As winter finally comes to a close, it’s time to start thinking about spring and summer and the activities that come along with them. Whether you’ve gained a little bit of winter padding, or you spent your cold winter hours sweating it out in the gym, you may be thinking that a cosmetic surgery touch-up might be just the thing to help welcome the warmer seasons. At Institute of Plastic Surgery, Dr. Jain and Dr. Dash are here to offer their superior technique and expertise to help you achieve that summer-ready body you’re looking for, with some of the most popular and effective procedures available.
Tummy Tuck
A flat tummy is the elusive and hard to get body contour that everyone strives for. Even for the fittest women, attaining washboard abs or even just getting rid of the pooch that adds unwanted inches to your torso can be a losing battle. If you are looking for a procedure to get rid of the excess skin and fat that weigh down your middle, an abdominoplasty (more commonly known as a tummy tuck) is the treatment for you. A tummy tuck is a surgical procedure designed to not only eliminate the stubborn pouches of fat and skin that keep you from a flatter midsection but also to repair the abdominal muscles that may have been separated during pregnancy. If you’ve done millions of crunches and that pesky pooch remains, it could be because of a condition known as diastasis recti, where the abdominal muscles have separated from each other at the vertical midline. This condition can only be fixed surgically and is actually exacerbated by the various ab exercises designed to tighten those muscles. A tummy tuck is an outpatient procedure performed using general anesthesia. Your surgeon will begin by making a horizontal incision across your abdomen and below your belly button. Lifting the skin, Dr. Dash or Dr. Jain will then suture together your separated abdominal muscles if necessary, strengthening the abdominal wall. They will then remove excess fat and trim away redundant skin, pulling the skin from your upper abdomen down and creating a new belly button. The procedure is completed by suturing the newly smooth skin together, and the result is a flatter and more defined abdomen. It takes a couple of weeks of downtime before you are ready to return to your everyday activities, and while it takes up to six months for your full results to be visible, you’ll be able to see a marked improvement in your stomach just in time for the summer months.
Body Contouring
Did you know that body contouring is one of the most popular procedures, both surgical and nonsurgical, in the U.S. for men and women alike? In 2016, more than 420,000 people chose to undergo surgical liposuction, and nearly 170,000 chose nonsurgical contouring options like CoolSculpting to improve their shape. Advances in body contouring now extend to smaller areas like under the chin and behind the knees, so no matter what you are looking to trim down to prepare for warmer summer months, body contouring can help. Ideal candidates for body contouring have a BMI under 30, and are maintaining a healthy, stable weight. Liposuction or CoolSculpting are excellent choices to eliminate bumps and bulges almost anywhere on your body, including:
- Cheeks, chin and neck
- Upper arms
- Chest area
- Back
- Abdomen and waist
- Hips and buttocks
- Thighs
- Back of the knee
- Calves and ankles
Body contouring treatments such as liposuction and CoolSculpting are meant to put the finishing touches on your physique and are not designed as tools for weight loss. While you will see a change in the way you look and how you fit into your clothes, you won’t see much of a change in the numbers on the scale. Liposuction recovery requires a week or two of downtime, to allow for swelling and bruising to recede, but you will be able to see visible results quickly. CoolSculpting requires no surgery and no downtime, but because it relies on your body’s natural processes to eliminate the fat in the targeted treatment areas, it can take three to six months for your final results to be visible. Whether you choose liposuction or CoolSculpting, now is the time for body contouring so that you can be bikini ready by the Fourth of July!
Arm Lift (Brachioplasty)
In the heat of summer, no one wants to spend time trying to hide excess skin and fat on their arms. Get rid of those “bingo wings” in no time and be ready to rock strappy sundresses and sleeveless tops with an arm lift. Arm lifts, also known as brachioplasty, have begun to rise in popularity as women realize that they don’t have to live with flabby arms. In fact, statistics show that arm lift procedures have increased more than 900 percent over the past 20 years. There are two ways to both reduce the circumference or your arm as well as eliminate excess skin and fat – a standard brachioplasty or a limited-incision brachioplasty.
- Standard brachioplasty – this procedure is recommended for people whose excess tissue extends the entire length of their upper arm. An incision is made starting at the elbow and extending up the inside or back of the arm and ending at the armpit. The excess skin and fat are removed, and Dr. Jain or Dr. Dash will use internal sutures to tighten and reshape the underlying supportive tissues. Once your brachioplasty surgery is complete, you will be left with tighter, more shapely upper arms.
- Limited-incision brachioplasty – this procedure is for people whose redundant skin is limited to the armpit area. Incisions used in this procedure are placed in the armpit, excess skin and fat are removed, and the remaining skin is tightened just around that area. This procedure leaves a smaller scar, but won’t properly repair more severe sagging.
Recovery time after both procedures is typically about two weeks, and while you will have some visible scarring, it will fade over time, and you will be able to enjoy the lasting effects of beautiful arms. If you are thinking about what cosmetic surgery procedure might best get you ready to welcome summer, we offer a wide variety of options to give you the best body possible. Contact us today!
