Facial Plastic Surgery Q & A
Q: At what age is it best to consider cosmetic surgery?
A: Many people believe that they should wait until some arbitrary age to have cosmetic surgery. Healthy men and women of all ages are achieving impressive cosmetic surgery results. Today, more and more younger people are doing minimally invasive procedures, recognizing that there are several advantages to addressing unwelcome changes sooner rather than later.
Early intervention allows for longer lasting results since muscles and tissues are likely to be more resilient. Another benefit to addressing problems when you first identify them as problems is that less pronounced problems usually require less extensive solutions. The most valuable benefit of early intervention is that you can feel good about yourself and enjoy your improved appearance sooner.
Q: Do all plastic surgeons have the same training and experience?
A: Facial plastic surgeons generally train for 5 years as surgeons with the focus of their training and experience in one area - the face and neck. General plastic surgeons generally train for 5 years too, training first in general surgery, followed by a two-year residency in general plastic surgery, which encompasses training in breast, body and facial procedures.
In the field of plastic surgery, facial plastic surgeons are super-specialists since the breadth and depth of their experience is exclusively in facial procedures. Doesn’t it make sense to go to a surgeon who specializes in the procedure that you are considering?
Q: Is surgery the only option for improving one’s appearance?
A: There are many non-surgical and minimally invasive procedures available that improve one’s appearance without surgery and with little or no downtime.
Injectables temporarily, yet effectively, reduce lines and wrinkles. BOTOX® [link] and Dysport® [link] relax lines and wrinkles, while injectable fillers such as Restylane® [link], Perlane® [link], Radiesse® [link] and Juvéderm™ [link] plump and smooth lines and wrinkles. The MicroLaserPeel [link] precisely removes the outermost layers of the skin to successfully treat skin conditions such as wrinkles, laxity, scars, and texture or pigmentation problems.
Aesthetic facial treatments performed by a medical aesthetician in concert with a consistent home care regimen can also improve and maintain the texture and health of the skin, while softening the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Although non-surgical procedures can effectively reduce the appearance of wrinkles and rejuvenate the skin, unfortunately, sagging skin and the recontouring of facial features are best resolved with surgery.
Q: Is surgery painful? Will I need to go a recovery facility? How much downtime is required?
A: Generally patients describe their surgical experience in degrees of discomfort rather than pain. Patients do not need to spend time in a recovery facility and are usually most comfortable in their own home, in their own bed. Very little “nursing” care is required. Dr. Kaplan recommends that patients have a “caregiver” with them during the first 24 hours. Normal activities, other than exercise, are generally resumed within a week or two.
Q: “How much does a ___________________cost?”
A: We are often asked questions regarding the cost of various procedures. After your consultation you will be given a price quote for the procedures that Dr. Kaplan recommends to address your concerns.
Without a consultation, a price quote can be misleading since the procedure(s) inquired about may not be the best or only procedure(s) to achieve the desired results. Our price quotes include the operating room cost, the surgeon’s fee, pre-and post-op care and anesthesia if an anesthesiologist is not required. For procedures that require an anesthesiologist, the anesthesia fee is a separate fee and is not included.
If multiple surgical procedures are performed at the same time, additional procedures will be discounted,