Surgery Recovery

Answer : Blepharoplasty is often a middle aged patient’s first foray into cosmetic surgery.  Opening up your eyes goes a long way in facial rejuvenation.  Upper eyelids we do in the office under local anesthesia.  Lower lids we usually do with sedation or general anesthesia.  If fat is removed from the lower eyelid, the swelling and black and blue is usually gone by 7 days.  If you require a fat transposition, moving of the fat causing the lower eyelid bags into the hollows and the so-called tear trough below the eye, you will have more swelling and more black and blue.  I would not plan on returning to work before 10 days.  This is our more common variation on the procedure.  We prefer to use the fat pads of the lids to help provide youthful fullness to the lower lid.  Complications are rare and are usually related to bleeding.  It is important to stop any medications or herbal preparations that can cause bleeding 10 days before surgery. Aspirin, ibuprofen and other NSAID’s, warfarin, St. John’s wart, gingko biloba, garlic, high doses of vitamin E, and ginseng can cause bruising.  Drinking pineapple juice for a week before and after surgery helps prevent bruising; it contains bromelein.  If you have any questions about bruising as it relates to medications or other preparations you may be taking, please call us at 508-363-6500 or email us at info@drbentkover.com.

Here are some images of lower lid blepharoplasty:
http://www.drbentkover.com/photogallery/wrinkles-scars/patient-4
http://www.drbentkover.com/photogallery/blepharoplasty-eyelid-surgery/patient-10

Answer : For children with protruding ears (called lop ear deformity) is best done around age 5, just before they enter kindergarten.  This is done to avoid them having to endure ridicule from other children.

Answer:
Knowing the correct vector for the elevation is a start.  It is primarily vertical, not toward the ears.  Windswept is not the goal.  The second issue is experience. To help you find the procedure that is right for you contact us to schedule a consultation.

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Like most cosmetic surgery, an otoplasty is usually done as an outpatient.  It is really a re-shaping of the outer ears to get a more appropriate shape and position. Swelling is mostly gone by 1 month but some persists for 6 months.  You will be out of commission for 7-10 days. 

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I leave the dressing on a week.  However, you should stay out of the gym for at least 3 weeks.  You want to avoid trauma to your ears.  Bleeding under the skin can cause loss of cartilage that could distort the result. 

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After an otoplasty surgery the recovery time is usually about 4-7 days. 

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Thin incisionless technique is done by placing sutures through small needle holes in the skin.  I think the traditional techniques give more flexibility and more possibilities to improve multiple factors in what is called the lop ear deformity.

Answer:
Plastic surgery can be divided into two categories, reconstructive and cosmetic.  Reconstructive surgery changes function and structure that must be changed, eg for skin cancer or a cleft lip and palate.  Here is a link to some of our reconstructive work:
http://www.drbentkover.com/procedures/reconstructive_photos-worcester-boston.shtml

Cosmetic surgery changes your appearance because you want to change it, not because it needs to be done.

Answer:
You will feel tight and a bit sore.  You will be wrapped and swollen.  The pain should not be horrendous.

Answer:
I prefer hyaluronic acid (Perlane, Juvederm, Restylane) to permanent implants. I have done many permanent implants over the years and find the fillers to be more customizable and forgiving. That said, you lips will probably be larger than you want for about a week, but often nobody notices.