Everyone wants to look their best for holiday pictures. Whether that means Botox, a chemical peel, or a facelift varies patient to patient. Dr. Brantner and his staff are here to help you find your inner confidence this holiday season. If you’ve been contemplating a surgical or non-surgical cosmetic procedure, here’s what you need to know about looking your best for the holidays.
Schedule Your Surgery
The holidays may seem distant right now, but Thanksgiving is only a month away, and Christmas will arrive before you know it. Look your best for Christmas parties and Thanksgiving supper by planning any cosmetic treatments well in advance. If a chemical peel is on your pre-holiday to-do list, remember that skin may appear red and irritated for 24-48 hours after the procedure. Patients may also need several days to see the full effects of Botox and injectable fillers. Cosmetic surgery requires a more extended recovery time and may hinder your ability to haul 10 lb turkeys out of the oven. If you’re planning a facelift or body rejuvenation procedure, ask Dr. Brantner’s scheduling coordinator how much recovery time you’ll need before diving into the holidays.
Holiday Scheduling
If you’re planning cosmetic surgery around the holidays, book as far in advance as possible. For some women the holidays are an excellent time to take an extended leave from work and recuperate from surgery. For other women, the holidays are full of holiday shopping, days of cooking, and kids on vacation from school. Plan your holiday surgery at a time that’s convenient for your schedule, keeping in mind you may need 3-5 days of recovery time and an additional few weeks without heavy lifting.
Want an extra boost of confidence for the holidays this year? Schedule a cosmetic consultation with Dr. Brantner and reveal the you you know you can be.
When you reach a certain age, it seems like everyone is whispering about facial rejuvenation. Celebrities are no strangers to facelifts (good and bad), but neither are friends, neighbors, coworkers, and fellow churchgoers. If you’re trying to decide whether to schedule cosmetic surgery, consider these 4 signs you’re ready for a facelift.
You’re unhappy with your appearance. Cosmetic surgery isn’t about vanity or achieving eternal youth. Plastic surgery is about feeling confident in your own skin. If you find yourself avoiding mirrors, photographs, or large events because you’re dissatisfied with your appearance, it may be time to make some changes. For many men and women, a facelift is just the confidence boost they need to start living again.
Creams, collagen injections, and chemical peels have lost their appeal. When patients start smoothing the appearance of lines and creases on the face, they often begin with smaller procedures. If Botox, injectable fillers, and chemical peels are ineffective at reducing signs of aging, you may consider a more permanent facial rejuvenation procedure.
You have deep lines and wrinkles. Regardless of age and plastic surgery history, some lines and creases are too deep to remove with non-surgical procedures. If you’re unhappy with the wrinkles and lines on your face, call Dr. Brantner’s office for more information about facial rejuvenation surgery.
Your skin is beginning to sag. Many men and women decide to get full facelifts when the skin on their eyelids, cheeks, and jowls begin to sag. Patients who undergo face- or neck lifts before their skin loses too much elasticity will usually get better, longer lasting results.
If you’re considering a cosmetic facelift, schedule a consultation with Dr. Brantner. He’ll inform you about the benefits of full facelifts, mini in-office facelifts, and smaller procedures like eye lifts. He will then help you determine which procedures is best to achieve your ideal appearance.
Most patients know that when they decide to rejuvenate their features, a facelift will help achieve a more youthful look. Facelifts smooth wrinkles, minimize creases, and lift sagging skin, returning a patient’s features to a more youthful appearance. But what many people don’t know is that the term “facelift” includes several smaller procedures. Each of these procedures can be undertaken solitarily, combined with body rejuvenation procedures, or used as part of a whole facial rejuvenation surgery.
Brow Lift
A brow lift is the surgical equivalent of a Botox injection. Instead of injecting a temporary, localized treatment into the muscle between the brows, a brow lift permanently lifts the skin on the forehead, minimizing wrinkles between the eyebrows and on the forehead. By restoring the eyebrows to their natural position on the forehead, Dr. Brantner can give his patients a more youthful and alert appearance.
Eyelid Surgery
As men and women age, they often find their eyelids drooping with time. This may lead to:
Bags under the eyes
Skin forming into creases and wrinkles under the eyes
Drooping skin on the lower eyelids that often reveals the whites of the eyes
Puffy, fatty deposits in the eyelids
Loose skin and wrinkles on the upper eyelid
Sagging skin above the eyelid that may impair vision
In the case of impaired vision, eyelid surgery is covered by some medical insurance companies. Eyelid surgery can reduce wrinkles, creases, puffiness, and sagging skin around the eyes. With lower eyelid rejuvenation, the mid-face is lifted. This improves cheek prominence, makes the lower lids look more youthful, and smooths the crease beside the upper lip.
Necklift
One of the few cosmetic procedures as popular with men as it is with women, necklift surgery smooths and lifts sagging skin around the neck and jawline. It can also reduce the appearance of muscle banding in the neck, remove excess fat under the chin, and reduce or eliminate jowls. Necklift surgery is often performed with a full facelift procedure, but is also commonly chosen by patients whose upper facial features are still smooth and youthful.
Dr. Brantner can perform a variety of small procedures to restore youthfulness to the face. To schedule a facelift consultation, a full facelift, or an in-office facelift procedure, call Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in Johnson City, TN.
Rhinoplasties are a common cosmetic procedure performed to correct symmetry, unwanted bumps, and blocked passageways in the nose. Most patients choose rhinoplasties for cosmetic purposes, but insurance may cover your surgery if you have a breathing impairment due to a deviated septum. Rhinoplasty procedures are unique because they’re as popular among men as they are among women. If you’re thinking about having rhinoplasty surgery, consider the following information as you make your decision.
Choosing a Rhinoplasty
Many patients choose rhinoplasty surgery because they’re unhappy with the size, shape, or balance of their nose. Rhinoplasties can also correct breathing difficulties caused by blocked nasal passages. Cosmetic rhinoplasty surgery increases the balance and proportions of the face by adjusting the size or shape of the nose. Good candidates for a cosmetic rhinoplasty procedure are unhappy with the size or appearance of their nose. They may have:
Bumps, ridges, or depressions on the bridge of their nose
Noses disproportionate in size to their other facial features
Asymmetrical noses
A rounded, drooping, hooked, or enlarged nose tip
Wide, upturned, or oddly shaped nostrils
Rhinoplasty Consultation and Surgery
A surgical consultation is designed to allow Dr. Brantner to educate the patient about the procedure, discuss the aesthetic and practical goals of the patient, and answer any questions the patient may have about his or her upcoming surgery. During your rhinoplasty consultation, you should expect:
To discuss past surgeries, current medications, and known allergies
To discuss your cosmetic surgical goals and any breathing difficulties
For Dr. Brantner to evaluate your health and candidacy for nose surgery
To learn about the options for reshaping your nose
For Dr. Brantner or his nurse to take photographs of your face and nose, measure your features, and recommend a surgical course of action
To learn about the health risks, potential complications, surgery, and recovery involved in a rhinoplasty
To share any questions or concerns about your rhinoplasty surgery with Dr. Brantner
To schedule your rhinoplasty procedure with Dr. Brantner’s scheduling coordinator
There are plenty of options for patients who want smoother, more youthful skin. Chemical peels freshen the face, Botox and injectable fillers smooth lines around the eyes and mouth, and facelifts correct sagging skin on the face and neck. Patients who ask for a facelift may want the full procedure, or any number of smaller procedures that recontour the face and minimize the signs of aging. Patients who want lasting results without missing several days of work may want to consider an in-office facelift procedure.
Mini Facelift Procedure
Dr. Brantner specializes in an office procedure facelift; that is, a mini facelift that requires no general anesthesia but still provides tangible results. Dr. Brantner performs this minor cosmetic procedure in his office using local anesthesia. The procedure, which lasts about two hours, addresses the face in three parts: the eye area, the mid face, and the neck. A minor incision beneath the eyelashes:
Removes excess skin
Decreases the appearance of bags under the eyes
Removes lines from around the nose
Increases the prominence of the cheekbones
Smoothes skin, creating a more youthful appearance
Dr. Brantner addresses the neck and jowls by lifting the skin in front of the ear. A permanent buried suture tautens the tough under layer of skin, smoothing wrinkles and sagging skin on the neck. Dr. Brantner removes any excess skin. He can then lift drooping brows with a minor eyebrow lift. Often patients who suffer sagging brows also require an eyebrow lift to improve vision. In such cases, insurance typically covers the cost of surgery.
Recovering from a Mini Facelift
Because Dr. Brantner performs this cosmetic procedure in-office with local anesthesia, his patients can enjoy the benefits of a facelift without the expense, hassle, and recovery time of an OR procedure. Patients take mild, oral medication before the procedure. Most patients are fully functional the following day without suffering “anesthesia hangover.” The skin often bruises and swells, but generally both can be covered by makeup within a week. Patients are back to their daily routine quickly: they may begin exercising 3 weeks after their procedure, and rarely feel any lingering tenderness beyond 5 weeks.
Everyone wants to look their best for holiday pictures. Whether that means Botox, a chemical peel, or a facelift varies patient to patient. Dr. Brantner and his staff are here to help you find your inner confidence this holiday season. If you’ve been contemplating a surgical or non-surgical cosmetic procedure, here’s what you need to know about looking your best for the holidays.
