The Plastic Surgery Center of East Tennessee

Dr. Pastrick’s February Blog–Sex Makes the Difference

ghpastrick — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:28:39 +0000

With Valentine’s Day approaching, I was thinking about men and women and the differences between them when it comes to cosmetic surgery. I just finished a rhinoplasty on a gentleman who has always been dissatisfied with the appearance of his nose. After years of contemplation, he finally decided to go through with the surgery. I’m confident that when he heals, he’ll be very happy with the result and the balance it brings to his face. I, too, am happy for him and that he finally did it because, as a plastic surgeon, I get great satisfaction from being able to positively impact someone’s life and to make a beneficial change that can last forever. Regarding men and cosmetic surgery, they are definitely in the minority, comprising only about 10% of those who undergo cosmetic surgery. It’s not that men don’t have things they would like to change about themselves, it’s just they have an aversion to commitment (No big surprise to the women!). Men think of all the practicalities in going from point A (the before) to point B (the after) and it can be somewhat daunting in their minds, whereas women visualize themselves at point B and will do anything necessary to get there. By far and away the top cosmetic surgeries for men are rhinoplasty, eyelid surgery and liposuction. Breast reduction for gynecomastia and hair transplantation are a distant 4th and 5th in popularity for men. In women, the top 5 surgeries are: breast augmentation, rhinoplasty, eyelid surgery, liposuction and abdominoplasty. Facelift is not far out of the 5th spot. Despite the differences, as you can see some commonality exists between the sexes with regard to cosmetic surgery. So this month, put aside the differences and enjoy the commonalities with your Valentine.

February 2012 Specials

coordinator — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:38:03 +0000

The Plastic Surgery Center celebrates Valentines day and the true gift of love and friendship. This month friends and couples can enjoy buy one get one half price on the following treatments:

All facial injectables, including Botox, Dysport, Restylane, Perlane, Juvederm and Sculptra.
CoolSculpting – our new, non-surgical, treatment to freeze away stubborn fat.
All Laser treatments, including laser hair removal, laser vein therapy, laser genesis and IPL treatments.
Spa services, including facials, microdermabrasions and Xtreme lash eyelash extensions.

To be eligible to receive these services at the special buy one get one half price rate you must attend, and be treated, in the same visit as your friend or loved one. The discount only applies to the lowest priced treatment and cannot be used in conjunction with any other discounts. Contact us via phone at 423-392-4884 or e-mail to scehdule your appointment.

New Rebate Offers

coordinator — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:35:13 +0000

Mail in rebates are available for Restylane, Perlane and Dysport treatments received between February 1st 2012 and March 31st 2012. Rebate offers are:

Patients treating with Restylane must use a minimum of 2 syringes to be eligible for a rebate of $40.00 per syringe used (maximum of 6 syringes)
Patients treating with Perlane are eligible for a $50.00 rebate per syringe used, minimum 1 syringe, maximum 6 syringes.
Patients treating with Dysport are eligible for a $50.00 mail in rebate. We have a limited supply of Dysport rebate forms available.
There’s also the ongoing “Points Rewards” program available to patients treating with Botox Cosmetic or Juvederm. This is an ongoing rewards system through Allergan’s Brilliant Distinctions Program.

Dr. Pastrick’s January Blog-Abdominoplasty

ghpastrick — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:11:49 +0000

I was driving by the gym on the way home from my office just the other day and noticed that the parking lot there was the fullest I’d ever seen it. I realized it was probably busy because at the top of many people’s New Year’s Resolution list is to get into better shape and to lose weight. I applaud those who set their goals and achieve them. One of the problems with losing weight, however, is that the skin on the abdomen begins to loosen as the fat layer melts away and there is no way to tighten the skin layer on your own. This is most evident on those who have lost massive amounts of weight, but it happens even with modest weight loss. Abdominoplasty is the best way to tighten the abdomen and get rid of the loose skin. Not only does it tighten the skin, but it also addresses any abdominal muscle laxity that cannot be corrected with sit-ups, crunches, P90x, etc. With aging or after pregnancy, the muscle wall stretches out and it’s very difficult if not impossible to correct with exercise. With abdominoplasty, the lower abdominal skin and fat layer is removed, including stretch marks, and the muscle wall is tightened sugically to create a very flat abdomen. It’s really a great procedure and everyone is usually thrilled with the results. There is some downtime obviously as well as some pain, but just like they say at the gym–”No pain, No gain.”

Helping our Schools

coordinator — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:20:22 +0000

We are proud to help our local community and were moved by thank you letters we received from pupils at Jefferson Elementary here in Kingsport following our sponsorship of their recent fun run walk. Click any of the images below to read some of their notes.

Dr. Pastrick’s November Blog–Silicone Injections

ghpastrick — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 15:00:53 +0000

I recently saw a patient in my office who almost 10 years ago had gone out of state and had a “filler” put into her lips to make them fuller. She had this performed by a nurse? in a beauty salon who was offering a really good deal on the procedure and who had been vouched for by her friend and others. The patient came to see me because over the past few months she began having pain and hardening of the lips with some formation of nodules and ridging creating a distortion to her lip contour. The patient thinks the substance that was injected was silicone. Liquid, or “free”, silicone injections have been used in the past for filling or enhancing different areas of the body including breasts, buttocks, and faces but for many years now has been banned by the FDA due to the high rate of severe complications. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons also has strongly advised against free silicone injections, which is the practice of injecting liquid silicone directly into body tissue. (Note that is very different from silicone implants used for breast augmentation which are safe and FDA approved.) Often times the liquid silicone is not medical grade. When free silicone is injected, frequently the body will develop an immune response that, at best, forms granulomas (nodules) or, at worst, necrosis (tissue death) and ulceration. This response can occur quickly or, as in my patient, years later. Recently there have been deaths reported from hardware store silicone injected into the buttocks by questionable practioners that have resulted in silicone embolism syndrome in which the solvent used to make this type of silicone travels to the lungs and causes cardiopulmonary collapse. For those who develop a localized reaction, the only treatment is to surgically excise the free silicone, which as you can imagine is difficult, painful, and very disfiguring as the silicone is dispersed throughout the tissue in which it was injected. Obviously my patient was not happy to hear this. Again the same mantra resounds: For your safety, when it comes to your aesthetic concerns, please consult with a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon. Ask my patient who admits she made a grave mistake by trying to save a few dollars.

Dr. Pastrick’s Oct. Blog–Coolsculpting

ghpastrick — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 19:23:40 +0000

Last month’s blog focused on liposuction so this month I wanted to discuss the newest technology we have at our office to decrease areas of body fat that are resistant to diet and exercise. It’s called “Coolsculpting by Zeltiq”. I’m very excited about this procedure because it is scientifically proven to reduce areas of bulging fat on the abdomen, flanks (love handles), and back or bra roll but does not require surgery and has zero down time. If you’ve read some of my previous blogs, you know I’m not the type of doc who jumps on bandwagons when it comes to the “latest and greatest” devices frequently hyped by the media, because I know how to sift through the falsities and focus on the science as to what works and what doesn’t. I’m not into making people promises I can’t keep. Coolsculpting works through cryolypolosis which is the scientific term for cooling down the fat cells to the point at which they die. Death by freezing. The machine that performs this is very well designed to not damage the overlying skin (so don’t try it at home). Basically the way it works is that you come into the office, and the device is applied to an area of fat that you want to reduce. The tissue is compressed between two cooling plates for one hour as to which I can personally attest, is virtually painless. (Of course I’m going to try it out!) You can read, make phone calls, watch TV, listen to music, or simply take a nap while your lying down for the treatment in our private Coolsculpting room by yourself. When it’s over the intelligent machine will actually page me or the nurse to come in and turn it off or start the next site. That’s it. You walk out. Simple and effective. No anesthesia, no cutting, no pain, no garment, no downtime. Awesome. You may get slight bruising, swelling, and skin numbness for a few days. It takes a couple of months to see the results as your body has to clear out the dead fat cells, but you won’t shed a tear for the deceased in this case. Obviously this isn’t for everyone. It’s best for those who are within their ideal body weight but just have a few stubborn areas that need to be reduced. It isn’t as effective in reducing the fat as liposuction and typically you can expect about 20% reduction in the treated area with one treatment, but more for multiple treatments. For those who maintain a healthy lifestyle with proper diet and regular exercise, this is perfect, but it’s also a good option for those who may not be as dedicated or may be too busy and don’t want surgery.

Dr. Pastrick’s September Blog–The Skinny on Liposuction

ghpastrick — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 19:00:36 +0000

Often our office phone rings and a voice on the other end asks “Do you do SmartLipo?” Shaun, our patient care coordinator, will say “No, we do ultrasonic liposuction.” The person on the other end, not-so-confidently, will usually add something like, “I’ve heard SmartLipo is better.” Shaun will politely and succinctly inform them of the truth regarding the various liposuction techniques and have them come in for an evaluation and to talk more in depth about it with me. So this month I’ll save you the phone questions and fill you in on the specifics about the various liposuction techniques, but as I’ve emphasized in the past, it’s more dependent on the person using the machine than on the machine itself. Most people are well aware of the benefits of liposuction in body contouring. Simply put, it removes fat by suctioning it out through small incisions using a cannula hooked up to a suction machine. There are many different types of liposuction including: traditional liposuction, tumescent liposuction, ultrasonic-assisted liposuction, laser liposuction (SmartLipo), power-assisted liposuction, and water jet liposuction. Traditional liposuction was the first liposuction performed in the early 1980′s in France and set the whole industry in motion as it was shown to be very effective in body contouring. The problem with it was the large amount of blood loss that accompanied it. From this, tumescent liposuction evolved which involves first injecting a “wetting solution” into the fatty tissue which constricts the blood vessels to reduce bleeding. Most liposuctions now use the tumescent technique (also called the “superwet technique”), which by itself doesn’t actually remove fat. Ultrasonic liposuction uses internally applied, high frequency ultrasound waves to break up fat cells and liquefy them for more efficient removal of the fat. It also creates heat which improves collagen reorganization in the skin to help tighten the skin somewhat. This is the same concept behind laser liposuction, or laser lipolysis, except that it uses laser light energy rather than ultrasonic energy. SmartLipo is the most marketed brand name for the laser technique. Both ultrasonic and laser liposuction have been shown to improve skin tightening after liposuction compared to traditional liposuction but no scientific clinical studies have demonstrated that one is superior to the other (ultrasonic vs. laser liposuction) in that regard. Skin burns have been reported with laser liposuction that aren’t associated with the other techniques and a recent survey of Board Certified Plastic Surgeons that perform a significant amount of liposuction showed that only 10% of them use laser liposuction. Power-assisted liposuction is traditional liposuction with a cannula attached to a hand-piece that moves the cannula in and out to make it easier on the surgeon. Water jet liposuction, as the name implies, uses a stream of pressurized water to help break up the fat cells. These last two have not been shown to improve outcomes. I hope this helps clarify the confusing nomenclature of liposuction so that you’ll be able to discern the truth from the hype.

Facebook Fans

coordinator — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 18:03:30 +0000

Congratulations to Charity Murphy, winner of our August Facebook drawing for a free Latisse kit. We will be holding another drawing in September, this time for an Obagi Nu-Derm travel kit, a $220.00 value. As before, all people who “Like” us on Facebook will be entered into the drawing, which will take place on September 30th so we encourage everybody to Like us, and to tell your friends about this drawing. To Like us on Facebook you can use the Facebook tool on our Home Page or go directly to our Facebook Page. The drawing winners name will be posted on our Facebook page, website and newsletter so if you do not wish to have your name posted you can simply contact us to opt out and your name will be removed from the drawing.

Allergan Duet Dividends Program

coordinator — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 12:38:55 +0000

Limited quantity $75.00 rebate for patients receiving a combination Juvederm and Botox Cosmetic treatment. To be eligible for this offer patients must perform both services at the same visit between August 15th and November 30th 2011. Patients already enrolled in the Brilliant Distinctions Program through Allergan will receive an instant $75.00 discount in office. Those not yet enrolled with Brilliant Distinctions will be provided the necessary paperwork to send for their $75.00 rebate via mail. We have a very limited quantity of rebate forms available, so schedule your treatments as soon as possible to receive this rebate.