Q: I want to rejuvenate my face and look less tired. How can I tell if injectable fillers will help me or if I need to undergo a full facelift?

In the last few years the public has been inundated with miraculous solutions to help ward off the aging process. This is rapidly growing industry and as such can be confusing and even sometimes deceptive. Injectables? BOTOX®? Facelift? Minifacelift? Short Scar Facelift? It’s pretty overwhelming. It would take hours and an extensive consultation with a plastic surgeon to sort this all out and identify what’s really best for you. But, let’s try to give you a head start.

• BOTOX® paralyzes (temporarily) only those muscles which have been identified as causing undesirable wrinkles. It can make lines softer or disappear completely if they aren’t too deep.
• Injectables can be one of a number of different substances, but they are all used to fill in lines, hollows, creases or other deficiencies. They can also be used to augment or sculpt areas of the face such as the lips, cheeks or cheekbones. This can restore a youthful fullness of the face and sometimes offer a subtle lift of surrounding tissues.

Choosing between injectables and surgery can be a daunting task, but the differences are straightforward. Surgery (facelift etc.) is more expensive (in the short term) but will provide a more lasting effect. It also provides a substantial tightening of the jawline and neck that injectables cannot provide. There is also recovery which can require up to two weeks. Injectables, on the other hand, provide very little actual tightening of sagging skin and may need to be repeated annually or sometimes even more often. They can, however, offer specific wrinkle correction or volume replacement with virtually no down time and at less expense.

That’s the “keep it simple” answer. Visit your plastic surgeon for the details and for what really meets your needs.

Q: Mommy Makeover procedures have gained popularity recently. Would this be a way to address a loose belly after pregnancy?

Nothing’s more annoying to a mother of small (or any size) children than seeing another mother wearing a skimpy 2 piece showing off her abs of steel. The truth is, she’s unusual and incredibly lucky, or…. she’s had a tummy tuck. The condition of the tummy following one or more pregnancies is much like the condition of the skin of some one who has had massive weight loss. The skin loses much of its natural elasticity and becomes loose, stretched out and, occasionally saggy. Only a very lucky few have an unusually strong genetic resistance to this elastic damage. Once it happens, no amount of diet or exercise can restore the original tone. That’s not to say that excellent diet and exercise can’t achieve the best possible degree of health and tone. It simply won’t tighten the skin.
Tummy tuck or “abdominoplasty” is the surgical procedure in which which the excess skin and fat between the pubis and the belly button are removed. Once things are pulled together, the entire abdomen is often so tight that it takes a few days to stand up fully straight. But when you do…..! The scar can be quite long, and the belly button itself is not moved but sutured to the newly tightened skin improving another troublesome area. Another bonus is the internal tightening of the muscle which has usually become relaxed or even widened in the mid-line following pregnancy. There is also a “mini-tummy tuck” which is effective when only the lowest part of the tummy needs to be tightened. Many women actually have tummy tuck and breast lift or augmentation at the same time. Since the breasts and the tummy seem to suffer the most with pregnancy, this seems to be the most common combination (mommy makeover) operation.