Jon B. Turk, M.D. , Facial Plastic Surgeon - Blog

We have a wide array of treatments at our disposal for common aesthetic concerns. Many a line, wrinkle and saggy patch of skin has met its match with dermal fillers, wrinkle relaxing toxins and lasers. There are, however, some areas of the face whose common problems do not respond ideally to these treatments. For example, we sometimes see irregularities or complications in the tear trough area when using fillers or lasers. A treatment utilizing your own tissue can provide a smoother and more aesthetically pleasing result.

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Yesterday I taped an interview that will be aired shortly on Good Morning America. A week ago there was an article in the New York Post about "Revenge Plastic Surgery" which cited a British study that claimed a high percentage of divorcees that seek out make-overs to get back at the spouse that jilted them. I think this "high percentage" is overstated as, in our practice, we see patients seeking "revenge" only infrequently. More commonly we see patients who are recently divorced who find themselves suddenly, and often unexpectedly, thrown back into the dating pool. Not that these same men and women didn't maintain their looks or care about their appearance, it's just that much more important to their self esteem now. When a patient comes for a consultation in the midst of a divorce, or just after a spouse has walked out, the anger and bitterness will often cloud judgement about their appearance, confidence or need for surgery. It's one of those times that a few months "cooling of

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With the explosion in non-surgical cosmetic procedures, particularly the injection of botox and skin plumpers, the focus on facial rejuvenation has, for many, shifted from the operating room to the office. While these injectibles modify the muscles and deeper soft tissues of the face they have little to no effect on the skins surface. Treatment of the outer covering was left to the patient, the cosmetics industry and the dermatologists. But with a younger population now seeking cosmetic improvement and fewer of these patients being surgical candidates, office treatments must include both subsurface enhancements and surface rejuvenation.

Lasers have been in the limelight over the past several years for skin rejuvenation, but often have been limited in what skin types they could be used on or were simply less effective or more dangerous than advertised. With the cost of laser procedures often reaching into the thousands of dollars many aesthetic surgeons are still searching for

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To understand volume loss in the facial aging process think of a balloon that begins to lose air. Without the air, the balloon sags and droops adding to the already deleterious effect of gravity. Stretching the balloon tighter helps to only a small degree, but re-inflating the balloon with air restores the smooth contour of the balloon and makes it look new again. If the balloon represents skin then the air is the underlying fat and bone structure of the face. Radiesse, an injectible filler that has been on the market for 7-8 years and has a very high safety index, is composed of hydroxy-apetite, the building block of bone. Using Radiesse, in the office setting, the bone structure of the face can actually be enhanced. Higher, fuller cheek bones and a stronger jaw line can be achieved in minutes with the Radiesse Lift. Radiesse is well tolerated by the body, does not need to be overcorrected, lasts 1-2 years and is minimally painful to inject. Results are instant with minimal s

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Everyone has seen a bad nose job. But, what makes a patient who has had a rhinoplasty look like theyve had a rhinoplasty? Should patients still expect these unnatural looking results or has this procedure evolved since the days of the pinched, upturned noses of the 60s, 70s and 80s? The short answer is that although rhinoplasty is still one of the most popular cosmetic procedures year after year, fewer patients look as if theyve had their noses done. There are several factors that have contributed to this trend including a better understanding of the long term effects of the surgery, more communication between patients and their surgeons and a desire on the part of a majority of patients to have less drastic and noticeable changes

There was a time, not too long ago, when every nose job performed by a particular surgeon looked identical, regardless of the differences in the patient he or she was performing it on. Aggressive removal of cartilage was the norm and there was l

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My friend and patient Tracey Jackson, who is a masterful screen writer and author, is doing a video project called "50 on 50" to coincide with the publication of her new book "Between a Rock and Hot Place." The book comes out next month and apparently the final chapter features her experience as a cosmetic surgery patient in my practice. Our video interview, shot the other afternoon in my office, centered around the theme of what can and shouldbe done to the 50 year old face. Follow this link to youtube and check us out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe-9YtmZJa0

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe-9YtmZJa0

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When plump lips are considered so sexy and desirable and when people have filler injections for smile lines, forehead wrinkles and sunken cheeks, why is the thought of putting something in the lip so frightening? The answer may lie both in the type of material injected and the depth of the injection. When collagen was the only approved injectible on the market it was used extensively for lip augmentation. Due to collagens composition it had to be used very close to the undersurface of the skin in order for it to last even a few weeks. Because it disappeared rather quickly, over correction was the norm and this combination of excess material very close to the surface dictated a particular look which was often unnatural and described as duckish.The other frequently injected material, both in the U.S. and abroad, was medical grade silicone. Unfortunately,this materialwas misused by many practitioners and led to disastrous complications furthering the notion that lip enhance

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She wants it narrow and lifted, but not pointy or turned up like mine is a refrain I hear rather frequently in my rhinoplasty practice. The sixteen year old daughter wants to have her nose refined but wants it to look natural and the patients mom, who had her nose done 30 years ago, is wary of the nose turning out like her own. Not all noses that were operated on 30 or 40 years ago turned out poorly, but the procedure was in its surgical infancy and some unexpected and unwanted sequelae became manifest many years following surgery. The pinched tip, the ski slope bridge and the miss piggy lift are unfortunate outcomes that are now the badges of long ago rhinoplasties Through experience and innovation many of the techniques in use in contemporary rhinoplasty surgery allow one to av

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