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Archive for September, 2006

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Dear Dr Seckel I am 52 yrs with no skin problems except dry skin, however I do have wrinkles on forehead, crows feet and the deep line from nose to mouth (nasal labial fold. I do not want a face-lift but am looking for a procedure to take care of the above without going under the knife or having plastic surgery. I have seen some adverts for Titan, Fraxel and Thermage but with so many different treatments on offer, I do not know what would be best for me. Apart from cosmetics I’ve had no treatments can u advise me? I would be grateful, thank you, Sandy, London, UK

Friday, September 29th, 2006

Botox is the best and most effective treatment for forehead lines and crow’s feet.

Dear Dr. Seckel Are there any facial implants that work well in the nasal labial folds or do you have to have a face-lift? If facial implants are available what is the possibility that they will move after they are inserted? Thank you, Richard, Queens, NY

Thursday, September 28th, 2006

Dear Richard,
There are no implants for the Nasal Labial fold. Facial implants have to rest on top of bone and the Nasal Labial fold is primarily a fold of skin hanging from bone but not directly attached to and overlying the facial bone. I use the face lift to improve the folds. Generally facial implants [...]

Dear Dr. Seckel, I am one of the first baby boomers (60) in need of a good skin resurfacing on my face and around my eyes, I have checked out Fraxel Thermage and portrait plasma and cannot make up mind as to what procedure to use, I need little down time as I am a working person with not a lot of time to spare and also one that I can rely on to give me a better look. Thank you M

Wednesday, September 27th, 2006

I use the LaserLyte Peel–also called the active FX laser by Lumenis–down time is truly 4-5 days-no more.

Dear Dr. Seckel, I am 59 years old and have a sagging neck and some jowls forming. I have used Restylane for nasal labial folds and some lines in my chin and it works well. I am specifically looking for something for the neck and cords in the neck but hoped to avoid a face-lift. I tried Botox and it made swallowing difficult for several weeks. Any advice???? Carol, Norwalk, CT

Tuesday, September 26th, 2006

The fact you had swallowing difficulty suggests either too much Botox was used or it was injected too deeply.

Dear Dr. Seckel, How would the LaserLyte Lift affect the need to have an Arcus Marginalis Release and a blepharoplasty. At 35 years of age, I am noticing some need of maintenance, nothing severe, never ending dark circles under eyes and fine lines around eyes and forehead. If one goes through the non-surgical face-lift lift program, is there any chance that the eye area could improve, or would the blepharoplasty and arcus marginalis release still be required? If both procedures would be necessary, what would be the correct order to have the procedures? Thank you, Heather, Indianapolis, IN

Tuesday, September 26th, 2006

the LaserLyte Peel will improve the eyelid results by improving the fine lines and skin quality of the eyelid.

Dear Dr Seckel, How can you tell if the puffiness under your eyes is due to fat pads or sagging skin? Are the fat pads located right where the puffiness is or where the lash line is close to the tear duct. Can a blepharoplasty be done just to snip the small amount of sagging skin if the skin is taut? Miriam, Boston, MA

Monday, September 25th, 2006

Skin can be snipped during a blepharoplasty–but I rarely need to do this. Laser Blepharoplasty, which I do, is through a tiny incision on the inside pink portion of the eyelid–thus no scar–produces beautiful results

Dear Dr. Seckel,All the skin tightening and non-surgical facial rejuvenation treatments confuse me. I am 45 years old and look about 35. I don’t want a face-lift. I have some wrinkling and looseness on my neck, some collagen breakage (this is what I’ve been told the lines are), some tension lines in my forehead, crows feet around my eyes and a little of the fold thickening around my mouth. My biggest concern is my neck. I have had microdermabrasions and there have been no changes. Is there anything that truly works consistently? In one of your answers I see another skin tightening treatment compared with titan in that it uses infrared. You stated you liked this the best for yourself personally. I have not heard of this before. Do either infrared treatments or radio frequency treatments cause damage? If so, does one cause more than the other? Thank you for answering my questions, Saraa, Reseda, CA

Sunday, September 24th, 2006

Thermage is RF and has had problems. There is a class action lawsuit against Thermage

Dear Dr. Seckel, Approximately five months ago, I accepted the recommendation of a (board certified, reputable) plastic surgeon to use Radiesse® to correct an extremely minor concavity in my naso-jugal folds (dark circles under the eyes). I accept responsibility for the disastrous result because I failed to research the product before I agreed to this procedure. As you may know, Bio-Form does not recommend that this product be used for this purpose because they are receiving reports that it can exacerbate the problem rather than resolve it. Like many other unfortunate people — as I am coming to learn from my research — I have been left with huge bags beneath my eyes that are bright red and purple in color. My surgeon agrees that I have been “significantly disfigured” by this injection, but he claims there is no remedy for the dilemma except to wait for the material to dissolve in two years. He has been training other physicians in the use of since it was first developed and states that he has never seen as terrible a result as this. I am 35, and while I do not suffer from skin laxity, my surgeon concurs with my estimate that my lower eyelid tissue has been so dramatically stretched that it will require excision when the material finally dissolves. In the meantime, I am wearing dark glasses all day, every day because it is not uncommon for people to gasp aloud when they see me and because I myself cannot bear even accidental encounters with my own reflection. I am sure that others who read your blog find themselves in a similar situation. Is there any procedure that you can recommend to us to repair this kind of damage? My primary care physician has suggested that I consult another plastic surgeon about the possibility of a blepharoplasty, since my own tissue has, by now, built around the material that was injected. Honestly, after my recent experience, I have been frightened that another plastic surgeon might only make my predicament worse. You are renowned for your expertise with blepharoplasty, so your opinion would be most valuable. Would you recommend a blepharoplasty, or another procedure, to those of us who are suffering from this kind of damage? Thank you for any guidance you are able to offer, Dr. Seckel, Sincerely, Jamie, New York, NY

Tuesday, September 19th, 2006

I am terribly sorry to hear of your unfortunate experience. Unfortunately board certification in Plastic Surgery is no guarantee.

Dear Dr. Seckel, I am a young Asian female living in Boston and I am interested in the oriental double eyelid procedure. I have heard that a natural Chinese eyelid fold can be created with a single stitch no incision procedure which avoids a scar on the eyelid. I have also seen it called the Oriental Blepharoplasty or eyelid lift. I do not want a Caucasian eyelid. I just want to have a normal Asian looking eyelid fold. Do you do this operation, Thank You, Mei Liu, Boston, MA.

Thursday, September 14th, 2006

experienced in doing eyelid surgery on Asian people. If they are not they may mistakenly create a round or Caucasian looking upper eyelid fold which cannot be reversed.

Dear Dr. Seckel, I know your site is mainly about the face but I want information on breast surgery. I am 35, live in Boston, have had 2 kids and my breasts have gotten smaller and sag a bit. I have read about breast augmentation and the mastopexy breast lift but I really do not want visible scars on my breasts. Is it possible that a breast augmentation will also give the breast a bit of a lift? Thank You, Denise, Boston, MAI

Wednesday, September 13th, 2006

But for most people the breast augmentation procedure can correct the post pregnancy breast appearance without the need for a lift or mastopexy.