Procedures

Deciding to undergo any procedure requires careful consideration. Dr. Johns believes in his patients making an informed, educated decision, and will take the time to answer any questions you may have in a respectful, patient manner. His friendly nature combined with his vast experience will immediately make you feel relaxed and comfortable.

Below is some general information on some of the many procedures in which Dr. Johns is experienced, and does not include specific surgical techniques. Keep in mind every patient has unique needs and concerns regarding their personal appearance, and likewise, their proposed surgical or procedural solutions will be unique and individualized. At your initial consultation, it is important that you communicate your aesthetic goals with Dr. Johns candidly and honestly in order to establish reasonable expectations, ensuring a successful and positive experience. Dr. Johns will discuss with you the various options available to you, the details of the procedural techniques he feels are best suited for your aesthetic needs, and the associated recovery times of each procedure.

SURGICAL PROCEDURES

Breast Augmentation

One of the most popular cosmetic procedures, breast augmentation is an option for women who have become dissatisfied with their breast size. Pregnancy, breastfeeding, or weight loss can have a negative impact on breast size, often making a woman feel self conscious. Breast augmentation can enhance your self confidence by increasing the fullness of your breasts and restoring breast volume and “perkiness”, without appearing unnatural. Women interested in undergoing breast augmentation now have the choice between silicone and saline implants. Each type of implant has distinct differences, and Dr. Johns can help a woman decide which implant is best suited for her.

Breast Lifts

Otherwise known as a mastopexy, a breast lift is a surgical solution for women with breasts that have drooped or sagged due to age, weight loss, or pregnancy/breast feeding, as well as asymmetrical breasts. A mastopexy will firm and raise the breasts, essentially by tightening surrounding tissues and removing excess skin around the breasts. A mastopexy can also be performed in conjunction with a breast augmentation for those women who wish to regain fullness in their breasts as well.

Breast Reconstruction

Breast reconstruction can be a rewarding solution, both emotionally and physically, for a woman who has lost a breast or breasts due to a mastectomy following cancer. At such a difficult time in a woman’s life, breast reconstruction can dramatically improve a compromised self-confidence and help to restore her quality of life. Breast reconstruction can be done immediately following a mastectomy, or after healing from a mastectomy.

It is important to know that reconstruction surgery can result in a fairly natural-looking breast(s), however, may not look or feel exactly as it did prior to a mastectomy. A woman has the option of using her own tissue for her reconstruction, or insertion of a breast implant(s) to help regain her shape.

After the emotional and physical demands of breast cancer, breast reconstruction can often be a difficult decision for a woman, and it is important that she feel mentally prepared for the results of breast reconstruction. Dr. Johns can discuss all of your surgical options, and help you to make the decision that is right for you.

Breast Reduction

Breast size can be the result of weight gain, pregnancy or breastfeeding, or simple genetics. Women with disproportionately large breasts can suffer from significant discomfort, having a detrimental affect on their quality of life, and undermining her self-confidence. In addition to causing a woman to feel self-conscious, excessively large breasts can often generate neck and back pain, and compromised breathing, at the very least. These women may choose to seek breast reduction surgery, not simply for cosmetic reasons, but to alleviate these related health and emotional issues, thus restoring a positive self-image and quality of life

Gynecomastia (Male breast enlargement) Surgery

Gynecomastia, or male breast enlargement, is a condition that is not often discussed, but that can affect as many as 50% of all men in varying degrees of severity, often causing some awkwardness and embarrassment. This condition can be caused by different prescription medications, steroids, certain medical issues, or simple genetics. Often, gynecomastia can be improved by diet and exercise, but in those cases where the condition persists, a man may choose to seek out male breast reduction surgery. This procedure will result in a more flat and smooth chest area, and will ease feelings of self-conciousness.

Face Lift

If you feel your image in the mirror does not truly reflect the youthful person you feel on the inside, a facelift, or rhytidectomy, may be a procedure to consider. Factors such as the sun and the environment wreak havoc on the surface of the face, creating wrinkles and lines. As we age, our skin loses elasticity, our muscle tone diminishes often causing the formation of jowls, and deep creases can form both below the eyelids and between the nose and mouth. All of these features of the aging process can make you appear worn out and sometimes even unhappy. A face lift can correct these issues by tightening underlying tissues, contouring the face by removing superfluous fat, and reducing excess skin that has begun to sag. While a facelift cannot stop the aging process, it can greatly improve the most obvious signs of aging, thus returning a natural, more youthful looking appearance, and restoring a reinvigorated sense of well-being and vitality.

Mini-Facelift

A Mini-Facelift is a less invasive form of a facelift that is less expensive and has a shorter recovery associated with it. It is indicated for those individuals with less advanced facial laxity. A facelift can be done alone, or combined with other procedures such as an eyelid surgery, or a brow lift, which we’ll discuss below.

Eyelid Surgery

Eyelid surgery, or a blepharoplasty is a specific procedure that corrects oversized, sagging, or disproportional eyelids, and can be performed on the upper or lower eyelids, or both. A blepharoplasty involves removing the excess skin and fatty deposits around the eye, and can involve tightening certain muscles in the area. The foremost function of eyelid surgery is for enhancing the appearance of the eyes, creating a more youthful look. However, occasioinally, sagging and excess skin surrounding the eyes can be so extensive in some that it may limit their vision, often making the surgery to become medically necessary.

Brow Lift/Forehead Lift

The inevitable aging process combined with everyday facial movements and expressions can create deep creases and furrows in your forehead, often causing you to look weary or angry, or just older than you should. A brow lift, or forehead lift, when performed properly, can address these complaints without creating an unnatural, “shocked” looking result. It can restore a fresh look of youth by adjusting or removing the muscles and tissues that can create those offending lines and furrows. This will smooth the forehead and raise the eyebrows, generating a look of health that will revitalize your appearance and rejuvenate your self-confidence.

Chin Surgery

Chin surgery, or mentoplasty, is a surgical procedure to reshape the chin either by enhancement with an implant or reduction surgery on the bone. Chin surgery helps you achieve a balanced appearance and is often performed in conjunction with other procedures, such as a rhinoplasty (nose surgery) in order to achieve a pleasing facial balance, as many other features such as the nose and jaw line are reflected and enhanced by the size of the chin. Most chin surgery is done to give the appearance of a stronger chin, however, the chin can also be lengthened, shortened to accomplish facial harmony.

Nose Surgery

Nose surgery, or rhinoplasty, is a procedure designed to reshape or resize your nose. Many patients feel that their crooked, oversized, or disproportional nose draws unwanted attention and is takes away from their overall appearance. A rhinoplasty can address concerns with nose size or width, nose profile, nasal tip, oversized nostils, or nasal asymmetry. The desired effect of a rhinoplasty is to create a natural-looking result by creating a more balanced and pleasing shape to your nose. The results of a rhinoplasty can range from subtle to dramatic, depending upon your aesthetic needs. Additionally, nose surgery can correct impaired breathing caused by structural abnormalities in the nose.

Ear Surgery

Ear surgery, also known as otoplasty, is cosmetic or corrective surgery for the ears. The majority of patients are children between the ages of 4 and 14 whose parents have turned to surgery to alleviate the social stigma and embarrassment due to protruding or malformed ears. Through surgical means, it is possible to “pin” the ears back by removing cartilage and skin required in order to achieve a more desirable look. In addition to pinning, ears can also be reshaped, reduced in size, or made more symmetrical.

Tummy Tuck

A “tummy tuck” refers to a cosmetic surgical procedure more formally known as abdominoplasty which is designed to help patients recontour and tone their abdomen. Pregnancy and weight loss can cause an excess of skin and fat to be carried on the abdomen. Additionally, the area’s skin may exhibit unsightly stretch marks, often creating feelings of self-consciousness and embarrassment. If diet and exercise have proven to be inadequate in correcting these problems, an abdominoplasty may be a consideration. There are a variety of procedures to sculpt the abdomen, which, in differing ways, involve the removal of excess skin and fat. Dr. Johns can help you decide which tummy tuck procedure best suits your individual needs.

Thigh Lift

The thigh lift is a cosmetic surgery procedure designed to tighten the skin of the thigh and reduce sagging in the inner or outer thigh. Commonly used to treat loose skin, excess fat deposits, and stretch marks, a thigh lift is often done after a significant weight loss, and/or in combination with other cosmetic procedures. A thigh lift will tighten the skin and smooth the contour of the inner thigh, generating an aesthetically pleasing result.

Buttock Lift / Body Lift

Men and women who have lost a significant amount of weight and have excess skin in the buttocks area or who are seeking a more muscular, fuller, more youthful look to their buttocks area may be interested in a buttock lift. Buttock lifts can either involve an implant to create a fuller, more contoured look, or micro fat-grafting to the area, which is essentially removing fat from other areas of the body by liposuction, and grafting it to the buttocks region. A buttock lift is often performed in conjunction with a thigh lift for an overall refined and sculpted look to the region. A Buttock Lift performed with an abdominoplasty is referred to as a Body Lift.

Liposuction

Liposuction is a procedure in which localized deposits of fat are removed to re-contour one or more areas of the body. Even with dedication to diet and exercise, many are still unable to achieve the weight loss results they want. Additionally, there are those who are simply genetically prone to fat deposits in certain areas of the body, such as the belly or buttocks and see little to no changes to these stubborn regions with traditional weight loss means. Liposuction is a safe and effective solution to these frustrating problems.

NON SURGICAL PROCEDURES

Lasers

Lasers and Light Therapies have been developed in order to treat almost any type of skin problem. They can be used for hair removal, elimination of unwanted pigmentations, elimination of broken capillaries or rosacea, treatment of active acne and even skin tightening of the neck, face and abdomen by utilizing infrared light energy.

Mesotherapy

Mesotherapy is a procedure which has been developed recently in order to dissolve fat by injecting a medication just under the skin. It is most commonly performed on the abdomen, hips, love handles, thighs and arms. It takes only a few minutes to perform and treatments are given every 2-4 weeks with no recovery time. After several treatments, significant results can be seen.

Fillers

The new generation of fillers, such as Restylane, Perlane and Juviderm consists of a substance that is normally found between cells which is used to fill and smooth skin creases and wrinkles. Results last approximately 6-9 months and recent studies show that there may even be some long lasting improvement, possibly due to new collagen growth. Administering these fillers takes generally around 20 minutes with little to no recovery time necessary.

Botox

Botox is widely known for its ability to smooth wrinkles in the forehead and the crow’s feet area. It works by weakening the small muscles that cause these creases and results last approximately 3 months. These injections are very affordable, and take only minutes to perform in the office, with no recovery time.

Chemical or Micro Peels

Skin peels have also become very popular. These procedures remove the outer layer of the skin surface in order to lighten pigmentations and achieve an improved skin texture by smoothing the fine creases. Glycolic acid, TCA and phenol solutions are the most commonly performed peels today. These peels require no anesthesia and little to no recovery time, depending on the treatment selected.

Spider Vein Treatment

Treatment of spider veins is another common request today. Schlerotherapy is the most effective procedure to treat these problems and involves injections of a small amount of solution into the spider vein, which in turn, causes it to close off over time. Like most non-surgical procedures, this treatment also has no associated “down time”.