Knoxville Plastic Surgery Insider

How long is the wait to get in?
This is a question I am frequently asked as I help new patients find a time for a new patient consultation with Dr. Reath. It's one of the hardest parts of my job! You see most of our patients have spent a lot of time researching and thinking about (even dreaming about) the procedures they are interested in and, understandably so, by the time they call to schedule a consultation, they are excited, and a little nervous, and READY TO GO! Although I hate disappointing folks (I’m no different – I’m the girl that orders everything I can through Amazon just so I can get cheap next day shipping!) the truth is when it comes to a quality plastic surgeon, sometimes a bit of a wait can be a very good thing.

A wait is good??!! 
Yes!  When it comes to picking a plastic surgeon, a wait can be a good thing!  A wait for a new patient consultation is a good indication that the physician you would like to meet with is well-established with a solid reputation. Any manager of a successful practice will tell you that 80% or more of their patients come from word of mouth, and referrals from friends of happy patients. (Always a good sign, unless you don’t like your friends…In which case we have a special list….) Just kidding.

But seriously, if you find a practice with no wait (and don’t even get me started on discounts and coupons) they might be hurting for happy referrals. Sure, if you search enough, you may find an office that can get you in within a week. However, for most elite surgeons, that would be the result of a patient cancellation and not the norm. If you find a physician who wants to rush you in right away, you may want to ask yourself why that is.

I have written about plastic surgery for graduation before, but as this is the time of the year when we starting getting  announcements from our family and friends with children who are graduating from high school and college, it is a good time to revisit the subject. As you might imagine, doing what I do, I occasionally get questions about plastic surgery as a graduation present. Is this a good gift? Generally, I would probably say, no.

My Graduation Gift Thoughts
Philosophically, I have never been a believer of rewarding my kids with gifts or money for getting good grades. Just as my job is to do good work in the operating room, I believe a student's job is to do the best work he or she can in school.  It seems to me that giving someone an operation for graduation (and let's face it, this is going to come from the Mom and Dad and not dear old uncle Clem), is sort of the same thing.  We're giving a big reward for doing what is expected.

Don't get me wrong, graduation is a milestone and one that should be honored. Inviting the family in from out of town to celebrate and honoring the grad is definitely the way to go. What we gave each of our kids when they graduated from high school was a family trip and they got to decide where to go. We all had great experiences and have wonderful memories from these travels. They're some of our best family times ever!

Graduation Can Be Good Timing For Plastic Surgery
While I do not think that plastic surgery is a good graduation present, per se, sometimes this can be good timing. Let me explain: let's say that there is something that your child really wants to change about their appearance, something they and you have been thinking about, something that they have a realistic attitude about, and something that seems to be a reasonable thing to do. The interval between high school and college, for instance, can be a very good time to do this, because it will bring less attention to the fact that your child has had something done.  As they move on to college, or a new career, they will be among a different group of people on a day to day basis.  A group who didn't really know what this feature of their body looked like before.  So, there wouldn't be as many of the "Did you see what Ashley had done last summer?  OMG!" type of comments.

Here's the bottom line: if your child is going to have something done which is reasonable, have it done. But not because they have graduated, rather because it is a sensible thing to do. The break between high school and college can be a great time to do it without bringing any more notice to themselves than necessary.

All the best,

David B.

PS: If you would a free copy of our practice magazine Your Beauty, just fill out the form. We'll be happy to drop it in the mail for you.

Recently, I celebrated the beginning of my 12^th year with our practice, and as we often do around here, someone asked to see my “before and after” photos. I laughed at the time, but not too long after, I was looking through some old photos and began to realize how very different I looked from when I first started. I went looking for a more recent photo – and soon this blog post was born!

Each year as the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) releases the procedure statistics from the previous year (2012), they look for some procedures where there has been a change in what’s being done, and perhaps a story to go with it. This year one of the operations we are talking about is the Arm lift, or Brachioplasty, because there has been a real increase both last year, and in the previous ten years. In fact, the increase since 2001 has been over 4400% -- quite a jump.

When considering breast augmentation, you and your Board-certified plastic surgeon have 4 main decisions to make:

Our practice consults with a lot of potential patients considering having plastic surgery. And by "a lot" I mean that in an average year we have over 650 new patient appointments! The vast majority of the people we see are here for all the right reasons. However, part of my job as a Patient Care Coordinator for Dr. Reath, who is a very compassionate surgeon, is not just hearing the "what" (the procedure a patient is interested in), but also listening to the "why" patients have for wanting permanent physical changes. 

If you have visited our office lately you might have noticed our new skincare display for our Real Medical Skincare products. The products in the Real Medical Skincare line were designed to provide everything from anti-aging to acne solutions, but an insider secret is our new Radical Change Kit.

Recently Allure Magazine published an article on what they see as the 11 most overrated cosmetic surgery procedures. Think of this as the opposite of David Letterman’s top ten lists. But, did Allure get it right?  But let’s take a closer look.

Recently there has been a lot of chatter about whether or not breast lift surgery can be done at the same time as a breast enlargement and still achieve great results. The answer is yes. Here is the most recent Truth-O-Meter Tuesday video where I explain why this is so.

My skin..It is a changing…
We all have heard that our skin and our skin type (ie: oily, sensitive, dry, acneic) can continue to change throughout our lives. We also know, primarily, what to blame for these changes: hormones. Just ask any pregnant woman and she will testify that the abundance of, or lack of certain hormones, can cause significant changes in your skin. 

The Problem
I must admit, I never truly appreciated the delicate nature of this relationship until I recently underwent female surgery and both ovaries were removed. Although my GYN prepared me for the direct results of my procedure, I was shocked at all of the indirect results that followed. In addition to the 10 extra pounds and restrictions on exercise and romance, my formerly oily skin had gone in the opposite direction. Where I had always been prone to break outs before, I now have what I call a “Mojave” complexion...one tumbleweed short of all out desert and buzzard tracks where my crow’s feet had been.

The Solution
My first day back to work I cornered Heather, our Aesthetician, and begged for help. It seemed as if everything on my bathroom counter was suddenly outdated and slightly irritating to my skin. Thankfully, she was able to point me toward products specifically designed for my NEW skin type (dry, aging and sensitive) and within a week or so, a more comfortable skin emerged. 

With only one minor setback along the way, I am back on track to feeling and looking like myself again. My skin has settled down and I am now back to a cutesy term such as “laugh lines” to describe my wrinkles. There are still those 10 extra pounds to work on (OK, maybe 12) and I have just been cleared to begin exercise again.