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What’s Trending

by Allegra Tiver

Find out the new trends in plastic surgery that are keeping local physicians busier than ever.

Everyone has their own idea of what’s beautiful. Now more than ever, people are approaching plastic surgery as a way to enhance their self-esteem and boost their confidence. And new advances in plastic and cosmetic surgery are making individuals’ unique visions increasingly possible.

But what should you consider if you’re debating plastic surgery for yourself? Well, according to our local experts, the world is your oyster. With surgeons, family doctors, dermatologists and dentists alike now in the business of sculpting body parts, patients considering procedures will be met with success if they are realistic and educated.

Top considerations
The happiest patients following surgery are those who have realistic goals, says Dr. Frederick Coville of Cornerstone Plastic Surgery in Linwood. That may mean reimagining having lips like Angelina Jolie or the body of a Victoria’s Secret model.

Younger people are particularly more likely to have skewed goals, he adds. “True foundational beauty lies within each of us,” says Coville. “There is something gorgeous to find in every person.”

It is also important for interested individuals to consider their personal starting point and find a doctor whose image aligns with their own, he says.

“You really have to do your homework,” Coville says. “What doctors think and see are beautiful in the world around them can vary tremendously. You have to honor yourself with someone who has an artistic sense rather than shopping for price.”

If, ands or butts
Beauty can be totally reimagined culturally as well, particularly when it comes to the ideal rear end. Just ask Coville: The local doctor previously practiced in Europe, where perfect posterior was totally different from what New Jersey women want today.

“I trademarked the Jersey Shore Butt Lift in 2010, because I do so many,” he says. The name doesn’t limit its geographic appeal, however, with patients coming to his office for the procedure from across the U.S. and even overseas.

Compared with a Brazilian backside, the Jersey behind has an aesthetically different look, Coville explains; it’s higher and rounder, and not as wide.

“The Jersey Shore butt is more athletic, like a bubble,” Coville says. The technique the surgeon uses to create a lifted set of cheeks is just as intriguing as the concept itself; transferring a woman’s own body fat from one location to her backside.

“I’ve been in plastic surgery for 25 years, and if anyone would ever have asked if it would be popular to make people’s butts bigger, I would say you’re out of your mind,” Coville says. “But patients love it.

“What is hot in this millennium? Fat is hot. Fat is the thing. Fat is in.”

Despite sounding relatively simple, Coville says the sculpting procedure requires precision in placement, and proper treatment after, for fat survival. A favorable aspect of fat transfer is that it can be accomplished anywhere on the body, Coville says, making small breast augmentations another popular option.

Fat free
But fat isn’t “in” everywhere. Removing fat from certain areas of the body through liposuction is also becoming increasingly popular with new laser liposuction procedures, says Dr. Jim Hubbs, of Creations Medical Spa in Turnersville. “The trend started about 10 years ago, but it’s really picking up lately,” Hubbs says. “The biggest reasons are [that] you don’t need general anesthesia, and there is no pain and no downtime.”

Liposuction is done in three stages: Anesthetizing the area and creating 2-millimeter holes into which lidocane and saline are injected; then melting the fat and surrounding connective tissue with a laser; and finally sucking out as much fat as desired. It sounds like a process, but in reality, it’s quick, easy and the patient can walk out post-procedure and get back to regular life.

“It’s really very easy,” Hubbs says. “The saline stops draining within 24 hours. You just need to wear a compressive garment for two weeks to keep the swelling down.” The procedure can be done on any area of the body where there is fat. Popular spots include the abdomen, love handles, thighs, butt, arms and neck. And while women have been coming in for the treatment for years, local men are starting to see its potential as well.

“Many men who work out have six-pack abs and a little pouch of fat overtop that they can’t get rid of,” Hubbs says. “Once that is sucked out, they can really feel great laying on the beach.”

And people who have already lost some weight and end up with loose skin that Hubbs calls “turkey neck” or “bingo wings” can also benefit from the procedure, he says, particularly because the laser helps tighten skin by heating the collagen.

Face time
While people are achieving excellent results combining therapies for facial rejuvenation, Coville says the facelift still has its role—and there are many new options that didn’t exist before. “Not all machines can replace the dramatic results seen with a surgical procedure,” Coville says. “Facelifts have grown much more sophisticated.”

About one-third of Coville’s facelift patients opt for the intra-oral option, a surgery that can be completed through the mouth, provided the skin on the face still has some elasticity.

“From the bottom of the mouth, we can lift the skin from underneath, which leaves nice full cheeks and improves the jaw line,” Coville says. “There are no external scars.”

Another third of Coville’s patients choose the short scar facelift, which suspends the face with sutures just in front of the ear. “It’s not the Full Monty, but it restores youth in the face with a hidden scar,” Coville says.

The remainder of patients choose a full, classic facelift. But before going under the knife, consider your options: Coville notes that isolated procedures—including brow, eye and neck lifts—may offer patients the results they are seeking. Chin implants, which are made of silicone and can be done under local anesthesia, are a simpler alternative that could offer results in this area. “It gives a nice look to the neck and refines the jaw line,” Coville says. “It also keeps people from aging because the skin doesn’t slip down.”

Here’s to no hair
More men and women than ever are coming in for laser hair removal, according to Hubbs, which has little to no discomfort and zero recovery time.

“Guys who used to wax now do this,” Hubbs says. “Women are just getting tired of shaving.”

The treatment is particularly popular with men who have a lot of hair on their back and chest, Hubbs says, and women who contend with underarm, bikini line, leg and facial hair. During the process, the laser heats up the hair follicle—which is where the pigment melanin lives—until it pops. “It gets rid of 90 to 95 percent of the hair,” Hubbs says. “You’re not guaranteed to get all of it, but whatever little bit is left is so much lighter and finer.”

Hubbs says that four to six treatments are required to complete the process, because only 20 percent of the body’s hair grows out at a time. “The face turns out every four to six weeks, the chest six to eight [weeks] and the thighs eight to 12 [weeks],” Hubbs explains.

Because the treatment works on pigment, Hubbs cautions people with darker skin to be careful about the type of laser used; his practice has several options that are safe for various skin types, but you should communicate this concern with your doctor before beginning any procedure. Similarly, patients should not tan for at least two weeks prior to beginning treatment.

Cornerstone Plastic Surgery
401 New Road
Linwood
(609) 910-4545
CornerstonePlasticSurgery.com

Creations Medical Spa
901 Black Horse Pike
Turnersville
7204 North Park Dr.
Collingswood
(856) 382-7699
CreationsMedicalSpa.com

Published (and copyrighted) in the Art of Living Well pull-out section of Suburban Family Magazine, Volume 5, Issue 6 (August, 2014).
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