Nip This Tuck That

Face Lifts have evolved. The Palmer Celebrity Face Lift is an evolved Face Lift with smaller incisions, less tissue dissection and disruption…which means there is less bruising and swelling. This minimum incision Face Lift allows patients to fly home in as little as 3 days after the procedure.

Below is a picture of how aging effects the face. Arrows are used to show the direction of facial tissue sag.

Aging face and Neck

The Palmer Celebrity Face Lift uses much smaller incisions, than traditional Face Lifts, that are contoured around the front and inside of the ear. Unlike traditional Face Lifts or Mid Face Lifts, no incisions are placed inside the hairline, in front or in back of the head, thereby eliminating the risk of hair loss or unsightly scars inside the hair.

The Palmer Celebrity Face Lift does elevate, trim and lift the SMAS muscle layer along with trimming excess skin which may not be done with a thread lift or suture lift procedure. The Palmer Celebrity Lift goes a step farther still by shaping the cheek area into a more naturally, youthful appearance by adjusting facial fat and using fillers like Perlane and Radiesse. Cheek Implants can also be used when a permanent augmentation is desired.

In the picture below, arrows on the face represent the direction of lift.

Arrows show direction of tightening

The result is a naturally more youthful and attractive face….the antithesis of the old “wind swept”, “over pulled” faces where the tissues are just pulled and distorted. The Palmer Celebrity Face Lift is evolved and in my opinion represents the Face Lift of the future…right now, today. I’m sure that the top Celebrities know the best plastic surgeons are the ones who’s techniques evolve and continue to provide the very best with the least amount of scarring, swelling, bruising and recovery time. Watch Dr Francis Palmer present his ground breaking Palmer Celebrity Lift on ABC’s hit TV show “The View”.

Dr Francis Palmer
Beverly Hills Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery
“What’s Your Number..the palmer code.”

Plastic Surgery from Beverly Hills, Los Angeles and Hollywood has been in the international news lately and frankly, some have been questioning if enough is enough.
I have been writing for years that plastic and cosmetic surgery is all about the individual and can’t be clumped together in a global discussion without loosing all meaning. Take a closer look at plastic and cosmetic surgery treatments like Botox, Radiesse and Perlane or procedures like Face Lifts, Eyelid Surgery, Rhinoplasty, Cheek Implants, Chin Implants and Breast Implants just to name a few.

1. Each patient seeking any of these treatments or procedures is an individual with individual wants, needs and expectations.

2. Every patient will start from a different aesthetic point…“Number“…or you can think of it as a level of attractiveness that makes them unique.

3. Plastic and Cosmetic surgeons use different variations of treatments and surgical procedures to accomplish the desired aesthetic results and even when they would do things exactly alike (I believe this to be highly improbable if not close to impossible) their level of skill, training and experience will still vary and thus effect the ultimate outcome.

Given all these variables, I do not believe that you can look at any one celebrity or “pseudo-star” and judge plastic and cosmetic surgery as an industry or movement. Nothing more than a frank discussion of that particular patient, that particular outcome and that particular surgeon would be accurate. In my 20 years as a Beverly Hills Plastic and Cosmetic Surgeon I have seen wonderful results and I have turned many patients away for their unrealistic expectations or aesthetic requests. I feel that it is the ultimate duty of each and every patient to learn what is required for them to make an educated decision about their appearance and how to effectively improve it when and if they so desire. Do not let any plastic and cosmetic surgeon do a procedure or treatment on you that you do not understand and agree with the planned aesthetic goal. Not aesthetically astute? Learn more about “Your Number”.

Dr Francis Palmer
Beverly Hills Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery
What’s Your Number…the palmer code book

Continuing with our theme of Beverly Hills as a destination for plastic and cosmetic surgery medical tourism, we are now proud to offer IChat, for our Mac clients, with an internet consultation. Our Beverly Hills office has offered telephone consults with e-mai (drfpalmer1@aol.com) evaluation of photos to discuss my findings and recommendations. We find this service a valuable way to communicate with our out of town, out of state and international clientele. You can have a consultation from the comfort of your home or office thus saving the time and expense for your trip to have the surgery. Now we have added IChat as a more personal way of communication during your plastic and cosmetic surgery consultation for Face Lift, Brow Lift, Eyelid Surgery, Breast/Cheek/Chin/Lip Implants, Rhinoplasty, Otoplasty, Tummy Tuck, Liposuction, Botox, Radiesse, Perlane or Juvederm.

Steps for your IChat consult with us:

1. e-mail us at drfpalmer1@aol.com that you are interested in a telephone or IChat consultation and include jpeg photos of the areas you wish to discuss. If your initial e-mail does not include photos or if we believe that other views are required, you will be informed of the type of photos that we require for your evaluation.

2. Schedule a day and time for your phone consultation or your IChat. This can be done via e-mail or by telephone 310-652-9583 (monday through friday 9-5 PST.

3. Send us your AIM account name so we can add you to our buddy list in order to initiate the IChat.

Dr Francis Palmer
Beverly Hills Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery
What’s Your Number…the palmer code book

Traveling to Beverly Hills for your plastic and cosmetic surgery treatments and procedures is quite common. Los Angeles, of which Beverly Hills is a part, has long been a tourist destination because of the balmy weather and proximity to Hollywood’s stars and celebrities. But on any given week, you can find patients at our clinic from Hong Kong, Tokyo, Paris, London, Barcelona, Soel, Saudi Arabia, Oman, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Egypt, Moscow, India or China. This week, our patients have traveled to Beverly Hills from the Middle East, Asia, Europe and from across the US for their Face Lifts (Celebrity Lifts), Rhinoplasty, Eyelid Surgery, Browlifts, Cheek Implants, Chin Implants, Breast Implants for Breast Augmentation, Lip Augmentation, Botox, Perlane and Radiesse Injections.

This is commonplace for us as we have had this type of geographical diversity to our clientele for many years…in part due to my dual practice in London from 1994 through 2000. Although I no longer travel to London for work, our practice was established, over those years, as international in nature and our office adapted to accommodate and communicate with people who were traveling over great distances. I adopted a method where our out of town and country patients could e-mail us photos (drfpalmer1@aol.com) for evaluation coupled with a scheduled telephone discussion of my review and recommendations…which is basically a telephone consult with me after I reviewed their photos. This allowed patients to speak with me without traveling here for their consultation thereby allowing them to save that travel time for their actual surgery. This has worked out very well for the past 15 years.

We realize that traveling here to Beverly Hills is less convenient than having your procedure in your own city or country but in these cases, you come here for the experience, training and level of quality that is Beverly Hills Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery. Beverly Hills has always been synonymous with the very best, the top quality plastic and cosmetic surgery procedures because that’s what our clients demand from us. This past week alone, I am revising plastic and cosmetic surgery procedures that these patients have had in their respective cities and countries because for one of numerous reasons they did not achieve the desired aesthetic results. As a result, they have come to us seeking revision and refinement surgery to become more attractive. I realized that for us it’s commonplace but for those of you contemplating the travel, it may seem somewhat daunting and so I decided to speak to those of you who may find yourself in that position.

First and foremost I think it’s important for you to remember that the only uncertainty in all of this is your travel to our office in Beverly Hills. Although plastic and cosmetic surgery is serious business, it is what we do day in and day out and have for 20 years, so once you do arrive here, for us It’s no different than if you lived right here in Los Angeles. At that point, we take over and do what we do. From our accredited operating room to the after care facility, post surgical follow up appointments, post surgical medications and instructions…everything is planned out for you so you can breathe easy. When it’s time for you to fly back home, you will be ready and happy that you made the journey.

Dr Francis Palmer
Beverly Hills Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery
What’s Your Number…the palmer code book

If you’re looking to make yourself more attractive in a natural and predictable manner, these plastic and cosmetic surgery procedures should be high on your list of things to seek out to accomplish your goal. Face Lifts, Eyelid Surgery, Brow Lifts, surgeries and injections for fuller lips and Rhinoplasty are the main areas that you should concentrate on improving.

Face Lifts: Remove excess skin & fat while tightening the underlying muscle layer (SMAS)…our “Celebrity Lift” is a minimum incision yet highly effective Face Lift Procedure with a rapid recovery that can be performed in about 90 minutes with or without anesthesia.

Eyelid Surgery: Removes excess skin and fat from the upper and or lower eyelids making the eyes appear less tired. Sometimes called Blepharoplasty.

Brow Lifts: Mainly for women, where eyebrows should be elevated, arched and specifically shaped causing the eyes to appear more almond in shape.

Cheek Augmentation: The tissues, of the face, hang from the cheek bones and if your cheeks are not ideally shaped (full and round for women versus narrow and angular for men) Cheek Implants or soft tissue fillers like Radiesse and Perlane can be used to create the desired, more attractive and youthful shape.

Fuller Lips: the lips have the ability to soften the entire lower face but the lips must maintain the proper aesthetic proportion where the upper lip is no more than 75% the size of the lower lip thus creating the soft and pleasing lower lip pout. Lip implants like Alloderm as well as soft tissue fillers like Restylane and Juvederm can be used to create fuller more attractive lips.

Finally, we come to the nose which is the most misunderstood aesthetic facial feature…in my humble opinion. The purpose of the nose is to appear sleek and refined without any major flaws that would otherwise draw attention to it and away from the cheeks, eyes and lips which according to my new book “What’s Your Number…the palmer code”, dictate how attractive your face is perceived by those around you. So, a Rhinoplasty should be performed to make the nose look sleek, refined and natural.

So the next time you think about looking star quality fabulous like your favorite celebrity, follow this simple guide to make yourself more attractive and remember everything has an explanation, even beauty…you just need to know the secrets.
Dr Francis Palmer
Beverly Hills Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery
What’s Your Number…the palmer code book

Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery is starting the new year and decade up from 2009. The largest increase appears to be coming from Europe, (England, Italy, France, Switzerland, Sweden) and the Middle and far East (Japan, Korea and Singapore). Here in the US, our out of town patients are coming from New York, Miami, Chicago, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Francisco and Orange County.

The most popular plastic surgery procedures so far in 2010 are Facelifts (Celebrity Lift), Cheek Implants, Rhinoplasty, Eyelid Surgery (with or without Brow Lifts), Chin Implants, Lip Implants, Breast Implants, Botox, Radiesse, Perlane, Dysport, Juvederm and Restylane.

Francis R Palmer, III, MD

Cheek Augmentation with Cheek Implants what you should know.

Cheeks are the single most aesthetically important facial feature as outlined in my What’s Your Number the palmer code system and book. What’s Your Number..the palmer code says that your face can score a perfect 100 points, a whopping 75 of those points are possible if your cheeks are ideally shaped. This means that the cheeks alone have the power to make your face look young, old, femine, masculine attractive or less so.

The good news is that I have outlined for you what the perfect female and male cheeks look like and yes, you can have these using cheek implants…or fillers like Radiesse or Perlane but that’s a subject for another day.

The bad news is that implants or fillers that create the wrong aesthetic cheek shape can be devastating bad for your appearance. You can look like a masculine woman, a feminine man or just plain gruesome (like a puppet).

Cheek should be augmented following a set aesthetic standard that allows the female cheeks to be full, soft, round and naturally femine….while in men, the cheeks are angular and masculinely chiseled.

There are many, many variations of sizes, shapes, thickness and materials for cheek implants…the vast majority of which I feel do not create the proper aesthetic cheek shape in my over 20 years experience performing cheek augmentation with cheek implants. I do not believe it’s a good idea for the implant to become incorporated into the bone or facial tissues and have seen patients (done elsewhere) that sadly agree. Some of these patients I am unable to help because I can’t get the implants they had placed elsewhere out. Just remember, permanent means permanent, so I like silastic implants that are easilly removed if you decide to do so for any reason.

It should be stated that, in my opinion again, using facial implants like cheek or chin implants requires a quantum level of aesthetic sophistication on the part of the plastic and cosmetic surgeon who’s placing the implants. The implant size, shape, thickness, material and mode of placement (through the mouth, through the eye, under the skin in front of the ear or through an incision in the scalp all are possible but do not yield in my opinion the same results.) In fact, I’d go so far as to say that some points of insertion should not be considered which brings me to the next point.

As you search, you should consult with experienced top or the best plastic and cosmetic surgeons who perform cheek or chin augmentation with mplants frequently. This is not an easy surgery to learn or master and you do not want to look worse that you did before the surgery.

I’d like to leave with a final thought. The internet is a terrific source of great information as long as that information is genuine. Be careful to get your information on cheek implants, rhinoplasty, breast augmentation, eyelid surgery, botox, juvederm, radiesse or any plastic and cosmetic surgery treatment or procedure directly from the plastic and cosmetic surgeons who perform these procedures…not from the numerous generic directories (websites) that have material written by lay writers or people in sales as a way to get you onto their sites.

These sites charge fees to the listing doctors just so they can suggest, link or refer you to one of the thousands of doctors and surgeons for you to consult with and have these procedures. Problem is, they haven’t written the information, so how do you know the surgeon is experienced. Anyone can write about a surgical procedure but only an experienced surgeon can tell you how it’s done and what you can expect because they’ve actually done that procedure many times.

Dr Francis Palmer
Beverly Hills Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery
What’s Your Number…the palmer code book
Media Accolades
Patient Testimonials

Think looks don’t matter…they do, of course. This is why I wrote the book on the subject: What’s Your Number..the palmer code available here

Latest article, on the subject, in Forbes Magazine

Plastic and cosmetic surgery treatments and procedures like Facelifts, Rhinoplasty, Eyelid Surgery, Browlifts,
Breast Implants, Cheek Implants, Chin Implants, Lip fillers, Botox, Tummy Tucks, Liposuction, Hair Transplants, Restylane, Juvederm, Radiesse, Sculptra and IPL…all improve your Number and your appearance.

We all, deep down inside know that our appearance does matter even though it’s not fair…but who ever said life was fair? That’s why you need to learn how to best improve Your Number.
AOL book review
Radar Online book review and article:
Hollywooddame.com book review:
Allieiswired.com book review:
People’s 50 most beautiful people
What’s Your Number…the palmer code TV Appearances
Dr Francis Palmer
Media Accolaides
Voted “one of the world’s best” plastic and cosmetic surgeons

Face Lift Facts from Beverly Hills.

We will take a look at the most pertinent facts that you should consider when seeking a Facelift or facelift procedure. Today, we will concentrate on the basics of what a facelift can and can not do when it comes to rejuvenating the face.

Facelifts have been around for over 4,ooo years and the purpose reamins the same today….to rejuvenate the face. In simple terms, the facelift should tighten the underlying muscle layer (SMAS) of the face and remove excess skin and fatty tissue. Please keep that in mind when reading some of the more outlandish claims that are all over the internet.

The problem is the many variations on facelifts that have emerged over the past 20 years, including some that are not capable of accomplishing the basic goals previously outlined. Some do not allow SMAS tightening or skin removal, making them less effective in rejuvenating the face.

In the next segment on Facelifts, we’ll take a closer look at some of the more common types of Facelifts but today let’s end with palcing the apprpriate amount of emphasis on the aesthetic importance of facelifts and what they should accomplish. I have been performing Face Lifts for over 20 years and while the techniques have changed, my focus has not. The primary goal of my Facelift, as all my plastic and cosmetic surgery procedures is to create/restore the most attractive facial aesthetics. As simple as this sounds, this aesthetic vision is not taught in medical school or surgical training. It is however, the most important factor to consider when you are trying to improve your appearance. Isn’t that the purpose of having plastic and cosmetic surgery afterall?

The face has various facial features that carry different aesthetic importance. Some will transform the face into one that is youthful and attractive while others have much less impact. These aesthetic principles, The Palmer Code is outlined in my new book “What’s Your Number…the palmer code.” I strongly suggest you read and learn what makes the face and body attractive before you have any type of plastic surgery treatment or procedure. For now, I’ll leave you with this thought..if the cheeks are not ideally shaped, during any type of facelift procedure, the face will not be perceived as youthful and attractive and may actually appear overly pulled, tight and mishapen. The very best, top rated plastic and cosmetic surgeons understand this and when you see inspired Facelift results (gorgeous celebrities) this aesthetic vision has been followed (the Celebrity Lift). Some media comments and testimonials.

Dr Francis Palmer
Beverly Hills Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery
What’s Your Number…the palmer code book

There was a large article in todays’ Wall Street Journal about the dangers of having Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery and other elective surgical procedures in non-accredited office/surgery centers. It’s true that you should be aware of the environment in which your plastic and cosmetic procedure will take place.

California, New York, Texas and I believe Florida have existing regulations that all out patient surgical facilities must be accredited. Our Beverly Hills surgery center has such an accreditation and has for many years…but in other states this is voluntary and certainly in other countries the rules may be quite different. So, what’s the big deal you ask. Here are some of the most important points regarding the subject:

1. There are certain anesthesia criteria that require a well-trained anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist administer your anesthesia. Without this rule, your anesthesia maybe administered by an office nurse or the surgeon himself….
2. The proper resusitation equipment is required with accreditation that otherwise may or may not be available.
3. Accreditation is another way to make sute that the doctor is trained and experienced in the procedure that you are going to have. With economic pressures today, there are dentists, oral surgeons, gynecologists and all forms of doctors performing plastic and cosmetic surgery…so you may want an outside agency deciding who is and who isn’t tained to do your procedure.

So the next time you’re considering a plastic and cosmetic surgery procedure and you don’t live in a state with mandatory accreditation of outpatient surgery centers, come to Beverly Hills where you can be confident and secure that your surgery will be performed in an accredited facility.

Dr Francis Palmer
Beverly Hills Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery
What’s Your Number…the palmer code book