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Latest News
September 2009 Q & A with Dr. Levens
(Dr. Levens’ monthly column is carried by the Coral
Springs Forum newspaper.)
Dear Dr. Levens: I gained quite a bit of weight over
the recent holidays and would like to get it off quickly. It’s
mostly in my hip and stomach areas. I hate to diet. Can liposuction
take the weight off for me and return me to my pre-Thanksgiving figure? --LM
Dear LM: When desiring to lose weight, liposuction
should never be considered an alternative to healthy dieting and exercise.
For a variety of health reasons, it is recommended that patients be
at or near their ideal weight before having any surgery, including
liposuction. In most cases, liposuction does not create great weight
loss. Rather, it helps reshape the body by removing stubborn
deposits of fat from specific areas, such as the stomach, hips, thighs
or buttocks. Once the fat cells are removed, fat will not accumulate
in the same areas again. But with weight gain, fat will appear
in different areas of the body, causing a new set of problems.
Dear Dr. Levens: My hands seem to be
aging faster than the rest of me...the skin in very wrinkled and I
have lots of dark spots. Can cosmetic surgery improve this? ---TD
Dear TD: It is possible to perform cosmetic
surgery on the hands, but few patients want to invest the time and
money for such surgery, unless the problem is truly disfiguring. Non-invasive
treatments such as chemical peels and lasers can produce lightening
of dark spots on the hands, though multiple treatments are needed. Soft
tissue injections such as Restylane or collagen can be used to reduce
visible wrinkling.
Dear Dr. Levens: How do I know if I need a
liposuction on my stomach or a tummy tuck? ---ME
Dear ME: You’ll need to be examined
by the plastic surgeon to know for sure, but here are some guidelines. If
you have a belly bulge, but good abdominal muscle tone and no excess,
hanging skin, liposuction might be the right choice. It can
reduce fat in the area, prevent fat from accumulating in the same
place in the future and it is a much less invasive procedure than
a tummy tuck. However, if you have weak muscle tone and hanging
skin, which is usually the case after pregnancy or major weight loss,
you’ll need a tummy tuck. During the surgery, the abdominal
muscles are tightened and excess skin is removed. Sometimes,
liposuction is performed at the same time to remove excess fat and
sculpt the entire area.
Dear Dr. Levens: I am 50 years old and about
40 pounds overweight. My upper eyelids have gotten very full
and saggy. Do I need surgery for this or will the fullness decrease
if I lose weight? --GR
Dear GR: The upper eyelids are a part of the
face least likely to be impacted by weight loss. Weight loss
can cause saggy skin in the face or neck, but saggy skin in the eyelids
is almost always caused by aging, or maybe somewhat hereditary, but
it is not primarily weight related. During eyelid surgery, incisions
are placed in the fold of the upper eyelid to make them inconspicuous.
Excess skin is then conservatively removed from the upper eyelids.
If excess fatty tissue is producing bulges, then that tissue can be
carefully removed to produce a natural lid appearance.
Dr. Levens is a Board-certified plastic surgeon.
He has served as Vice Chief of Staff and
Chief of Surgery at Coral SpringsMedicalCenter. His
column appears monthly. Send questions to Cosmetic
Surgery Today, 1725 University Dr., Suite 440, Coral
Springs, 33071 or email info@DrLevens.com.
Interested in seeing past questions? Please
see our archived Q
& A section.
Dr. Levens has been providing plastic, cosmetic
and reconstructive surgery procedures for patients in Boca Raton,
Boynton Beach, Coconut Creek, Coral Springs, Davie, Delray Beach,
Ft. Lauderdale, Hollywood, Lauderhill, Margate, Miami, North Lauderdale,
Parkland, Plantation, Sunrise, Tamarac, West Palm Beach, Wellington,
Weston and throughout South Florida since 1989. |
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