Looking young and beautiful is becoming more and more important, it seems.
Almost everyone is aware of the most common forms of cosmetic surgery: breast
implants and face lifts. However, did you know that you can also get calf
implants? These days there is no part of the human body that can’t be changed
with a little outside assistance. Some of these procedures, like vaginoplasty,
sound strange and out of this world but can vastly improve the quality of life
for a patient. Other procedures like laser tattoo removal serve no other purpose
than to improve someone’s appearance.
Not only are cosmetic procedures more common now than they ever were before,
they are also cheaper than they were before and therefore more accessible to the
general public.
15) Vaginoplasty
Vaginoplasty is a procedure that involves toning vaginal muscles. (Note that, if you visit it, the site has photos that
aren’t safe for work or children.) It does this by reducing the amount of excess
vaginal mucosa, or lining, and tightening the surrounding muscle and soft
tissue. This has the effect of tightening the vaginal muscles and potentially
increasing enjoyment of sexual intercourse because of the greater friction
caused by
tighter muscles. Usually, this procedure is done after a woman has experienced
multiple vaginal childbirths, which may result in loose, weak vaginal muscles. Kegel exercises might not improve the condition, and so a woman may ask her
healthcare professional about trying vaginoplasty.
Alternately, it may be
performed to correct a congenital disease that causes vulvo-vaginal structures
to be damaged or missing. The latter is usually referred to as neovaginoplasty,
while the former is often thought of as “vaginal rejuvenation surgery”.
Vaginoplasty—more precisely, neovaginoplasty—may also be part of a trans woman’s
transition; in this case, it’s euphemistically referred to as “bottom surgery”.
A related surgery is labiaplasty, which is often intended to help women’s
self-image as far as how they perceive the appearance of their genitals. Most of
the time, women report very good results from both vaginoplasty and labiaplasty.
14) Calf Implants
Calf implants are used to create “cosmetic
fullness in the lower leg”. In other words, much like a breast implant, a calf
implant involves surgery to place a silicone implant in pockets created above
the calf muscle. The placement and number of implants are determined at
pre-operative appointments. The implant may be placed above the outer upper head
of the calf muscle, the inner upper head, or one on each side, depending on the
look the patient is going for. Calf implants are intended to sculpt the lower
leg in cases when people can’t get the muscle appearance they want despite
exercise and fitness training. It may also be done to correct muscle imbalances
that are due to either congenital or physical defects and in some cases, it may be
due to both.
Congenital defects include bowleggedness and club foot, and
these physical
defects include disproportionate calf development and skinny or “chicken” legs.
They’re meant to help enhance self-esteem through a cosmetic procedure, and many
patients report very good results. It may be difficult to find a plastic surgeon
who does calf implants. Usually, they have the experience of having performed
hundreds or even thousands of calf implants and know how to shape the implants
they’ll use in the surgery. The surgeons also know how to ensure the implants
don’t shift. The last thing you want is an implant moving to the outside or even
front of the lower leg, or down toward the ankle. That would run entirely counter
to the goals of the procedure.
13) Brazilian Butt Lift
Butt lifts are performed in South America
because women there love defined, shapely butts. The augmentation done in Brazil
and other South American countries frequently uses the patient’s own body fat to
reshape their butt. It takes a lot of practice to work with fat, though; it can
be difficult to remove and place properly, due to its slippery properties. When
placed, it can feel like muscle tissue, rather than just more fat. There is a
risk that some fat will be reabsorbed by the body and so not have the exact same
look as right after surgery, but that may be canceled out by the fact that
there’s little risk of rejection, since the tissue belongs to the patient to
begin with.
The fat is taken from fatty areas, such as the hips, thighs, flanks,
and stomach using a gentle liposuction device. Once purified, the same fat cells
are injected into the layers of the patient’s butt muscles using a very small
incision. A method that involves small drops of fat dispersed through the layers
of the muscle, placed near good blood supplies, so the fat has a better chance
to survive and thrive. It takes three months or so before the surgeon and
patient can see just how satisfying the final results are. This is because the
butt swells immediately after surgery and takes time to go down. The women best
suited to this wear dress sizes eight to twelve, since they have the fat to
spare and are not already particularly heavy in the butt. Smaller women may be
better suited to implants.
12) Cleft Palate
A cleft palate is a disorder in which a baby is born with an
improperly-formed palate, either hard or soft. It’s a gap, hole, or separation
between the two sides of the palate.
It may involve anything from a complete
skin and bone separation in the hard palate to a separation of only the muscles
of the soft palate, covered with the appropriate skin. If there’s a hard palate
cleft, there will also be a soft palate one. Roughly one in nine hundred
children are born with a cleft palate, which makes the surgery to correct it
relatively simple. Though babies can be fed formula or pumped breast milk using
a special bottle, they can’t breastfeed properly. However, the mere fact that
they can eat makes many people think the surgery is unnecessary.
Baby With Cleft Palate Nursing
However, in
order for the child to be able to speak properly, the cleft must be surgically
repaired. The surgery to correct it involves bringing the tissue to either side
of the palate together. There are no implants or grafts and nothing artificial
is involved. That’s assuming the child doesn’t have a gum cleft, as well. If
they do, the palate should be repaired as soon as possible, usually between
eight and twelve months old, always after a child is no longer using a bottle.
(Bottle use while the surgery site is still healing can easily damage it.) A
separate surgery must be performed to repair the gum cleft. That surgery takes
place between six and eight years of age and involves a bone graft, since those
tissues cannot be moved as easily.
11) Vein Removal
Vein removal, also known as vein ligation and stripping, involves removing a
damaged vein, which prevents complications of the vein’s damage. Usually, it’s
performed on varicose veins, particularly large ones. If the vein causes skin
ulcers, it’s another reason to have the surgery done. There are
contraindications, such as poor circulation in the arteries of the legs. The
surgery is simple, a small incision is made, a flexible
instrument is threaded through the incision up through the damaged vein, and the
vein is pulled out.
Normal Vein to the Right, Varicose to the Left
The vein is tied off below the removed part through suture ligation. Any remaining vein should be healthy so that it can continue to
circulate blood through veins that still work properly. The surgery is usually
done with local or general anesthesia, which means you may be conscious during
the surgery. It’s performed on an outpatient basis, since there’s no need for a
hospital stay unless there are complications. Within several weeks, your life
should be back to normal as regards recreation and leisure activities.
10) Tattoo Removal
Tattoo removal is pretty common. There are plenty of people who got a tattoo
before moving into the professional world who would now like to get rid of it,
whether for personal or job-related reasons. Maybe you have a shot at a
promotion, but that snake tattoo up the line of your collarbone sometimes peeks
out from under your shirt, and you’re worried that’s going to damage your
chances. If you do, don’t worry: a local professional can probably remove the
tattoo without any problems. The most common reason for removing a tattoo is
that the person no longer wants a name permanently written on their body. It’s
difficult to fully remove a tattoo, since they’re made through the dermal layer,
rather than just the epidermis.
Tattoo Removal Is A Booming Business
It’s what makes them last. How new the tattoo
is, the expertise of the person placing it, and the ink used all influence how
much color or blemishes remain after removal. Tattoos are generally now removed using laser
therapy. In the past, dermabrasion (essentially sanding down the skin),
cryosurgery (freezing the tattoo and surrounding skin to make sure it can be
removed more easily), and excision (removing the tattoo with a scalpel and
suturing over the area, possibly including a skin graft if it was a large
tattoo) were all common ways to remove them. They’re still occasionally in use.
Now, though, pulsed laser beams are most often used. They remove the tattoo and
have little potential for scarring. It’s a much better way to get rid of your
Panama memorial then having it sanded down, isn’t it?
9) Repairing Fused Fingers
or Toes
Some babies, about one in three thousand, are born with their fingers and toes
fused because the skin between them didn’t separate during development. If
you’ve ever seen pictures of fetal development, fetuses have what look like
paddles for hands and feet up to a certain point in development. It’s not always
detected before birth, though. In some babies, parents choose not to have the
fused toes separated because it might not interfere with walking. However,
webbed fingers are almost always repaired. Usually,
the webbing isn’t corrected until a child is at least a few months old.
Pre-Operative Webbed Toes
By then,
they can better handle the anesthesia, and it’s before they’ll have started
trying to grasp things or use their fingers for much. If there are multiple
webbings, your surgeon may opt for multiple surgeries so there are fewer chances
of complications. The incision between the affected fingers will be zig-zagged,
or Z-like, in shape so that one finger doesn’t have to have more skin replaced
than the other. The incision is covered with a skin graft taken from elsewhere
on the child’s body. Done correctly and without complication, the surgery will
restore full functionality to the child’s hand or foot.
8) Lipo sculpting
Over the past few years, interest in liposuction has revived. This is mainly
because it’s much easier to sculpt the body with new techniques than it used to
be. Liposuction can now target very specific
areas of excess body fat and sculpt the body just as the patient wants. It
involves small incisions, and recovery is usually fairly easy.
One version of lipo-sculpting, SmartLipo, is done by using a laser to rupture fat cells, which
makes them easier to remove, and tighten the skin over them. It’s frequently
used in places like the thighs, arms, abdomen, neck, and chin. It can be used
all over with much less recovery time than something like a body lift would
take. Traditional liposuction has gotten much safer and more reliable than it
used to be. Liposuction is now about thirty years old, and it used to involve
simply moving a hollow metal tube, or cannula, to break up fat cells before
suctioning them out.
Transition of Abdomen From Treatments of Lipo Sculpting
By Otto Placik (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 or GFDL],
via Wikimedia Commons
Now, it involves injecting a saline solution containing and
an anesthetic, lidocaine, to make liposuction safer. It does that by reducing
pain and shrinking blood vessels before the fat is removed. The saline
solution’s bulk makes it easier to separate tissues and remove the fat
effectively. Anesthesia for the procedure may be localized or general, depending
on your surgeon’s preference, the location of the fat to be removed, and how
much fat is present. Recovery depends on the extent of the procedure and the
individual patient. Patients often feel sore, as though they’d been doing a
heavy workout, and it can usually be managed with over-the-counter medication.
7) Ocular Reconstruction
Ocular reconstruction is done after a person loses an eye. They’re nothing new;
the first one, found in a woman in Iran, dates back to approximately 2800 – 2900
BCE. Your first appointment with an ocularist
will involve you meeting the ocularist and discuss what’s appropriate to replace
your lost eye, as well as an initial impression being taken. A wax form of the
shape of your new eye will be cast at your second appointment. The third
appointment is when the false eye will be painted to match your real one, right
down to the veining in the eye.
On your fourth visit, the eye will be polished
and inserted, and the fit will be evaluated. If all has gone well, you’ll get
instructions for caring for your prosthetic eye. Six or so weeks later, you’ll
follow up to make sure everything is comfortable and working well, and you
should be done. The eye will be made of medical grade acrylic, rather than the
glass it’s commonly believed to be, though some are made of cryolite glass. If
you haven’t entirely lost your eye, you will probably get what’s called a
scleral shell, which goes over the damaged eye. It will not replace your vision
by any means, but you will have a fairly normal appearance again. Most people
cannot tell the difference between a well-made glass eye, and the real thing.
6) Botox / Collagen injections
Botox injections and collagen injections serve similar purposes. Most often,
they’re intended to reduce the appearance of wrinkles. Botox, which is taken
from the botulism bacteria and is the botulinum toxin, is used to freeze small
muscles in place when they’re overactive, causing lines and wrinkles. This is usually done in places like the vertical lines between
the eyebrows, horizontal lines on the forehead, and the crow’s feet on the
outside of eyes. It only lasts for about 3 – 4 months before it needs to be
repeated. That gives you time to decide if you like the effect or want it done
again. It’s an in-office procedure that requires no anesthesia and is considered
very safe.
Collagen and Botox Injections
Collagen injections, on the other hand, are injections of a filler that’s
made from cow protein. It’s used to fill out or plump up furrows and wrinkles.
This is frequently done between the eyebrows, in lines around the lips or to the
side of the mouth, or in the lines between the nose and upper lip. For collagen
injections, an allergy test must be performed prior to the first injection. Much
like Botox, it only lasts for about 3 – 4 months (in this case because the
collagen is absorbed by the body), is an in-office procedure, and requires no
anesthesia.
5) Chemical Facelift
A chemical facelift, or chemical peel, removes the damaged outer layers of the
skin on the face. Unlike a
regular facelift, it doesn’t do anything about loose skin. The chemical solution
used is tailored to be used for light, medium, or deep peels and have
corresponding effects. A light peel can help with wrinkles, blemishes, acne,
uneven pigmentation, sun-damaged areas, and to remove pre-cancerous growths. The
more minor peels, done using alphahydroxy acids or trichloroacetic acid, usually
take ten to fifteen minutes to perform. They’re done in-office and don’t require
any anesthesia, though you may need follow-up care or a repeat of the peel.
Chemical Peeling
The
deeper kind of peel, a phenol peel, takes one to two hours to perform for the
whole face, though a smaller area will need less time. It doesn’t use anesthesia
and is performed in-office. You’ll need to take about one to two weeks off work
and most normal activities for the lighter peels, longer for the deeper one, and
refrain from using makeup during the healing period. A peel may be done with or
without a surgical facelift or forehead lift.
4) Breast Reduction
Breast reduction is used to remove excess skin, glandular tissue, and breast fat
to bring a woman’s breasts more in line with her self-image and body type, as
well as to relieve discomfort caused by overly large breasts. Breast reductions are also known as reduction mammoplasty.
For many women, overly large breasts cause significant back, neck, and shoulder
pain, chest discomfort, difficulty breathing, and frustration. It can be
extremely difficult to find a bra that fits, will last, is practical, and isn’t
incredibly expensive; 38H, for instance, is hard to find in a style that will
last.
Breast reduction surgery can help when a woman can’t be as active as she’d
like due to discomfort and pain from her overly large breasts. There are risks
of loss of sensation of breast, nipple, or areola, scarring, skin discoloration,
swelling and bruising, asymmetry, pain, and a need for surgery, among
others. Despite the risks, it’s definitely the right choice for some women. Many
women also elect to get a breast lift done at the same time as the reduction to
further enhance appearance, self-image, and self-esteem.
3) Partial Facelift
A partial facelift focuses on a specific part of the face, rather than changing
its overall appearance. The forehead, cheeks, or jowls may be targeted in a
partial facelift. One of the benefits is
that a partial lift is less expensive. It may also require less healing time. It
helps to tone and firm the muscles of the targeted part of the face.
Woman Marked Prior to Facelift
Like a
regular facelift, it is surgery and has some risks, such as the same risks of
undergoing any anesthesia, scarring, clotting, dissatisfaction with results, and
the need to have the procedure performed again. Whether or not a partial
facelift is right for a person is a private decision that should be made in
concert with a qualified plastic surgeon.
2) Back Lift
When weight loss and fitness don’t help enough, a person might opt to have a
back lift done. A back lift is a surgery done on the upper back to help remove
excess skin on the upper and middle back and underarm.
Usually, this is because of bulges or excessively loose skin. Sometimes exercise
and diet cannot get rid of these extra unsightly, little pockets of skin and
fat. A back lift will reduce rolls
and bulges in the upper and middle back, which brings the back more in line with
a person’s overall appearance, both physical and mental. It can help with
discomfort caused by, for instance, bra straps digging into the flesh. The
surgery involves general anesthesia and lasts for one to two hours on average.
Since it’s an outpatient surgery, no hospital time is required.
Remove That Unsightly Back Fat With a Back Lift
There may be
side effects, such as changes in sensation, swelling, bruising, and soreness.
Like with any surgery, there are risks, such as bleeding, scarring, infection,
and side effects and risks of anesthesia. For one to two weeks, you may need to
wear a compression garment to help reduce swelling, but in many cases, the
patient will be able to see the results right away. Patients may be men or
women, but the main qualifiers are poor self-image and discomfort due to lax skin,
bulges, and rolls located around the back.
1) Eyelash Replacements
Eyelash replacements used to be specifically for people who had lost their
eyelashes to burns, chemotherapy or other cancer treatments, and other medical
reasons. The treatment involves
transplanting scalp hairs with little to no curl into the eyelash line. These
hairs are removed under local anesthesia. Then a very fine needle creates holes
in the eyelash line. The transplanted lash is then placed in that hole. There is
no suturing or cutting of eyelid tissue; the hole in the eyelash line is small
enough to hold the new lash in place as it heals and takes root. In order to
thicken the eyelashes, about fifty new lashes are placed in the eyelid.
Working on Eye Lashes After Surgery is Completed
Because
your new lashes will be scalp hair, they’ll continue to grow, just like the hair
on your head, and will need to be cut every month or two. It will be placed so
that it curves the same way as your natural lashes. In order to perform the
surgery on both eyelids, about five hours is involved. This is because the
surgery is so delicate and because the lashes must be placed so precisely. It is
something of an expensive surgery, due mainly to the time involved. However, you
may well never look back after having an eyelash transplant or replacement done.
Final Thoughts
These days plastic surgery is seen less as a vanity and more as a way to
enhance someone’s quality of life. Certainly while getting a cleft palate or
fused fingers fixed is obviously something that can help someone get along with
their general lives better, the mental benefits to looking the way that you want
to look cannot easily be overlooked.
Looking young and beautiful is becoming more and more important, it seems.
Almost everyone is aware of the most common forms of cosmetic surgery: breast
implants and face lifts. However, did you know that you can also get calf
implants? These days there is no part of the human body that can’t be changed
with a little outside assistance. Some of these procedures, like vaginoplasty,
sound strange and out of this world but can vastly improve the quality of life
for a patient. Other procedures like laser tattoo removal serve no other purpose
than to improve someone’s appearance.
