From eye or face lifts to breast augmentation, Cape Cod Plastic Surgery is equipped to handle all your plastic surgery needs. To help you understand your options, we've included descriptions of some of our leading services on this page.
Cosmetic Procedures:
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Reconstructive Surgery:
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Abdominoplasty
Abdominoplasty is a surgical procedure designed to remove excess skin and fatty tissue from the middle and lower abdomen and to tighten muscles of the abdominal wall. This is not an operation for individuals who are markedly overweight. Obese individuals who intend to lose weight should postpone all forms of body contouring surgery until they have been able to maintain their weight loss. The operation involves a long lower abdominal incision through which the rectus muscles are tightened. The redundant skin is then removed leaving a flat, more esthetic contour to the abdomen. Occasionally, this procedure is combined with liposuction to enhance the sculptured appearance of the abdomen. The surgery is usually performed in a hospital operating room, under general anesthesia with an overnight stay. Recovery time is two to four weeks.
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Blepharoplasty
Blepharoplasty is a surgical procedure to remove excess skin and fat from both the upper and lower eyelids. Blepharoplasty can improve drooping skin and bagginess around the eyes. It can sometimes help those whose vision has been impaired by redundant skin or fat. Blepharoplasty will not remove crow's feet or other wrinkles, eliminate dark circles under the eyes or lift drooping eyelids. The blepharoplasty operation is customized for every patient, depending on his or her particular needs. It can be performed along involving upper, lower of both eyelid regions or in conjunction with other surgical procedures of the eye, face, brow, or nose. This surgery is usually performed in our office operating suite under local anesthesia with sedation. Most patients can return to work in five to seven days.
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Botox Injections
Botox is purified neurotoxin (botulinum A toxin) that is used to treat facial skin wrinkles. It works by inhibiting the underlying muscles of the face that produce certain wrinkle lines or folds. It is especially useful for the wrinkles of the glabella (area between the eyebrows), "crow's feet" around the eyes and forehead. The effects of Botox are temporary and last 6 to 12 months and require repeat injections to maintain the continued improvement. Treatment consists of small injections into a particular muscle to eliminate its hyperactivity and thereby diminish the resultant wrinkle.
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Breast Augmentation
Breast augmentation surgery is a surgical procedure for increasing the size of the breasts. This surgery involves creating a space or "pocket" beneath the breast tissue (above or below) the pectoralis muscle of the chest. A saline-filled silicone prosthesis (implant) is then inserted into this space to increase the size and projection of the overlying breast. Skin incisions are placed to keep the scars as inconspicuous as possible and are usually placed under the breast, round the nipple or in the armpit. The shape and size of the breasts prior to surgery will influence both the recommended treatment and the final result. If the breasts are not the same size or shape, adjustments can be made to achieve a more symmetrical appearance. Breast augmentation is usually done in an office operating suite under local anesthesia with sedation. Most women can return to work in 4 - 5 days and resume full activities in 3 - 4 weeks.
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Brow Lift
A brow lift or forehead lift is an operation that corrects drooping or laxity of the eyebrows and forehead tissue. It can also minimize some of the most visible signs of aging such as hooding over the eyes, deep forehead lines and furrows between the eyebrows. In brow lift surgery, the muscles and skin that cause the problems are removed or altered to smooth the appearance of the forehead and elevate the eyebrows. This surgery may be done endoscopically or through an open, coronal (scalp) incision. Frequently, this surgery is combined with blepharoplasty or face lift surgery. Recovery time is about 5 - 7 days and the operation is done in a office operating suite under local anesthesia with sedation.
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Chemical Skin-Peeling
Chemical skin-peeling and other skin treatments have been performed for many years to treat a variety of skin disorders. Conditions such as sun damage, wrinkling and uneven pigmentation may be treated with these non-invasive techniques. There are different chemical peels and skin treatment medications. In some situations, chemical peels may be performed a the time of other surgical procedures. In chemical peels, an acid solution is topically applied to certain areas of the face. A superficial, controlled "burn" occurs with this acid application producing an improvement in the skin appearance and texture. There are light and deep peels available depending upon the severity of the skin problem. Most light or superficial peels require 2 or 3 treatments about 6 weeks apart for optimal results. Patients look presentable 5 or 6 days while deeper peels may require 10 - 14 days for early healing. Chemical peels can be done without sedation or anesthesia.
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Facelift
A facelift is a plastic surgery operation to correct aging deformity of the cheeks and neck or surrounding structures. Sometimes this procedure is done in connection with a forehead lift, eyelid surgery or chemical peel. As individuals age, the skin and muscles of the face region begin to sag and lose their tone. The facelift operation cannot stop the aging process. It can improve the most visible signs of aging by tightening deeper structures, redraping the skin of the face and neck and removing selected areas of fat. Facelift surgery is customized for each patient according to his or her particular needs. The best candidates for facelift surgery have a face and neckline that has begun to sag but whose skin elasticity and whose bone structure is well defined. This operation is usually performed in our office operating suite under local anesthesia and intravenous sedation. Recovery time is two to three weeks before most patients can return to work.
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Fat Injections
Autologous fat injections are useful for the reconstruction of hypoplastic areas, wrinkles or skin depressions such as the nasolabial folds or the marionette lines around the mouth. This procedure is done by removing fat from the abdomen, separating it into its various components and then re-injecting the purified fat into desired sites of the face. Although the surgical procedure is tedious, minimal sedation is needed and many patients can return to work in several days.
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Hair Transplantation Surgery
Hair transplantation surgery is a procedure that utilizes donor hair for bald areas of the scalp to help minimize male pattern baldness. In hair transplantations, grafts or plugs of skin which have hair root are taken from the fringe area of the scalp. These grafts which may contain 1 or 2 hairs (micrografts) or 6 to 8 (minigrafts) are then placed in the bald areas. After the grafts are placed, the patient's head is bandaged for 24 hours. The patient will return to the office the next day to have the bandage removed. Patients can usually return to work in 2 to 4 days. The hair in the grafts will fall out in 3 to 4 weeks and new hair will begin growing a bout 3 months after the surgery. Most patients require 2 or 3 operations to improve alopecia. This surgery is done in an office operating suite with local anesthesia and sedation.
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Laser Skin Resurfacing
The Carbon Dioxide (C02) laser has been a popular surgeon's tool over the past several years. The C02 laser limits the thermal impact to the most superficial portion (or outer layer) of the skin. When the skin is treated with the C02 laser a clean, layer by layer vaporization of the epidermal layers of the skin occurs. The undesired skin literally evaporates due to the high water content of the epidermis. New skin then resurfaces and the laser is therefore best-suited for those skin conditions that are superficial in nature, such as fine lines and wrinkles, blotchiness (dark and light patches), keratoses (pre-cancers), scaling and mild acne scarring. The skin in these conditions is resurfaced or rejuvenated by the vaporizing action of the laser. The procedure takes place over 2 to 4 weeks, leaving a pink or smoother, new skin. The laser operation is done in the office with mild sedation and/or local anesthesia.
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Liposuction
Liposuction is the most commonly performed plastic surgery operation. It is a surgical procedure that is designed to remove subcutaneous deposits of body fat. Liposuction can remove unwanted deposits of fat from specific areas including the face and neck, upper arms, chest, truck, abdomen, buttocks, hips and thighs, knees, calves and ankles. Liposuction, however, is not a substitute for weight reduction but a method to remove localized areas of fat that does not respond to diet or exercise. Liposuction may be performed as a primary procedure for body contouring or combined with other surgical techniques such as facelift, abdominoplasty or thigh lift. The best candidates for liposuction are individuals of relatively normal weight who have a localized excess of fat in particular body areas. Having firm, elastic skin is essential and will result in a better final contour after liposuction. Hanging skill will not reshape to the new contours and may require additional surgical techniques to remove and tighten excess skin. Body-contour irregularities due to structures other than fat cannot be improved by liposuction. Liposuction will NOT improve areas of dimpled skin known as "cellulite". Liposuction surgery is usually performed in an office operating suite and afterwards patients need to wear a compression garment over the treated area for several weeks. Most patients can return to work within five to seven days.
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Mastopexy
Mastopexy is an operation designed to raise and reshape sagging breast. Factors such as pregnancy, nursing, aging and weight change produce changes in the appearance of a woman's breasts. As the skin loses its elasticity the breasts will often lose their shape and begin to droop. Breast lift of mastopexy is surgery performed to raise and reshape the breasts. The operation can also reduce the size of the areola (darker skin around the nipple). If the breasts have lost volume or are small then a breast implant can be inserted in conjunction with the mastopexy to increase both size and firmness. Mastopexy can leave permanent and noticeable scars on the breasts. This surgery can be performed in our office operating suite and most patients can return to work in 5 to 7 days.
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Otoplasty
Otoplasty surgery is an operation to reshape the ear. A variety of different techniques and approaches may be used to reshape protruding ears. This type of surgery is customized to each patient's particular need. It involves the placement of permanent sutures into the ear cartilage to maintain its desired shape. On occasion, small portions of cartilage are incised or removed to achieve improvement. The incisions and sutures are placed from behind the ear in order that no scars will be visible from the frontal or side views. Otoplasty is usually done in an office operating suite under local anesthesia with sedation. Early healing time is 4 - 5 days when most patients can return to work or light activity.
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Reduction Mammoplasty
This operation is designed to reduce and reshape very large breasts. The most common complaints of women with very large breasts are back, neck and shoulder pains. This surgery is performed in the hospital under general anesthesia and most patients go home the next day. Many patients can return to work within 7 to 10 days and full activities within three weeks. Usually this operation is covered by most insurance policies.
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Rhinoplasty
Rhinoplasty is an operation designed primarily to reshape a nose or to correct a nasal deformity. A septoplasty or intranasal surgery is done for correction of a breathing or airway obstruction. Both procedures may be combined in the same operation, which is then called a septo-rhinoplasty. This surgery is done by removing portions of the underlying cartilage and bone and then allowing the overlying nasal skin to redrape over this altered framework. The surgery may be done "closed" through the nasal opening or by an "open" technique in which the cartilage is directly exposed. Rhinoplasty surgery may be done under general anesthesia or local anesthesia with heavy sedation. Recovery time after surgery is 7 - 10 days for early healing and several months for the final result to be reached.
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Silicone Facial Implants
Silicone implants are useful for the reconstruction of hypoplastic (under-developed) areas such as the chin or cheekbones. The result can be a more alert, more animated and youthful appearance. An implant, which is made of a solid silicone polymer, is placed in the under-developed area giving more projection or fullness in appearance. Most of the time, external skin incisions can be avoided by placing the implant through an intraoral (inside the mouth) incision. This surgery can be done in an office operating suite with local anesthesia and intravenous sedation. Healing time after surgery is about 7 - 10 days.
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