Quarantine killed many businesses, but it was great for the aesthetic beauty industry. Many women found themselves working from home with more flexibility to squeeze in and recover from procedures they had placed on the back burner. Many women finally found the time and space to put their needs first,and some of these procedures offer more than an aesthetic boost, some might even help to save your life.
In June of last year, Sarah Medley went in for a mastopexy (breast lift). After nursing two children with DD size breasts, she sought the procedure to boost her confidence in the wake of a recent painful divorce. While in surgery, however, Sarah’s doctor found dense glandular pockets in her right breast. This type of asymmetrical tissue put Sarah at an increased risk for breast cancer, prompting her physician to make the decision to remove the tissue as a preventative measure and replace the space with an implant. Now her health care team knows to watch the area in her yearly mammograms and it has been documented in her medical records.
Dr. Julene Samuels’ new office in Norton Commons is booming – so much so that she squeezed in an interview with me during a liposuction procedure. On the table in her fully accredited on-site operating room was a nurse that was undergoing a tummy tuck and liposuction. The patient had lost over 68 pounds, and while this invasive procedure is both costly and requires recovery time, she decided that the added health benefits were worth the costs.
“Before surgery I told this patient that I would be speaking with you, and she wanted me to add that her husband told her that there were other things the family could have spent this money on, but, he said, ‘You’re the core of this family. How you feel is key to the dynamics of this house. When you are happy, we are all happy,’” Dr. Samuels said through the beeping of the heart monitor in the background.
Dr. Samuels hears stories from her patients of the added health benefits from these types of procedures frequently. “By the time my patients come to me, they have worked on their self-esteem. Plastic surgery isn’t going to fix a low self-esteem, but it will help with your libido, your ability to exercise, and there are many studies that show when people feel better about their aesthetics, it makes for a healthier patient,” she notes.
Liposuction reduces the fatty load, which lowers glucose levels and benefits the insulin pathways, lowering the risk of diabetes. In addition, research has found that centripetal obesity on the midsection puts you at risk for hypertension and heart disease. Liposuction can lower the amount of fatty tissue inflammatory cells linked to cardiovascular disease by 11%. Lipedema(an unhealthy and oftentimes genetic buildup of fatty tissue on the legs, buttocks, and arms) causes pain and bruising in these areas making exercise difficult, so many find exercise pleasurable post-liposuction.
Aesthetic surgery can also have added benefits for sexual health. “Many of my patients come in for revision breast surgery. The implants of the past were either dangerous or rock hard. My patients ask me, ‘Will my husband ever want to touch my breasts again?’ When I can reconstruct their implant cripples–that is what we call them in the industry–to create breasts that look and feel natural again, that is a health benefit.”
In addition to breast, face, tummies, and buttocks, Dr. Samuels says the fastest growing area of plastic surgery is in the female intimate wellness sector. “Incontinence, painful sex, vaginal dryness, lack of libido–these are quality of life issues. It used to be that you went to your gynecologist and they wrote you a prescription or they did nothing. Now female patients are tipping the dial in this area and getting real solutions,” Dr. Samuels says. Her office is participating in several clinical trials and she has published several articles pertaining to this new field of study.
While face-lifts are still the old standard of aesthetic surgery, Dr. Samuels says many of the newer procedures are less invasive and more affordable. A face-lift requires anesthesia and recovery time, and costs around $17,000, while a Profound microneedling procedure will yield ⅓ of a typical face-lift result for 1/3 of the price. Microneedling, where small needles prick the skin and stimulate collagen production; Morpheus8, using radiofrequency lasers to stimulate collagen; Sculptra, an injectable that stimulates collagen production, and other injectable neurotoxins all work to firm, tone, and smooth the skin for a fraction of the price and time.
“You are never too old,” Dr. Samuels says. “It is also never too early to begin some of these procedures. We call it ‘Skincare for the Ages’ when you begin in your 20s and 30s to prevent aging. It just means there is less to correct down the road. And I will also add that you don’t have to be rich either.”
By Megan M. Seckman
P.S. Here is another article you may find healthful.
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