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Archive for February, 2007

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Dear Dr. Seckel,I am 53 years old and very unhappy about loose skin beneath my neck and chin and on my jaw line. I work very hard at staying fit and have tried facial exercises but see no difference after a lot of effort. I have seen a plastic surgeon in Boston who suggested a facelift and a blepharoplasty but I did not feel comfortable with him and am not sure I want surgery. I have read a lot online about the face lift, the thread lift, the mini face lift and the lifestyle lift, and must admit I am confused by all the options. You also write about the non-surgical face-lift, how good is that, does it last? I am concerned about scarring and about down time as I have to work. I know you have an office in Boston but I would like to hear your opinion before I consider another appointment. I want to do something but don’t know what. Thank you, Sherri, Boston, MA.

Friday, February 23rd, 2007

I repeatedly advise that the most important factor in deciding to have a facelift is your rapport with and the skill and experience of the plastic surgeon

Posted in Face Lift | No Comments »

Dear Dr. Seckel, I am 32 years old and have what you call bags and dark circles under my eyes. I have tried Teamine Complex and Retin A but have not seen much improvement. I went to a Plastic Surgeon in Boston who injected Botox and recommended a blepharoplasty but I am not sure I want to go the surgery route. I have read your site and wonder if the ActiveFX can help me. You also mention the Aluma as non-surgical blepharoplasty. Also, you seem to prefer the laser for blepharoplasty. Why is the laser blepharoplasty better? Do you always do the arcus release for dark circles? Is that more dangerous and is the recovery longer? My eyelid bags and dark circles are hereditary and I really don’t want to end up with eyes looking like my mom’s. Please help! Thank you, Sandy, Boston, MA

Thursday, February 22nd, 2007

This new modern technique is a major improvement over the traditional scalpel incisional blepharoplasty and avoids the telltale sequelae of the “sad eyed look” and “hound dog eyes”.

Posted in Bags and Dark Circles Under The Eyes | No Comments »

Dear Dr. Seckel, I have permanent dark circles under the eyes that are hereditary. I am 34 years of age. One Doctor recommended CO2 laser treatment for under the eyes. Would you recommend this? Also, I have milia underneath my eyes. I have also heard of blepharoplasty for dark circles under the eyes. Thank you, Francis,Chicago,Il.

Wednesday, February 21st, 2007

CO2 laser resurfacing 0f the lower eyelids will not help the dark circles unless the problem is only pigment.

Posted in Bags and Dark Circles Under The Eyes | No Comments »

Dear Dr. Seckel, Despite what most people think, deep, dark circles under your eyes are not primarily caused by being tired or stressed. Instead, dermatologists and plastic surgeons agree that capillaries that leak blood close to the skin’s surface cause dark circles. When this blood begins to oxidize it turns a bluish red color, similar to an ugly bruise. And since the skin under the eyes is very thin, this leads to the appearance of those embarrassing bags and dark circles. The more transparent your skin and the more blood that pools under it, the darker the circles appear. And what’s worse, this discoloration over time can become permanent. The skin around the eyes is thin, and thus susceptible to dark circles. Surgery can not eliminated dark circles. I found this on a web site do you have any comments about it? I am also wondering if dark circles are due to broken capillaries how a blepharoplasty surgery can help with it? Thank you, Frank, London,UK

Saturday, February 17th, 2007

I agree with you that stress and fatigue have nothing to do with dark circles under the eyes.

Posted in Bags and Dark Circles Under The Eyes | No Comments »

Dear Dr. Seckel, I am 33 years old and in great physical shape. I have two children and have worked very hard to regain my shape after my pregnancies. The only problem is that my breasts and tummy are loose and sagging. No matter how hard I work out I just cannot firm these areas. I have read about tummy tuck and breast augmentation; can these be done at the same time? Also I have read about the lollipop breast lift can that be done at the same time? How do you decide if a breast lift is needed or just a breast augmentation. Please help! Thank you, Denise, Boston, MA

Sunday, February 11th, 2007

Most women who have had children notice lax skin on there tummy’s and experience laxity of the breasts and no amount of hard work can completely firm these areas back to the way they were before pregnancy.

Posted in Breast Implants,Breast Enlargement,Breast Augmentation, Breast Lift, Abdominoplasty-Tummy Tuck-Bikini Tuck | No Comments »

Dear Dr. Seckel, I have hereditary ‘bags’ under my eyes. I know that I have these bags because of allergies, but I also know that many of my family members have them, so I know they were inherited. Would cosmetic surgery or blepharoplasty be able to help me? I have tried all of the creams and ’solutions’ out there with no improvements. The bags continue to get worse with age, and I can tell, by looking at my family, that they will continue to get worse without prevention. Please help me! Rachel, Great Falls, MT

Friday, February 9th, 2007

The safest technique is a procedure called transconjunctival laser blepharoplasty-the procedure is done through a tiny laser incision on the inside of the lower eyelid so that no visible scar is created.

Posted in Bags and Dark Circles Under The Eyes | No Comments »

Dear Dr.Seckel, I need major advice? I am 27 years old and had a phenol chemical peel on my under eyelids. My plastic surgeon said this was the only thing he could do for me considering my age for dark circles. I researched this and even went to a cosmetic derm to make sure this was okay to perform in the orbital area. I want you to know I do not have bags under my eyes therefore I don’t think I am a candidate for a lower blepharoplasty. The reason he did the phenol peel was to take care of hyper pig which as you know, a side effect of phenol is lightening of the skin. Well it’s been 3 months and my eyes are still pink in color and I now have lines from the corner of my eyes headed downward. It sort of looks like I may have tear trough deformity. It goes all the way into my cheek. This is not a discolored line from demarcation this is a line which developed b/c of how deep the phenol peel penetrates especially when you have thin skin to begin with. I now have this hollowed look to my eyes and I am so depressed that I do not like to look in a mirror at all anymore. My life before I had this done was great. I had just gotten married 7 months ago and just wanted to fix the under eye circles that had bothered me all my life and now it’s all I can focus on and I am devastated by it. I know you are very busy but, I would really appreciate your advice. Best Regards, Heather, Springfield, Ill

Wednesday, February 7th, 2007

A new machine called the gentlewaves can help speed the resolution of the redness.

Posted in Bags and Dark Circles Under The Eyes | Comments Off

Dear Dr. Seckel, I live in Brussels (Belgium) where I had a blepharoplasty (both eyelids) end march 2006, and I am not happy with the result. The ‘bags’ of the lower eyelids disappeared, and the scars are not too visible, but my eyes look very hollow with dark circles under the eyes, under both eyes (more in the right eye) I have now real visible hollow eyes with dark circles under the eyes. That makes the eye look rounder; mostly in the extern corners of the eye, like sad eyes, like dropping. I think you call it the sad eyed look or hound dog eyes. In the upper eyelid, the line of the eyelid is very high now (more in the right eye than in the left), it looks artificial, and now also my brows look lower than before. A lot of people say to me: “you look tired”, or “you lost a lot of weight, didn’t you?” It gives a tired, not-healthy look. I thought I would get used to it, or the result would be better after a few months, but no. I begin to search information on internet, see what can be done, it seems it is not easy to remedy, I don’t find real specialists of that problem in my country, and now I want to be very careful, I don’t want to risk a worse result. A plastic surgeon I went to here spoke about another operation, but he would open the skin again, I hesitate… I read your site and thought you could give me a good advice about what to do, or perhaps an idea of where or who here in Europe I could see. Thank you very much for information and apologize my approximate English! Thank you, Georgette, Brussels, Belgium

Monday, February 5th, 2007

The problems you mention, hollow eyes, dark circles under the eyes, and the sad eyed look are problems that do occur after the old style incisional blepharoplasty.

Posted in Bags and Dark Circles Under The Eyes, Unhappy Results | Comments Off

Dear Dr. Seckel, How can I get rid of the thread lift procedure dimple?

Saturday, February 3rd, 2007

Dimples or depressions in the skin are one of the complications of the thread lift procedure

Posted in Face Lift, Unhappy Results | No Comments »