Posts Tagged ‘Carolina Facial Plastic Surgery Center’

Saggy Brows Got You Down?

Thursday, October 25th, 2012

Saggy Brows Got You Down?A person’s forehead and eyebrows help to convey a multitude of different facial expressions and emotions. However, as we age and our eyebrows may sag.  This may create a disgruntled or angered appearance  even if we feel happy. In fact, according to a study presented at the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), eyelid position and the shape of the brows can influence people’s perception of our reactions, moods and emotions. Being perceived as tired or angry is probably not high on our priority list.

To combat this unwanted perception, many patients turn to the brow lift. In recent years, the brow lift has been gaining popularity, drawing the most attention from those aged 35-60. According to the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) 2011 report, brow lift procedures were among the top 10 cosmetic surgeries performed.

What Is A Brow Lift?

For starters, a brow lift and forehead lift are two common names for the same procedure. The goal of each is to create a younger looking appearance through several different procedures, including surgical techniques, minimally invasive procedures, and non-invasive treatment like Botox. During your initial consultation in Charlotte, I’ll present you with the best procedure options to meet your individual needs.

A brow lift is a great way to help patients who are experiencing any of the following:

  • Forehead Wrinkles
  • Obstructed Vision
  • Drooping Brows
  • Deep Lines
  • Frown lines, or furrows

Part of the reason as to why brow lifts are becoming ever so popular is because there are many different techniques that can be used to achieve similar results. Listed below are some of the various brow lift procedures that I perform.

One-Centimeter Incision Brow Lift

The most popular and least invasive brow lift surgery performed by myself is known as the one-centimeter incision brow lift. Like its name, this surgery is performed through a one-centimeter incision made in the upper eyebrow hairs. With the help of a special suture, I lift the skin, fat, and muscle to elevate the brow.

One of the best reasons to select the one-centimeter brow lift is because of its short recovery time, requiring a patient to merely rest and clean the incision with warm soapy water.

Endoscopic Brow Lift

An endoscopic brow lift is one of the most commonly performed brow lifts today and is generally performed for patients that need an entire brow lift. During the procedure, I make a few small incisions near the hairline and is able to elevate the brows and forehead through these incisions. Recovery following an endoscopic brow lift in Charlotte requires a small drain to be left in place for the first day after surgery. After 5-7 days, I remove any staples or sutures that were a necessary part of the brow lift.

Direct Brow Lift

Though this type of brow lift is considered to be the a rare and is only performed in special cases. A direct brow lift is most often performed when a patient’s brow has begun to sag dramatically, often so much that they may be experiencing visual problems due to obstruction. This type of brow lift is most commonly performed on older males.

Coronal Brow Lift

Considered to be the oldest and most invasive technique, the coronal brow lift requires incisions across a patient’s entire scalp and hairline. During this procedure, I remove a strip of tissue across the patients entire brow, which allows the area to then be elevated.

Non-Surgical Brow Lift

For patients requiring a subtle lift in the brow or patients that cannot undergo surgery, there are non-surgical techniques to lift the brow.  I can use Botox and facial fillers (Restylane, Perlane, Juvederm) to raise the brow in the office.  There is no recovery time and it can be a great option for many patients.

There are many options in todays world to lift the brow.  My aim is to assist every patient to achieve the best results possible. As an expert in the performance of facelifts, brow lifts, and rhinoplasty, I understand the importance of providing a unique surgical approach to every individual.

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Is Your iPhone Giving You Wrinkles?

Tuesday, October 23rd, 2012

Is Your iPhone Giving You Wrinkles? In today’s world, people have enough outside stresses to blame for their wrinkles and aging face. However, with the invention of the smart phone, there came a new platform for wrinkles—the iPhone squint. With the amount of time that people spend on their cell phones increasing every year, it’s no wonder that your iPhone or Blackberry might be to blame for your crow’s feet or brow lines. As a facial plastic surgeon in Charlotte, I will provide tips to my patients on how they can avoid falling victim to the cell-phone squint, and what you can do to erase your wrinkles and crow’s feet.

Avoiding The Cell-Phone Squint

Imagine the amount of time that you spend on your cell phone every day—for most Americans, cell phones are used not only for phone calls, but for sending countless text messages, browsing the internet, sending emails, and even shopping. It’s no secret that all of this time certainly adds up, adding a great deal of eye strain that causes us to squint. This is what ultimately results in formation of fine lines and wrinkles around our eyes. If you’ve ever found yourself locked in a gaze with your smart phone, here are some helpful tips to avoid excessive facial strain:

Turn Down Your Brightness

One thing that people don’t realize is that the brightness on our phone is controllable, and a phones factory setting usually comes with it set at the brightest level.  Long term visualization of the bright screen causes facial strain. Simply turning down the brightness  won’t only extend your battery life but it will also will help prevent wrinkles and the formation crows feet.

Take A Break

Cell phones  are in essence miniature computers.It’s important to remember to take a break for a few moments. It’s important  to allow your eyes to relax and readjust. This break will decrease eye strain that leads to eye wrinkles.

Make Your Text Bigger

How many times a day are you squinting to see a text message or an email on your cell phone?  We probably squint more looking at our phone than being outside in the sun.  Increasing the text size on your phone will help prevent eye strain and wrinkles.

Botox For Wrinkles

If you are still experiencing wrinkles around you eyes after changing your cell phone settings, Botox may be a great option for you.  As a Botox expert in Charlotte, I can help patients reduce and diminish their unwanted facial lines around their eyes. Botox is injected with minimal discomfort and requires no down time.  Patients may continue with their everyday activities immediately after leaving the office.

To learn more about Botox and whether or not you might be a good candidate, please contact my office today by calling (704) 323-5090 to schedule your initial consultation. Remember, it’s very important to enlist the help of a facial plastic surgeon in Charlotte for your Botox needs to ensure that your injections are properly performed and that you your needs are met entirely.

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Simple Guide to Getting the Most Beautiful and Natural Looking Wedding Day Face

Thursday, October 18th, 2012

Simple Guide to Getting the Most Beautiful and Natural Looking Wedding Day FaceSara, my patient care coordinator at Carolina Facial Plastics in Charlotte, was recently married.   Three months prior to her wedding, we came up with an affordable and natural looking plan to get her face looking great for her big day.  Sara is in her mid-twenties and is already a beautiful woman, but I came up with a plan to enhance her natural beauty.

The plan initiated 3 months before her wedding.  Sara was using good skin care products, but she wanted to take it to the next level to make sure her skin was glowing.  She changed her regime to a combination of Image Skin Products.  For her skin type she was using:

Morning:

-          Ormedic Face Wash

-          Vital C Hydrating Serum

-          Max Eye Cream

-          Daily Defense Matte Sunscreen and Moisturizer Combo

Night:

-          Total Facial Cleanser

-          Max Facial Cream

-          Max Eye Cream

For the wedding day, we really wanted to make her eyes pop.  Her plan was a combination of Latisse and Botox.  It takes 16 weeks to get a full correction using Latisse.  Sara used the product for 12 weeks and got her desired results.  The effects of Latisse were clearly evident as her eyelashes grew longer became thicker.

As a Charlotte Botox expert, we chose to inject Botox 1 month before the wedding date.  This ensured enough time for the best results.  It was used to soften the wrinkles between her eyes and the horizontal lines on her forehead.  The Botox was also used to give her a subtle browlift that made her eyes appear more open, vibrant, and awake.   In her case, it was important to use a conservative dose of Botox as I wanted to ensure she was able to make all of her facial expressions.  The facial expressions caught on film during the wedding are priceless, and I wanted to ensure that those moments were captured.

As a Charlotte facial cosmetic surgeon, I take great joy working with brides to enhance their natural beauty.  Depending on the age and goals of the patient, I work with them to create a plan to have them looking their best on their special day.

 

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Woman Spent $800,000 on Plastic Surgery

Tuesday, March 13th, 2012

The media believes that China is going to be the next superpower.  I am not sure that America is ready to give up the title, but according to this article it looks like China could certainly become a superpower in performing unnecessary plastic surgery.  A Chinese woman in her twenties has already spent $800,000 dollars on plastic surgery.  Her nickname is the “pink baby.”  I am not sure that I understand the meaning of her nickname, but I believe that this patient has some serious issues.  Any patient that seeks multiple plastic surgeries to this extent may have a psychological disorder.  Commonly, patients with BDD, body dysmorphic disorder, will continue to have plastic surgery to correct an area of the body with which they are obsessed.  No matter the outcome of surgery, these patients are typically dissatisfied because their view of their body is abnormal.

Here is the definition of body dysmorphic disorder from the Mayo clinic:

“Body dysmorphic disorder is a type of chronic mental illness in which you can’t stop thinking about a flaw with your appearance — a flaw that is either minor or imagined.”

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What is Sculptra Aesthetic and How is it Different From Injectable Fillers of the Face?

Monday, February 13th, 2012

The growth of injectable facial fillers has been explosive over the past ten years.  I love the products and their outcomes, as they require no downtime and minimal pain.  Facial injectable fillers are ideal for immediately correcting facial volume loss and filling wrinkles in the face.  These products are best for a patient seeking an immediate boost.  They are also completely reversible, and are made up of naturally occurring products, such as hyaluranic acid, which are already in your body.  At our Carolina Facial Plastic Surgery Center offices in Charlotte and Columbia, we use Restylane, Perlane, and Juvederm as our facial fillers of choice.  They are injected into the face to immediately fill or volumize areas of concern.

Sculptra Aesthetic is an injectable product used in the face to ultimately increase facial volume, but it is NOT a facial filler.  Sculptra Aesthetic, poly-l-lactic acid, is an injectable substance that stimulates your own body to produce new collagen.  This new collagen will SLOWLY add new volume to the face.  In young faces with good volume and elasticity, it may take only one treatment to give that added youthful “pop” to the face.  In faces requiring more volume, it can take up to four injection sessions to get the desired amount of new collagen. Each session is spaced out over approximately three weeks, and since the result is dependent on the body producing NEW collagen, it will take about three months for the new collagen to become noticeable.  The advantage of creating new collagen is that the effects of Sculptra last much longer, 2-4 years, as opposed to other filler products which last 3-12 months.

In previous blogs, I have discussed my 3D facial topography theory that I use to analyze facial structure.  I believe a face with the right amount of volume will reflect light and have smooth transitions from one area of the face to the next.  In patients with volume loss, the smoothness is lost and the wrinkles create multiple shadows on the face.  The shadows make the face appear tired and aged.  I inject Sculptra into the natural fat pockets of the face to add volume to the actual area of the face that has lost the volume.  This can subtly change the entire shape of the face and smooth the transitions to add a youthful and beautiful appearance to the face.

Dr. Jonathan Kulbersh is the founder of Carolina Facial Plastic Surgery.  He is a facial plastic surgery specialist, and has offices in Charlotte, North Carolina and Columbia, South Carolina.

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There Are Many Motivations Behind Undergoing Facial Plastic Surgery

Tuesday, February 7th, 2012

Stereotypically, facial plastic surgery has been solely considered to be about personal vanity, which is not true.  The human desire for self improvement is a central instinct in all of us, and patients seeking facial plastic surgery are usually looking to improve some aspect of their appearance.

Undergoing a facial cosmetic surgery procedure as a means to improve physical traits is not much different than getting braces to straighten teeth or exercising to alter an appearance.  Facial cosmetic surgery has its associated risks, but I do believe there are similar motives behind getting braces and exercising to change a body shape as there are for electing plastic surgery procedures.  So why is it so common to consider one vain who elects to undergo cosmetic surgery?  The desire to be physically attractive is normal.

In 2005, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons conducted a survey to study the motivations people had for facial cosmetic surgery and their demographics.  Not surprising to me,  patients of all socioeconomic classes are interested and undergo cosmetic procedures.

Younger cosmetic plastic surgery candidates commonly seek cosmetic modifications of their nose, such as rhinoplasty, or non-invasive procedures such as Botox or injectable facial fillers. Other patients seek procedures to reverse the effects of aging such as facelifts, brow-lifts, or blepharoplasties (eye surgery)  Patients of all ages should take good care of their skin with medical grade products and should always wear sunscreen.

In the same study, patients that were interested in facial cosmetic surgery were interviewed and asked about their motivations. Many of these patients were deeply bothered by a physical feature. They wanted cosmetic surgery because they believed it would provide emotional, psychological, or social improvements.

As a practicing Charlotte and Columbia based facial cosmetic surgeon, I would love the opportunity to help my patients understand their options for treating their concerns.  If a patient has the correct mindset and motivation, it can be a rewarding experience for both the patient and surgeon alike.  The root of the matter is our self-confidence and self-confidence comes from your self-judgment.

If you are considering facial cosmetic surgery, I recommend all patients carefully consider the risks and costs of surgery in order to be confident about your decision.  Facial plastic surgery and other minimally invasive procedures of the face can be a positive and satisfying experience.

 

Dr. Jonathan Kulbersh is a Board-Certified Head and Neck Surgeon and fellowship trained in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery.  His practice, Carolina Facial Plastics, sees patients in his offices in Charlotte, North Carolina and Columbia, South Carolina serving the Southpark, Meyers Park, Eastover, Ballentyne, Huntersville, Irmo and Lexington areas.

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