fitness articles

THE FOREHEAD
 

(1) DEEP HORIZONTAL LINES ON THE FOREHEAD

Solution

A "forehead lift" (also known as a "brow lift") can be done to pull up and tighten skin in this area to make the lines less prominent.

The surgical cut is made 1 cm behind the hairline, running from ear to ear. The skin of the forehead is then lifted upward and stretched, the excess cut off; the underlying muscles-whose tautness has caused the wrinkles-are cut to weaken them; and the incised skin edges are sutured, the scar going into the new hairline.

The overall effects is to lift both, the forehead as well as the eyebrows.

(2) VERTICAL FROWN LINES
 

Solution

The muscle in the forehead (whose laxity causes the lines) is cut and tightened. The procedure leaves fine scars in the area between the eyebrows.

Alternatively, "filler" injections of collagen or auto (your own) fat can plump out the lines, making them less noticeable.

EARS

(1) BAT EARS

This is a frequently-seen familial tendency, characterized by a large, deep conchal bowl that pushes the ear out from the head at an exaggerated angle.

Solution

Surgery which places permanent sutures in the back of the ear, literally pinning them back to the head.

The scars are generally hidden behind the ears.

Cautions/Risks

• The surgery can sometimes result in an asymmetrical look in the two ears. The distortion may be minimal and evident only on close inspection; but if it is very obvious, repeat surgery may be required to correct it.

• The final look can also sometimes be compromised by the collection of blood or fluid between the skin and cartilage. The possibility can be largely minimized by ensuring that the post-operative dressings are carefully maintained.

(2) FLOPPY EARS

This is an inherited deformity in which the hard outer rim of the ear has not properly formed. As a result, the top of the ear flops down like that of a rabbit-hence the alternative name for this aberration: "lop-ear deformity".

Solution

Surgery involves creating a fold in the cartilage of the upper ear which will keep it propped up; this is done by putting in (permanent) stitches in this cartilage and tying them up.

(3) ENLARGED, DROOPING EARLOBES

These are a consequence of the natural aging process.

Solution

The excess can be trimmed, and a stitch or two can pull back lobes that may have jutted outward.

THE NOSE

(1) PROBLEM OF EXCESS IN THE NASAL REGION, INCLUDING:

• A hump, caused by an excess of bone

• A bulbous nose, caused by and excess of cartilage

• Flaring nostrils, caused by very thin cartilage

• Rounded nostrils (rather than the ideal: pear-shaped nostrils), caused by an excess of cartilage in the lower, lateral region.

Solution

Nasal surgery (known as rhinoplasty) can trim the excess and then mould the nose into its final shape.

It can take from 1 to 2 hours and is done under local anesthesia combined with sedation, or under general anesthesia in the case of a highly-strung patient.

The surgery is carried out within the nasal cavity and/or the mouth so that scars are not visible.

Cautions/Risks

• It is inadvisable to have nasal surgery done (unless the deformity is life-threatening or psychologically traumatizing) until the age of 16 or 17. This is when the nose has grown into its final shape. Carrying out surgery before this age may make it necessary to re-operate later because the shape of the nose will have altered again in the intervening years.

• Infrequent complications (of all nasal surgery) include:

          ----Haemorrhage, which is easily treatable

          ----Infection, which is rare, occurring only if operating conditions are less than optimal or if the surgeon has not carefully "cleaned up" the area before surgery.

          ----Poor healing, which generally cannot be predicted in advance. Dark skins are however more prone to scarring; and those with circulatory problems are likely to suffer from temporary or lasting discoloration.
 

(2) PROBLEM OF DEFICIENCY IN THE NASAL AREA, INCLUDING

• A bridge that's too short

• A nose tip that's too blunt

Solutions

A short bridge calls for the addition of something that's solid and possesses strength-either bone from a hip or rib or a hard silastic implant.

If the tip (which is composed of cartilage) is small, you need to add something pliable or cartilaginous. This can be either the curved cartilage of the ear or a soft silastic implant.

CAUTIONS/RISKS

• It is difficult to predict how much of grafted bone will survive the process. Once surgically detached from its original place, it is no longer connected to the circulation: in its new position, it has to develop its own blood supply to survive. Sometimes 90% of the bone may survive, sometimes only 10%: the amount is unpredictable. So, a surgeon may have added 4 mm of thickness of bone to a nose, but six months down the line only 3 mm. may be still in, or perhaps only 1 mm. Correcting this may mean a second round of surgery, using either bone from the opposite hip or from another rib.

• Silastic implants do not get absorbed, but they can get dislocated in case of an injury such as a knock or a blow to the area. Also, you may not like the presence of a foreign body under your skin.

• If the cartilage is taken from the ear, the organ looks deformed; this is particularly visible in the case of men who wear their hair short.

(3) ELONGATED/DROOPY NOSE ARISING FROM LAXITY OF THE SKIN AS A RESULT OF AGING.

Solution

A surgical incision is made at the root of the nose (i.e. the place where it joins the forehead), and about 3 mm of skin is excised. Then the remaining skin is lifted upward and sewn into place (a "nose life" as it were). The scar is hidden by glasses which you need after 45 anyway.

CHEEKS AND CHEEKBONES

(1) HOLLOW CHEEKS

Solution

Injections of auto-fat, taken other areas of your body ---- preferably an area like the abdomen which has thick, globuly fat ---- can fill out hollow cheeks.

(2) OVER-CLUBBY CHEEKS

Solution

Minor liposuction can result in a slimmer, more accentuated look. Liposuction involves the use of suction to "suck out" far from different areas of the body with the help of a canula, a miniaturized one in the case of the face.

Caution/Risks

The surgeon has to be very precise and careful in suctioning out fat from the face where the layer lies more thinly than in, say the buttocks or the thighs. Over-correction (vacuuming out too much fat) can leave difficult-to-treat grooves.

(3) FLAT CHEEKBONES

Solution

Inserting a "malar" (cheekbone) implant, made of silicone and custom-shaped to suit the contours of your face, can provide greater definition to cheekbones. Most commonly, it is inserted through the mouth.

Cautions/Risks

• The risks of cheekbone augmentation with an implant include:

• Poor positioning

• Slippage

• Infection (rare since antibiotics are administered these days as a matter of routine). But if it does occur, the implant will extrude, in which case it can be replaced at a later date.

(4) NASO-LABIAL LINES (Laugh Lines)

These are lines that set in with age, running from each side of the nose down to the angle of the mouth.

Solution

Filler injections of auto-fat or collagen. If a face-lift is going to be done anyway, such injections may not be required in addition; this is because the pulling-up and tightening of the skin that takes place in a face-lift will itself smooth out laugh lines (though it cannot obliterate them).

Cautions/Risks

A test for a possible reaction to synthetic collagen must be carried out four weeks before it is injected.

LIPS

(1) THIN LIPS

Solution

Collagen is generally used to plump up the outline of lips, redefine this area (which lies at the junction of the skin and the mucous membrane of the lips). It can also create a Cupid`s bow. But collagen is not generally used for the meat of the lips: fat is preferred for this area.

(2) THICK LIPS

Solution

A cut is made on the inside (the mucus membrane area) of the lips, and a sliver of this membrane is cut off. The cut edges are sutured, taking the visible part of the lower lip up and in, thus reducing its thickness.

Cautions/Risks

Over-correction can skew the final look.

(3) UPPER-LIP DROOP AT THE CORNERS

Solution

Collagen injections can firm up this area and provide lift, which obliterates the sag.

Cautions/Risks and Comments

(4) VERTICAL LINES ABOVE THE LIPS

Solutions

• Collagen injections, or

• Light dermabrasion (sand-papering of the superficial layers of the skin, using a diamond-coated cutter or, sometimes today, a laser beam)

Cautions/Risks

Risks of dermabrasion include:

• Hyperpigmentation/Hypopigmentation

• Serious scarring if the deeper structures of the dermis (the skin`s lower layer) have been damaged.

• Inflammation

JAWLINE AND CHIN
 

(1) EARLY JOWLS

Very early sags that make it seem as if your jawline is disappearing are caused by gravity taking its toll on the flesh as a result of the weakening of the platysma muscle (which extends from the jaw to the neck), combined with the download shift of fat (which lies just below the skin.)

Solution

The excess of fat can be trimmed with liposuction, re-defining the jaw line. The entry point for the canula is behind the ears, where the scars of surgery then lie hidden.

(2) DOUBLE CHIN  

Solution

Liposuction, going in again from behind the ears.

(3) RECEDING CHIN

Solution

• A silastic chin implant can restore balance to the facial profile as well as impart a more youthful look.

• Some surgeons do a procedure in which they split the mandible (the lower jaw) and slide one portion forward to create a more prominent chin. New bone grows in the gap resulting from the split.

THE AGING FACE & NECK
 

EXTENSIVE SAGGING, DROOPS AND CREASES ON THE FACE AND NECK

Solution
When the face begins to "fall down", it`s time for a face lift. In this classical procedure, the surgeon makes a cut starting from the hair-bearing area above the ear, continues downward (in front of the ear), turning round to go under the earlobe, and up again behind the ear to end in the delicate, hair-bearing area behind the ear.

He then undermines the skin of the face and neck, lifts it from the under-surface, pulls and stretches it upward and back, and cuts away the excess.

Liposuction may be done to remove any excess of underlying fat; and a couple of stitches are put into the deeper structures to tighten them.

The platysma muscle in the neck is trimmed and tightened to provide firmer support for the surface skin.

The trimmed skin is finally sutured in place.

The scars are largely hidden in hair-bearing skin or behind the ear. The scar in front of the ear is successfully hidden by a suitable hairstyle in women: it is not so easily dealt with in men, though growing sideburns may help.

CAUTIONS/RISKS

• A face-lift is major surgery---- around 3 hours or more ----- and you need to be in good health overall health.

• Since the face is a highly vascular area, bleeding is a possible complication. Blood clots may form under the skin, and may range from minor to major. The latter causes painful swelling of the face, and very occasionally the sutures may need to be opened up to treat the bleeding points.

• The procedure can also cause injury to branches of the facial nerves. If a motor nerve has been cut, it can result in permanent asymmetrical movement of the mouth or forehead. However, if it has been only bruised or stretched, the asymmetry may be temporary; recovery may take from 3 months to a year.

• Rather less seriously, damage to a large sensory nerve running up the side of the neck can result in temporary or permanent sensory loss in the lower half of the ear.

• The risk of complications is slightly higher in men. Scars are also less easy to disguise, especially in those men with thinning or balding scalps.