From an evolutionary perspective, the eyebrows serve a functional purpose: to prevent sweat, water, and dirt from getting into the eyes. But from a modern perspective, the eyebrows mean much more in terms of expression, facial beauty, and age. The entire brow area can greatly influence how attractive, youthful, and sociable you look. If your brows do not present a favorable image of who you are, you can soften your brows with BOTOX® Cosmetic to achieve a more flattering appearance.

Brows Without BOTOX® Cosmetic

When it comes to enhancing the brow area, modern tools and tactics like eyebrow threading, microblading, and pencil liner can only go so far. Even with these techniques, brows without BOTOX® Cosmetic will gradually begin to show signs of aging over time. Furrows between the brows may slowly become permanently etched into the skin, and the brows may develop skin laxity and sag over the eyes. Without effective treatment, your brows may single-handedly give you a harsh, angry, old, and/or worn appearance.

Brows With BOTOX® Cosmetic

Non-surgical facial enhancement with BOTOX® Cosmetic or Dysport® injections can soften your brows to help you look more youthful and attractive. These injections temporarily paralyze certain facial muscles in the brow and eye area so that they are forced to relax, causing the wrinkles to disappear. After treatment with BOTOX® Cosmetic, frown lines and other brow wrinkles fade away, giving you a much more youthful, rested, and approachable look. BOTOX® Cosmetic can give you a more attractive appearance with only a single 15-minute treatment and no downtime at all. Non-surgical treatment for brow wrinkles could be the perfect solution for your needs. Since Dr. Joshua Halpern is one of the pioneers of the endoscopic/mini-scar brow lifts and he is one of the most experienced surgeons in his field, he combines his intimate knowledge of the brow’s anatomy to give you a very natural result.

Popularly known as the “lunchtime facelift,” BOTOX® Cosmetic can soften your brows and eliminate wrinkles around the eyes to significantly enhance your appearance. For more information, schedule your personal consultation by calling (813) 872-2696 or by filling out our online contact form today.

Categories: BOTOX® Cosmetic

If you have stubborn fat pockets that persist despite all your attempts to eliminate them with dieting and exercise, you are not alone. To help individuals like you achieve their aesthetic goals, experts in plastic surgery have developed advanced technologies that can reduce unwanted body fat. UltraShape® is a non-invasive fat reduction procedure that can improve your body shape where diet and exercise fail.

Where a Healthy Lifestyle May Fail You

A healthy diet and regular exercise can be highly effective in helping you lose weight. These elements of a healthy lifestyle may not only improve your body shape but will also improve your health in numerous other ways. However, even if you do cardio or strength training exercises that target specific areas of your body, there is no guarantee that your body will respond by shedding excess fat from those areas. You may whittle your body down to your desired number on the scale but still have stubborn fat in your abdomen, thighs, or other areas.

A Non-Invasive Method With Effective Results

UltraShape® is a solution for many candidates who would like to improve their body contour. Using ultrasonic energy, UltraShape® stresses the fat cell membranes and causes them to rupture without damaging the surrounding tissues in the treatment area. The body then breaks down the damaged fat cells over the next few weeks and permanently eliminates them as waste. As a non-invasive procedure, unlike other technologies UltraShape® is pain-free, leaves no scars, and has no recovery time. Results may be visible in as little as two weeks, and after just a few treatments, your ideal results can be achieved. This procedure is ideal for individuals who have stubborn fat from aging, fat deposits that have formed due to an underlying medical condition, men or boys with excess fat in the chest area, or those who are simply looking to lose a few more inches. UltraShape® is a non-invasive fat reduction method that can permanently eliminate stubborn fat and enhance your body shape.

If you are interested in learning more about non-invasive, permanent fat reduction with UltraShape®, schedule your personal consultation with board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Joshua Halpern. To book your appointment, call (813) 872-2696 or fill out our online contact form today.

Categories: Body Contouring, Non-Surgical Procedures, UltraShape®

If your eyes are a lovely and rare shade of green, you may be proud to say that you got them from your father. However, if your father also gave you prominent, protruding ears, you may be less proud to wear that badge of honor. Genetics can be friend or foe, but when it comes to inheriting prominent ears, otoplasty presents a solution. Otoplasty, or ear surgery, can reshape your ears and lessen their protrusion so that they look more natural and balanced with your face.

The Benefits of Ear Surgery

People undergo ear surgery for a variety of reasons. In most cases, they are motivated by a desire to normalize and minimize the appearance of their ears. Ears that protrude or that are overly large can make children the brunt of jokes, teasing, and ridicule. They can also cause social anxiety, isolation from peers, and poor self-image that persists into adulthood. Ear surgery helps improve the shape, size, and protrusion of the ears to give them a more natural appearance. In so doing, this procedure can eliminate the cause of teasing and help you feel more comfortable around others. Many patients benefit by experiencing improvements in self-confidence, self-esteem, and sociability as well.

Achieving a Balanced Appearance

When the ears are oversized, prominent, or undesirably shaped, your whole appearance may look off balance. Your ears may give you a “Dumbo” or a “Dopey” appearance, drawing stares and detracting from your other facial features. Otoplasty can improve facial balance and symmetry by manipulating ear cartilage so that your ears look more natural. The results of otoplasty often improve your overall look and attract more attention to your eyes, your smile, and your face as a 

Adults or children as young as age 5 or 6 can benefit from ear surgery. If you would like to achieve more balanced facial symmetry, schedule your personal consultation to learn whether otoplasty is right for you. Call (813) 872-2696 or complete our online contact form to reach us today.

Categories: Ear Surgery, Otoplasty

3 Min Read

After breast augmentation, most patients can look forward to a complication-free life for many years. Breast implants typically last a decade or longer before they need to be replaced, but some implants may rupture or deflate at any time. If you experience implant rupture or implant deflation, Dr. Joshua Halpern can perform a secondary breast procedure to clean out the breast pocket and replace your damaged implants with new implants that are fully intact. 

The Durability of Implants

Implants are not designed to rupture. If they were, they would not be considered long-lasting devices and would not be suitable for breast augmentation. Silicone and saline implants are both manufactured with a strong, silicone shell that is meant to withstand the surgery as well as regular, day-to-day activities. Newer generation implants are increasingly resilient and last even longer than previous generations. Still, even though they are highly durable, damage can cause implants to develop a rupture or tear in the outer shell.

Causes of Implant Rupture

Implant rupture is usually caused by damage to the implant or breast, but there are other causes as well. Here are the most common causes:

• Physical trauma: Physical stresses, trauma, intense pressure, or other injuries or rough handling of the breasts can lead to implant rupture.
• Capsular contracture: If the scar capsule constricts around the implant, it may cause the implant to rupture.
• Age of the implant: The longer you have breast implants, the greater the chance that one of them will rupture.
• Procedural damage: Compression during a mammogram or damage during a biopsy or other breast procedure can cause implant rupture.
• Decompensation of the valve: This can lead to the deflation of saline implants.

If a breast implant has ruptured because of any of these reasons, it is important to be able to identify it and treat it. Ruptured implants can cause complications or symptoms. For instance, a ruptured silicone implant may cause pain, swelling, lumps, or changes in breast shape. Dr. Halpern can help you identify whether implant rupture has occurred and can recommend treatment.

Identifying Implant Rupture

Implant rupture can occur in both silicone and saline implants, though it is also referred to as “deflation” in saline implants. When a saline implant deflates or ruptures, the saline solution leaks out into the breast pocket. This is harmless to the body, but it causes a noticeable difference in the appearance of the breasts because the affected breast will appear to shrink in size. When a silicone implant ruptures, it can be unnoticeable. This is known as “silent rupture” and often requires a mammogram to accurately identify it. The gel of a silicone implant may either remain in the implant shell or may seep out into the scar tissue. The loose silicone gel must be cleaned out through breast revision surgery.

Treatment for Ruptured Implants

The treatment for ruptured implants requires a secondary surgical procedure. Dr. Halpern is one of the most experienced plastic surgeons in the nation regarding the repair of implants for patients who have undergone breast augmentation by other physicians. He has lectured to plastic surgeons on the subject. During the procedure, Dr. Halpern removes the ruptured implants and loose silicone. He also excises the scar tissue to remove any trace of incorporated silicone from the rupture event. If patients desire new implants, Dr. Halpern then inserts new implants either with or without a lift. With this revisionary breast surgery, Dr. Halpern can correct these issues related to implant rupture.

Dr. Joshua Halpern is an expert breast surgeon who frequently performs implant repair and replacement for women in need of breast revision. If one of your breast implants has ruptured, schedule your consultation with Dr. Halpern today by calling (813) 872-2696 or by filling out our online contact form.

Categories: Ruptured Implants