New Jersey Plastic Surgeons

The 36 million Americans who suffer from regular migraines may have a new friend in a common plastic surgery procedure that’s reported to be helpful in alleviating the powerful headaches. Surprisingly, this new treatments comes from a common cosmetic surgery procedure that’s usually only considered for beautification purposes.

It turns out that the elective surgery of a “forehead lift” may really be a good way to almost completely eliminate migraines from people who regularly suffer from them. A forehead lift consists of smoothing out the skin on the forehead to make wrinkles disappear. To do this muscles around the temple and forhead often have to be slightly shifted or moved to smooth out the forehead. During the cosmetic surgery it is thought that perhaps the muscles around the forehead that are thought to be responsible for the migraines are loosened and deactivated, which almost completely eliminates migraines completely.

A study published in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery reported that 57 percent of patients who received the forehead lift surgery reported a a complete ceasation of migraine headaches one year after undergoing the procedure. And even if the headaches weren’t completely eliminated, 83% reported a partial improvement in relief from migraine headaches. The procedure studied was designed specifically for migraine relief and was slightly different from a traditional forehead lift that is performed for strictly cosmetic reasons.

For years there have been unscientific studies and anecdotes about Botox injections in the forehead behind used to prevent migraine headaches. The problem with Botox is that it’s not a permanent solutions and migraines were returning to most patients within three or four months. The few migraine sufferers who have undergone forehead lift surgery, however, largely report a lessening of migraine symptoms and recurrences. Just as with Botox, some migraine victims who happened to have a forehead lift later reported have many fewer migraine headaches after the procedure was done.

This forehead lift procedure designed for eliminating migraines is still a fairly new process and the initial study was one a relatively small group of people. It may be years before the process is perfected and widely offered if it ever is fully adopted by most plastic surgeons. The study also had a rather high placebo success rate, which indicates that the high success rate may not be completely due to the surgery alone. There are plenty of plastic surgeons in New York and New Jersey who are currently performing forehead lifts for cosmetic reasons but we’re not yet aware of any aiming to reduce migraine headaches with them.

More mature men and women are actually helping to raise up the number of cosmetic surgeries performed every year. The population of the United States is getting older but unlike earlier generations, this generation has placed a much higher value on physical beauty. The Baby Boomer population is defined as the children born after World War II from the years 1946 to 1964. As the Baby Boomers get older many are trying to hold on to their youthful looks more than ever.

There are lots of different causes behind the increase in the acceptance of plastic surgery. Reality cosmetic surgeon television shows compete with dramatic shows featuring good-looking plastic surgeons helping all sorts of equally sexy people. Plastic surgery is more accepted now. Lots of people are saying in the work force longer than they used to and those more mature people want to look as good as their more youthful office mates and co-workers. In fact, some studies have shown that better looking people actually make more money than their less attractive co-workers.

This Baby Boomer generation is also the first group of people to grow up with a real emphasis on healthy living. They have a healthy eating regimen, they workout on a daily basis and they want to look as youthful as they still feel. Cosmetic surgery can make a person’s exterior body look as good as they may feel internally. While many young people turn to cosmetic surgery to attract a mate many older people use plastic surgery to simply look younger by a few years and improve their self-esteem.

Skin and surface procedures such as laser facial peels, Botox injections, and wrinkle filling procedures are often the first cosmetic surgical procedures tried. Lots of the more commonly performed procedures are meant to improve the skin, especially after decades of growing up without sun block. The most common plastic surgery request by far is the application of Botox to smooth out wrinkly skin.

Men usually opt for cosmetic procedures such as eyelid lifts, face smoothing and other operations that make them look more youthful at the office. It is not just women who are seeing the local cosmetic surgeon. Most people think of cosmetic surgery as something that appeals more to women, but that’s not always the case. It’s true that a lot of older women are opting so-called “mommy make-overs” which usually consists of breast augmentation, a breast raising and a tummy tuck.

Plastic surgery is not just for the young anymore – it’s now a valid way for Baby Boomers to keep feeling young and healthy. As more older people continue to seek ways to look and feel younger there will be more plastic surgeons there to serve them. The growing Baby Boomer population is more health conscious and more interested hanging on to their natural health for as long as possible.

Some plastic surgeons are beginning to refuse to work with patients who aren’t willing to give up their smoking habit before and after their cosmetic surgery procedure.  Dr. Vincent Giampapa, a board-certified plastic surgeon from Montclair, NJ recently told his patient Lisa Morrison who wanted a neck and eye lift to stop smoking before having her cosmetic surgery. 

This ban on smoking isn’t just limited to New Jersey plastic surgeons.  Plastic and cosmetic surgeons from around the country are starting to tell their patients that they must quit smoking for at least several weeks before and after most elective cosmetic surgeries. Patients who undergo plastic surgery often don’t think of smoking as being anymore harmful than any other activity, but there are now several studies that show how much smoking can adversely affect healing and recovery from any sort of surgery, including cosmetic surgery.

What does smoking do to your body when it’s recovering from plastic surgery?
People who smoke regularly or who are subjected to second-hand smoke on a regular basis are generally less healthy than their non-smoking peers even before surgery.  Years of smoking can permanently constrict blood vessels (a condition called  “vasoconstriction”) which makes healing a harder process and may contribute to smokers statistically having a higher rate of infection and respiratory complications due to anesthesia.

Smoking before or after plastic surgery leaves patients at risk for many healing problems, including increased change of infection, longer bruising times, possible scarring, sagging and even persistent pulmonary problems.  A large part of those complications are due to the way smoking restricts blood flow and oxygen to parts of the body that may need it the most – the parts that need to heal from the surgery.

Many plastic surgeons are also choosing the procedures they before on patients based on whether or not their patients are smokers.  The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) reports that most plastic surgeons do not perform procedures involving skin flaps or skin separation on smokers because of the increased health risks and healing problems associated with smoking.

Plastic surgeons, such as New Jersey plastic surgeon Vincent Giampapa not only have their patients” health in mind, but also their own reputation.  It isn’t a good advertisement for their services if one of their patients is healing slowly, scarring or generally not feeling well for a long time after surgery. 

Plastic surgery patients are walking advertisements for their doctors and word of mouth is one of the best ways to find a plastic surgeon in New Jersey or anywhere else.