Nip This Tuck That

This is a further update+�-�on my post a couple of days ago regarding counterfiet Botox and other Plastic & Cosmetic Materials like Restylane.+�-� A lady in Monterey died from fake Botox that was injected by her hair stylist!+�-� I warned you that it was “Buyer Beware”+�-� out there in the beauty business, but when hair stylists start to inject things into people’s bodies….were are all in big trouble.+�-� The Botox was not…repeat not…real Botox from Botox Cosmetic and Allergan.+�-� It was from who knows where with who knows what in it that the hair stylist was able to illegally purchase.

+�-�This is disturbing to me on many levels.+�-� First, why would a hair stylist think that he/she could inject anybody with anything whatsoever.+�-� That in itself is totally outrageous.+�-� Second, what the heck was the customer thinking?+�-� Why would the woman think that her stylist was capable of injecting Botox into her face?+�-� What’s up with that?+�-� Please!+�-� Please!

DO NOT USE+�-�A CHEAP PRICE AS THE DECIDING FACTOR+�-�OF WHAT TO GET AND WHO GIVES YOU A+�-�BEAUTY/MEDICAL TREAMENT OR SURGERY…IF YOU DO,+�-�YOU ARE SETTING YOURSELF UP TO GET BURNED!+�-� This poor woman died to save a few $$.+�-� To me that’s just plain ridiculous.+�-� If you can’t afford the right thing from a competent person………..do without!

Botox, real Botox, from Allergan and Botox Cosmetic remains a very safe and effective way to decrease the unwanted lines and wrinkles of the face.+�-� But this underscores the current climate in the beauty biz, as I have said many times before.+�-� Know what you are getting, be sure you are paying the going rate and make certain that you see a skilled and experienced doctor or Plastic & Cosmetic Surgeon.+�-� Whether you’re interested in a Face Lift, Brow Lift, Breast Augmentation, Cheek Implants, Chin Implant, Rhinoplasty, Blepharoplasty (eye lift), Tummy Tuck, Lip Augmentation, Botox, Radiesse, Restylane, Juvederm, perlane or IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) skin treatments, please go to experienced, well trained plastic and cosmetic surgeons.+�-� Celebrity, or not, you deserve the best plastic and cosmetic surgeon you can find.+�-� Please people….I’d love to never read another one of these tragic stories ever again!+�-�

Dr. Francis R Palmer, III

I know that I have frequently written posts on my Custom Mini Facelifts but geez…I am doing them an unbelievable amount.+�-� Seems people are more interested in looking better right now, with little downtime, than in looking 15 years younger and a larger surgery.+�-� I’m serious…I’m doing 5 Minilifts in the next 2 days.+�-� These really are mini incision Face Lifts as I tighten the underlying muscle layer as well as remove between 2-3 inches of excess skin.+�-� Know wonder these types of plastic and cosmetic surgery procedures are popular with Celebrities.

I did a lower Blepharoplasty under local this morning.+�-� I numb up the eyelids with drops and a novacaine-like injection.+�-� With the patient fully awake, I make an incision, on the inside of the lower eyelids and remove the excess fat.+�-� Oh yes, you have to have very steady hands.+�-� The entire procedure took about 20 minutes.+�-� The patient won’t have any anesthetic to get out of his sytem and should look great in a couple of days.+�-� We recommend that our patients use ice therapy to decrease potential swelling and bruising.+�-�

+�-�A producer wants to sign Ashton’s to an exclusive arrangement so he can shop her to record labels….meanwhile her agent wants her to meet with several studio execs.+�-� Stay tuned!

Francis R Palmer, III MD+�-�

WOW!+�-� I have to make major decisions on several key entertainment items that, I believe, will have significant impact on my career.+�-� It’s so strange that it’s not enough to be a highly trained, skilled, experienced Plastic & Cosmetic Surgeon…you have to be media savvy and camera ready as well.

I actually have taken the role as a teacher and beauty advisor to the general public.+�-� I do it for all of my patients so why not for everyone.+�-� That’s the basis for my appearances on TV, my articles in Magazines and the TV show projects that really interest me the most.+�-� I want you, to see quality…experienced…balanced images of+�-�a Plastic & Cosmetic Surgeon.+�-� I want you, as consumers to be well informed about the wonderous things that are available and have a good idea of what types of things will make you more attractive…that’s why I came up with my “Palmer Beauty Principles”.+�-� But there is so much more to my career and life.

+�-�I want you to try and imagine a typical day in my life.+�-� I have breakfast with my family, like many people do everyday and I come to the office.+�-� In consultation I see people with one thing on their mind…”how can they become more attractive.”+�-� Whether it’s their first surgery or a revision, that’s the gist of our conversation.+�-� People, as you can imagine run the entire gambit from very sweet to downright belligerent..from reasonable to completely unreasonable (in their expectations) and from easy to improve to next to impossible.+�-� I need to compassionately deal with all of them in the best way that I know how.+�-� How do I do that?+�-� Very early in my career, as I grappled with those questions, I decided that the best way for me to handle every patient was to simply “tell them the truth as if they were one of my family.”+�-� So that’s what I have always done and it has served me well over the past 16 years that I have been in practice.+�-� I further decided to teach every patient, during consultation about their own unique beauty and exactly how…and why…I would improve their appearance.+�-� What comes out of all this exchange is a customized list of possible ways to make them more attractive based on their unique situation.+�-� That’s the easy part…the psychological part and the teaching…the difficult part, as you can imagine, is doing the surgery.

+�-�When I was a resident surgeon training at LA County USC Medical Center, one of the World’s largest ( and busiest) teaching institutions I used to comment that “surgery is stressful.”+�-� I’m sure that comes as no surprise to anyone but the level of stress can’t be imagined unless you have ever done surgery.+�-� Imagine walking into a room with several other people all waiting for you to begin.+�-� The patient is asleep, draped and prepped and the Scrub Tech hands you a scalpel.+�-� You take the scalpel and cut into the skin of the face or body and it starts to bleed.+�-� In between, stopping the bleeding with an electrical cautery device, you continue to lift and separate the tissues with scissors.+�-� Most of the time, important things like nerves and large vessels are where they are supposed to be…but not always…so your concentration can’t wane…not even for a second.+�-� You’re hesitant to even blink but yet you must continue….you are the moving force of this event and without priogress, on your part, the surgery won’t get done.+�-� You press on…dealing with micro changes in the tissues at a continuous rate, adjusting what you do based on the sensory feedback received through+�-�touch, sight and sound.+�-� You try not to think about this patients’ wishes, hopes or her/his family as this takes away from the the level of concentration needed to press forward.+�-� You remain alert and incredibly focused.+�-�

+�-�This goes on for as long as it needs to continue for you to complete the surgery to your satisfaction…you then breath easilly…you are finished.+�-� It’s been said that all great surgeons perform each and every operation a minimum of 3 times.+�-� Once in their head before the surgery starts, during the actual surgery and once again after the surgery is completed in their head to see if there was anything…anything that could have been done better.+�-� I find truth to that saying, but I have always done that ..plus prayed for my patients before…during and after the surgery.+�-�

+�-�How do you deal with all this pressure…I can’t speak for all Plastic & Cosmetic Surgeons but I get strength from having a clear aesthetic plan, for each patient, before I ever pick up that scalpel, from the confidence that I know what I am doing…and what I have to do to accomplish my aesthetic goals for this patient, in the experience that I have gained from 18 years of doing similar operations on others and the strength from saying a prayer to God to guide my hands during the operation.+�-� With all of these things, I find the confidence and strength to pick up the scalpel, make that cut and move through the surgery to completion…while I chat with the OR personnel or relax listening to music making it look effortless and easy.+�-� Pressure…what Pressure?

This is what goes on behind the scenes when you have a Rhinoplasty, Face Lift, Brow Lift, Blepharoplasty, Breast Augmentation, Lip Augmentation, Cheek or Chin Implants or a Tummy Tuck.+�-� Each of these Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery Procedures has its own skill set, you have to get into the correct frame of mind whether you’re working on the average Joan, a captain of industry or a major celebrity.

Dr. Francis R Palmer, III

+�-�Tag this one under ” Buyer Beware”…+�-� Had lunch with the Beverly Hills area Restylane sales rep at a very trendy sushi restaurant and during our conversation he mentioned that bootleg Restylane was found in the US.+�-� Now for those of you unfamiliar with Restylane, it’s a great soft tissue filler that’s injected into facial folds and wrinkles.+�-� It can also be used to plump up the lips.+�-� It’s been approved for use, here in the US, for about 1 year and we do a large volume of Restylane Injections in our office.+�-� I personally think it’s a great product.+�-�+�-�

+�-�Bootleg Restylane apparently is being sold to doctors in the US from sources other than the company that has the distribution rights.+�-� I know our office frequently receives faxes offering Restylane, Botox and other injectable products for amazingly low prices.+�-� We have never felt comfortable buying these products from any company other than the company reps.+�-�

+�-�You may recall a similar incidence with Botox in Florida where Botox was obtained from a source other than Allergan, the company that distributes Botox in the US.+�-� Several people became ill and after an investigation, the Botox used was not up to snuff.+�-� How does this happen and how can you protect yourself from it happening to you or someone you love?+�-� The best way, is never use price as a deciding factor when getting soft tissue fillers or any plastic & cosmetic procedure.+�-� By doing so, you may be falling prey to doctors that will buy these materials from other sources in order to cut costs.+�-� Remember, if it sounds too good to be true…it probably is!+�-� So what was in the bootleg Restylane that the company discovered.+�-� Well my sources tell me that it was in an identical box to the real Restylane but contained liquid silicone.+�-� Yikes!+�-� Be sure to ask+�-�your doctor where he/she obtained the Botox or Restylane and be sure to go to well kown reputable physicians for your Botox, Restylane, Radieese or Collagen injections.+�-� Pay the going rate for these services and you should be OK.+�-� It doesn’t matter if you’re interested in Botox, Breast Augmentation, Rhinoplasty, Blepharoplasty, Forehead Lift, Face Lift, Cheek Augmentation, Chin Augmentation, Lip Augmentation, Rdiesse Injections+�-�or a Tummy Tuck…do not choose your Plastic and Cosmetic Surgeon based on price.+�-� Experience, aesthetic vision and expertise are the proper means by which to judge and select your plastic and cosmetic surgeon

Dr. Francis R Palmer, III

March 7, 2006: I saw the lady that had+�-�the Tummy Tuck+�-�yesterday…see that post…for her first post-op visit.+�-� She has 2 bulb drains+�-�under the skin over the abdomen to remove any excess blood and serous fluid. These typically remain in for 3-4 days after the surgery.+�-� She’s also wearing an abdominal binder. It’s like a girdle that goes across the abdomen and gives some compression to the surgical area.+�-� She’s slightly bent over…we pulled and removed excess skin and patients usually can stand upright at about 1 week after the surgery.+�-� The muscles are a bit sore…we tighten them along the entire abdomen…that’s what gives the nice tight flat appearance to the abdomen after the surgery.+�-� But all in all she looks fantastic and she’s going to be thrilled.+�-�

+�-�Saw some consults+�-�for Tummy Tucks, Breast Augmentation, Face Lifts, Revision Rhinoplasty, Lip Augmentation, Blepharoplasty, Cheek Implants, Chin Implants, Brow Lift, Botox Restylane, Juvederm+�-�and Radiesse injections to scuplt the face without implants.+�-� They want what the celebrities get…natural beauty.+�-� You can read all about all of these procedures on my surgery website (sorry I’m still new at the HTML code for hyperlinks)

http://www.drfpalmer.com

I’ll share+�-�all of these prcedures, with you,+�-�over the coming days and weeks.+�-� But for now, feel free to read all the material that+�-�I have written on the subject and take a look at some of the before and after photos.

+�-�Celebrities are getting facelifts, Rhinoplasty and Breast Augmentation+�-�in post-production!

Now I don’t want to burst any+�-�bubbles so close to Hollywood’s big night but it seems that the celebs are getting a liitle help in the digital realm.+�-� That’s right, yours truly, the good doctor, has administered more than a little help to some celebs images using $250,000 computers at a post production visual effects house.+�-� This is a kick…I use my Palmer Beauty Principles +�-�to make the images younger and more attractive…best part is there’s no bleeding, bruising or recovery time.+�-� This will be the wave of the future in TV and Movieland and you heard it here first!

The technology allows the stars faces and bodies to show effects of Botox, Radiesse, Cheek Augmentation, Rhinoplasty, Face Lifts, neck Lifts, Blepharoplasty, Browlift, Liposuction, Breast Augmentation, Tummy Tuck, Lip Augmentation and skin Care….basically all similar results tahn if the celebrities had actually and recently undergone all of those procedures.+�-� How cool is that!

+�-�Dr. Francis R Palmer, III

Monday 2/27/06: Well here we are. The inaugural launch of a glimpse into my life+�G��-�.wow, no pressure. I have so much that I want to share with you, that I don’t know where to start.+�-�+�-�Hopefully, I can give you some insight into what it+�G��G��s like to be me. Christian, family man, father of 2 teens (please pray for me), artist, writer, aspiring TV Star (that+�G��G��s an entire story in itself) and the gatekeeper to my patients beauty+�G��-�their identity+�G��-�an awesome responsibility that I take very seriously. I believe that a truly gifted Plastic & Cosmetic Surgeon must have: The Eyes of an Artist, The Hands of an Angel and The Heart of a Lion. The artist must know how to make you more attractive. The Angel treats your tissue gently and with respect. The Lions Heart gives me the strength to hold someone+�G��G��s identity in the palm of my hands and allows me to cope with this awesome responsibility. Welcome to my world! I am wrestling with my son one moment and the next, I am laying open the face of a 45 year old lovely woman who wants nothing more than for me to make her look more attractive. She has a loving family that cares deeply for her and wants only the best for her+�G��-�and the pressure mounts!

I was contacted by another talk show wanting to do a makeover. The woman, for the makeover, had lost a great deal of weight, had a ton of surgery elsewhere for sagging skin +�G��+�everywhere+�G��-� and still wants to look better. This breaks my heart, but she+�G��G��s never going to look good and I+�G��G��m not sure that another tummy tuck, thigh lift or arm lift will make a significant difference. The tough part is breaking the bad news to the patient, who desperately wants to look normal, and to the TV Show Producer, who wants to put together a dramatic show. I feel badly, but I think I+�G��G��ll have to pass on this one.

Robyn, had me look at numerous photos from potential patients, from all over the world, asking for plastic and cosmetic surgery via e-mail. I am still amazed at how many hundreds of e-mails we get each day. It floors me every time I think about the number of these initial contacts that wind up having surgery with us. I never imagined this would happen. Not in my wildest dreams. I wrote the original material for the website over 8-9 years ago just as a way for people to get a sense of who and what I was. Maybe, that+�G��G��s why it works? It+�G��G��s like speaking with me+�G��-�only from the comfort of your house computer.

Saw a very hip woman, doctors wife, in her late 50+�G��G��s who hasn+�G��G��t done any plastic surgery to this point in her life+�G��-�she+�G��G��s looking for a little +�G��+�spruce up+�G��-� and wanted to speak with me about Contour Threads

Thread Lift This is always an interesting conversation. Patients don+�G��G��t want any incisions but are amazed when I go through the logic of that means +�G��-�no skin is removed as well+�G��-�. She finally realized that one of my custom Minilifts Face Lift with lower Bleph Blepharoplasty was the ticket. She+�G��G��s going to look amazing+�G��-�..7 years younger+�G��-�what a cool job I have.

Assisted on a Rhinoplasty this afternoon. The patient wanted the bridge of her nose built up, so we used a dorsal solid silastic (silicone) implant. I personally would have asked the patient to consider using Radiesse. Radiesse would have been done as an office treatment with a simple skin injection. No surgery, no anesthesia, no recovery and the material lasts up to 2 years. Not my decision however. That+�G��G��s what makes Plastic Surgery an art and not cookbook+�G��-�the way each surgeon looks at each individual patient and decides what to do or not do. No 2 decisions will ever be completely alike.

Drove down to Irvine to review the prototype device for the think tank group. If this thing works, the way we think it will…we are going to make a whole lot of people very happy. I am hired by an East Coast think tank that brings emerging new technologies to physicians and the public in the field of Plastic Surgery and beauty. The latest project is nothing short of remarkable+�G��-�.sorry, can+�G��G��t share anymore at this time+�G��-�.confidentiality agreements+�G��-�stay tuned!

Dr. Francis R Palmer, III