How to Maintain Plastic Surgery Results: Advice from Dallas Plastic Surgeons

Southlake Plastic Surgery

How to Maintain Your Plastic Surgery Results: Advice from Dallas Plastic Surgeons

So you just had plastic surgery to correct or enhance your features—now what? We may be the first to tell you this, but your plastic surgery transformation does not end when we remove the stitches! You’ve taken the time and money to invest in yourself, and now you must continue that investment to maintain your results.

At Southlake Plastic Surgery, our Dallas Plastic surgeons, Dr. Mark E. Mason & Dr. Dinah Wan receive many questions from patients about how to maximize the longevity of their plastic surgery results.

Our experienced plastic surgery and med spa team recommend several strategies, both at home and in-office, that can help you maintain your plastic surgery results for years to come. Keep reading to learn more!

What should I do right after surgery to maintain my plastic surgery results?

We see plastic surgery patients back at our office in 24 to 48 hours post-surgery. Dr. Mason or Dr. Wan will evaluate the area and incision(s), change dressings if necessary, and provide additional instructions or prescriptions based on your condition.

3 to 5 days after surgery, most patients can have their stitches or sutures removed. From there, we will advise you to rest, drink plenty of fluids, and give you incision care instructions (plus a free scar gel) to ensure a successful recovery with optimal results.

In the weeks after your surgery, mind your surgeon’s restrictions, eat only nutrient-dense foods, drink lots of water, and take the time you need to rest and recuperate. This puts you on the best track to maintain your investment in yourself long-term.

The quick answer: follow your Dallas plastic surgeons’ post-op instructions to a T! We will be with you every step of the way.

At 6 months post-op, patients have their last follow-up appointment with their surgeon. During this visit, our team will discuss long-term maintenance recommendations to ensure you get the most out of the time you’ve spent carefully recovering.

Maintaining Body Contouring Results Long-Term

When we alter some parts of the body by inserting implants or reshaping bone structures, the results are virtually permanent since it involves a fundamental change in structure.Body contouring procedures, on the other hand, require work on your end to maintain the results. Consider this: After adolescence, the body does not produce any new fat cells. Past your early twenties, when you gain or lose weight, the fat cells you have expand or contract, respectively. Using several liposuction methods, our Dallas plastic surgeons can remove unwanted fat cells. Once we remove those fat cells, we eliminate them for good—they can’t return. However, the fat cells that remain can continue to expand with future weight gain, altering or reversing the results of your liposuction procedure.

What body contouring procedures does Southlake Plastic Surgery offer?

When we consult with a plastic surgery patient who desires a smoother, slimmer shape, we typically recommend liposuction, paired with a surgical skin tightening procedure like:

At Southlake Plastic Surgery, our surgeons offer liposuction using several methods. Each removes excess fat, but varies slightly in procedure depending on your unique goals, the area from which we’re removing fat, and your overall body type and condition.

Our Dallas plastic surgeons specialize in the SAFE lipo technique, VASER liposuction, and many other methods.

Learn more about treating unwanted fat with liposuction→

We can remove unwanted excess fat from almost anywhere on the body, though many patients focus on bulges or areas of fat on:

  • Neck
  • Upper arms
  • Back fat and “bra rolls”
  • Armpit (or axillary) fat
  • Tummy “pooches”
  • Love handles
  • Around the hips
  • Thighs

To get dramatic body contouring results, many patients opt for a lift procedure at the same time as liposuction to address loose or sagging skin, especially after significant weight loss or pregnancy.

To perform an arm lift, body lift, or tummy tuck, our Dallas plastic surgeons carefully trim away excess skin while pulling what remains tight around the new contours. They expertly position the incisions in the least noticeable places to give you gorgeous, natural-looking results.

What can I do to maintain the results of my body contouring surgery?

Proper maintenance of the results of a body contouring plastic surgery procedure requires a comprehensive approach. In addition to evaluating and refining your personal habits, there are other proactive steps you can take to ensure the results of your surgical lift and liposuction last.

Diet

These days, saying “Eat a healthy diet,” is almost a cliché, but it’s because it’s true! A nutrient-rich diet made up of fresh foods and lean protein is the best way to ensure the longevity of your plastic surgery results (not to mention helping you live better, longer!).

Forget the fad diets—cut processed food and sugars, try to switch to natural sugar (i.e. fruits, honey) when you have a craving, watch your intake of simple carbs carefully, switch your sodas to water, and eat moderate-sized portions only when you’re hungry!

Sometimes, you’re going to overindulge at the holidays or on vacation, and that’s okay! Keeping your diet in check 90% of the time will help you manage the times when you just gotta have a second piece of pie or a fancy fruity drink without busting your investment in yourself.

Exercise

Adopting an exercise regimen is another life-prolonging tip that also helps you maintain the results of body contouring surgery. Once you’re cleared to exercise by your Dallas plastic surgeon, it’s essential to hit the gym.

Avoid overexertion by getting back into your workout routine gently. Sign up for Pilates training, take walks or short hikes, and other low-impact activities before taking on high-intensity exercise. Long term, try for a good balance between cardio and strength training. Not only will it help you maintain your new body shape, it also helps you feel healthier and happier!

Good self-care practices

To maintain your plastic surgery results in the short and long term, adopting good skin care (and self-care) practices will take you far. Since you’re already familiar with Southlake Plastic Surgery & Med Spa, it’s likely you’re already familiar with what it takes to maintain healthy, beautiful skin.

Following your plastic surgery, we will provide you with exact incision care instructions. Scars are inevitable, but they don’t have to be obvious if you care for them properly! Our patients receive a complimentary silicone-based scar gel to use and we will schedule a free laser scar treatment in the med spa to further smooth the skin and even the tone of your incision area(s).

Learn more about our scar treatment options→

It’s also crucial to keep incisions away from sun exposure. Any unprotected exposure can lead to the darkening of your scar. This skin is also particularly sensitive to burning, which can cause tissue damage or even skin cancer. Any time you go outside, even if your scars are covered by a physical barrier (i.e. clothing, a bandage), it’s smart to apply SPF 50+ as well.

Excessive or unprotected sun exposure also breaks down your skin’s elasticity. If you’ve had a surgical lift procedure, we shouldn’t have to explain the importance of staying in the shade to avoid undoing the results!

Besides carefully following our incision care instructions, it’s also important you mind your surgeon’s postoperative activity restrictions. Following our guidelines to a T helps you see the best plastic surgery results and ensures the smoothest healing process.

Visit the Southlake Plastic Surgery Med Spa

Just like you must do your own work to maintain your results post-op, we do not consider our job finished when your surgery is complete. Our plastic surgery patients become very familiar with the Southlake Plastic Surgery Med Spa and enjoy the non-surgical enhancements and procedures we offer to help them maintain their best look.

Besides treatments to minimize scars, we also offer non-surgical body contouring treatments that can help maintain the results of liposuction or surgical lift for years to come!

Non-surgical body contouring treatments at the Southlake Plastic Surgery Med Spa to enhance or maintain your plastic surgery results

 

CoolSculpting®

One of our most popular med spa treatments, CoolSculpting helps patients eliminate areas of stubborn unwanted fat. Using advanced cryotherapy technology, we use CoolSculpting to target and freeze fat cells. Once frozen, these fat cells die naturally and your body eliminates them.

There might be several reasons someone who’s had liposuction or surgical lift might consider CoolSculpting treatments:

  • To reduce small areas of unwanted fat on the abdomen to complement a tummy tuck (e.g. bra fat, love handles, flanks)
  • To treat fat under the chin to create an overall slimmer look after liposuction or a lift
  • To balance post-surgery proportions

When to consider it
Of course, no CoolSculpting procedure should be performed until you fully heal and your final results have set in.

Reevaluate your results 4 to 6 years after surgery and if you find you could use a touch up, CoolSculpting could be the perfect non-surgical option!

Kybella®

Many patients who’ve undergone an extreme weight loss seek surgical body contouring procedures to address the remaining diet & exercise-resistant fat and excess skin.

If you’ve undergone a body lift after weight loss or pregnancy weight gain, you may have some excess submental fat (AKA a double chin) you’d like to address for an overall slimmer appearance. Double chins can be difficult, if not impossible, to get rid of on your own. You’ve worked really hard so far, after all—so let us help with this one! Or rather, let Kybella help.

With a series of in-office injections, we can significantly reduce or eliminate your double chin! This FDA-approved injectable uses a substance already found in your body, deoxycholic acid, to dissolve unwanted fat cells. Like you already know, when we eliminate fat cells, they cannot return!

SkinTyte™

Like the name suggests, we use SkinTyte to address sagging skin with no downtime. If your tummy tuck didn’t address or if you have a small area of slightly sagging skin that doesn’t yet require surgery, don’t worry! SkinTyte has you covered.

SkinTyte uses pulsed light technology to heat into the deep layers of skin. Your body reacts to this heat by signaling the skin to increase collagen and elastin production in the treated area. Over time, the renewed collagen foundational layer makes your skin appear smoother, tighter, and more youthful.

Maintaining Facial Surgery Results For Years To Come

The ways in which a skilled surgeon can refine facial features are almost endless. He or she can turn back the clock on wrinkles and creases, carve the perfect cheekbones, repair a deformity, chisel a jawline, and more.

As you probably have guessed, despite surgery providing the longest-lasting and best results, facial plastic surgery requires ongoing care on your part to protect your investment in yourself.

At Southlake Plastic Surgery, we offer the following facial procedures:

Often, many patients pair several procedures together for overall facial rejuvenation. For example, since a facelift lifts and tightens the lower portion of the face, it may be best to also perform a brow lift and eyelid surgery at the same time to address loose skin in other locations for a balanced look.

What helps maintain the results of facial plastic surgery?

Once you make the investment in facial plastic surgery, it’s important that you understand how to maintain your new look. While facial plastic surgery lasts a long time, the more you maintain your skin’s appearance and critical support structures like collagen, the better your results will look over the long term.

Some of our top recommendations include:

Don’t Smoke

Even if you were a smoker before your facelift surgery, you had to quit for about 6 to 8 weeks to be healthy enough to go under the knife. Now that you’ve quit, stay quit!

You already know most of the reasons you should not smoke, but if you’ve had facial plastic surgery, you can add another reason to the list: it will ruin your results. Smoking interferes with healing, and how you heal affects how your face will look after surgery. Smoking also causes premature aging. The toxins in cigarettes break down collagen and elastin, causing wrinkles. In short, smoking sabotages your surgical results—and that certainly isn’t the worst it can do.

Use High Quality Skincare Products, Consistently

 

The products you use on your skin daily are extremely important. Just as important, if not more, than your trips to our office!

After your facial surgery, we will introduce you to the best skincare products to use while you heal. This will probably include a combination of medical-grade products from our in-house SPS brand, SkinMedica®, or other professional grade brands we have access to. After you’ve healed, we are also happy to help you build a daily skincare regimen that works for you long term to address your skin’s needs.

It’s not enough to have the right products, you also must use them! Set two daily alarms that remind you to do your morning skincare and SPF, and to take off your makeup at night, followed by your nighttime routine. No excuses to skip!

SPF = BFF

We’ve already harped on you about exposure to the sun, but it really can’t be said enough. UV radiation is the biggest cause of premature aging and the deadliest form of skin cancer—but exposure is very preventable with proper care!

To protect your face and neck from UV exposure, apply SPF 30+ daily (and reapply several times!), stay in the shade as much as possible, avoid deliberate tanning, and invest in several fashionable brimmed hats to wear while outdoors.

How to maintain facelift results with med spa treatments

Don’t forget, the Southlake Plastic Surgery Med Spa is here to supplement your own efforts to maintain the results of your facial plastic surgery.

Though a facelift can turn back the clock on your appearance by 10 years or more, it can’t stop the clock altogether. The tightened skin that remains is still subject to wrinkles, lines, and sagging with age and sun exposure.

To maintain their results, we commonly see facial surgery patients to perform the following treatments in our med spa:

Botox®

 

Not only do Botox injections minimize or eliminate dynamic wrinkles (e.g. crow’s feet, frown lines), it also prevents new wrinkles from forming because of these facial movements.

A traditional facelift focuses on the lower two-thirds of the face, so you may have wrinkles on your brow or around your eyes that your surgeon couldn’t address. Using a combination of strategically placed Botox and filler (more on fillers below), we can lift and rejuvenate the upper third of your face to give you a balanced, all around more youthful appearance.

Getting on a regular Botox schedule with the pro injectors at Southlake Plastic Surgery after you’ve healed from your facelift surgery will help you safeguard your results for years to come.

Fillers

We can do a lot with fillers. Whether it’s defining your jawline, reshaping your chin, filling in a wrinkle or scar, lifting your cheekbones, or plumping your lips, there are many ways fillers can complement and extend the results of a facial surgery.

Don’t worry, we aren’t fans of the Real Housewives’ overfilled looks either. Our experienced injectors take a conservative approach to fillers. Starting small and building up volume over time is the best way to achieve natural-looking results.

Another smart way to use fillers? A “try it before you buy it” for plastic surgery procedures like rhinoplasty or facial implants! Fillers are temporary (you need to inject more after 6 to 14 months) and dissolvable—use that to your advantage to test out whether certain permanent procedures will really give you the results you want.

Note: If you find a look you really love with hyaluronic acid fillers, we can use Sculptra®, a poly-l-lactic acid collagen stimulating filler designed to last several years, or fat grafting, a surgical fat transfer that moves unwanted fat to areas where it’s desired in the face, to offer longer lasting or permanent results.

BBL Photofacial

The key to tight, plump, youthful skin is collagen. As we age, our body slows its natural collagen production, resulting in sagging, lackluster skin. The good news? We can encourage collagen production in the body with the power of focused pulsing light!

Photofacials with our advanced Forever Young BBL™ device knock out hyperpigmentation and redness in the skin while also delivering heat deep to the collagen layer of skin. The heat prompts the body’s natural healing response to kick in, signaling fibroblasts to produce more collagen and elastin.

In the weeks and months following a BBL Photofacial, your skin’s foundational structure replenishes itself with shiny new collagen and elastin. We recommend scheduling a BBL Photofacial every 6 to 12 months to maintain a youthful appearance and keep up the results of your surgical facial lifting procedure. BBL Photofacial is unique in that patients who regularly get these treatments improve their skin health over time; the light therapy reverses the skin aging process by changing the genetic expression of aging skin cells.

SkinTyte

We’ve already discussed how SkinTyte works, but it deserves another mention for helping maintain facial surgery results! Not only can it help tighten skin on the body, it’s also great for tightening up mild loose skin on the cheeks, jawline, brow, and neck..

Though a surgical lifting procedure is the best choice for significantly sagging skin, SkinTyte could help you manage loose skin on your brow after a facelift if you aren’t yet a candidate for a surgical brow lift. It can also be used preventatively to delay the need for a full facelift.

Maintaining the results of a surgical breast procedure

Surgical breast augmentation is one of our most popular procedures. Patients who feel dissatisfied with underdeveloped, sagging, or asymmetrical breasts come to us about their concerns, longing for the enhancement that a surgical reshaping, lift, and/or breast implants offer.

Read our guide to breast implants→

What many don’t consider, however, is the long-term upkeep of breast implants or a breast lift. First, if you have implants, it’s important to see our Dallas plastic surgeons who can routinely check for abnormalities that may require the implant to be removed or replaced. We recommend having an MRI every few years to verify that your implants are healthy and in place.

 

After your breast surgery, it’s important to take the following measures at home and incorporate other practices into your routine:

Take time to recover

We’ve mentioned it already, but not following your surgeon’s instructions and restrictions after surgery risks improper healing and compromised breast augmentation results.

Giving your breasts time to heal and taking special care of them during the initial days and weeks after breast surgery leads to better long-term results. Gorgeous implants five years from now start the minute you head home from surgery. Your surgeon will provide you with detailed recovery and post breast augmentation care instructions; follow them!

Wear properly fitting bras

Studies show that wearing bras with too much lift can actually weaken the supportive ligaments and muscles that keep your breasts perky. This can potentially speed up the aging process, as during the times you skip wearing a bra, your muscles can’t handle the weight of your breasts on their own. This causes the skin to stretch and can cause sagging or even stretch marks.

We recommend seeking a professional bra fitting and finding something that fits properly, holding your breasts up against gravity, but also isn’t overly supportive. Regularly targeting your pectorals and other supportive muscles in your chest with exercise can also help you maintain perky, youthful looking breasts.

Sleep on your back

It might feel more comfortable to you, but sleeping on your stomach or side keeps the ligaments in your breasts loose, causing them to lengthen over time and prematurely sag. Sleeping on your back provides the ligaments support and reduces the pull of gravity.

If you struggle to stay positioned on your back throughout the night, try placing a pillow under each arm to keep your body in place.

Care for your skin

Hopefully after your daily shower you replenish your skin with a body moisturizer. If you don’t, get on that. Then, make sure you take care to moisturize the skin over your breasts every day!

Caring for your skin by keeping it properly hydrated helps it look supple, soft, and keeps it elastic enough to support your breasts without creating stretch marks or sagging.

It’s also important to remember that unprotected UV exposure can cause your skin to lose elasticity and sag, which is exactly what you don’t want right after a breast lift. Keep that delicate skin on your chest slathered in SPF 50+ and do your best to keep it physically covered while in direct sunlight.

Avoid large weight fluctuations

Just like weight gain can ruin the results of a body contouring procedure, it can also affect the results of a breast augmentation. Large changes in your weight can cause the breast tissue to sag.

After breast augmentation, try to maintain a steady weight with a healthy diet and routine exercise! Take care to give your body the nutrient-dense fuel it needs to keep your skin and muscles strong.

You should also take your future plans into consideration before scheduling a breast augmentation procedure. Most women who wait until they are finished having children find they can much more easily maintain their results than women who get pregnant following a surgical breast procedure.

If you have underdeveloped breasts and choose to have implants placed earlier in life, a breast lift following pregnancy and breastfeeding may be necessary to restore their original perkiness.

Pay our med spa a visit

There are several routes we can take to keep your breasts and chest looking their best in our med spa. To address mild sagging, sun damage, wrinkles, or crepiness on the neck and decolletage area, we can offer:

Many of these treatments work to address superficial skin concerns (uneven tone or texture) while also encouraging collagen and elastin production to create a fuller, more youthful look. Our skin experts can work with you to consult on the best med spa treatments for you.

Why turn to the Dallas plastic surgeons at Southlake Plastic Surgery?

 

At Southlake Plastic Surgery, we are fortunate to have two amazing Dallas plastic surgeons on staff: Dr. Mark E. Mason and Dr. Dinah Wan.

Dr. Mason has decades of experience as a board-certified Plastic Surgeon and has a proven track record as one of the best plastic surgeons in the Dallas and Ft. Worth area.

Dr. Mason graduated first in his medical school class at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, and completed his plastic surgery residency at Stanford University Medical Center in Stanford, California.

He has practiced in north Tarrant County since April 2000, performing thousands of procedures for grateful patients who regularly report a five-star experience during the surgical process and with their results.

During Dr. Dinah Wan’s time with us, she has become known as another top board-certified plastic surgeon in DFW.

Dr. Wan received her medical degree from The Ohio State University College of Medicine and completed her six-year specialty training in plastic surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, one of the top ranking plastic surgery residency programs in the country.

After completing an aesthetic surgery fellowship at the Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute and receiving specialized training in cosmetic surgery of the face and body, Dr. Wan joined our team. Dr. Dinah Wan is also certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.

Let our team help you maintain your plastic surgery results

Southlake Plastic Surgery is dedicated to providing the best plastic surgery procedures in Dallas, Ft. Worth, and surrounding areas.

Our expert team of talented aesthetic professionals is here to help you look and feel your best.

Additionally, our AAAASF-accredited plastic surgery center in Dallas is headed by our medical director and board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Mark Mason. He has been helping patients for over 20 years and holds surgical privileges at several hospitals in the Dallas area.

Contact us to learn about your options and schedule a one-on-one consultation to determine the best course of action to treat your concerns.

Use our instant consultation to tell us about your areas of concern, or schedule your first consultation today.

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