a procedure. Being well informed can help in addressing any potential pain.

If you live in the Colorado Springs area and have questions about liposuction, contact Mayo Clinic-trained and board-certified plastic surgeon, Greg Liebscher, MD, FACS. You can call to schedule a free consultation to discuss your options about liposuction surgery.

» More about: Liposuction surgery

Colorado Springs Facelift Candidate: Facelift is another name for rhytidectomy, which is the procedure which involves surgical removal of excessive facial skin, thereby eliminating the sagging look and giving the recipient of the surgery a much more youthful look. Facelift is considered to be part of cosmetic surgery and as per recent surveys, is the sixth most popular cosmetic surgery people choose from. The benefit of this procedure is allowing the elimination of extra skin folds and help in bringing down the laxity of facial tissues.

Under normal circumstances, a facelift candidate is a person with a tighter, smoother facial skin which will help them achieve a more youthful look. A facelift will enable people to have the laugh lines, lines around nose, multiple skin folds around neck, worry lines and loosened skin along the jaw line removed. In order to be considered an ideal facelift candidate, it is essential that the person is relatively in good health condition and is aware of the procedure as well as the inherent risks and complications associated with it. In addition, it is essential that the candidate ensures that they keep themselves free of habits such as smoking in order to ensure maximum success. It is a point to be noted that the success rate of the surgery increases when maximizing the patient’s skin elasticity.

According to plasticsurgery.com, an important point a facelift candidate should keep in mind is that this cosmetic surgery only guarantees an improvement in the appearance and is not a shortcut to achieve perfection. Additionally, they should also keep themselves aware of the side effects and associated risks. The different side effects connected to a facelift surgery are bleeding, bruising, infection or injury to facial nerves.

The decision to get a facelift should be a well informed one in order to ensure that the candidate is aware of both the pros and cons of the procedure.

For your Colorado Springs facelift surgery procedure, insist on getting your care from a board-certified plastic surgeon who has significant and specific training in the field of facial plastic surgery.

Dr. Greg Liebscher is a American Society of Plastic Surgery Member and a Mayo Clinic-trained Colorado Springs plastic surgeon. To schedule a personal and private consultation with Dr. Leibscher, call 719-634-2503 or visit the website:

» Go to: Colorado Springs Plastic Surgery

Tummy tuck recovery after surgery will take time as the swelling, throbbing and pain dissipates. The pain medication will sooth and relieve the uncomfortable feeling as the healing begins. Bruising may occur which is normal and to be expected. Taking it easy after the tummy tuck surgery will help the healing process with less severity of pain. A list of postoperative instructions for the tummy tuck recovery will advise you about showering, changing the dressings, movements and activity as well as things to be on the alert.

After surgery the abdomen may be tender and bit numb. If at anytime the pain becomes unbearable, consult your doctor as soon as possible. As time heals all wounds, the incisions may begin to itch or become tingly which is normal. Keep an eye on your temperature. If your temperature becomes elevated, this could mean that you may have an infection and your body is giving you a warning sign.

Tips…

When given antibiotics after surgery, during your tummy tuck recovery phase, take all of the antibiotics during the healing process. This will maintain the unlikelihood of any type of infection. Even though you are feeling better, finish the prescription until it is empty.

Elevating your head and shoulders for the first 3 months may be more comfortable. Standing up will be a little difficult for a few days, however getting up from bed is easier when sitting is easier when you roll yourself. Less strain on the stomach muscles will be less painful. It will take a few weeks for the tummy tuck recovery process to subside and feel better. This is to be expected.

Sutures are usually removed within the 5 to 10 day period after surgery depending on the person. For some people it may be 2 weeks until removed. While the sutures are open do not smoke or use nicotine gums or patches, this will interfere with the healing recovery process.

Always consult a physician

If you have questions about tummy tuck recovery, you should consult with a board-certified plastic surgeon such as Dr. Greg Liebscher who practices plastic surgery in Colorado Springs.

In this video, Colorado Springs plastic surgeon, Greg Liebscher, MD, FACS, explains facelift procedures and the associated risks and likely outcomes:

About Dr. Greg Liebscher, Colorado Springs Plastic Surgeon

Dr. Greg Liebscher is a Mayo Clinic-trained and board-certified Colorado Springs plastic surgeon. Plastic and reconstructive procedures include breast augmentation, breast reduction, breast lift, tummy tuck, liposuction, eyelid lift, forehead lift.

» More about: Facelift

» More about: Colorado Springs Plastic Surgeon – Greg Liebscher, MD, FACS

In this video, Colorado Springs plastic surgeon, Greg Liebscher, MD, FACS, explains tummy tuck and the associated risks and likely outcomes:

About Dr. Greg Liebscher, Colorado Springs Plastic Surgeon

Dr. Greg Liebscher is a Mayo Clinic-trained and board-certified Colorado Springs plastic surgeon. Plastic and reconstructive procedures include breast augmentation, breast reduction, breast lift, tummy tuck, liposuction, eyelid lift, forehead lift.

» More about: Tummy Tuck

» More about: Gregory J. Liebscher, MD, FACS – Colorado Springs Plastic Surgeon

In this video, Colorado Springs plastic surgeon, Greg Liebscher, MD, FACS, explains liposuction and the associated risks and likely outcomes:

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ABOUT GREGORY J. LIEBSCHER, M.D., F.A.C.S.

Dr. Greg Liebscher is a Mayo Clinic-trained and board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon. Plastic and reconstructive procedures include breast augmentation, breast reduction, breast lift, tummy tuck, liposuction, eyelid lift, forehead lift.

» More about: Liposuction

» More about: Gregory J. Liebscher, MD, FACS – Colorado Springs Plastic Surgeon

If you suffer from sagging ear lobes, it could be the result of wearing heavy earrings over time. Plastic surgery could help. Here’s a snippet of a recent article on the subject:

When you examine yourself in the mirror for signs of ageing, I bet it’s not your ears you’re looking at. 

Yet the earlobe is finding itself in the anti-ageing spotlight as it emerges that more and more cosmetic surgeons are doing a quick bit of work on the ears — often in conjunction with a facelift, but sometimes just on their own. 

The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (BAAPS) even featured a presentation on earlobe correction at their recent conference.

Beware big earrings: Heavy jewellery could stretch your ear lobes (posed by model)

The first question that springs to mind is: ‘Why bother?’ But, apparently, saggy earlobes are as much of a giveaway of ageing as a turkey neck.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2069911/Rise-ear-job-Ears-sagging-heavy-earrings-age-say-surgeons-offering-cosmetic-fixes.html#ixzz1fiIEOkkV

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Gregory J. Liebscher, MD, FACS, is a Mayo Clinic-trained and board-certified plastic surgeon in Colorado Springs, CO. Procedures include plastic and reconstructive surgery for breast augmentation, liposuction, tummy tuck, facelift, body lift, ear lift, and more.

» More about: Gregory J. Liebscher, MD, FACS, Plastic Surgeon

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TRANSCRIPT: BREAST AUGMENTATION

By Gregory J. Liebscher, MD, FACS, Plastic Surgeon, Colorado Springs

Breast augmentation is basically the surgical enhancement or enlargement of breasts. In this day and age it is typically done with a couple of different types of implants and in a couple of different places. So we are usually talking about underneath your chest muscle or underneath the gland itself. For the vast majority of patients it usually ends up being somewhere underneath the muscle. It’s a procedure that’s done here at the surgery center. It takes us about an hour to do it and then you’re here for a good 3-4 hours but you go home. It is an outpatient procedure. Recovery for most women is a relatively quick thing. It’s a lot like when milk has come in for them. It’s a lot like lactation. It’s a tense, tight, irritated, swollen feeling for a couple of days and then settles down pretty quickly. So most people are taking pain pills for a day or two and then back to work somewhere around a week would be the standard affair. Looking back to normal in the 6 week to 2 month range and seeing the final result is going to be somewhere around 3 months. In general it is a very well tolerated procedure but it usually is a full 3 months until they see the final result.

WHAT IS ACTUALLY IMPLANTED?

What you are putting in is actually a breast implant which today you’re using either a silicone implant which is what this is or a saline implant which is the same bag just filled with salt water. Why we choose one or another, you have to go into great detail after we examine a patient. Certain patients are a candidate for one and not the other so that’s all settled at the time of the consult. Typically it’s just a silicone implant that is placed underneath their chest muscle and it fills out the whole breast.

WHAT ARE THE RISKS?

Well it is surgery to start with, number one. It’s not coming to get your hair done or something like that. It’s a real procedure. It has all the risks attendant with any surgery, so infection, bleeding, anesthetic issues…all very low, but still very real and we go through those in great detail when the patient comes in. The specific ones for augmentation we always talk about are what is involved with a foreign body, putting a foreign body in you, what’s involved with having an implant in you and what special risks that brings. It changes what an infection is. It changes things down the road. We have to spend a good 15-20 minutes with each patient just covering those issues at the time of consultation.

WHAT ARE THE LIKELY OUTCOMES?

Generally the patients are very, very satisfied. Nationwide, you’ll get satisfaction rates in the 93-95% range. I do not use computer-aided things to show you and promise you what this is going to be but I think I have enough photos of patients over the years to be able to show you that here’s someone that looks like you do now and here’s what that person went to. It will give you a pretty good guess as to what you are going to look like when it’s all done. And we also spend a fair amount of time just measuring you and putting you into sizing bras that actually give you a pretty good sense of what you will look like when it’s all done.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (www.surgery.org), the success and safety of your plastic surgery procedure depends very much on our complete candidness during your consultation. You’ll be asked a number of questions about your health, desires, and lifestyle.

Be prepared to discuss:

• why you want the surgery, your expectations, and desired outcome
• medical conditions, drug allergies, and medical treatments
• use of current medications, vitamins, herbal supplements, alcohol, tobacco, and drugs
• previous surgeries

Your surgeon may also:

• evaluate your general health status and any pre-existing health conditions or risk factors
• discuss the options available to you for your procedure and rejuvenation
• examine and measure your face
• take photographs for your medical record
• discuss your options and recommend a course of treatment
• discuss likely outcomes of the procedure and any risks or potential complications
• discuss the type of anesthesia that will be used

Prior to surgery, you may be asked to:

• Get lab testing or a medical evaluation
• Take certain medications or adjust your current medications
• Stop smoking well in advance of surgery
• Avoid taking aspirin, anti-inflammatory drugs, and herbal supplements as they can increase bleeding

Special instructions you receive will cover:

• what to do on the night before and morning of surgery
• the use of anesthesia during your procedure
• post-operative care and follow-up

Your plastic surgeon will also discuss where your procedure will be performed. Your procedure may be performed in an accredited office-based surgical center, outpatient or ambulatory surgical center, or a hospital.

If your plastic surgery procedure is performed on an outpatient basis, be sure to arrange for someone to drive you to and from surgery and to stay with you for at least the first night following surgery.

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Dr. Greg Liebscher is Mayo Clinic-trained, ASPS Member and ABPS board-certified plastic surgeon in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

»More about: Dr. Greg Liebscher, ASPS Member Plastic Surgeon
»More about procedures for: Breasts • Body • Facial

Source: plasticsurgery.org

Scar revision is a procedure performed on a scar to alter the appearance of the scar. The revision may improve the appearance of the scar or restore function to a part of the body that may have been restricted by the scar. It is important to remember that scars cannot be completely removed.

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What is a scar?

A scar is the body’s natural way of healing and replacing lost or damaged skin. A scar is usually composed of fibrous tissue. Scars may be formed for many different reasons, including as a result of infections, surgery, injuries, or inflammation of tissue. Scars may appear anywhere on the body, and the composition of a scar may vary – appearing flat, lumpy, sunken, or colored. It may be painful or itchy. The final look of a scar depends of many factors, including the skin type and location on the body, the direction of the wound, the type of injury, age of the person with the scar, and his/her nutritional status.

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What are the different types of scars and treatment?

There are many different types of scars, including the following:

• keloid scars—These are thick, rounded, irregular clusters of scar tissue that grow at the site of a wound on the skin, but beyond the edges of the borders of the wound. They often appear red or darker in color, as compared to the surrounding normal skin. Keloids are formed from collagen that the body produces after a wound has healed. These scars may appear anywhere on the body. They occur more often in darker-skinned people. Keloid scars may occur up to one year after the original trauma to the skin.Treatment for keloid scars varies. There is no one simple cure for keloid scars. Recurrence after treatment is common. Treatment may include the following:
  • steroid injections—Steroids are injected directly into the scar tissue to help decrease the itching, redness, and burning sensations that these scars may produce. Sometimes, the injections help to actually decrease the size of the scar.
  • cryotherapy—Cryotherapy involves the scar being “frozen” off by a medication.
  • pressure therapy—Pressure therapy involves a type of pressure appliance worn over the area of the scar. These may be worn day and night for up to four to six months.
  • surgery—If the keloid scar is not responsive to nonsurgical management options, surgery may be performed. One type of surgery directly removes the scar formation with an incision, and stitches are placed to help close the wound. Sometimes, skin grafts are used to help close the wound. This involves replacing or attaching skin to an area that is missing skin. Skin grafts are performed by taking a piece of healthy skin from another area of the body (called the donor site) and attaching it to the needed area.Another option is laser surgery. Scars may be treated with a variety of different lasers, depending on the underlying cause of the scar. Lasers may be used to smooth a scar, remove the abnormal color of a scar, or flatten a scar. Most laser therapy for scars is done in conjunction with other treatments, including injections of steroids, use of special dressings, and the use of bandages. Multiple treatments may be required, regardless of the initial type of therapy.
• hypertrophic scars—Hypertrophic scars are similar to keloid scars; however, their growth is confined within the boundaries of the original skin defect. These scars may also appear red, and are usually thick and elevated. Hypertrophic scars usually start to develop within weeks after the injury to the skin. Hypertrophic scars may improve naturally, although this process may take up to a year or more.In treating hypertrophic scars, steroids may be the first line of therapy with this type of scar, although there is not one simple cure. Steroids may be given as an injection or by direct application. These scars may also be removed surgically. Often, steroid injections are used along with the surgery and may continue up to two years after the surgery to help maximize healing and decrease the chance of the scar returning.
• contractures—Contractures are an abnormal occurrence that happens when a large area of skin is damaged and lost, resulting in a scar. The scar formation pulls the edges of the skin together, causing a tight area of skin. The decrease in the size of the skin can then affect the muscles, joints, and tendons, causing a decrease in movement. There are many different surgical treatment options for contractures. Some of which may include the following:
  • skin graft or skin flap—Skin grafts or skin flaps are done after the scar tissue is removed. Skin grafts involve replacing or attaching skin to a part of the body that is missing skin. Skin grafts are performed by taking a piece of healthy skin from another area of the body (called the donor site) and attaching it to the needed area. Skin flaps are similar to skin grafts, where a part of the skin is taken from another area, but with the skin flaps, the skin that is retrieved has its own blood supply. The section of skin used includes the underlying blood vessels, fat, and muscles. Flaps may be used when that area that is missing the skin does not have a good supply of blood because of the location or because of damage to the vessels.
  • Z-plasty—A Z-plasty is a type of procedure that is used to revise a scar by using a Z-shaped incision to help decrease the amount of contractures of the surrounding skin. It also may attempt to relocate the scar so that the edges of the scar look more like the normal lines and creases of the skin. Small stitches may be used to help hold the skin in place.
  • tissue expansion—Tissue expansion is a newer technique being used, and involves a process that increases the amount of existing tissue available for reconstructive purposes. This procedure is often used in addition to the flap surgery.

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Recovery from scar revision surgery:

As with all surgeries, it is important to follow all instructions to help maximize recovery and healing. Your physician will advise you on all activity restrictions, depending on the type of surgery that was performed. Scars cannot be removed completely. Many factors will be involved in the degree of healing of your particular scar, with some scars taking more than a year to show improvement in appearance following surgery.

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» More about: Body Plastic Surgery
» More about: Facial Plastic Surgery

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Dr. Greg Liebscher is Mayo Clinic-trained, ASPS Member and ABPS board-certified plastic surgeon in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

»More about: Dr. Greg Liebscher, ASPS Member Plastic Surgeon
»More about procedures for: Breasts • Body • Facial