Virginia Center for Plastic Surgery

Monday, November 19, 2007

Common sense and plastic surgery

The tragedy of Donda West, the death of the mother of hip-hop star Kayne West, has focused quite a bit of attention on my specialty in the past several weeks.

Her surgeon, Jan Adams, was not board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, nor was he a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. This highlights the fact that just because someone is on TV, or is in a magazine, does not mean that they are a good surgeon or that the place where your surgery takes place is a safe facility. Take a look at 15 steps to take before your consultation.

There is heightened awareness that plastic surgery procedures are available to most people these days. However, no surgery is without risk. When procedures are combined, risks increase. Factors that need to be taken into account for considering any surgery, but particularly for combined surgeries include: overall medical condition of the patient in combination with the amount of blood loss, the amount of fluid shifts related to surgery (particularly important in liposuction and abdominoplasty), the amount of anesthesia, the length of the procedures, the type of anesthesia, and the risk/preventative measures for deep vein thrombosis.

Just last week, a patient came in desiring liposuction to areas of her lower body, a tummy tuck, a breast lift, some facial work, and arm liposuction. In my opinion, this was too much surgery for one session. We discussed the things that were bothering her the most, and then formulated a surgical plan that divided all of these procedures into several combined sessions.

So when I talk about common sense and plastic surgery, there are several main themes that I come back to:

  1. You have to have realistic expectations for results.
  2. You have to do procedures in multiple stages when safety issues dictate this
  3. You can't get something for nothing - meaning that to a certain degree, in order to obtain substantial long term results, there needs to be substantial changes to your tissues and that there are no quick, easy fixes (think Thermage.)
So please, do your homework; ask questions of your prospective surgeon before you even set foot in his office as well as a lot of questions during your consultation.

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posted by Eric Desman, M.D. at 11:25 PM  

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Another new filler to the stable

Not only is Artefill ( a permanent filer for smile lines) now available at the Virginia Center for Plastic Surgery, but we also now have Radiesse available.

Radiesse is injected into the skin through a simple, safe and minimally invasive procedure. Radiesse is made of very tiny calcium based microspheres that are suspended in a natural gel.

Now we have a full range of dermal fillers for our patients.

Hyaluronic acid fillers like Restylane and Juvederm, which in my clinical practice last about 8-9 months (though Juvederm is marketed to last a year.)

Calcium based fillers that seem to last about a year to year and a half. And finally . . .

Artefill, the only product labeled as a permanent filler. It is made of miniature beads (microspheres) of PMMA (polymethylmethacrylate) that are suspended in bovine collagen. PMMA has been used for many years in medical implants.

posted by Eric Desman, M.D. at 8:11 PM  

Friday, November 02, 2007

New services on the horizon

Dr. Desman just returned from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons meeting in Baltimore. Look for exciting new information coming up on this blog about the cutting edge in plastic surgery. For example, we have added the permanent injectable filler Artefill to our stable of hyaluronic acid fillers. Dr. Desman can now provide a permanent solution to the deep wrinkles of the smile lines (nasolabial crease) using Artefill.

posted by Eric Desman, M.D. at 11:09 AM  

Call 703-924-3144 to schedule a free in-office consultation or to set up a free telephone consultation.

Our goal is to provide you with the highest quality cosmetic surgery care in the Northern Virginia and Washington DC region. Dr. Desman is committed to serving you through advanced training, dedication to perfection and unmatched personal care.

We are confident you will not be disappointed!
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Copyright ©2006 Eric Desman, M.D. and Virginia Center for Plastic Surgery, PC.

The Virginia Center for Plastic Surgery offers reconstructive and cosmetic surgery for patients in the Washington D.C. and Northern Virginia area including Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Fairfax County and Springfield. Nothing on this website should be construed as formal medical advice nor does this website constitute a doctor - client relationship. If you need more information please consult our Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Desman. He has the cosmetic surgery skills and experience you can trust for your breast augmentation, eyelid surgery, facelift, liposuction or tummy tuck.