Reflections on Beauty

Thermage, a safe and simple non-surgical procedure, can reduce the appearance of aging skin by applying radiofrequency energy to the skin.

In the past, surgeries such as face lifts, liposuction, and body contouring were performed to remedy problems like sagging facial skin, loose body skin and stretch marks. For many people, Thermage has been an alternative to surgery with results that have been remarkable. Plus, there’s absolutely no down time or scarring.

Thermage’s radiofrequency waves force the underlying tissue to tighten. It is often used for non-surgical brow lifts and non-surgical tightening of facial wrinkles on the forehead, around the eyes, the face, the neck and, most recently, for tightening loose body skin on the arms, legs, abdomen and buttocks.

Thermage uses very specific radio frequency energy, which causes your collagen to contract and causes new collagen to form, thus lifting sagging skin. Administered in our New Jersey cosmetic surgery office, Thermage treatment can take from a minutes to just over an hour, depending on the area treated. You’ll be surprised at the results!

Doesn’t a six pack ab look amazing??  That great look isn’t the only reason for having one, however. Did you know that there are several health benefits of having a six pack? It’s true. Here are six of the most important ones:

1. A six pack helps you maintain good posture through stronger abdominal muscles;
2. A six pack strengthens your core and enables you to lift heavier weights, not just in the gym but at home with kids, grocery bags, heavy snow;
3. A six pack lessens your chances of getting injured in sports and other physical activities;
4. A six pack helps you avoid an abdominal hernia, as the muscles are strong and tight;
5. A six pack helps protect your most important organs;
6. A six pack means you have less belly fat, which is a leading cause for heart disease

Of course having a six pack means exercising regularly and eating right, two things we recommend to all of our patients, even those interested in laser liposuction!

One part “Bridezillas,” another part “Extreme Makeover,” E!’s new reality T.V. Series “Bridalplasty” pits brides-to-be against each other in a competition for nose jobs, implants, lipo and the ultimate prize: a celebrity-worthy dream wedding.

Many brides-to-be and their moms come into our New Jersey cosmetic surgery practice for rejuvenation treatments before the big day (laser lipo, non-invasive Zeltiq, Botox, fillers, Fraxel and Thermage) and it makes sense – it’s a once-in-a-lifetime event and the day they’ll have more pictures taken of them than any other.  And while it’s important to look good on your special day, you don’t have to compete with others to get it.  Who needs that stress?  There are lots of affordable ways to make yourself look great on your special day, with your dignity intact.

Call us to see what we can do for your special day!

Patients who have liposuction understand that it’s a body sculpting method to remove discrete areas of unwanted fat, not a weight-loss method. They are generally at goal weight or within 10 lbs of it. However, since we’re in the midst of the holiday period, you might want to know what could happen if you did gain weight after liposuction.

During liposuction, fat cells are permanently removed. They won’t grow back or be replaced. That means, for example, if you gain weight after liposuction of the thighs, an increase in weight won’t be reflected in the thigh area(s) where liposuction was performed. However, fat cells in other parts of the body will enlarge instead. If you’ve never had weight-gain in your tummy, for example, it could occur after liposuction of your thighs because it, essentially, cannot occur in the thighs.

Remember, holidays are for fun, family, traditions and outings. Enjoy yourself, but be careful to avoid gaining weight that will last long after the holidays!

Here are some tips to maintain your weight during the holidays whether or not you’ve had lipo!

• Drink more water! Keeps you full, hydrated and makes your skin very happy!
• Beware of calories in mixed drinks. A Cosmopolitan has 150-200 calories, compared with an 8 oz white wine spritzer, which has only 40.
• Take advantage of shopping for exercise! Park far from the doors, walk up the escalators and wear your jogging shoes when you do holiday shopping.
• Don’t neglect your sleep—studies prove that your body will react to sleep deprivation by increasing your appetite!

According to the British press, there’s been a surge in the number of British men wanting a better looking body, and they’re choosing liposuction to get it. Witness their soccer star, Ronaldo, who had lipo on his abdomen last year. One wonders if this was the beginning of the rush, considering that since August of 2009, liposuction for UK men has increased by 117%!.

Before the increase in liposuction for the torso, UK men were most interested in eliminating their gynecomastia to avoid the look of Simon Cowell and his man boobs. Suddenly, however, they’re hot to trade their love handles for a 6-pack belly.

Here in the US, men’s cosmetic surgery procedures increased by 9% from 2008 to 2009, resulting in nearly a million surgical procedures, with lipo the top pick. Nose jobs, eyelid surgery, breast reduction and halr transplantation rounded out the top five American men’s procedures.

Here in our practice at Reflections Center in New Jersey, laser liposuction enables us to improve the contour with little to no downtime, using laser energy to create predictable results by targeting the energy to remove areas of fat. Local anesthesia is all that’s needed, giving you a comfortable experience, a faster recovery and less bruising. Tiny cannulae are used to extract the fat. It’s great for those who have tried dieting and exercise but, after childbirth or aging, find that targeted areas of stubborn fat still remain. Advantages over regular liposuction include skin tightening, with less risk of lumps and bumps that can happen with traditional lipo. SlimLipo’s wavelength melts the fat away, 7 times more than SmartLipo. Risks of burns is remarkably reduced—in fact, we’ve never seen a burn in our practice. Great for jowls, neck, male breasts and torso.

If you’re thinking about lipo, call us today and enjoy the feeling of less fat without a long recovery time!

Knee rejuvenation usually only require 1-2 days of downtime, although some patients may return to activities immediately following their procedure. The patient does not feel the SlimLipo during the treatment thanks to anesthetics. The patient will, however, feel pain equivalent to that of muscle strain after a rigorous workout following SlimLipo. Patients are usually required to wear a compression garment for 1-2 weeks following liposuction and may return to physical activity, such as running, soon after treatment.

We all know that fat isn’t good for us. Particularly belly fat, which is linked to a high risk of elevated blood pressure, cholesterol and triglycerides, as well as a correlation with type 2 diabetes. Most gastric bypass, LapBand and massive weight-loss patients discover, to their delight, that with the loss of a great deal of weight, they sometimes “reverse” their diabetes and simultaneously lower their BP, cholesterol and triglycerides as well.

Metabolic syndrome is the condition linked to those disease states above, and evidenced by belly fat. Researchers and plastic surgeons are hot on the path of learning whether eliminating belly fat with liposuction can reliably reverse metabolic syndrome and, in particular, whether liposuction can be the tool that brings this about. The studies are many and ongoing: can performing liposuction on a fat tummy improve overall health? If so, will we see the day when liposuction is performed as a medical procedure as it’s now performed as a cosmetic one?

So far, results are mixed. Some studies have shown that liposuction does reverse the negative health problems of metabolic syndrome, while others do not show this result.

A recent report on liposuction’s effects in the professional journal, Modern Medicine, reveals that a study, performed by Dr. R.V. Weber, assistant professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and his fellow researchers, shows that hamsters with metabolic syndrome react favorably to removing belly fat. The problem is, of course, that animal results don’t always correlate to humans.

Removing fat through liposuction certainly can (and does) reshape and resculpt bodies. Increasing self-esteem by means of resculpting the body may psychologically lead to taking better are of oneself and this, indirectly, might decrease disease states related to obesity. Don’t wait for problems with your appearance to make you feel down about yourself! Talk to Dr. Chasin about SlimLipo laser liposuction. It’s an amazing way to resculpt your body!

Do you like chocolate? Most of us do. However, most of us don’t realize that studies show that dark chocolate is particularly rich in flavenoids, an antioxidant similar to those found in nuts and grains. Flavonoids can benefit the liver, immune system, heart and blood vessels, the connective tissue and muscles, as well as the adrenals and nervous system.

A short study was performed at the Nestle Research Center in Switzerland, led by Sunil Kochhar. The study revealed that just 1.4 ounces a day of dark chocolate could lower stress hormone levels. For all you Type A personalities out there, this is good news!

At the beginning of the study, blood tests were taken to identify each of the 30 participant’s metabolic profile. The subjects were instructed to eat 20 grams of dark chocolate both mid-morning and mid-afternoon. This amount would be around 1.4 ounces a day for us here in the US—about the size of a $2 Endangered Species chocolate bar.

After two weeks’ time, blood tests were taken again, revealing that the stress-related biomarkers were reduced. The study team concluded that “The study provides strong evidence that a daily consumption of 40 g of dark chocolate during a period of 2 weeks is sufficient to modify the metabolism of… healthy human subjects, as per variation of both host and gut microbial metabolism.”

Next time you’re feeling stressed, try some chocolate or, according to the study, if you have that little bit of dark chocolate daily, your stress will be lower automatically!

Since the invention of liposuction by an Italian gynecologist in 1974, the procedure has undergone numerous changes and innovations to improve both its safety and results.

A report on a liposuction study of 23 patients was recently released in the American Society of Plastic Surgeons’ March 2010 issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the association’s official medical journal. According to the research, a form of liposuction that utilizes high frequency energy waves shows promise in the never-ending quest to safely and effectively rid human bodies of excess fat. Radiofrequency energy uses an electrical energy delivered in the form of high-frequency electrical current. During radiofrequency-assisted liposuction, called RFAL for short, the current heats the fatty tissue to dissolve fat cells with minimal damage to the fat and extremely little damage to surrounding tissues, particularly when compared to traditional types of liposuction.

The pilot study followed 23 patients over a 6-month period. Information as to the attractiveness of their results and notation of any complications were gathered both immediately after the procedure was performed, at 6 and again at 12 weeks postprocedure. There were no reports of scarring, burns or excessive postoperative discomfort. All patients reported skin tightening along with body contour improvements and significant weight and circumference reductions.

Researchers claim that the study suggests that removal of moderate amounts of fat using radiofrequency liposuction is achievable, safe and effective. We’ll be watching this over time to see if the RFAL device is approved by the FDA. In the meantime, our patients have been ecstatic with their Slim Lipo results!

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Did you know that liposuction was invented in 1974 by an Italian gynecologist? It’s true. It was then brought to America, but it wasn’t until the 80’s that tumescent liposuction was created, giving patients a softer and safer method of body sculpting by adding salt water to the process. Like every medical discovery or device, time brings more technological advances. The latest and safest liposuction available today is provided by laser technology.

What’s the difference? There are key differences in function, safety, discomfort, results and recovery time.

Let’s talk about function first.
Although the function of both traditional and laser liposuction is to remove fat deposits, laser lipo is best for mild to moderate fat removal plus skin tightening, while traditional, surgical liposuction can eliminate larger amounts of fat. Traditional liposuction cannot tighten the skin like laser body contouring can.

There are big differences in discomfort and safety between traditional and laser liposuction.
Discomfort is higher in traditional liposuction, hands down. Incisions must be made and then sutured closed. Sometimes drains are also inserted and removed a few days after the procedure. With laser body contouring, the cannula is much thinner, often requiring no incisions at all, just tiny insertion points that will heal with nothing more than a steri-strip or a small band-aid. Traditional lipo usually requires going under general anesthesia, making the procedure more expensive and adding the risk of anesthesia-related complications. Laser lipo is performed under local anesthesia; you’ll be awake, alert and comfortable during the procedure.

The differences in results from laser vs traditional liposuction
Laser liposuction provides a level of skin tightening that does not occur with traditional liposuction. The high-energy beams of laser liposuction penetrate into the skin and heats up the innermost structures, stimulating new collagen and elastin growth in the skin. This creates better skin function and appearance, which improves over time. Less fat + better skin is, in our minds, the definition of a great result! Here are some laser lipo photos that show the excellent results one can get without surgery.

Another difference between laser and traditional liposuction is the timing of results. Traditional liposuction patients see results immediately. Laser liposuction patients will also see a change immediately, with more changes occurring over several months, as the collagen and elastin proliferate to smooth out the skin.

Recovery is vastly different
Laser liposuction is, by and large, much better tolerated than traditional liposuction. There’s no nausea and headache from general anesthesia, as laser lipo is done under local anesthesia. There are no large incisions and sutures. Also, there is far less bruising with laser liposuction. Generally, patients feel able to be up and about almost immediately, if not immediately, from laser body contouring.

Which type of liposuction is best for your needs?
The best thing is to talk to your physician about which form of liposuction will best help you achieve your body contouring goals.  With its ease of tolerability and minimal downtime, laser liposuction has become the far most popular option with patients at Reflections. You can find more information about the differences between these two procedures on our site, including frequently asked questions about laser liposuction.