Archive for the ‘Plastic Surgery Recovery’ Category

What’s the Difference Between Gynecomastia and Pseudogynecomastia?

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010
What's the Difference Between Gynecomastia and Pseudogynecomastia?

What's the Difference Between Gynecomastia and Pseudogynecomastia?

The terms gynecomastia and pseudogynecomastia are often used interchangeably, but they are actually different conditions. Gynecomastia is enlarged male breasts due to excess breast tissue. Gynecomastia is extremely rare.

Pseudogynecomastia is enlarged male breasts due to fat deposits in the breast area. It’s a lot more common than gynecomastia.

Both gynecomastia and pseudogynecomastia often begin around puberty. Symptoms cannot be relieved by weight loss or exercise. In fact, weight loss and exercise may actually worsen the appearance of gynecomastia and pseudogynecomastia.

Gynecomastia and pseudogynecomastia are both treated with male cosmetic surgery. Surgical options may include male breast reduction surgery, liposuction, or a combination of the two.

If liposuction is an option for you, recovery time will be shorter than with traditional male breast reduction surgery. But liposuction is not the best option for everyone. A male breast reduction compression vest can help you to recover faster, no matter which type of surgery you have.

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Posted in Plastic Surgery Recovery, gynecomastia | No Comments »

Pain and Bruising After Surgery – Can This Be Alleviated?

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
Pain and Bruising After Surgery – Can This Be Alleviated?

Pain and Bruising After Surgery – Can This Be Alleviated?

Most surgery is going to result in some sort of pain and bruising. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to minimize pain after surgery.

Cold compresses reduce bruising and swelling after surgery, which also relieves surgical pain. A cold compress reduces surgical swelling by decreasing the flow of blood to the surgical site and helps ease surgical pain by numbing the area.

Post-surgical recovery garments can also help to decrease surgical pain. A compression garment improves overall blood circulation and gets rid of excess fluids, which reduces bruising, swelling, and pain.

There are also some natural remedies to alleviating surgical pain and bruising.

VitaMedica Arnica Montana, also known as leopard’s bane or wolf’s bane, is a common treatment for minimizing pain and swelling after surgery. Arnica Montana is a plant-based herb that has both anti-inflammatory and analgesic (pain relief) properties.

Arnica Montana is frequently used for relief of pain and swelling after plastic surgery procedures.

Although natural supplements are considered to be relatively safe, they can interact with some medications or other supplements. Please consult your physician before taking any new supplements.

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Posted in Plastic Surgery Recovery | 1 Comment »

Working Out After Brachioplasty

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010
Style 32S Body Shaper Brief from Contour

Style 32S Body Shaper Brief from Contour

If you’re preparing to have an arm lift, or brachioplasty, you may wonder how long after surgery you can get back to your fitness routine. Like all surgeries, there is a period of recovery after brachioplasty before strenuous activities may be resumed.

The first few days after surgery you won’t feel like exercising. You’ll have some discomfort and swelling, and possibly bruising. Your surgeon will have you wear an arm lift compression garment and may recommend elevating your arms. And you’ll have incisions that must be protected and allowed to heal.

Short walks are a good gentle exercise to start with. You shouldn’t lift or swing your arms much, and avoid lifting anything heavier than a few pounds. As you feel better, you can take longer walks, do gentle stretching, and begin low-impact exercises with your lower body, such as a stationary bike.

After ten to fourteen days, the swelling and bruising should be much improved, and you and your surgeon can discuss the activities that are appropriate as you continue to heal. It may be some time before it’s okay to lift heavy weights or do strenuous arm exercises. And your incisions must heal before you can swim.

There are several ways you can help yourself recover faster from plastic surgery. Plan to take it easy during your recovery, communicate with your surgeon, and do follow your surgeon’s orders. As with any plastic surgery, wearing a compression garment is always recommended.  ContourMD has a wide variety of compression garments with sleeves that are ideal for arm lift surgery.

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Posted in Arm Lift Surgery, Plastic Surgery Recovery, Prepare for Plastic Surgery | 1 Comment »

Is a Sports Bra Sufficient for Breast Augmentation Surgery Recovery?

Tuesday, April 13th, 2010
Contour Compression Sports Bra

Contour Compression Sports Bra

If you’re in the market for exercise clothing, Contour sports bras are an excellent choice for both comfort and support. However, if you want a sports bra to wear after breast augmentation surgery, you’ll want a compression sports bra, which is a sports bra for breast surgery recovery.

The purpose of a compression sports bra is to increase circulation, reduce bruising and swelling, and to keep breast implants in place. Breast implants have a tendency to lift following breast augmentation surgery, but a quality breast augmentation sports bra can help to stabilize them.

Compression sports bras come in different styles include racerback bras, which you can wear under tank tops.

If a sports bra isn’t your first choice, there are several other types of breast augmentation recovery garments you can choose from, so there’s no need to sacrifice comfort during breast augmentation recovery. Additional choices for post-augmentation recovery garments include augmentation bandeaus, breast augmentation bands, compressions vests, and breast augmentation bras.

Breast augmentation compression garments must be worn continuously after your breast implant surgery until your plastic surgeon gives you the okay to switch to another type of bra.

Before exercising after breast augmentation surgery, consult your plastic surgeon.

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Posted in Breast Augmentation Recovery, Breast Lift Surgery, Plastic Surgery Recovery | 3 Comments »

What Is the Most Effective Way to Decrease the Appearance of Cellulite?

Monday, November 30th, 2009
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Anti-cellulite diets can help reduce the appearance of cellulite

There are several effective ways to decrease the appearance of cellulite:

  1. Go on an “anti-cellulite” diet. Some raw fruits and vegetables have natural properties that can decrease the appearance of cellulite in legs, thighs, buttocks and stomachs. Fish that are high in fatty acids may also work. Don’t forget to drink plenty of water as well.
  2. Use creams that are designed to decrease the appearance of cellulite. Many of these products are acai-based and have little of no side-effects. Some people see results after just a few weeks of daily use.
  3. Take anti-aging supplements to combat cellulite that can reduce the appearance of both wrinkles and cellulite.
  4. Treat yourself to massage therapy. Gentle but persistent fingers can smooth out the fat under the skin, especially when coconut oil is used.
  5. Consider liposuction to decrease the appearance of cellulite. While traditional liposuction methods can be expensive and have long recovery times, new techniques using lasers, ultrasound and even water jets are less invasive. These new alternatives are very effective in targeting small areas of cellulite.

If you choose the route of liposuction, be sure to speak with your doctor about wearing a post liposuction recovery garment.  There are many garments to choose from and finding the best one to fit your needs – whether it’s an abdominal binder, compression girdle, bodyshaper or other post liposuction garment – will help maintain the new shape of your body.

Get more post liposuction recovery information and tips at www.ContourMD.com.

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Posted in Cellulite, Plastic Surgery Recovery | 1 Comment »

Can I Speed Up My Plastic Surgery Recovery Time?

Monday, November 16th, 2009
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Knowing the facts can help you recovery faster from your plastic surgery

There are several ways to speed up your plastic surgery recovery time:

  1. Plan ahead for your recovery time. First, ask your doctor how long the plastic surgery recovery should take. Being frustrated by a slow healing process will place a lot of stress on your body, and that can add to the amount of time it will take to feel 100 percent.
  2. Take it easy during your plastic surgery recovery. Don’t plan a lot of activities and events or increase your workload. This is the time to take it easy and allow your body to rebound.
  3. Be prepared for an “ugly ducking” phase. Immediately after your surgery you will experience a lot of bruising, swelling and redness. Worrying about your looks during this period will cause you a lot of stress as well. Within a couple of weeks you’ll start to see the new, beautiful you.
  4. Drink a lot of water. Hydration is one of the single most important components of the healing process. Drink at least eight full glasses of water every day.
  5. Follow the doctor’s orders. He or she knows more about plastic surgery recovery and the healing process than you do.

After plastic surgery you should wear a compression garment.  These garments, also known as post surgical recovery garments, can help keep the shape of your new body while decreasing the swelling and bruising.  Because these recovery garments must be worn throughout the day, it’s a good idea to keep two on hand.

Depending on the procedure, you might need an abdominal binder, or a compression girdle and for those who are undergoing a full body make over – like a mommy makeover – a full body compression garment is your best bet.

Also scar creams and gels can help with the scars left from the surgery.

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How Does Silver Help Healing?

Monday, November 2nd, 2009

Due to its anti-bacterial properties, silver is often used by physicians to promote the healing process. Silver consists of charged particles, called ions, that can be released steadily over several days. That’s why silver ions are often used in commercial dressings in post-operative settings in hospitals.

Silver healing methods have to be employed under the careful supervision of a surgeon. That’s because healthy cells and bacteria are both sensitive to silver healing. A precise balance of silver ions has to be maintained so that bacteria is destroyed without affecting mammalian cells. New types of dressings use lower concentrations of silver than ever before to take advantage of new research in the field of silver healing.

Silver healing methods are often avoided in burns and amputations since there has already been extensive damage to cell tissue. Diabetic patients with poor blood circulation may also be poor candidates for silver healing. Ask your physician if silver healing methods are right for you.

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Will a Forehead Lift Help Relieve Migraines?

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

A new type of forehead lift is currently being used by plastic surgeons to relieve migraine headaches. This modified procedure detaches nerve endings at specific sites known to act as triggers for migraine headaches. In fact, many of the same forehead lift procedures used to eliminate crow’s feet and frown lines can also be used to help patients who experience chronic pain from migraines.

Plastic surgeons first considered forehead lifts as a potential cure for migraines when they discovered that Botox injections could achieve similar but short-term results. These physicians do warn, however, that a forehead lift isn’t an ideal solution for all migraine sufferers. This procedure seems to be much more effective with patients who suffer frequent and severe migraines than those who only suffer occasional headaches. In other words, only about 10 to 15 percent of all migraine sufferers may be a good candidate for a forehead lift.

Some migraine specialists still recommend a combination of treatments for migraine therapy such as prescription drugs and acupuncture. Studies on the effectiveness of forehead lifts to relieve migraines are fairly conclusive, however, and many plastic surgeons now offer this option to their patients.

If a forehead lift is something you are considering, be sure to get all the information and tips on the procedure plus post surgery recovery.  More post surgery information, products and tips are right at your fingertips at www.ContourMD.com

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Posted in Plastic Surgery Recovery | 1 Comment »

Am I A Good Candidate For Aesthetic Procedures?

Thursday, August 27th, 2009
Research Aesthetic Procedures

Psychiatrists recommend that you should undergo aesthetic procedures only if you're doing it to please yourself.

Aesthetic procedures such as liposuction, breast augmentation, facelifts and chemical peels are becoming more popular in the United States than ever before. If you’re wondering whether you are a good candidate for these aesthetic procedures, consider the following:

  • You should understand the risks before you undergo aesthetic procedures. Any time a local or general anesthetic is used, post-operative complications can occur. Most of these complications can increase recovery time, and some can be life-threatening as well.
  • You should be in relatively good health. People with conditions such as diabetes or heart disease should seriously consider whether they can endure aesthetic procedures that may damage tissue, nerves and blood vessels.
  • You should be willing to change your lifestyle to accommodate the “new you.” For example, a liposuction patient should eat a more healthy diet to preserve new body contours and protect the somewhat sizeable investment.
  • Choosing the right recovery program will be paramount to the “new you”.  Garments such as compression garments, liposuction recovery garments, breast augmentation bras, abdominal binders and compression girdles will help with the body  contouring, while scar creams, scar gels and other scar management products will help with possible scarring.

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