Undergoing a Mommy Makeover is not a shortcut to a better body. As many women discover, post-pregnancy diet and exercise only go so far. Eating well and staying active is beneficial and necessary for good health and even emotional wellness. However, these steps cannot correct the deflation and stretching and sagging that occur throughout pregnancy and the years after childbirth.  The only way to successfully do so is with surgery.

When the Time is Right to Make Your Move

Thoughtful planning is a vital aspect of any cosmetic surgery procedure. The Mommy Makeover may involve more than one procedure, so will need just a bit more consideration. Some of the important details of full success include:

• Plans for future pregnancies. The body changes significantly during pregnancy. That is why we are here talking about Mommy Makeovers, isn’t it? While having a Mommy Makeover does not inhibit a woman from having more children, nor does it present greater risks for future pregnancies, the results of cosmetic procedures may be diminished if subsequent pregnancies occur after them. Why invest twice if you can just hold out until you know your results will be long-lasting?
• Weight goals. A Mommy Makeover may include liposuction and abdominoplasty, but these procedures are not indicated for dramatic weight loss. It is beneficial to reach your goal weight before your surgery (within about 15 pounds). This way, what we do to slim and tighten has maximum impact.
• Breastfeeding causes swelling and deflation, not to mention a wee bit of stretching. Mothers who are breastfeeding are advised to wait several months after they stop to undergo a breast procedure. This way, breast and skin tissues have adequate time to retract naturally.
• Personal assistance. A Mommy Makeover is a big deal in many ways. Following surgery, there is a vital need for personal assistance because physical movements will be limited. Recovering patients will be restricted to light activity for at least a few weeks. That means no lifting, no cooking, no pushing a stroller. For the duration of recovery after a Mommy Makeover, primary caregiving will need to be given by someone other than Mom.

Learn more about liposuction, abdominoplasty, and the breast procedures that can help you regain the utmost satisfaction with your post-pregnancy body. Call our Bryn Mawr office at 610-527-4833.

We specialize in helping men and women of all ages regain the confidence they once felt. We do this by tailoring surgical and non-surgical treatments to address concerns that range from an excess body and facial fat to the loss of fatty tissue in crucial areas on the face. Additionally, in support of the investment that our patients make their appearance, we also discuss ways in which aging skin can be managed. And, let’s be clear, all skin is aging skin, even if you have not yet begun to struggle with noticeable lines and wrinkles.

Skin care is a vital aspect of aging. It is like brushing and flossing your teeth in between visits to the dentist. The daily routine that you keep will play out over years of time, and you are in control of that process. What has come to light in recent years is that many people simply don’t know how to care for their skin. To help you make the best possible choices, we want to provide a bit of information regarding the skincare products you may be using.

Making the Difference

If you want to postpone the onset of facial aging, or you want to slow a process that has already begun, you need to go beyond viewing face-washing and moisturizing as the basics of skincare. The actual practice of cleansing, toning and moisturizing the skin matters. What matters just as much, though, are the ingredients that are in the products you are using.

Choosing skin care products is quite the challenge, but it doesn’t have to be. A good starting point is to put that moisturizer or serum back on the shelf and schedule a consultation in our Aesthetics studio. Your skin is not like anyone else’s. Understanding the uniqueness of your skin, you may better see why using a product made for “everyone” isn’t working.

For your skin care to make a difference in the way aging progresses on your face (and neck and chest and hands), ingredients need to be potent; they need to be active, and they need to be right for your needs.

Learn more about the medical skin care and customized facials available in our Bryn Mawr office. Contact us online or call 610-527-4833.

The coming of the holiday season brings out our critical eye as much as the advent of bikini season. We know that there may be more than one occasion in which you want to fit into a little black dress – and feel good doing it. That’s why our Bryn Mawr office has established a menu of services that includes both surgical and non-surgical treatments for body-contouring. Because each method of fat-reduction takes time to reveal optimal results, now is a great time to schedule your consultation for liposuction. It’s also a great time to consider how you can make it through the holiday season (and life, really) without packing on pounds you have no intention of keeping.

To support results from body-contouring treatment:

Do . . .

• Add some fat to your plate. We heard for many years that fat is bad for us. This is true, but not entirely. There is such a thing as healthy dietary fat. Avocados are an example. When you consume healthy fats, your body is better able to metabolize fat inside your cells, which means smaller fat cells, which means hello, little black dress!
• Work your muscles. Muscle mass is heavier than fat mass, but it is also needed for fat-burning. You don’t have to become an Olympic weight-lifter to add muscle strength; yoga classes or even body-weight exercises are sufficient for increasing the fat-burning fuel in your body.
• Fill your glass. With water, that is. Hydration is crucial to cellular activity in the lymph system and the liver, both of which are involved in detoxification and fat metabolism. Sip several glasses or bottles of water throughout the day for optimal weight management.

Don’t . . .

• Fill your glass too many times. Alcohol consumption has been identified as one of the best ways to add girth to the waistline. This is bad if you want to look and feel your best in whatever clothing you wish to wear.
• Rely on crunches to flatten your stomach. We know how awful it is to hear this, but we have to say it: fat cannot be reduced in targeted areas. That is, without professional intervention. That being said, an exercise routine needs to be well-rounded in order to minimize the midsection. The side benefit is that fat is better managed all over the body.
• Make that morning cup of coffee your breakfast. There is mounting research that points to the value of a hefty breakfast (about 700 calories). If you want to maximize this suggestion, also set a window of about 8 hours for your daily meals. Intermittent fasting, beginning with a healthy breakfast, has been shown to promote stable weight.

Clearly, diet and exercise are important, but not necessarily the only way to get great contours. Contact us to learn more about our body-sculpting treatments in our Bryn Mawr office at 610-527-4833.

Youthfulness has always been admired by those who have passed through the prime of their lives. We know today that there is no hard and fast rule about being in your “prime.” Men and women of all ages are living better than ever before; maintaining a level of vitality that our ancestors lacked. Where youthfulness continues to be cherished is in the realm of facial aesthetics and beauty – and the younger generation knows how to preserve it.

It may seem as though the 18 to 35-year-old age group has nothing to worry about. They are, for the most part, wrinkle- and sag-free. The problem is, we live in an era where the average man and woman is always within reach of a photo opportunity. Ready or not, a photo may be snapped at any moment. As if it were not unsettling enough to have an impromptu photo shoot with friends, young people also have to face the fact that a large majority of their photos will end up online for the masses to see. Perhaps it is the documentation of daily living that prompts this generation to take action on their cosmetic concerns more quickly than their parents did in their prime.

Injectables and the Millennial

We have become so accustomed to the convenience and efficacy of injectable solutions that we don’t quite know where we would be without them! Products like Botox are not only for existing wrinkles; younger men and women have realized that they can preserve the appearance of their skin by using this or another neuromodulator as a preventive step. Genius! Dermal fillers, also commonly regarded as wrinkle-reducing products, can do much more than refreshing the face. Millennials often rely on dermal fillers to augment certain parts of the face, such as the lips or the eyes.

Cosmetic Surgery and the Millennial

Younger people may not seek the same types of cosmetic surgery procedures as the Baby Boomers, but their interest in looking good is certainly not lacking. Procedures that are often sought by younger adults include:

• Breast augmentation
• Male breast reduction
• Liposuction
• Rhinoplasty, or nose reshaping
• Otoplasty, or ear pinning

Schedule a Consultation

We offer some surgical and non-surgical treatment options for patients of all ages. To learn more, schedule your consultation at 610-527-4833.

Millions of men and women have been well-served by the liposuction procedure. Even through the many years during which surgical fat-reduction has been ongoing, misconceptions about what this procedure can do – and for whom it is appropriate – have circulated. To get the results you want from cosmetic treatment, it is necessary to understand which procedure or procedures may work for you. If you rule out any one too soon, like liposuction, your journey may be longer and more stressful than need be. In fact, it may not begin at all.

Here’s what you should know if you’re even slightly considering liposuction:

It’s not a weight thing.

There are three common ideas about liposuction as it relates to weight.

1. Liposuction is a treatment that is sought by “overweight” people who cannot lose weight with diet and exercise alone. The truth is, the man or woman who is at or near the weight they wish to maintain is a great candidate for this procedure. That’s because liposuction is more about body-shaping than substantial fat reduction.
2. After liposuction, the weight will be significantly lower. No. A patient may see a slight drop on the scale, but nothing to write home about. Again, the main objective in liposuction is to refine body contours. Liposuction is not a weight loss tool and should not be a method of lowering the number on the scale. If you love how you look, who cares what the scale says, anyway?
3. Weight will be easier to maintain after liposuction. If there is an ounce of truth to this idea, it’s that a person may feel more motivated to eat well and exercise. Fat will not “grow back” after liposuction, but that does not mean proportions won’t be thrown off if diet and exercise are lacking, and existing fat cells enlarge.

Schedule a Consultation

There is a lot of value in consulting with a trusted cosmetic surgeon regarding aesthetic concerns and goals. Learn the benefits of liposuction and other procedures when you schedule a visit in our Bryn Mawr office. Call 610-527-4833.

Throughout history, men and women have made no secret of their quest to stay young. After the development of modern anesthetic techniques, cosmetic surgeries became much more frequent, not to mention much safer. During the first few decades of the 1900s, facelift surgery was delicately developed and performed across the globe. Today, facelifts are performed on a routine basis. Still, there is a widespread perception that “if I have a facelift, everyone will know.”

Certainly, we could point to a few very high-profile faces and know that those sky-high eyebrows and overly-tightened skin are the result of a surgical procedure – or a few. The important thing to know about such instances is that they are not the norm. When you take care in choosing whom will perform your facelift surgery, you put yourself in the best possible position to look like YOU, only younger, after your treatment.

Benefits of a Facelift

When you consider how long facelifts have been around, you may quickly recognize that there has been ample time for refinement. This is the nature of medicine; time leads to advancement. In the area of facial plastic surgery, here’s what’s different – and what makes a difference in results:

• Lifts are conservative. The objective of a facelift is to reposition tissue so it drapes where it should. For instance, the eyebrows natural sit across the upper bony rim over the eye. They do not sit higher than that. So, a facelift is performed to return the brows (or other structure) to their natural resting place.
• Lifts are customized. Every face has its nuances, its features that make it unique. Facelift surgery is not about creating a specific look across the board of all patients; it is about reinstating a younger version of the individual.

Lifts aren’t all about the lifting. One of the major advances in facelift surgery has been the discovery of volume loss. The need for volume has been demonstrated in the widespread popularity of dermal fillers. Having a facelift doesn’t change the fact that volume is a part of a youthful aesthetic. This is why many facelifts also involve fat grafting or soft tissue filling around the temples, cheeks, and or eyes, and possibly even the lips.

Dr. Claytor offers facelift for men as well.

If you want to know the real facts about facelifts, consult with an experienced cosmetic surgeon. Call Claytor Noone Plastic Surgery in Bryn Mawr at 610-527-4833.

The current day that we live in provides amazing advantages that our ancestors did not have. From cooking meals to managing the aging process, accomplishing tasks has never been easier. When it comes to aging, in fact, the desire to preserve the appearance of youth is relatively easy. While there may be instances in which surgical lifting is the best approach to lines, wrinkles, and sagging skin, it is also possible to erase these frustrations with sophisticated methods like injectables and laser treatments.

The fact that injectables have become a go-to technique for restoring facial youthfulness has created a bit of a conundrum. Many patients perceive injectables as a suitable alternative for facelift surgery. The fact is, this isn’t always the case. Here, we want to point out a few misconceptions that may prevent the attainment of the desired goal.

A Facelift Without Surgery?

In recent years, we have begun to hear the term “liquid facelift” used in and out of professional offices. We are not opposed to the use of neuromodulators (Botox) and dermal fillers to reduce the signs of aging. We perform these treatments on a daily basis with great success. Botox and other neuromodulators decrease the tug on the skin by relaxing the muscles that are used to frown, squint, and achieve other facial expressions. No, the face does not freeze! It just relaxes in the most beautiful way. Fillers, introduced into lines, smooth the skin. These products are also commonly used to plump the lips and round out cheeks that have become deflated. Finally, dermal fillers can be an excellent non-surgical solution for under eye bags and dark circles.

But is This the Answer?

Clearly, there are advantages to non-surgical treatments. However, keep in mind that:

• There is such a thing as too much filling and relaxing. Just like we’ve seen facelifts gone wrong, there is such a thing as overdoing it with fillers and Botox. In fact, there are a few prominent faces that are obviously over-filled. The idea of facial rejuvenation is to restore a naturally youthful face, not one that is dramatically “done.”
• Facelift surgery is conducted in a meticulous manner that is quite successful in preserving the natural curvature of the face. The idea that a facelift will be more obvious than fillers is a myth.
• The cost of injectables makes this approach seem more affordable. However, the long-term costs can add up relatively quickly and should be assessed when making the choice between a “liquid facelift” and a surgical facelift.

Patients of our Bryn Mawr cosmetic surgery practice have numerous options for restoring their youthful nature. To learn more, contact us online or call 610-527-4833.

They say that motherhood is a blessing and, even on hard days, most mothers would not argue (too much) with that. Amidst all the joys and accomplishments a mother experiences with her family, she may also struggle with feelings of dissatisfaction at how her body has changed. Pregnancy, on its own, can significantly modify body structure. When pregnancy ends in a cesarean birth, or C-section, these changes may feel much more dramatic.

Let’s Take it Off the Shelf

If you have had a C-section, you may have heard the term C-shelf. This phenomenal side-effect of cesarean birth occurs due to the methodology of the delivery procedure. When a C-section is performed, an incision is made through the skin and fatty tissue, and through the fascia, a wide band of fibrous tissue that support abdominal organs. No muscle is incised, interestingly enough.

At the completion of surgery, the incision is sutured, but not entirely. The tough fascia is left incised to heal naturally, as it will over time. The problem is, there is no predictable pattern of healing. Scar tissue may be quite uneven and puffy beneath the skin. This can result in a rigid surface scar, a low-lying belly shelf, or, in some cases, no obvious signs at all. If you’re reading this, we are going to guess you are not shelf-free.

There is widespread confusion that a C-shelf may go away with diet and exercise. Some women do report that, once they have lost their baby weight and tightened and toned their tummy, their shelf is less noticeable. That may not be the norm, though. That is why many women turn to their cosmetic surgeon for abdominoplasty.

How and When

Tummy tuck surgery is often incorporated into Mommy Makeover treatments customized to address specific pregnancy-related concerns. The tummy tuck removes slack skin and tightens muscles against the abdominal wall in order to create the desired contours, which means no shelf. The method of “tucking” varies from one person to another, and may involve only the lower abdomen, or the entire surface. Also, abdominoplasty often improves the appearance of the original C-section scar.

Would you like to know more about a Mommy Makeover or tummy tuck surgery? We’d love to speak with you. Call our Bryn Mawr office to schedule your consultation.

Oh, the joys of blissful youth! If you remember days of slathering on baby oil and sitting under the sun with your friends, you may also remember a sense of dread when you learned that habit could set you up for skin problems, even skin cancer, later in life.

One of the problems that many men and women notice is a little thing called sun spots. The clumped pigment is also referred to as age spots or as good old-fashioned UV damage. In any case, spots on the arms, shoulders, legs, or face can be a distraction from all the effort you have put into an anti-aging plan. According to a survey of 1000 women, sun spots are a big problem. Thirty-six percent of the women polled stated that sun spots weren’t far behind facial wrinkles regarding concern. Seeing this, we feel compelled to discuss how Sun spots can be treated.

Chemical Peels

Chemical peels provide light to deep exfoliation of the epidermis and have been refined to meet the varying needs of patients. This method of skin rejuvenation is excellent for improving skin tone over time by removing damaged cells that make their way to the surface, where their collected pigment creates uneven tone.

What to know: The extent of improvement with a chemical peel depends on its depth and the severity of spots. Lighter peels reveal a more radiant tone, and will likely minimize the appearance of spots gradually with repeat treatments. Deeper peels cause more widespread and significant peeling and will achieve more extensive results in fewer (possibly even one) treatments.

Claytor Noone Plastic Surgery offers some treatments that can reduce the appearance of sun spots. In addition to chemical peels, patients may consider laser and light treatments, microneedling, and more.

Contact our Bryn Mawr office at 610-527-4833.

Women’s concerns related to the size and shape of external genitalia are nothing new. The reason we are hearing more about them is that we now have ways to correct asymmetry, elongation, and the consequences that stem from oversized labia majora or labia minora. At Claytor Noone Plastic Surgery, it is important to us to answer patients’ questions well in advance. Especially when the issue involves such a delicate area, apprehension may prevent a woman from making that call for labiaplasty consultation.  Here, we want to talk about recovery.

There may be a perception that labiaplasty recovery is long and painful. This is not the case. Patients of our Bryn Mawr practice receive clear communication and directions on healing.

Pain Management

One of the top priorities after surgery is to maintain comfort. If you start on the wrong foot, you may be chasing a pain-free state for days. Give yourself the best care you can after labiaplasty by starting prescribed pain medication before sensation returns to the surgical area. A local anesthetic may last several hours, during which time prescription pain medication may begin working systemically to get ahead of discomfort. Pain medication is needed for a few days, throughout which patients may alternate between their prescription and an over-the-counter remedy. To further pamper the recovering tissue, daily sitz baths and cool compresses can be a big help.

Resuming Work

A common question that patients have about recovery from labiaplasty is how much time they will need to take off from their job. When work consists of sitting and light activities, little time off may be an option. For example, you might schedule your surgery for a Thursday and return to your job on Monday. But, more strenuous types of work, such as moving or lifting heavy objects, will need to wait. Talk with your doctor about your level of activity at work to develop an appropriate post-surgery plan.

Other Activities

Two activities that are important to labiaplasty patients are sex and exercise. During recovery, swelling and healing incisions can inhibit comfortable performance if either activity and can resume after 4 weeks. Some patients wait as long as 6 weeks to optimize tissue recovery after labiaplasty.

Refining the characteristics of the labia majora or labia minora can change a lot about how you feel. Get the details you need from an experienced cosmetic surgeon in Bryn Mawr. Call Claytor Noone Plastic Surgery.