Nip This Tuck That

Augmenting, or improvong the size and shape of the chin with a Chin Implant.

Just stepped out of the OR where I removed a small, button-style chin implant from a tall rugged-looking man. He came to me seeking a more augmented and defined chin then what he had obtained from the button chin implant that had been placed by another surgeon elsewhere.

This story illustrates my two basic principles of aesthetic plastic and cosmetic surgery, including Chin Implants.

Rule # 1: The Aesthetics of Beauty must be followed. In this case, the small button-style chin implant was not consistent with the aesthetics of beauty and was incapable of making his chin more rugged and masculine. In a word, the procedure, in my opinion, was doomed to failure, from a purely aesthetical sense, once that size and shape of chin implant was selected. At that point it didn’t matter how technically gifted the surgeon was or how much experience the sugeon had with chin implants….the patient’s appearance was not going to be improved, nor was this chin implant capable of increasing his “Number”.

Rule # 2: You, as the consumer have the responsibility of selecting the best, even the World’s best plastic and cosmetic surgeon that you can find…making certain that the surgeon follows the aesthetics of beauty in a way that will improve “Your Number”. Here are four simple steps. on how to choose your plastic and cosmetic surgeon, that will help you in your search.

Never, never and oh, did I mention never use price as your determining factor for sekecting a plastic and cosmetic surgeon to perform your plastic and cosmetic surgery procedure whether it’s a Chin Implant, Rhinoplasty, Face Lift, Breast Augmentation with Breast Implants, Lip Enhancement, Eyelid Surgery, Browlift, Cheek Implants, Tummy Tuck, Botox, Dysport, Radiesse, Restylane, Juvederm or Sculptra. Select your plastic and cosmetic surgeon as if you were a celebrity and you had to have the world’s very best.

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

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There has been a huge number of patients from all over the world contacting us in Beverly Hills about Chin Augmentation. I have performed Chin Augmentation using Chin Implants for over 20 years both here in Beverly Hills and in London. I prefer using the soft, silastic Chin Implants that are anatomical in their shape and design using The Palmer Code as a guide to the aesthetic balancing of the chin with the other features of the lower face.

I prefer using an incision hidden under the chin versus one on the inside of the mouth. The surgery typically takes about 20 minutes and I have not found it necessary to use sutures or screws to hold the chin implant in place. Patients are allowed to fly back home to Europe, Asia or the Middle East 1 week after the procedure.

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

If I had to define the world’s best Cheek Augmentation Surgery using Cheek Implants, I could do so with a single phrase “naturally beautiful”. I have been using Cheek Implants, for over 20 years, to shape and contour the face in a subtle, natural yet highly effective manner to create soft beautiful faces in women and rugged, angular faces in men. Yes, quite a few men have Cheek Implants top create a ruggedly handsome face.

I believe, that more than any other plastic and cosmetic surgery procedure…Cheek Implants must be just the right size and shape to create the proper aesthetic contour. If the Implants are to small, large, wide, thick or the wrong shape….the facial aesthetics will be off and the face looks odd and sometimes downright deformed. Hardly the naturally beautiful or handsome look you wanted to achieve.

When I see patients who have had, what I believe are, an incorrect size and or shape) Cheek Implants there always seems to be a lack of aesthetic understanding on the part of the plastic surgeon and the patient. In many cases, the Cheek Implants were placed in an ill-advised attempt to plump up and fill sagging facial tissues resulting in massively over-sized implants and a deformed face.

Here are my important take away points for anyone seeking Cheek Implants as a way to shape and improve facial appearance.

1. Cheek Implants must be subtle in shape and size….they should enhance not overwhelm the face.

2. Not everyone is a good candidate for Cheek Implants and this is based on the actual shape of your existing cheek bones.
The entire cheek bone should have an ideal aesthetic shape, as outlined in my new book “What’s Your Number…the palmer code. However, it’s quite common for one or both cheek bones to have sections that are ideally shaped and parts that are not. When the majority of the cheek bone is properly shaped, adding a Cheek Implant is likely to make the cheeks and face appear to broad or large and this is something that obviously should be avoided. In that case, fillers like Perlane, Radieese or Juvederm Ultra Plus can be injected to fill and enhance just the deficient segment of the cheek. This is a temporary solution but one that is highly effective and avoids disfiguring the face.

3. When using Cheek Implants, a little augmentation goes a long way.

When augmenting the cheeks with Cheek Implants, using a subtle implant makes the cheek and the entire face attractive…but once the implant is even slightly to large, small or thick…the cheek and the face appear deformed. “A little is good, more is terrible.”

4. Not every Plastic and Cosmetic Surgeon is comfortable using Cheek Implants.

Just this week we had a person contact us via e-mail to say she visited a well known plastic and cosmetic surgeon about possible cheek implants to which the surgeon gave a less than supportive opinion about the merits and benefits of using Cheek Implants to improve the facial appearance. This position, with which I completely disagree should make that patient realize she must seek another plastic and cosmetic surgeon who believes in Cheek Augmentation with Cheek Implants.

Cheek Implants can, will and do alter the facial skeletal shape and as such may be daunting to some plastic and cosmetic surgeons…it’s OK, not everyone has to perform every type of plastic and cosmetic surgery procedure. You do need to find a plastic and cosmetic surgeon that does many Cheek Augmentations with Cheek Implants and who gets a consistently great aesthetic result with Cheek Implants. Why would you go anywhere else?

5. You always, always, get what you pay for.

The best, the top Cheek Implant surgeons will charge accordingly. Beware of discount prices as these may indicate a surgeon with little or no experience.

6. Do be open to adjunct procedures along with your Cheek Implants.

If the tissues of the face and or neck are loose and have sagged, Cheek Implants should never (in my opinion) be used to lift these tissues as this requires an implant that is very large, thick and aesthetically incorrect. When used in this scenario, the Cheek Implant is inconsistent with a naturally youthful and beautiful face. Instead you may wish to tighten, lift and remove excess fat and skin for a face that is shapely and more attractive using our “Palmer Celebrity Facelift.” Think of this as re-draping the tissues over the improved cheek structure once the Cheek Implants have been placed.

Of course Rhinoplasty, Eyelid Surgery, Breast Augmentation with Breast Implants, Botox, Browlifts, Tummy Tucks, Chin Implants and Lip Enhancements can also be done at the same time as Cheek Augmentation.

7. Celebrities are no stranger to Cheek Implants.

I’ve seen numerous pictures of celebrities before and after their alleged plastic and cosmetic surgery and they may have had Cheek Implants to fill and shape their cheeks.

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

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If you are like most people, you want to look your very best which, in simple terms means, a naturally, beautiful face…one that appears more youthful and attractive. When Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery accomplishes this goal, the results are truly inspired. In my opinion, this should be the primary goal of all aesthetic plastic and cosmetic surgery treatments and procedures. If it doesn’t make you look better, than why do it?

Trick is to find the least invasive plastic and cosmetic surgery treatment and or procedure to accomplish this goal. For unwanted lines and wrinkles, clearly Botox and now Dysport, as well, both deliver fast and highly effective results with almost no downtime or recovery. Follow this line of reasoning, our “Palmer Celebrity Face LIft”, uses a much smaller incision, with limited tissue dissection all resulting in a naturally, youthful and beautiful face with a recovery that’s measured in hours instead of weeks and months like traditional Face Lifts.

Rhinoplasty can be modified to meet similar goals by using a retrograde tip technique that’s minimally disruptive to the tissues over the nasal tip resulting in a more rapid recovery time. Other plastic and cosmetic surgery procedures can be modified with an eye towards a quicker recovery including Eyelid Surgery, Browlift, Cheek Implants, Chin Implants, Lip Enhancement using Alloderm Implants, Breast Implants for augmentation and enhancement,Radiesse Injections, Tummy Tucks and Buttock Lifts. As you do your research on any plastic and cosmetic surgery procedure you’ll find that the very best, most talented and experienced plastic and cosmetic surgeons are always improving on how they do things…their surgical techniques evolve to accomplish the primary goal: Achieve a more youthful, naturally beautiful appearance with as little bruising, swelling and down-time as possible.

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

Hollywood Stars Beauty Fantasy by Dr Francis Palmer

Photo Credit: Steve Granitz Wireimage

Grammy’s 2010 Taylor Swift: Taylor looks beautiful in this blue dress but what if we had a magic wand and could change her appearance to make it a perfect face, what would we consider doing?
1. The eyebrows are low, so perhaps some Botox to the eyebrows or a Brow Lift.

2. The left cheek is a bit more flat than the right so a little soft tissue filler to shape and contour the cheek using either Radiesse

3. The upper lip is thin compared to the lower lip, so perhaps either a soft tissue filler to the lip borders using Restylane or Juvederm or a semi-permanent lip implant like Alloderm that seems to last about 7 years.

4. The nose is a little thick and a Rhinoplasty (nose job) could thin and refine both the nasal bridge and tip.

This is, of course fantasy, and a make believe exercise but still fun and exciting to imagine. So what’s her “Face Number” now: 86 Fantasy Makeover Face Number: 99 with 100 being perfect.

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

***Disclaimer: This information is provided for entertainment and educational purposes only and is not intended to imply the above mentioned person has had, or will ever have any type of plastic surgery treatment or procedure or any affiliation with Dr Francis Palmer.

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

Face Lift facts from Los Angeles and Beverly Hills

In 2010 and the next decade, I believe people will come to grips with the full and complete idea of personal beauty aesthetics. This will and should create a quiet transformation in the way that individuals elect to improve their appearance through plastic and cosmetic surgery. The top, the very best plastic and cosmetic surgeons in the world already know what everyone else must now embrace. There are a set of ideal shapes, angles and proportions to the face and body that dictate whether you will be perceived as young, old, male, female, attractive or less so. This includes using the appropriate type of Face Lift procedure and ancillary procedures like Cheek Implants, Chin Implant, Rhinoplasty, Brow Lift, Botox, Radiesse, Perlane or Juvederm to create the most naturally attractive face for you.

We receive many e-mails each day from people who have had plastic surgery procedures elsewhere and are not happy with the aesthetic results. They come to us here in Beverly Hills so we can create the proper aesthetic shape for their face and or body. Our Celebrity Lift with creation of the most aesthetic Cheeks using Radiesse, Perlane or Cheek Implants along with the creation of fuller lips that are proportionally balanced using either Alloderm implants or Juvederm/Restylane will definitely do the trick. To look your very best, follow “What’s Your Number… The Palmer Code principles which will guide you in the proper aesthetic direction. Remember that “it’s not what you do but how effectively it works at making you more attractive that really matter…very often, less is better.”

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