Are you considering cosmetic surgery? If so, the most important factor in determining a positive outcome to your procedure is selecting a highly qualified surgeon.

The best place to start the process is through a referral. Good sources of referrals include:

• Your doctor
• Friends who have had a successful cosmetic surgery
• Surgical societies including the ASPS or ASAPS
• American Board of Plastic Surgery

Before deciding on cosmetic surgery and the surgeon who will perform it:

• Call several surgeons and talk with their staff
• Ask for written information about the doctor
• Check for American Board of Plastic Surgery certification. This ensures:
  
  • The surgeon has completed an approved surgical residency of 3 years
  • An approved plastic surgery residency of 2 - 3 years
  • The surgeon has been a practicing plastic surgeon for 2 years, and passed a rigorous set of exams
• Check for membership in the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), or the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS)
• Check the surgeon's hospital affiliations

If you decide on a consultation, make sure that the surgeon explains the procedure, preoperative considerations, postoperative care, possible risks, and any side effects associated with surgery. You should feel comfortable discussing your expectations and all aspects of your surgery.

I am committed to providing honest, straightforward information about how you can look and feel your best by focusing on your overall health and well being.

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Over my 25+ years in practice, I've received thousands of questions from patients. While many of the questions are situation specific, these are some of the more common:

Q:What is the difference between liposuction and a tummy tuck?

A:Liposuction is used to remove localized areas of fat. A tummy tuck on the other hand, is used to reduce the amount of loose skin in the abdomenal area. Typically, the need for this develops following child birth.

Q:I've recently lost a lot of weight. As a result, I have very loose skin in several areas. What can I do to get rid of this?

A:There are a number of techniques that can be used to remove excess skin following massive weight loss. The method used will depend on the specific area(s) to be treated.

Q:I got a tattoo a few years ago while I was in college, but I no longer want it. What is the best way to have it removed?

A:It depends on the size of the tattoo. Some very small tattoos can be removed through surgical means. However, I use a laser removal method in most cases.

If you would like to see any questions addressed in this section for future newsletters, please e-mail me, or call 617-262-2208.

More Q & A . . .

I learned an interesting fact the other day. Did you know that our lung capacity decreases as we age?

After age 20 lung capacity decreases by about .5% - 1% of capacity per year primarily due to a decrease in the elasticity of the lung tissue. The old adage use it or lose it is especially true when it comes to our lungs.

Normal adult lung capacity is 3 to 5 liters (3,000 - 5,000 milliliters), and can be calculated as milliliters of air per kilogram (approx. 2.2 lbs.) of body weight. The equation for women is 50 to 60 milliliters of air for each kilogram of body weight (55 ml x kg), and for men the equation is 70 milliliters per kilogram of body weight (70 ml x kg).

This is all somewhat grim news. The good news is that physical fitness increases lung capacity. This makes adding a minimuim of 30 minutes a day of enjoyable aerobic exercise (running, swimming, rowing, cycling, or even a brisk walk) a critical component to any exercise regimen. Aerobic exercise will not only help to increase your lung capacity, but it will also burn fat, increase your metabolism, help decrease blood pressure, slow bone and muscle loss, and aid in your overall health and wellness.

As always, consult your physician prior top beginning any new exercise program. Feel free to contact us for more information, or if you need help designing a program to help meet your goals.

Read More from the Trainer's Corner . . .

A full face-lift was once considered the only option to provide lasting wrinkle reduction in the face and neck regions.

While some patients may still benefit from a full face-lift procedure, many more will benefit from less invasive procedures that tighten specific aspects of your face/neck region. Procedures such as a neck lift, upper brow lift, or cheek lift can take years off of a patient's appearance with lower cost and less downtime.

Neck Lift - A neck lift reduces the loose skin that occurs on the neck as we age. It smoothes and tightens the loose skin to help restore your youthful appearance. In this procedure, neck skin and muscles are tightened through incisions made behind the ears and/or under the chin.

Upper Brow Lift - An upper brow lift is used to slightly re-position skin on the forehead and soften forehead wrinkles. The procedure is generally done as an endoscopic, or open technique.

Cheek Lift - The cheek lift, also known as a mid-face lift, improves the appearance of your lower eyelid and cheek area and softens the naso- labial crease. Skin and fat are repositioned and a small amount of skin is removed through an incision under the lower eyelid lashes.

View All of Our Facial Surgeries . . .

A recent study conducted by the Aesthetic Surgery Education and Research Foundation (ASERF) showed that patients have a significant, lasting improvement in body image following cosmetic surgery.

Researchers found that patients were satisfied with their surgery, and experienced significant improvements in their overall appearance as well as in the feature altered by surgery for the term of the study (12 months).

The study followed patients from eight cosmetic surgery practices nationwide before surgery and at intervals up to one year after surgery. 87% of respondents reported satisfaction with their surgery. 97% said they would recommend surgery to others, and 93% said they would have the surgery again.

William P. Adams, M.D., F.A.C.S.

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Facials, Peels, Hair Removal, MDA

Trainer's Corner