Nip This Tuck That

I have been performing Face Lifts for almost 25 years and I have seen the evolution from the Face Lifts in the mid 80′s that just pulled the face back until it looked like an alien creature more than a youthful version of a human being. Then came the 90′s with the more is better mentality in life and plastic surgery…so, the faces were pulled even tighter at ever increasingly deeper tissue levels causing many months of swelling and healing, yet something very basic was still missing…in my opinion.

Having trained with some of the world’s best plastic and cosmetic surgeons, here in Beverly Hills, I finished in 1990 and eagerly began practicing what I had been taught in the preceding 10 rigorous years. After just a few short months, it was obvious to me that the Face Lift techniques were aesthetically inadequate. In other words, these Face Lifts pulled the face and neck, tightened tissues and removed excess skin but the faces didn’t appear soft, natural and more attractive in many cases. To say the least, I was greatly disappointed and wondered what on earth I was going to do now.

Being a true Virgo, in nature, I made up my mind to learn what I needed to do what it was I wanted to do…make people more attractive in a highly consistent and reliable manner. I studied beautiful female and male faces until I identified a pattern. Inconspicuous at first, I adopted these patterns to my face Lifts and got astonishing results. Encouraged, I repeated this over and over again until they became part of my thinking, patient evaluation and surgical techniques.

And that’s the take home message here. The best, the very top plastic and cosmetic surgeons are just like the best in any field. They are the innovators, the ones that ask “why” or “why not” when confronted with perplexing and complicated issues. I don’t perform any one surgical technique accepting the aesthetic limitations it provides…instead, I modify the available surgical procedures to accomplish the desired aesthetic effect for each and every patient I touch. It’s my responsibility. It’s my calling. It’s what I do for a living. I make people more attractive in a highly predictable manner whether it’s Breast Augmentation, Rhinoplasty, Eyelid Surgery, Cheek Implants, Botox, Radiesse, Perlane or our “Palmer Celebrity Face Lift.” If Celebrities can look amazing…so can you.

Francis R Palmer III MD
Creator & Author: “What’s Your Number…the palmer code”
TV Appearances
Print Articles

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.”

A recent UK survey of 523 people in Manchester and London was recently conducted and 55 % of women want to change the size of their breasts. This comes as little surprise as society today places greater and greater emphasis on your appearance. Breast Augmentation with Breast Implants remains one of the most popular Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery procedure, especially in the 20-35 year-old group second , most likely, only to Rhinoplasty.

I believe that many women place as much emphasis, on the size and shape of their breasts, as men do with their hair. It can be very traumatic for a man to loose his hair as I believe it is for some women to have have small, deflated or sagged breasts. Plenty of celebrities have had Breast Augmentation with Breast Implants and these procedures have been the subject of numerous TV and tabloid stories.

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

Plastic & Cosmetic Surgery “Tip of the Day” from Beverly Hills Plastic and Cosmetic Surgeon, Dr Francis Palmer.

The Wall Street Journal had a story about Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery today….Breast Augmentation with Breast Implants is now the most popular plastic surgery procedure or at least it was in 2009. This is from data collected by one of the three organizations of surgeons who perform plastic and/or cosmetic surgery procedures like Breast Enhancement/Augmentation , Face Lifts and the like.

Liposuction was dethroned as the most popular, most commonly performed, plastic surgery procedure and was actually down about 17% from the previous year. The article also noted, which we have discussed here numerous times in the past, the increasing trend towards less invasive procedures. This was my motivation behind creating our minimum incision Face Lift the “Palmer Celebrity Face Lift” which was featured on ABC’s hit TV show “The View”. Botox and fillers like Restylane, Radiesse and Perlane remained popular.

Rhinoplasty was mentioned only in passing but according to my calculations, of published data from all three surgical groups who perform plastic and cosmetic surgery, remains the top or one of the top plastic surgery procedures performed year after year.

It is true that Breast Augmentation is popular and Silicone Breast Implants have gained popularity since the FDA lifted their restrictions some time back. I have seen two sets of patients that are interested in Breast Augmentation with Breast Implants. The first group are young women who have small breasts and would like the size and or shape improved. Silicone Breast Implants are available for women 22 years of age or older. Younger women would need to use Saline Breast Implants.

The second group of women interested in Breast Augmentation are those who have had children, or are older and wish to regain a more aesthetic breast size and shape using Breast Implants. These women may also need some form of Breast Lift along with the Breast Implants. I believe that all Breast Implants should be placed below the muscle which offers an additional layer of tissue above the Breast Implant.

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

Daily News Article questioning whether, or not Lindsay Lohan had Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery, more specifically Breast Implants for Breast Augmentation. Progressing from the top photos to the lower set, especially the one where Lindsay’s wearing the black tee, it appears that she may have had not only Breast Enhancement ( the breasts appear much more full) but also a Rhinoplasty to narrow and refine her nose…but only she knows for sure.

What we can say for sure, is that her “Number” went up from an 82 in the first set of pictures to a 91 (picture in black tee), out of a perfect 100, using The Palmer Code.

Credits: Allegri/Getty; Prouser/Reuters
before Breast Augmentation?

Credits: Getty/Miller, Walker
In the black tee after Breast Augmentation?

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.

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

What constitutes the best plastic and cosmetic surgery treatments and procedures from the top plastic and cosmetic surgeons in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, Southern California and United States?

Consistently great aesthetic results!

The Best Face Lifts: The best Face Lifts leave the face appearing naturally youthful and attractive without being over-pulled or looking tight. The best surgeons at the top of their game must have an impeccable grasp of the aesthetics of beauty as outlined in my new book: “What’s Your Number…the palmer code.” The best face Lifts make womens faces appear more feminine and mens faces more ruggedly handsome. The specific version of facelift performed is far less important than the adherence to these aesthetic guidelines. Our “Celebrity Lift” is a perfect example of just such a Facelift.

The Best Rhinoplasty (nasal surgery, nose jobs): Probably the most misunderstood, yet most popular, of all plastic and cosmetic surgery procedures, Rhinoplasty should adhere to a strict set of goals in order to get inspired aesthetic results. The best Rhinoplasties should make the nose appear soft and refined without making it look “done” or “operated.” The nasal bridge height and width should be proportional to the width and thickness of the nasal tip allowing womens noses to be more delicate than mens. It should be understood that no one’s face is made beautiful by making the nose beautiful. The nose has a supporting role in facial beauty and once it is made sleek and refined, the face’s top beauty features are allowed to show: cheeks, eye area and lips. Of course, if these features are not ideally shaped, the face will appear less attractive despite a perfectly performed Rhinoplasty.

Next time, we’ll discuss Eyelid Surgery, Cheek and Chin Implants as well as the best Breast Implants and Breast Augmentation.

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