Bret Rodgers, MD, FACS, Author at Rodgers Center for Plastic Surgery

May 28, 2019

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Smoking Can Affect Your Plastic Surgery Experience and Results

By Bret Rodgers, MD, FACS | Plastic Surgery

It’s no secret that smoking isn’t good for your physical health. But few know that smoking can have detrimental effects on plastic surgery experience and results.

If you’ve already planned to have plastic surgery and met with a doctor, there’s a good chance they told you not to smoke. However, this really shouldn’t be taken as a light suggestion. Not only should you not be smoking, but you should also avoid nicotine in all of its forms, including vaping.

Let’s take a look at why nicotine really should be avoided before, during, and after a plastic surgery procedure.

How Does Smoking Impact Plastic Surgery Experience?

When it comes down to it, nicotine changes the thickness of blood vessels. Healthy blood vessels need to be wide enough to facilitate blood flow and bring oxygen to tissues. If one is smoking or using nicotine, the nicotine will cause those blood vessels to shrink to an incredibly small size. Small blood vessels result in less blood flow to the tissues that need those blood cells to live. Without them, those tissues will die.

This could cause complications in the middle of your surgery, which can go from problematic to life-threatening very quickly depending on the procedure you’re getting.

How Does Smoking Impact Plastic Surgery Results?

There is a chance that nicotine consumption could impact the look, texture, and success of your plastic surgery procedure. There are even scarier results that could occur after the plastic surgery procedure is complete:

Loss of cheek skin after a facelift
Loss of nipples after a breast lift or breast reduction
Loss of abdominal skin after a tummy tuck procedure
Infections that can range from mild to extremely severe and life-threatening
Death of fat cells, also known as fat necrosis, which can cause hard lumps
Delayed wound healing
Thick and wide scarring
Blood clots, which can be extremely dangerous or fatal
Extremely pain
Permanent small vessel damage, which adds more risk even if you quit nicotine
Loss of breast implants
Life-threatening complications such as stroke, heart attack, blood clots, pneumonia, and more.

The best way to avoid these risks is to quit smoking, vaping, chewing, using nicotine gum or patches, and using e-cigarettes. You should do this three to six weeks before the plastic surgery procedure all the way through three to six weeks after the surgery is complete. Though it is definitely best to quit completely, and you’d be surprised at how well you may have adapted in those six to twelve weeks without nicotine in your body’s system!

If for whatever reason you slip up and use nicotine before your surgery, talk to your surgeon about what the best course of action should be, such as rescheduling the surgery. Slip-ups happen, but it’s better to be safe than sorry!

What do you think about the impact that smoking can have on plastic surgery results? Tell us about your nicotine-free plastic surgery success story in the comments below.

April 19, 2019

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Differences in Facelift Surgery for Men and Women

By Bret Rodgers, MD, FACS | Aesthetic Treatment, Facelift

Facelifts are popular among men and women, but that doesn’t mean that a plastic surgeon will perform the cosmetic surgical procedure the same way for both sexes. Whether to address sagging skin on the cheeks, to get rid of excess skin on the jowls, to firm up skin on the neck or to do something else, many men and women want to achieve a more youthful appearance.
According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, there were 17.5 million cosmetic procedures of the surgical and minimally invasive varieties in the U.S. in 2017. And many of these procedures involved facelifts for men and women.

Here’s a look at some of the differences in facelift surgery for men and women.

Facial Hair

One way in which facelift surgery will differ for men and women centers around facial hair. As comes as no surprise, men tend to have more facial hair than women. This difference may determine the type of incision employed and the position of the incision. The reason for this is that the surgeon has to be wary about disrupting hair follicles as failing to do so can cause scarring that is so severe that the hair in the adversely impacted areas can’t regrow. So, to recap, the location of the incision may be different for men than for women due to facial hair issues.

Anatomy

Another way that plastic surgery is different for men and women comes down to facial anatomical differences between the sexes. On the one hand, women’s faces tend to have more delicate facial skeletal and ligament foundations. These differences make facelift surgery on women simpler than it is on men. On the other hand, men tend to have larger facial structures and thicker skin. This is why the majority of facelift surgeries involving men concentrate on the lower portion of the face. Also, men usually have more veins and arteries than women do, which can heighten the risks of scarring after the facelift surgery is done.

End Goal

Yet another difference in facelift surgery for men and women is the end goal. In other words, men and women tend to seek different results from facelift surgery. For women, the goal tends to focus around restoring the oval shape that is natural to many women as well as to lighten up the neckline to improve overall appearance. For men, the goal is often to create a more masculine and defined contour for the chin and neck. It is, of course, important to have realistic goals heading into the process since the desired end goal might not be possible for all candidates. For instance, facelift surgery will provide a more youthful appearance, but it may not roll back all of the visible effects of the aging process. So a realistic outlook is critical to moving forward.

Men and women who have any additional questions about facelift surgery should book a consultation with a reputable surgeon to explore the best strategy to achieve their objectives.

March 19, 2019

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3 Things You Should Know About Laser Hair Removal

By Bret Rodgers, MD, FACS | Aesthetic Treatment

Laser Hair Removal is a procedure that has been around for decades, but many patients don’t understand the basic principles of the procedure.

At Rodgers Center for Plastic Surgery we offer non-invasive, non-surgical procedures that help our patients unveil the very best versions of themselves, which often entails reversing the effects of time and ridding our patients with time-consuming practices like shaving and waxing.

Our Laser Hair Removal procedure is a great way to achieve the soft, smooth skin surface you’ve been looking for without having to commit to shaving multiple times per week or scheduling those monthly waxing appointments.

Below are a few things you should know about the laser hair removal procedure.

1.) There Are Levels to Laser Hair Removal Technology

Just like with any other form of technology, there are power players and there are those scraping the bottom of the barrell. Rodgers Center for Plastic Surgery combines compassionate care with innovative technology. We incorporate the top-of-the-line Cutera XEO Coolglide and Prowave LX laser hair removal treatments for patients who want to free themselves of the shackles of shaving and waxing.

2.) It’s Not a One-Size-Fits-All Treatment

Number of Laser Hair Removal treatments varies from person to person as there are variables like skin surface size, hair thickness, amount, and color, and more. We always custom-tailor our Laser Hair Removal treatments to meet the needs of each individual patient.

3.) Laser Hair Removal Works Via Wavelength Technology

Our Laser Hair Removal procedure works by utilizing deep-penetrating wavelength technology. We target hair follicles while protecting other skin structures surrounding the area in question.

The Cutera multi-application, multi-engine XEO platform gives us the ability to provide our patients with the ultimate aesthetic enhancement workstation. We’re able to provide a number of aesthetic enhancement treatments — all under one roof.

If you have any lingering questions about our laser hair removal procedure or how you stand to benefit from it, contact Rodgers Center for Plastic Surgery today. We’ll help you achieve realistic yet ambitious results!