Beauty is in the Eyes of the Beholder: Dr. Burstein Shares the 411 on Eyelid Surgery

When a person is advancing in age, one of the first places of the face to show signs of aging is around the eyes. Not only does a person form fine lines/wrinkles or “crow’s feet” after years of facial expression, but there can be a buildup of excess skin and fat around the eye area that gives a person a tired, worn-out look. The excess, drooping skin can not only make a person unhappy with their look aesthetically, but if the skin is sagging low enough on the upper eyelid, it can actually impair vision.

Many patients who are unhappy with the area around their eyes come in to a consultation looking for a more permanent solution than a wrinkle removing injectable or facial filler, but are hesitant to opt for a more invasive surgical procedure. Depending on the patient, eyelid surgery may be an effective solution.

Eyelid surgery, otherwise known as a blepharoplasty, is less invasive than a traditional facelift because it specifically targets the eye area. Using the least invasive and least visible incision sites possible, excess skin and fat is removed and the skin is tightened for a more youthful look. Depending on the needs of the individual patient, various surgical techniques are used to correct the sagging look around the eyes and reduce the look of wrinkles.

One such technique employed by Dr. Burstein is known as transconjunctival blepharoplasty, where the surgeon makes a tiny incision through the conjunctive, or the membrane lining the lower eyelid, whereby the excess fat around the lower eyelid is removed. This way the incision is hidden from external view.

Eyelid surgery can also correct wrinkling and excess fat around the upper eyelid – in this type of procedure incisions are made along the natural lines of your eyes and eyelid to minimize post surgical scarring. In either procedure, laser resurfacing or a light chemical peel may be useful in diminishing the fine lines in the skin that form around the eyelid area.

With less invasiveness than a full facelift, and more permanent results than injectables, eyelid surgery can give patients a more youthful and refreshed look around the eyes; and as with every plastic surgery procedure, the goal is subtly and naturalness. Contact Dr. Burstein if you wish for more information or wish to schedule a consultation.

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What is a forehead lift and how is it different than a facelift? Dr. Burstein Provides Answers

One of the most common complaints I get from patients visiting my office is that the effects from aging have made them look “sad” or “angry” when their face is at rest and in fact, they are feeling no such emotion. Many times this can be attributed to furrows or deep wrinkles that form across a person’s forehead and droopy, sagging brows–even when their face is in the “default” or resting position. For many patients, a forehead lift can be the solution.

A forehead lift, commonly referred to as a brow lift, focuses on lifting and tightening the excess skin on a patient’s forehead. By surgically removing excess forehead skin, then lifting and tightening the forehead and underlying muscles, the look of wrinkles, expression lines, and furrows on the forehead are greatly reduced – resulting in a smoother, younger overall look.

A forehead lift may also be recommended for patients who wish to lift and correct the look of droopy eyes and/or brows. By pulling the forehead skin higher onto the head, the excess, heavy skin sagging over the eyes is also lifted and the position of the brows is raised into a more youthful arch.

During this procedure, we employ an endoscopic method, also known as the “key hole” technique, in which very small incisions are hidden within the hairline to ensure minimal post-operative scarring.
Because a forehead lift focuses on lifting the skin and reducing the wrinkles in the forehead area, it is different than a traditional facelift that tightens the look of the entire face. For many patients, a full facelift is not needed, and the treatment can focus on the problem area (in this case, the forehead) for a less invasive solution to a more youthful look.

If you are concerned with the amount of wrinkling on your forehead, or “hooding” of excess skin over your eyes, contact our office to schedule a consultation.

Dr. Burstein Answers Common Questions about his Facelift Procedure

As a person starts advancing in age, they begin to notice the fine lines and wrinkles that have developed with each passing year. For people who are unhappy with the way they are aging and/or those who wish for a more youthful look, plastic surgery can be a viable option to refresh the look of their face. Facelift surgery is one of the most popular cosmetic procedures to give patients an appreciably younger look with longer lasting results than what would be achieved by a cosmetic injectable or facial filler.

If you have been considering a facelift procedure, you probably have many questions. To start providing you with answers, Dr. Burstein has answered some of the most common questions he receives during his consultations:

After a facelift, my face will look tight or stretched?
Every one of us has seen a person with an unnatural looking facelift, or as some of my patients describe it, a person that looks like they are trapped in a wind tunnel. But the key to a successful facelift surgery is subtlety. During a facelift surgery, excess skin and fat is removed and the skin and underlying muscles are tightened; but the face should not be tightened to the point where there are absolutely no wrinkles or sagging – that is simply not realistic. My goal for my patients is to refresh the youthfulness of the face while still maintaining a natural look.

Will there be a lot of visible scarring from my facelift procedure?
I make sure to use the most up-to-date surgical techniques to minimize the amount of post-operative scarring for all of my procedures. For facelift procedures, I employ what is called the “short scar method”, a specialized, minimally invasive technique where the incisions are small and hidden within a patient’s hairline and within their ear canal – avoiding the distortion of the sideburn area, a risk associated with earlier facelift methods.

Is it possible to get a partial facelift if I only want to focus on a particular area of my face?
Yes, in fact a full facelift is not for everyone. Every person has different problem areas of the face that they want to focus on. Depending on the patient, an upper facelift or blepharoplasty, mid-facelift, or lower facelift may be a better option. The upper facelift focuses on refreshing the area around the eyes and forehead, the mid facelift is for those patients needing work on the area between the nose and corners of the mouth, and the lower facelift focuses on the mouth, chin, and neck area. During the consultation, the most effective treatment plan for each individual patient will be recommended.

It is important to note that every patient is different and thus a consultation is needed to determine the best treatment option and to fully answer any questions you may have. Contact Dr. Burstein today if you are interested in any of the procedures mentioned above.

Dr. Burstein’s February Spotlight Patient: Sandy Milton

Sandy Milton is an artist. So when she started thinking about having plastic surgery, she wanted to go to a doctor who understood the artistic elements and natural contours that make a face beautiful. She started considering plastic surgery once she became an “empty nester” and felt compelled, as a member of the creative community, to stay fresh in her appearance.

It took Sandy Milton two years of researching the surgery, researching doctors, and contemplating the procedure before she decided to go with Dr. Burstein of Atlanta Plastic Surgery. Sandy remembers, “I like Dr. Burstein’s approach, he was conservative and I didn’t want any drastic, noticeable changes.”

Sandy’s facelift procedure was not however her first experience with Dr. Burstein; her husband had come to see him for reconstruction of the forehead. Dr. Burstein is board certified in both plastic and reconstructive surgery and head and neck surgery and Sandy was impressed by the fact that he only concentrates on “the head up.” She knew how involved reconstructive surgery can be and was the deciding factor in choosing Dr. Burstein for her plastic surgery procedure.

Dr. Burstein performed a full facelift on Sandy, focusing on lifting the brows and eyes. Sandy is more than happy with her “freshened” look – noting that it was “subtle, but lasting.” She was even featured with Dr. Burstein on Atlanta’s Home & Style to talk about her successful surgery experience. Sandy says, “Being an artist, I thought Dr. Burstein was also an artist. In a different area, but he was also an artist.”

Nowadays, Sandy visits AYA medical spa for treatments like the Obagi Blue Peel to maintain the healthy, refreshed look of her face.

“Knowing that I get up every morning and I don’t look my age,” says Sandy. “I look a lot younger than my age. I feel good about how I look. It starts the day off right.”

Proposed Cosmetic Surgery Tax Gets Replaced by Proposed ‘Tanning Bed’ Tax

Surgeons and cosmetic surgery patients alike were in an uproar over the recently proposed tax on elective cosmetic surgery procedures as part of the new healthcare reform bill. But it seems the overwhelming opposition to this medical levy hasn’t gone ignored. The Senate announced this week a new tax on indoor tanning to replace the proposed tax on elective cosmetic and plastic surgery procedures.

The formerly proposed tax, comically referred to as “the Botax” would have placed a 5 percent excise tax on cosmetic and plastic surgical and non surgical procedures including breast enhancements, liposuction, facelifts, and popular wrinkle removing injectables. The tax was projected to raise close to $6 billion over the next ten years; but was hotly contested for unfairly affecting middle class woman (the largest population of consumers in the plastic surgery industry).

To replace the “Botax”, the Senate is now proposing to further increase Medicare payroll taxes and institute a 10 percent tax on indoor tanning. By raising Medicare payroll taxes for people earning over $200,000 (or couples earning more than $250,000) by .9 percent and including the new tax on tanning beds, the bill is expected to raise $398 billion total over the next ten years (almost half of the healthcare bill’s current proposed cost).

While this is great news for plastic surgeons who will no longer have to pay for a government imposed tax; opposition to the tanning bed tax is also expected. In fact, a similar argument can be made in opposition of the tanning bed tax because it would still unfairly affect women – who visit indoor tanning salons far more often than men on average.

Hopefully this announcement will end the discussion for a tax on elective cosmetic surgery procedures for good. To learn more about the procedures available at Atlanta Plastic Surgery, visit our website and/or schedule a consultation with one of our board certified surgeons.

Welcome to Dr. Fernando Burstein’s Blog!

As we embark into a new year (and new decade for that matter!) we feel it is more important than ever to give our patients access to the most relevant and up-to-date information on the world of plastic surgery. Each week, Dr. Fernando Burstein’s blog will be updated with interesting health information, the latest news on plastic and reconstructive surgery, insight into current events in the medical world, and information about current specials and events offered by Dr. Burstein and Atlanta Plastic Surgery.

Look for Dr. Burstein’s monthly “Spotlight Patient” – with real stories from real patients about how plastic or reconstructive surgery with Dr. Burstein has changed their life for the better!

You can also become a fan of Dr. Fernando Burstein on facebook! New blog posts will be easily accessible through his fan page and fan page will also provide insight and information on today’s medical news! Click here to become a fan.

We hope this blog will be a useful resource for you; and as always, we appreciate your support and feedback!