Total Body Surgical Blog

Why Botox???  Well, look at my picture...see any lines??  Do I look fake or funny to you??  I don't feel funny!!  The best way to summarize the answer to the Botox question is...it makes you look younger.

If that's what you want, Botox is the medication for you.  As we age, the muscles of facial expression work day after day.  Our surprised look, our concearned look, our mad look, and squinting from the sun or when trying to read all lead to eventual wrinkles in the skin.  We get crows feet, lines in our forehead, elevens between the eyes and so on.  This happens to everyone whether we like it or not.  As these lines appear, sometimes as early as the 3rd decade of life, they start to show our age with only a glance.  These lines are difficult to hide with cosmetics and may not only show your actual age but may make you look older than you really are.
  Don't be depressed, have a low self esteem, and lose your confidence, DO something about it!!

What we have today is a whole armamentarium of therapy to make you look your best every day.  Botox is the product I want to talk about a little.  First of all it is very safe.  It is next to impossible to have a severe complication from Botox.  The safety profile is excellent.  It has become very affordable as well.  Usually the cost for treatment of the upper face is around $300.00.  This will generally get the forehead, the elevens between the eyes and the crows feet.  It is very quick and simple to do.  We use the smallest needle we can find and use the highest concentration so that bumps after injection are usually non-existent.  There is very little discomfort and it takes about five minutes.  About the worst that can happen is a small bruise which is rare unless you are taking aspirin or ibuprofen.

  After injection we have you briefly hold pressure on the areas and exercise the muscles we have treated.  In 3-5 days or less the wrinkles will soften and many will disappear.  The effect usually lasts for 3-6 months and for this time, the muscles are weakened and cannot crease the skin as badly.  It does not paralyze the face or make you look "funny" if done properly.  You will look refreshed and younger as the wrinkles fade.  When the strength in the muscles creating your wrinkles starts to return, you will notice the change in the skin and then return for re-treatment.  Most people have 2-3 treatments per year.  After you quit paying for wrinkle creams that do not work and cosmetics to hide the wrinkles that are marginally effective, it is a good investment.  If kept up with, you can go wrinkle free for years and if you keep up with good skin care as well, you will be miles ahead of the game.

Come see us today at Total Body Surgical, we are specialists at Botox and all other aspects of Cosmetic Surgery.  Also Click on any of the flags to see specials.  Mention this blog and get Botox for $9.00/unit.  Call 918-786-7780 for a visit today!!

Everyone wants to know about silicone implants so I decided to talk about them this week.  Silicone implants were the first mainstream implants for breasts available to the US market.  They were used for years and for the most part, the results were good.  Most were placed above the muscle through a variety of approaches.  However, there were design flaws in the implants themselves that led to a number of suits and settlements that actually put a few manufacturers out of business.  The suits claimed that a number of illnesses (cancers, fibromyalgias, lupus, and many other problems) were caused by the silicone.  The fact is, the more liquid silicone in the old style implants leached out over time through the capsule.  This silicone was picked up in the lymphatic system and traveled into lymph nodes and other areas of the body.  Because of litigation and fear, the FDA removed the implants from the market in the early 90's.  The FDA authorized several companies to perfect and study silicone implants at that time. 

Improvements that were made were basically to the capsule holding the silicone and to the silicone itself.  The silicone was heavily cross linked to create a jelly-like substance that likes to stick together.  When a hole is poked into the implant, the silicone does not flow out like liquid.  It takes a fair amount of pressure on the implant to extrude the silicone.  The implant can actually be cut in half....the video I made below demonstrates this.

http://youtu.be/kceaEMmi7pA

The benefits of silicone are somewhat subjective.  First, they are perceived by some to feel "more natural".  Second, they have a tendency to ripple less.  A photo of rippling is below.  Although rippling can happen with silicone, it occurs less frequently.  Silicone is a lower pressure implant and that is why.  Because of this lower pressure, the upper pole is not quite as full as with saline and can look less like an implant.

The down side to silicone implants is expense.  They do cost more...about $1200.  The incidence of capsular contracture (when the capsule the body makes around the implant becomes tight and makes the implant feel hard) is higher...not a lot higher, but higher.  Women under 22 years of age do not qualify for silicone because of FDA rules.  If they do rupture, it can be difficult to detect and the FDA recommends periodic MRI of the breast for detection, however, even MRI is not that great. 

Watch this video where I cut a new silicone gel implant in half.  You can see the properties of the silicone.

I personally have no preference between silicone and saline.  I do not like high profile saline  implants because the look is not appealing.  If someone wants implants under the breast instead of under the muscle, I recommend silicone.  Otherwise I think they are interchangeable.

Hope this answers a few questions for you.  Don't forget our specials on implants for this spring.  We have great pricing that is hard to beat...call us at 918-786-7780 for details.  We also have pricing on laser hair removal that I defy anyone to beat....$50 per treatment per area....wow!!

Talk next week!!

 Don't we all have unwanted hair??On the face maybe??

  Feel like you are wearing a sweater all the time due to unwanted back, arm, or chest hair??

  Tired of shaving those legs??  That's a lot of real estate to manage isn't it??

Maybe you are tired of managing hair in those unmentionable places??

Hair is a funny thing.  It seems that where we want it, it doesn't grow, and where we don't want it, it grows like crazy.  In society today, hair on the body is not a desirable thing.

Traditionally, hair has been managed by a number of means...all of them temporary.

  Tweezers have been a common tool along with razors, shavers, and even hot wax.  Everyone has seen movie scenes where the star is punished by waxing large tracts of hair (40 Year Old Virgin)....it looks terribly painful and not much fun.

Now that laser and pulsed light technology is common, it can be used very effectively to reduce the volume and thickness of hair in almost every area.  As we have been discussing in recent blogs, laser light effectiveness depends on wavelength.  Hair grows from buds that contain pigment and stem cells.

  When the appropriate laser light and energy are used, the hair conducts heat into the bulb of the hair and when in a growth phase, the stem cells are heated and damaged.  Over multiple treatments, the bulb is damaged to the point that it can no longer produce hair.  Multiple treatments are required due to the fact that hair grows at different rates and some follicles are actively producing and some are dormant.  New follicles can also generate in areas that have never produced hair.... i.e. the new hair that forms on your face or back that was never there before.  Lasers and IPL can be used in essentally all areas to remove hair.  The most effective areas are for body hair.  Because it is usually dark and thick, it conducts the heat into the follicle most effectively.  Body hair can usually be reduced by 80% or more in just six treatments 6 weeks apart.  Facial hair is usually thinner and less dark.  Therefore, it usually requires 9 treatments 6 weeks apart or more for lighter hair.  Very light white hair is usually not conducive to laser as it reflects all light and does not conduct heat.

If you are tired of all of the other temporary fixes for unwanted hair.....try laser hair reduction.....it works.  We use the Cutera system at Total Body Surgical.  It is a time tested platform that uses both laser and IPL.  This gives options for some of the more stubborn areas.  It is also easy to afford.  It used to be pretty pricey but now is in most peoples price range.  At Total Body Surgical we charge by the treatment and have many options if multiple areas are to be treated.  We charge $50.00 per treatment for a small area (face, underarms, bikini) and $75 for large areas (full back or chest or abdomen).  Do the math and you will see how over time you actually save money over waxing, shaving or creams.

Call us today to make an appointment...918-786-7780 or fill out a contact form.

Don't forget our other special deals on liposuction, nail fungus, and lap bands!!  

Dr. Jeff Swetnam of INTEGRIS Total Body Surgical

Here is the newest (or maybe oldest) form of breast augmentation.

 WHAT!!!!!

Don't believe it.....I don't either.  If all you had to do is think about breasts to make them bigger, most guys would have Triple D's!!

The last week in this blog, we discussed the different types of commercially available breast implant materials.  The natural types that are now being touted are fat grafting.  Some people are having great results with this and we are too.  However, it can be somewhat unpredictable and you have to have liposuction to get the fat.  Some women have so little fat that it is impossible to get enough to make a difference.

The time honored and gold standard is the breast implant.  These can be placed through several approaches, quickly, and with very predictable results.  Please see previous blogs and videos to get the facts on implants that are currently on the market.

My philosophy is to give you the size and shape that YOU want.  I hear stories all the time about Doctors that give their patients the size and shape that he or she feels will "fit them the best" and most of these women are too big or too small.

The way implants are sized is by the shape and size of the chest wall we are trying to fit.  You would not pull a semi truck into your garage at home now would you....  We don't worry about cc's as much as we are concerned with matching your anatomy and the look you want.  When you come for a consult at INTEGRIS Total Body Surgical we will measure first, then allow you to try on a range of implants that match your body, put on shirts that you want to wear and allow YOU to decide.  Bring friends, significant others, or husbands to help you.  The girls in the office can also give their opinions if you like. 

We hope you will come see us for a complimentary consultation.

918-786-7780

Now through June, breast augmentations are starting at $3699.00.  Look GRAND on Grand this summer!!