Men
Hair Transplant Facelift and eyes Rhinoplasty Breast Reduction Liposuction for Men Tummy Tuck for Men Tattoo removal While women are still the mainstay of my practice, more and more men are seeking cosmetic surgery. While the surgeries are similar men require a different skill set and thinking. Men tend to be more impulsive and in some cases impatient– I know, I’m one of them. To me there is a lot more teaching involved in the male patient. Most of my female patients have done hours of research before they even schedule their first consultation. They tend to know ahead of time what we can and can’t realistically accomplish, what are the risks, downtime and expected recovery. Our first consult is often the first introduction for the male patient. So men, if your reading this the more educated you are about your surgery the more gratified you will be. Our Initial consultation will be a teaching session about what is realistic, what can be done safely and what can not, which scars may be worth it to you and which you may regret. Most importantly we will focus on your health, your healing and recovery. You must give yourself both the support system and the time to recover properly. The list above is not everything that male patients see me for but comprises the most popular things. I share with you here some of my personal experience and thinking. From top to bottom: Hair: Hair transplant is covered here as a topic unto itself, but because it is so popular among our male patients it is important to discuss here as well. How men become bald is genetically determined and generally follows common patterns. In most cases the hairline begins to recede, the top thins, but the hair around the back of the head stays. In this common type of male pattern baldness we can transplant that hair from the back of the head to the front and re establish a frontal hairline. We are literally borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. We use Neograft, Artas robot or strip grafts depending upon the patients goals, needs and candidacy for surgery. Our hair transplant clinic is geared towards determining if you are a candidate, a realistic assessment of our ability to accomplish you goals, and teaching about the available techniques and options. We also focus on treatment to prevent the loss of your existing hair. For more information on hair transplant visit this section of the website as well. Face and Eyes: As baby boomers age we are seeing more and more men in the workplace considering facial rejuvenation. Measures range from Botox Cosmetic and fillers to eyelid surgeries, facelifts, and chemical peels. I personally think that less is more in the male patient. Facelift scars can be harder to conceal than in a woman where long hair helps, but for some itis still the best solution. I like my male patients to continue to look undone, but refreshed. Rhinoplasty: Common among men to reduce a bump, lift a tip or narrow a bridge. Result are highly individual depending upon the starting situation and skin thickness. In the male patient I prefer a stronger bridge and less tip elevation. I feel that stronger is better in the male population and look less “done” Breast reduction: Increasingly common is male breast reduction for ” Gynecomastia”. Some men develop overgrowth of the breast gland, some have excessive fatty fullness and many have both. In most cases fat is removed with liposuction and the firm gland which liposuction can not remove is taken out through an incision under the areola. The key here is the skin tone. If a man has good skin elasticity then the skin will shrink and flatten when the underlying contents are removed. Unfortunately, if the skin is loose, it will just get droopier. The paradox here is that the best patients for gynecomastia treatment are usually younger because the skin elasticity is better. If the skin is too loose a wedge fo skin can be removed under the breast, but this leads to a permanent scar which as to be worth it to the patient. It is often a good trade off in patients who have had massive weight loss, but not worth it for everyone. Liposuction: Liposuction can not make you thin, only you can make you thin, but in the appropriate candidate liposuction can take down a diet resistant fatty area. Again, the key here is skin tone. If the skin has good elasticity the area will shrink up nicely, if the skin is loose there is a greater likelihood of dimpling, waving and irregularity. In consultation I evaluate your skin tone as good, moderate or poor. If the skin is too loose I may suggest skin tightening surgeries. Even in the best of candidates patients will always pinch something in an area that is treated with liposuction they will just pinch less. Liposuction does not remove all the fat- it would not look normal and liposuction removes no skin at all. Think of liposuction as a tool that may make you more “streamlined” not as a tool for weight loss. Our physicians center offers “Coolsculpting” which is a technique that uses cooling temperatures to diminish fat, but the same rules apply. Good skin tone is still necessary for best results and results will be less than in a liposuction. Tummy Tuck: Perhaps most misunderstood by men. A few times a month I will have a “generous” male come in that wants me to give him a flat abdomen. There are two components to a Tummy Tuck. One is skin removal, the other is abdominal wall flattening. Skin removal is for the most part easy, flattening can be different. In a woman, during childbearing, the fetus grows, the uterus enlarges and the abdominal wall stretches. After childbearing the baby is out, the uterus shrinks, but the abdominal wall often stays stretched out. Because the baby is gone and the uterus is shrunken we have room we can reclaim when tightening the abdominal wall. We have a good chance in restoring some of that original flatness provided the patient returns to her pre-pregnancy weight. In the male patient with a bulging belly the baby is still in there so to speak, the space is filled and three is no room to reclaim. You cant put 10 pounds of potatoes in a 5 pound bag. So, where we generally succeed in the male patient is after significant weight loss when there is intrabdominal room to reclaim and excess skin to remove. Tattoo removal. Unfortunately the best treatment for tattoos in my opinion is prevention. That is why I call them needle tattoos in front of my kids. There are two broad categories of tattoo removal. Laser treatment and Surgical treatment. Lasers tend to be more successful with darker hues, such as blacks and blues. The energy from most lasers is absorbed best by these colors and vaporizes the tattoo pigments. Professionally applied tattoos work best because the pigments are usually more evenly placed. Even so, lasers even in the best case often require multiple treatments and often leave a ghost. A ghost is a permanent pale area where the tattoo used to be because the laser has destroyed not only tattoo pigment, but the normal pigment cells of the skin. Surgical options often depend on the size and location of the tattoo. In areas where skin is looser or there is excess skin excision is easier. In areas without excess skin staged excision, skin grafting and or tissue expansion may be needed– these option are more costly and less appealing. All surgical options leave a scar. Our consultation is designed to see which option may be best for you. Conclusion: This page is not an exhaustive list of all the things I have done for male patients, but I hope it has given you some insight. If there is something you would like to learn about or do not see here please let me know or come in for a consultation.
