Nip This Tuck That

Radiesse injections can be used to shape the face in mere minutes and is performed as an office treatment. I use Radiesse to shape the Cheeks, Chin and Jawline. Below is an example of 2 men with a weak jawline with very little flare. The lower face appears off balance instead of angular and ruggedly handsome. Next to them is a women with a flared jaw and flat cheeks who appears to have a more masculine face then these two men.

I describe Jaw “Flare” as the width of the angle formed by the jawline as it goes from the chin to the vertical junction near the ears. Think of this as forming a triangle where the chin is the apex and the base is formed by drawing a line through the head from ear to ear. Flare is the angle of the lines from the apex to the base. The larger the angle…the more the jaw appears to be flared and the more masculine it appears.

If your jawline has a small angle without flare, Radiesse can be placed along the mandible junction to create the illusion of larger muscles at this location making the jaw appear wider and more flared. As a result, the face appears more ruggedly handsome. This usually takes 1 syringe of Radiesse per side and the effect lasts about 1 year. Implants can be placed here but these have had complications of shifting, bone erosion and discomfort making them less of an option, in my opinion.

Weak Jaw with little “Flare”

weak jawline

flared jawline

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

Plastic Surgery Blog “Tip of the day”: the Cheeks make the face appear young, old, male, female, attractive or less so. In a word, WOW…Cheeks have more influence over how attractive you are than any other facial feature…not the eyes or nose as is widely believed.

As a Beverly Hills Plastic and Cosmetic Surgeon for over 20 years, I have spent my career making people, from teachers to royalty and heads of state, more attractive. I have learned that the Cheeks are the most aesthetically important facial feature in defining just how attractive you really are. A fact that unfortunately seems lost on many patients and surgeons alike in the field of aesthetic plastic and cosmetic surgery as witnessed by the wide, swollen, sometimes mis-shapen faces we see on TV and the tabloids stories of celebrity plastic surgery.

As people strive to look their very best, I believe that an aesthetic analysis of their cheeks should be the first priority when looking to make any face more attractive. For women, the cheeks should be full and round to give the face a soft, feminine and youthful appearance. For men, the Cheeks should be more narrow adding angularity and a more ruggedly handsome, chiseled look to the face.

Ideal female Cheeks

Ideal male Cheeksarrow shows a more narrow cheek shape.

These principles are discussed in greater detail in my new book defining beauty “What’s Your Number…the palmer code.”

Now that we have defined the proper cheek shape for men and women, let’s take a look at ways that you may be able to achieve the ideal shaped cheek.

1. Cheek Implants are a permanent way to alter the shape of your cheeks in a precise and consistent manner. One word of caution “do not try to use implants that are too large and over power your face as these will make the face appear odd and mis-shapen.” Cheek Implantation must use subtle but aesthetically correct shaped implants in order to achieve balance and harmony with your other facial features. These can be done alone or in concert with a Face Lift when loose skin and tissues are an issue.

2. Fillers like Radiesse and Perlane can be used to shape the Cheeks….the procedure is performed as an office treatment and takes just a few minutes. Perlane seems to last about 9 months and Radiesse 12 months, after which it must be repeated. The good news is that using these shaping fillers, any cheek can be made more attractive as the injections can be modified to fit any shape, size and configuration of cheeks. I have to remind you however, that there’s no inherent magic in these fillers and if they are injected in the wrong amount or in the wrong place, the cheeks can and will appear deformed…and will remain so for many months unless something is done to get rid of the material. All of this can be avoided by knowing what shape your cheeks should be and avoiding injections that don’t seem likely to give you that shape.

***these fillers can also be used to shape the chin, jawline and even the nose (Rhinoplasty).

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

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.”

The Palmer “Celebrity Lift” is a minimum incision Face Lift that’s combined with aesthetic shaping of the face. This 90 minute, minimum invasive, procedure has the SMAS lifting of the much more invasive, older types of Face Lifts but can be performed with or without anesthesia. The recovery time is measured in hours…not days, weeks or months because the procedure is less invasive. In fact, most patients travel back home to Asia, Europe or across the US in as little as 3 days following the Face Lift procedure.

The Celebrity Face Lift is often combined with a reduction of the fatty tissue within the nasolabial fold (NLF) the accumulation of which occurs with facial aging. Further facial refinements are accomplished by improving the cheek’s volume and shape. Male cheeks are made to be more angular, while women’s cheeks are converted to a softer, more rounded shape in the front of the face. The shape of the chin and jawline may also be addressed. Facial shaping can be accomplished using Fillers like Radiesse or Perlane and/or with Cheek and/or Chin Implants. The Lips can be made fuller using Restylane, Juvederm or my favorite lip implant (Alloderm Sheets). Botox can be used to soften lines of the forehead, Crow’s Feet or around the mouth for the finishing touches.

The result is a face that appears youthful, more attractive and the opposite of the dreaded over pulled, wind swept appearance.

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

Radiesse can be used to shape the cheeks, chin and jawline. You can also fill in the nasolabial folds and marrionette lines with Radiesse. The effects last ~ 12months and seem to decrease around the 9th month after the initial injections. Radiesse can now be mixed with numbing solution (Lidocaine) which makes the injections much more comfortable. The entire treatment takes about 10-15 minutes and you can walk out of our beverly Hills office with a more youthful, attractive face.

Cheek area can be shaped and softened. The chin can be augmented and shaped. The jawline can be widened, augmented and given an increased flare imparting a more rugged, angular and handsome appearance to the face. The height of the nose can be increased and of course the facial folds and indentations can be filled using Radiesse.

There may be some residual swelling for a day or so using Radiesse over Perlane but some of our patients are willing to have that for the added longevity of the correction ( 12 months versus 9 months in our opinion).

Because the filler lasts about a year, you must be certain that the Radiesse is injected in the right place in the proper amount in order to make your face more aesthetic and naturally attractive. We have seen numerous patients, who had Radiesse injected elsewhere, where the face was deformed because the cheeks were too large…too wide or some other aesthetic issue. Learn the proper facial and body aesthetics you need to know in my new book: “What’s Your Number…the palmer code.
WE frequently combine Radiesse injectios with nasolabial micro-lipo and our “Celebrity Face Lift” to make people look 10 years younger in 90 minutes or less.

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

What could be easier than a 10 minute, in office, treatment that has the ability to decrease unwanted lines and wrinkles, fill in folds, plump the lips and create more aesthetically shaped cheeks, chin or jawline. These popular plastic and cosmetic treatments can do just that. Here in Beverly Hills, the greater Los Angeles area of Southern California, we have for over 20 years used these quick and easy treatments as a way to improve the appearance of our clients.

Restylane, Juvederm: Plump the lips, fill in nasolabial folds

Perlane, Radiesse: Create shape to the cheeks, chin and jaw line

Botox; soften unwanted lines and wrinkles and shape the face where over-active muscles create bulges or enlargements.

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