A study surveyed 160 mothers who had breast implants. Eighty-six percent of the mothers chose not to breastfeed because they didn’t want their breasts to look bad, and 13% of the mothers in the study who did breastfeed their babies were concerned their breast shape would change because of breastfeeding. Although more research is necessary, doctors say breastfeeding should not be blamed for breast sagging in women with (or without) breast implants after pregnancy. Instead, they say breast sagging is more evident after each pregnancy whether or not the mother breastfeeds.

Therefore, whether you’ve had a breast augmentation, breast-fed or bottle-fed, you may notice increased sagging with each pregnancy. However, something can be done to correct the appearance of deflated, sagging breasts. If you’ve already had a breast enhancement and decide you’d like further refinement after the birth of a child, breast revision surgery is an option.

During breast revision surgery, Dr. David Whiteman removes the original breast implants, and depending on the patient’s desires, he can excise tissue and lift the breast to a more natural location or insert new breast implants for added volume. Mothers who do not have breast implants, but are bothered by sagging breasts after pregnancy can benefit from a breast lift procedure. Breast lift surgery can be performed with or without a breast implant to produce fuller breasts depending on the patient’s wishes.

Unfortunately less perky breasts are not the only complaint many women have about their bodies following pregnancy. It’s not always easy to get back to that pre-baby appearance, but mommy makeover surgery can help. Usually comprised of a breast procedure (breast augmentation, breast lift, or breast reduction), along with tummy tuck surgery and liposuction, a mommy makeover procedure is custom-tailored to the mother’s specific needs. Aside from mommy makeover surgery, Dr. Whiteman maintains a focus on Health and Wellness at his Duluth plastic surgery practice and offers helpful exercise tips and healthy recipes to promote the long-term health of his patients (and their children)!

Atlanta breast lift surgeon Dr. David Whiteman understands the fear that articles like this can strike into women looking to take on procedures like breast lift and breast reduction. For women who suffer from an aching back or are limited physically by larger breasts or who want to lift sagging breasts, surgery is still an option. Board certified Atlanta plastic surgeon Dr. David Whiteman wants patients to realize that complications like those mentioned in the article by Dr. Youn are rare in patients who adequately follow pre- and post-surgery directions from their surgeon.

Smoking constricts the blood vessels which was most likely the cause of the aforementioned patient’s complications. Before taking on any plastic surgery patient, Dr. Whiteman undergoes a thorough examination of each person’s medical and family history, as assessment of well as any risk factors that increase complications during a breast procedure.

Whether you’re looking to increase your breast size through breast enlargement surgery, reduce the size of your breasts through reduction, or lift sagging breasts as a part of mommy makeover surgery (which also typically includes liposuction and a tummy tuck), you can rest assured that Dr. Whiteman has both your best interest and safety in mind during all stages of the breast surgery process: consultation, pre-surgery, during the procedure, and plastic surgery recovery.

Stay up to date on the latest Atlanta plastic surgery news by following Dr. Whiteman’s blog and connecting with him on Facebook and Twitter.

We were especially intrigued by a recent New York Times article, “The Golden Years, Polished With Surgery,” which discusses the recent upward trend in plastic surgery for adults over 65. The article discusses the cases of baby boomers opting in to cosmetic procedures so their bodies mirror their positive attitudes.  Also mentioned is the risk associated with elective surgery procedures performed on older adults.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reports that almost 350,000 cosmetic procedures were performed on adults aged 55 or over in 2010 with around a third getting eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty). A study by the Cleveland Clinic Department of Plastic Surgery has shown that the risks associated with older adults getting plastic surgery are based less on their numerical age and more on their overall health and physiological age.

Dr. David Whiteman is an expertly trained and board certified plastic surgeon with experience in many different types of cosmetic surgery on diverse groups of people. During a consultation, Dr. Whiteman will discuss the results you desire, and you’ll be informed of the potential side effects and risk factors in your particular case.

All patients, regardless of age, should be screened for certain health conditions and make their plastic surgeons aware of all medications they are currently taking to minimize the risk of contraindication. While older adults may heal slower than those who are younger, there are conditions that would make even a young person an unsuitable candidate for plastic surgery like high blood pressure, for example.

We realize that people of all ages have cosmetic desires to enhance their bodies or boost self-confidence, which is why we encourage each potential client to visit our office and speak with Dr. Whiteman to talk about how plastic surgery can benefit and rejuvenate his or her appearance.

To discuss your cosmetic surgery options and see if you’re a candidate for plastic surgery procedures, contact us for more information and to schedule a consultation. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter for news, updates, and information on specials.

Liposuction can be used on more than just the stomach area, including areas around the face, legs, chest, flanks, back, arms and buttocks.  In tumescent and super-wet liposuction, a small incision is made and a liquid mixture of anesthetic, adrenaline, and salt water is injected in order to make the fat easier to suction. The liquid and fat are then drawn out through cannulas, or metal tubes used to remove fluid from the body. Liposuction can often be performed along with a tummy tuck in certain procedures like Mommy Makeover surgery. Ultrasound-assisted liposuction uses sound waves in addition to liquid injections to liquefy fat, and is most often used in areas like the face where careful accuracy is required.

A tummy tuck (or abdominoplasty) is reserved solely for the midsection and is a fairly major surgical procedure. During a tummy tuck, an incision is made in the lower abdominal region, weakened muscles and fascia of the abdominal wall are restored and tightened, loose skin and tissue is removed, and the stomach-area is flattened and tightened. Unlike a tummy tuck, liposuction does not address sagging skin that may come along with stubborn fat, which is why tummy tuck and liposuction are often used in conjunction for post-bariatric weight loss patients. For patients who do not need as much fat or loose skin removed, a mini-tummy tuck may offer the results they desire with less down-time afterward.

While both treatments are used to contour the curves of the body and re-establish the patient’s desired silhouette, each procedure is often better suited to specific patients. For example, patients who have recently lost a large amount of weight in a short period of time are often left with loose, sagging abdominal skin which can easily be removed with a tummy tuck. For patients who require less skin and muscle tightening and would like to just smooth and improve contour in a few areas, liposuction may be a better option. Schedule a free consultation to discuss your desired look with Dr. David Whiteman and determine which procedure(s) will best suit your needs.

Check out our before and after galleries of both tummy tuck and liposuction procedures to get a better idea of how the results can be beneficial to you. For more information or to schedule a consultation, contact us. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates and recent news.

While the majority of plastic surgery patients are pleased with their breast augmentation results, there are always one or two individuals whose results did not turn out as they expected. Heidi Montag, former reality television star, has brought this issue to the forefront of American gossip magazines as she recently talked about regretting her multiple plastic surgery procedures including liposuction, breast augmentation, rhinoplasty, chin reduction, brow lift, and buttock augmentation.

Dr. David Whiteman does his best to prevent these incidences through education and by discussing patient desires, needs, and expectations before surgery during a thorough consultation and determining which procedure would best benefit that person’s individual situation.

Women who have recently had children or experienced a drastic weight change are the most common candidates for breast revision surgery. However, breast implants do not have a lifetime warranty, so women with older breast implants will also sometimes elect to undergo breast revision to replace them with newer models.  In fact, Dr. Whiteman’s celebrity patient NeNe Leakes from The Real Housewives of Atlanta came to Southern Plastic Surgery for a breast revision surgery after a previous breast augmentation left her unhappy with her breast size.

While there are no direct statistics for how many women receive breast revision surgery each year, research from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons indicates that over 20,000 women had breast implants removed in 2010 and almost 300,000 women had breast augmentation surgery.

Fortunately, for patients who do regret a breast augmentation, are unhappy with a former surgery from another practitioner, or just need or want a new implant, Southern Plastic Surgery offers breast revision surgery and breast implant removal. During this procedure, Dr. Whiteman can correct or revise the previously augmented breasts to another size of breast implant, a breast implant the same size as the previous one, or remove the implants completely depending on the patient’s preference.

During breast revision surgery, the breast is reopened via previously used incisions to reduce scarring, and the old breast implant is removed. If the patient wants to increase or decrease the size of the breast implant or exchange it for a different material (saline or silicone), the new breast implant will be inserted at this time. Patients who are having breast implants removed may have breast lift surgery to reposition the breast to an aesthetically pleasing, natural location.  Just as the case with mommy makeover surgery in which the combination of plastic surgery procedures performed is determined based on the patient’s specific cosmetic concerns, Dr. Whiteman can help you determine which breast surgery procedure(s) can help you attain your desired aesthetic while minimizing the risk for any additional revisionary breast surgery.

Montag’s public admission of her plastic surgery regrets reiterates the importance of preplanning and responsible plastic surgery in the decision-making process. In the event that changes are needed secondarily they can be accomplished but preplanning and the coordinated discussion prior to surgery is the most important.

Contact us for more information on breast revision surgery and our services or for a consultation. If you haven’t already, follow us on Facebook and Twitter for information on updates and specials.

Silicone breast implants consist of a silicone shell filled with a viscous silicone gel, while saline breast implants are surrounded with a strong silicone elastomer shell filled with a predetermined amount of sterile saline solution. One type of breast implant is not better than the other; the decision is solely based on patient preference. However, the type of incision a plastic surgeon uses is based on the size and type of breast implant used. The larger the implant is, the larger the incision must be. Saline implants, however, may be filled after they are inserted into the breast cavity; traditionally minimizing the incision size required (reducing the size of scars). But now, new technology has made it possible to also shorten the incisions used during silicone breast enhancement.

The Keller Funnel™ was designed by Dr. Kevin Keller, a plastic surgeon from South Carolina, to facilitate the placement of silicone breast implants during breast augmentation. Manufactured with materials that pass stringent biocompatibility tests mandated with tissue and blood contracting devices, the Keller Funnel™ can be used with smooth or textured breast implants up to 800 cc’s in volume. Just like a funnel makes it easier to pour liquid into a small opening, the Keller Funnel™ eases the transition of a breast implant into the body through a small incision. The device is designed for one-time-use only. Besides requiring smaller incisions, the Keller Funnel™ also potentially decreases the chance of complications like capsule contracture and even infection. In fact, the implant can go straight from its original packaging into the Keller Funnel™ and then into the patient’s breast without ever being touched by the surgeon.

Ethnic patients who are more likely to develop keloid scars or hypertrophic scars may benefit from using this device during their breast augmentation procedure as it alleviates stress on the incision as well as the implant itself; resulting in less trauma to the surrounding tissue. Patients whose surgeons used the Keller Funnel™ reported a faster recovery. It can be used successfully in any type of breast augmentation procedure: pectoral, transaxial, periareolar, and mammary fold procedures.

Dr. David Whiteman is certified to use the Keller Funnel™, so if you are considering breast augmentation surgery, be sure to ask about it during your plastic surgery consultation. To learn more about the other breast procedures, facial plastic surgery, or cosmetic body procedures Dr. Whiteman performs, take a look at his website. Be sure to also connect with him on Facebook and Twitter.

Dr. David Whiteman and the staff at Southern Plastic Surgery do their best to educate their Duluth and Atlanta area cosmetic surgery patients on how to avoid additional scarring.  To dispel some of the myths out there about what is and is not effective in minimizing the appearance of scars, we’ve devised a list of scar therapy components:

Paper Tape: The only topical treatment advisable for new incisions, paper tape is useful in alleviating tension on the skin surrounding the incision(s).  With less tension, the affected skin can heal quicker.  Additionally, the pressure provided by the tape when placed directly over the incision keeps the scar tissue from becoming raised and turning into a hypertrophic scar.

Silicone Sheeting: A host of medical technology companies have introduced versions of thin silicone sheeting for post operative care following the National Institute of Health’s studies on the material in 2002.  Similar in appearance to plastic wrap, the material is applied to your incisions once they’ve reached an adequate maturity.  The benefit of silicone is that it doesn’t stick to the skin (therefore eliminating the risk of further damaging the incision when changing dressings) and creates an impermeable environment that keeps water in and harmful chemical, bacteria, and particulates out of the body.

Silicone Gel Wound Treatment: Similar to the issues encountered by improperly shaped Band Aids (i.e. trying to put a bandage designed for you knee around your finger), some surgical incisions on highly dimensional areas of the body like the joints, face, or breast are hard to dress with a flat sheeting material.  Instead, breast implant scars, facelift scars, and post bariatric cosmetic surgery scars may be more effectively treated with a silicone gel.  This version of silicone treatment binds with the outermost layer of the patient’s skin (stratum corneum) for the same healing benefits of silicone sheeting, but also has the advantage of easy application anywhere on the body.  Southern Plastic Surgery patients have seen exceptional results with bioCorneun® silicone gel ointment. There are also certain silicone gel treatments with an added SPF ingredient that protects the newly formed skin of the scar from pigmentation irregularities that can develop if left unshielded.  Silicone gel can be used on old and new scars, but should be reserved for those cuts or incisions that have already fully healed (closed).

Massage for Scars: It has long been know that massage therapy is effective for mental rejuvenation, but according to reports documented by breastcancer.org, massage is also helpful in diminishing texture issues that can develop as wounds heal.  Like the positive pressure we talked about with paper tape, massage can increase circulation to the forming tissue and keep the collagen that develops from becoming raised.  It’s important to note that massage should only be used once all sutures or staples have been removed and the incision has closed so that you’re not inadvertently introducing bacteria that could lead to infection.  Southern Plastic Surgery’s partner, Laser Lights Cosmetic Laser Center, has an on-staff licensed massage therapist available to perform 1 hour massage sessions using a variety of techniques.  For patients with severe, previous scarring laser skin treatment may also be performed.

Vitamin E for Scar Reduction: Oils containing concentrated vitamin E have been touted as the homeopathic remedy for scarring.  According to a 2007 article in The New York Times, however, vitamin E does not typically produce positive scar reduction results.  In fact, the University of Miami study referenced in the article cited a number of vitamin E users who actually developed contact dermatitis (allergic reaction) to the product’s application more often than those who used no scar treatments.

For more detailed post-plastic surgery aftercare instructions continue to read our blog.  We also maintain a health and wellness forum full of healthy recipes and exercise tips that may also aid you in recovering from surgery and boost your overall health.

Going beyond color, skin type differs from ethnicity to ethnicity. According to the Cosmetic Dermatology for Skin of Color, the stratum corneum of black skin has more cell layers and elevated lipid content compared to white skin even though the overall thickness is similar, meaning darker skin is more compact. Patients with darker complexions, especially African American patients, have more melanin in their skin than patients with lighter complexions. Because there is more melanin present with darker skin tones, there is an increased risk of pigmentation changes with any incisions or trauma to the skin, including surgery.

Rhinoplasty (nose surgery) is more complex among diverse ethnicities due to differences in cartilage texture and should be performed by plastic surgeons with ethnic plastic surgery experience. Cartilage is flexible, connective tissue found in many parts of the body such as the nose, ears, rib cage, in many joints and between bones. A black patient’s cartilage is typically softer and less prominent than that of a white patient. Not to mention, there are dissimilarities in bone structure from ethnicity to ethnicity. The difference in cartilage and bone structure, accompanied by the density of dark skin, further adds to the complexity of procedures like otoplasty (ear surgery) and other plastic surgery procedures that involve cartilage. Besides that, aesthetic goals typically vary from ethnicity to ethnicity.

Black patients are also more prone to keloids and hypertrophic scars. Hypertrophic scars are the result of an overproduction of collagen and appear as raised lumps on the skin. Keloids are actually a type of hypertrophic scars, but they are typically larger and grow beyond the area of the original wound.  Scarring and pigmentation complications are not limited to specific cosmetic plastic surgery procedures, so a surgeon must know how to prevent these possible complications.

While certain aspects of ethnic diversity can pose possible surgical complications, there are benefits as well. In fact, black patients experience less post-operative swelling than white patients. Also, the signs of aging typically appear more slowly among black patients, so procedures like facelift surgery and blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery) can be postponed longer. Liposuction surgery can create a lumpy appearance beneath the skin if not performed properly, but due to the density of a dark skinned patient’s dermis, they are less likely to experience this unsightly effect than light skinned patients.

Choosing the right plastic surgeon for the procedure is very important, especially with diverse ethnicities. Since Caucasians made up 70% of plastic surgery procedures in 2010, it’s no surprise that complications arise in ethnic plastic surgery. Be sure to find a board certified plastic surgeon who has experience working with your specific ethnicity to avoid surgical complications and maintain your cultural identity in surgical results. Although it’s often speculated that people undergo ethnic plastic surgery to “fit in,” in my experience with a variety patients, that’s not the case. If the ever publicized JLo booty, Rihanna eyes, or Halle Berry jawline are any indication, there has been a major shift toward embracing one’s ethnically specific aesthetics.

For more information on the plastic surgery procedures I perform, visit my website or schedule a consultation. If you haven’t already, please be sure to connect with me on Facebook and Twitter.

Doctors Teri L. Hernandez and Robert H. Eckel of the University of Colorado conducted a study to determine whether or not fat returns after liposuction surgery, and if so, where it returns.  With this type of cosmetic surgery, researchers randomly chose non-obese women with small amounts of excess fat in areas such as the thighs and lower abdomen. After the study was complete, the women were able to have more liposuction at a reduced rate if they desired it.  In a year, they determined that the fat did return,; however, it returned to other areas like the upper abdomen, arms and triceps.  The researchers in this particular study believe that the fat did not return to the areas sculpted with liposuction due to the changed structure of the targeted fat cells.

The fact that fat can increase after liposuction is not new information.  Whether it’s liposuction, a tummy tuck, or another body contouring procedure, maintaining appropriate health and wellness should be your first priority in order to maintain results.  The key point I take away from this article is that these women did not change daily activities or eating habits.  In fact, they were encouraged not to change their habits as they were offered more liposuction if it was needed once the study was complete.  

Liposuction should never be a substitute for proper diet and exercise.  Instead, it should serve as that extra push for the stubborn fat pockets that just do not seem to go away even with the best dieting and exercise efforts.  After liposuction recovery, patients should be dedicated to a healthy lifestyle in order to maintain their results.  In my years as a plastic surgeon, I’ve discovered that many patients aren’t sure what a healthy lifestyle looks like, which is why I do my best to educate through my Health and Wellness blog’s healthy recipes and tips.  I’ve also teamed up with Darryl Madison, ACE certified personal trainer and creator of Chair-A-Cise exercise program, to offer patients diet and exercise programs that can be tailored for any fitness level.

For more information on the plastic surgery procedures that I offer, visit my website. Also, be sure to connect with me on Facebook and Twitter for more Health and Wellness and plastic surgery updates.