Piedmont Cosmetic Surgery and Dermatology offers a range of body contouring and shaping procedures to assist patients in improving several aspects of their appearance. From hair transplantation to Sclerotherapy, Autologous Fat Transplantation, Liposuction and Coolsculpting, Piedmont Cosmetic has many choices for patients, whether they are looking for one small fix or a combination of procedures. Read on for more information or contact our office today!
What are spider veins?
Spider veins are small, enlarged superficial blood vessels that appear red or blue. They occur most commonly on the legs, but may be noted on the face or elsewhere. These vessels may be short, unconnected lines, connected in a matted, “sunburst” pattern, or may appear like a spider web. Larger dilated blood vessels that are raised above the skin surface are called varicose veins.
How long does it take for the veins to disappear with Sclerotherapy?
Most vessels are gone within the first several weeks. However, resolution continues to occur up to 12 weeks after the treatment. Persons who have numerous spider veins and larger vessels that contribute to the problem require more than one session.
Does sclerotherapy work for everyone?
Most people experience between 60% and 90% improvement in their leg veins. Fading is gradual and occurs over several weeks. There will always be a tendency for new vessels to occur, particularly if there are larger vessels contributing to the problem. It is very important that compression hose are worn for at least two months after the treatment and Vitamin K cream is used to decrease the likelihood of new vessel formation and bruising.
What is “pattern hair loss”?
All of us will lose scalp hair over our lifetime and by eighty years of age; some will lose most of the 100,000 hairs present at birth. Androgenetic alopecia or pattern hair loss can be seen in both men and women. Approximately 10% of all men will lose scalp hair in an accelerated fashion in each decade of life. In other words, they may lose 10% in their twenties, 20% in their thirties, 30% in their forties, etc. This process involves loss of the frontal scalp hair initially with progression to the back of the scalp. Women may also develop accelerated hair loss; 1-2% per decade of life. Female pattern hair loss usually involves the entire scalp but spares the frontal hairline. Both male and female pattern hair loss are genetically determined and have contribution from both maternal and paternal genes.
In pattern hair loss, follicles undergo a process of miniaturization as the length of time in the growth phase (anagen) decreases. This miniaturization is believed to occur because of increased formation of dihydrotestosterone by the hair follicle and is greater in men than in women.
What treatments are available for pattern hair loss?
What is hair transplantation?
Hair transplantation is a way of restoring hair permanently. It is performed as an outpatient procedure usually in an office setting. Most candidates require 3 to 5 graft sessions over 1 to 2 years to cover the balding scalp. The patient is placed on any operating room table, face down, while the surgical team anesthetizes the back of the scalp (occipital scalp). This is the location from which the hair grafts are taken. Interestingly, these hairs are not sensitive to dihydrotesterone.
The surgeon harvests a strip of hair usually 5 to 7 inches long and 1 to 1 ½ inches wide, closes the defect with staples or sutures, and then cuts the strip into very minute grafts. These grafts may contain 1 to 2 hairs (micro-grafts) or 3 to 4 hairs (mini-grafts). After the frontal scalp is anesthetized, the micro-grafts are placed into small incisions to establish a very natural appearing hairline. This frontal hairline frames the face and is the most important part of the transplanting process. The surgeon proceeds with mini-graft placement behind the micro-graft rows. Finally, the patient’s head is wrapped in a special turban dressing which is removed the following day. Most people feel well enough to return to work within 3 to 5 days and to exercise with two weeks.
What happens to the transplanted hair after surgery?
Approximately 1% to 3% of transplanted hairs are lost; probably because of a “shock effect”. There is often a temporary drop out of 20% of hairs in 4 to 8 weeks. However, these hairs return because the hair roots remain in the scalp and are able to reproduce the hair shaft. In 9 to 15 months, the transplanted hair is full length and remains for as long as occipital hair remains – into the 8th and 9th decades of life.
Are there potential complications from hair transplant?
While most people do quite well with this surgical procedure, it is possible to experience one or more of the following:
How is Autologous Fat Transplantation done?
Fat is removed by liposuction procedure from the chin, abdomen, flank, buttock, or more preferable, the thigh. The harvested fat is then separated from other fluids and transplanted to the desired area by way of a small incision in the corner of the mouth. Transplanted fat cells can survive for long periods of time due to revascularization. Overcorrection of 30-50% is done because the body will absorb this amount of fat within the first few weeks after treatment. Additional injections can be performed with the remaining fat at later dates.
How long does it last?
While fat is not a “permanent filler,” successive injections often result in a cumulative benefit lasting up to one year.
Are there any side effects from fat transplantation?
Autologous fat has an excellent safety record. There is no risk of allergy because the fat is the patient’s own tissue; however, the following side effects can occur:
What is liposuction?
The Italian physician, G. Fischer, developed liposuction as we know it today. By attaching a hollow curette to a suction pump, he was able to extract unwanted fat. This “dry” technique was superceded in 1983 by the “wet” technique popularized by the Frenchmen, Illouz and Fournier. Wet liposuction considerably decreased the trauma to the patient and shortened the recovery time by several weeks.
What is Tumescent Liposuction?
Tumescent liposuction was developed by Dr. Jeffrey Klein in 1987. This technique uses large amounts of fluid (normal saline with lidocaine and epinephrine) injected underneath the skin to anesthetize the area and control bleeding. It also allows greater protection of structures deeper than the fat layer. This local numbing, allows the client to be awake throughout the procedure thus avoiding the risks of general anesthesia. Recovery time is shortened and bleeding and bruising are less than with the “dry technique”.
Who are the best candidates?
While most people who desire liposuction will be pleased with the results, the best candidates have already instituted an exercise routine, have good skin tone, and have localized deposits of fat.
What can I expect?
Following the surgery, a compression garment is worn to help with healing and promote skin retraction. While patients will notice an immediate improvement after swelling has diminished, optimal results are noted between 3 and 6 months. Exercise is gradually resumed after several weeks.
What are potential side effects of liposuction?
Tumescent liposuction is extremely safe. While most people have little difficulty with the procedure, the following side effects are common.
Uncommon side effects include:
Will I gain increased fat in other areas after liposuction?
It is possible to develop new fat in untreated areas, specifically the breasts and buttocks.
Say goodbye to stubborn fat.
It’s called stubborn fat for a reason: no matter how much you eat healthy and exercise, it’s virtually impossible to lose those annoying muffin tops and love handles as you get older. You’re left with two options: live with them or think surgery. Neither is cool by us. That’s exactly why we developed CoolSculpting®. Only CoolSculpting targets fat cells alone, eliminating them in an easy, non-intrusive fashion that exercise and diet can’t achieve as quickly or as effectively.
The cool solution is the more natural solution.
Procedures that use laser, sonic waves, and even surgery to remove fat can actually destroy other tissue in the process by burning, shattering, or extracting non-fat cells. This requires downtime for your body to heal. Totally uncool. Fortunately, CoolSculpting doesn’t burn, shatter, or extract any cells. Developed by Harvard scientists, our unique, FDA-cleared, patented procedure uses a targeted cooling process that kills the fat cells underneath the skin, literally freezing them to the point of elimination. Only fat cells are frozen. Your healthy skin cells remain, well, healthy. No knives. No suction hoses. No needles. No scars. Once crystalized, the fat cells die and are naturally eliminated from your body. In a few months, boom: say hello to a new you.
Minimal downtime and lasting results.
Unlike a lot of other procedures, CoolSculpting takes very little time and is pretty simple to fit into your daily life. After your CoolSculpting treatment you can typically get right back to your busy day. Each treatment lasts one hour – the same time you might spend at the gym. So you can easily fit your appointment into a lunch break. After one visit, you’ll typically see a noticeable reduction of fat. It takes a few months to fully realize the effects, mainly because it takes that long for your body to naturally dispose of the fat cells. And yes, you can lose even more with additional appointments if you and your doctor deem it necessary. So after a few months, your clothes will fit better and you will look better. What’s more, there are no pills or supplements. And as long as you maintain your normal diet and exercise, your long-term results should remain stable. Hello, you again. How cool is that?
It’s not about what you lose. It’s what you gain. So say goodbye to stubborn fat. And say hello to the body you once had with our clinically proven, FDA-cleared, totally non-surgical treatment without the downtime.
Pricing is calculated by individual assessment.