Muffin Top No More
Stuart Linder, M.D. (“Dr. Body”) and Robert Kotler, M.D. (“Dr. Face”) are two board-certified Beverly Hills cosmetic plastic surgeons who see patients from around the world.
Touch-ups are common to plastic surgery procedures. Below, the doctors talk about the usual touch-ups that accompany the most requested cosmetic surgery procedures.
Doctors Face and Body are both inventors of medical devices, book authors and frequently featured on international television and in other media.
The doctors jointly belong to the following medical organizations:
- American Medical Association
- American Board of Plastic Surgery
- The American Academy of Facial Plastic Surgery and Reconstructive Surgery
Look at a few of Dr. Body’s breast revision before and after pictures.
See some before and after pictures of nose job revisions performed by Dr. Face.
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Dr. Body (Dr. Linder): Touch-ups after plastic surgery are fairly common, aren’t they?
Dr. Face (Dr. Kotler): Sure. Because such a high proportion of our practice is rhinoplasty and other surgery to improve breathing, we see many patients from all over the world who need some further touch-up work.
Dr. Body: Doing a touch-up does not mean the original surgery was done incorrectly. It’s just that there is another hand at work in addition to the surgeon’s – the hand of Mother Nature.
Dr. Face: Right, you never know precisely which way Mother Nature and the healing process are going to swing. Sometimes, she’s with you; at other times, she muddles things a little.
Dr. Body: So what touch-ups do you commonly do, doctor?
Dr. Face: Routine nose surgery often requires touch-ups. It depends on what the surgeon has to work with at the start. If a nose has been broken, chances are very high indeed that touch-ups will be needed later because the tissues, cartilage and bones have been broken and shattered.
Dr. Body: How much of the patient’s time is required for a touch-up?
Dr. Face: Often, we can make necessary corrections, in the office, without surgery, using facial filler injections like Restylane or Juvederm. It doesn’t take more than 15 or 20 minutes in my office, plus there’s no charge to our patients. However, if the patient had the first or second operation elsewhere, the charges are moderate and certainly less than another trip to the operating room.
Dr. Body: What are the most common dissatisfactions that can be handled in the office?
Dr. Face: A revision surgery, when the first rhinoplasty – done by another surgeon – did not turn out well. Sometimes, it’s just a small bump or divot on the nose that needs a little extra attention. The important thing in these cases is to tell the patient upfront it looks like a difficult nose case and the chances are excellent he or she may have to come back for a touch-up.
Dr. Body: I have an unusual touch-up procedure that is basically two operations separated by three months.
Dr. Face: That would deal with body shaping, no?
Dr. Body: Yes, many more people are coming in after massive weight loss – having dropped anywhere from 100 to 150 pounds – and requesting body shaping to get rid of the huge sheets of hanging skin left after the excess pounds are gone.
Dr. Face: Sure, the obesity has stretched the patient’s skin far beyond its ability to spring back to its original shape.
Dr. Body: So some patients request removal of a very large apron of skin hanging from their tummies. We surgeons know the procedure as a panniculectomy (pan-i-cue-lec-tomy.) It’s basically a very large tummy tuck and is necessary because that apron of stomach skin hangs down so much it interferes with fitting into clothing, getting exercise and performing proper hygiene. In extreme cases, the excess skin can hang to the patient’s knees.
Dr. Face: Where does the touch-up come in?
Dr. Body: Because the operation removes a lot of tummy skin along with a few nerves and blood vessels, the patient must wait three months until everything grows back together again. Then, I can do all the liposuction needed to sculpt the hips, stomach and flanks.
Dr. Face: Sounds like that really nails a muffin top!
Dr. Body: But I tell them about all this upfront, explaining for medical and anatomic reasons, it must be a two-stage procedure. Then, they are twice as excited about the look of their new trim, slim waists, even with a second charge for the touch-up.
Dr. Face: Do you remind them that one who indulges, bulges?
Dr. Body: Of course! These days, obesity is really widespread.
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If you liked the topic above, you may enjoy Dr. Face’s WebMD column, “Secrets of a Beverly Hills Cosmetic Surgeon.”
Or, you may like this topic if you were ever curious about finding the most anatomically perfect bra – designed by a plastic surgeon who has performed over 14,000 breast augmentation.
Finally, read Drs. Face and Body discussing high technology in plastic surgery.
