Dr. Akshay Kumar Rout

Lip augmentation is a restorative (cosmetic) procedure where your lips are reshaped to make them appear fuller. Cosmetic procedures are done for aesthetic improvement, but surgical lip augmentation is performed if the lips are affected by any congenital condition or tissue trauma.

Dermal fillers are mostly used to enlarge the lips. Previously, collagen was the most popular filler, but currently, due to various health reasons, doctors do not use it as often as before. Now, hyaluronic acid fillers are the most popular dermal filler.

Hyaluronic acid is naturally available in your body, especially in your neural, epithelial and connective tissues. The fillers that doctors presently use are chemically similar to hyaluronic acid. It is extremely beneficial in adding volume to your lips.

Applications of Hyaluronic acid

• Hyaluronic acid fillers improve your lips’ appearance by boosting their shape, structure and volume.
• The effects of such fillers last approximately for six months; you would require more injections after that.
• Restylane and Juvederm are the most popular hyaluronic acid fillers used currently. These also contain lidocaine in them, which is a local anaesthetic.

Hyaluronic acid fillers also include the following benefits:

• The amount of filler to be injected is easily controllable, so the doctor can regulate the amount of volume to create.
• The injections are given at a steady pace, so the development can be carefully monitored to achieve the desired result.
• Any bump or lump caused by moving the lips too much is easier to correct.
• In relation to other dermal fillers, there will be reduced swelling and bruising.
• Results last for a longer duration, but they are not permanent.
• Collagen fillers required an allergy test before the procedure could begin, but that is not the case with hyaluronic fillers. Hyaluronic acid fillers are not allergens since they are made from similar substances found in the body.

Risks of lip augmentation
Like every surgical procedure, lip augmentation too has certain risks involved. Some of the contraindications (situational dangers of certain drugs or procedures) include:

• Facial nerve disorders
• Intermittent herpes simplex sores
• Diabetes
• Critical hypertension
• Allergies
• Autoimmune disorders

One of the leading types of cosmetic surgery in the world is breast augmentation through implants. These implants are prosthetic inserts which are put into your breasts surgically to enhance the look, shape, feel, size, and balance in your body. Although these are primarily used for cosmetic purposes, they may also be used for reconstructive surgery after an accident or after mastectomy (breast removal surgery).

Types of breast implants
There are primarily two types of breast implants: Silicone and saline. The sacs that contain both forms of implants remain the same. The sac holding the material in both the cases is made out of silicone. The two primary types are explained below

1. Saline implants: As the name states, saline implants are sacs filled with saline water. In the case of saline implants, the sacs are inserted into the breast through an incision. After the sacs are put inside the breast, they are filled with saline water and once the desired shape, contour, and size are achieved, the implants are sealed off and the incision is closed.
2. Silicone implants: In this type of implant, the sac is pre-filled with silicone gel. This option is considered to have a more natural look and feel as it resembles human fat. The size of the implants however has to be decided beforehand. The doctor will make an incision on the underside of the breast, where the crease lies and then insert the implant into the breast. The incision is then closed and after healing, the scar will be hidden under the crease of the breast.

Considerations before surgery
1. Complications 
This form of cosmetic surgery is one of the most commonly performed around the world. However, there could be a few complications that can arise after the surgery –

1. Infection after surgery
2. After surgery, scar tissue formation may cause the shape of the tissue to change
3. The implants may leak or rupture
4. Pain in the breasts
5. Change in the breast sensations and the nipples (although in most cases this temporary)

2. Other considerations post surgery
Some of the other considerations that you might have to consider before surgery would be –

1. Breastfeeding: While some women have stated that they were able to breast feed successfully after an implant, others have reported problems. Thus you may need to talk to your doctor about this especially if you want to have children post surgery.
2. Complications in getting a mammogram: Mammograms to check for breast cancer and growths in the tissue may become complicated as the implant will block a straight view. However, pictures from other angles can be taken.
3. Getting breast implants won’t stop your breasts from sagging: If you have sagging breasts, then you will need to opt for a breast lift surgery instead of breast implants as implants won’t correct sagging.
4. Breast implants may not last a life time: Breast implants may require to be changed after a few years as your body shape may change and you may gain or lose weight. Implants may even rupture or leak, resulting in the change of the breast shape and thus, may require corrective surgery again.

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

Scars may mar the beauty and proportion of your face and its features. There are many reasons why we may suffer from scars starting from accidents to other causes like birth defects and other ailments. When we are injured or the skin is ruptured, the bruise or the wound usually heals itself by turning into scar tissue.

While much of this may disappear for smaller wounds, there are others that remain obvious and become scars. Many of these scars may be in a prominent location like the face, which can lead to loss of confidence and self-esteem. While make-up and creams can diminish the jarring effect of such scars, there is also a permanent way to deal with them cosmetic surgery.

Here is everything you need to know about the same.

• Point of surgical techniques: While total scar removal will depend on the severity of the scar and its location, the point of most surgical techniques for scar removal involve making the skin as smooth as possible so that the scar becomes almost invisible.
• Skin resurfacing methods: Dermabrasion and laser resurfacing are some of the most popular methods employed for this process. While dermabrasion basically helps in scraping away the top surface of the skin in order to help new skin grow back, laser resurfacing does pretty much the same with the help of laser beams that will act on the problem areas. Dermabrasion usually helps when the scar is slightly raised and embossed on the skin, giving the appearance of a second skin with its defect. The laser light of the laser resurfacing helps by smoothen the rough patch of skin that forms the scar. This is done by running the beams on the rough or elevated patches until they are removed for the new skin to emerge eventually.
• Kelotoid scars: Most kelotoid scars are treated with the help of medicated injections that can be administered by a cosmetic surgeon. Hypertropic scars are also treated in this way.
• Surgical incisions: In case the above methods do not help in removing particularly stubborn or old scars, the cosmetic surgeon can also suggest using a surgical incision in order to join the skin together with very fine stitches. This process can help in making the scar less prominent to a great extent.

Side effects: In all these methods, you would do well to discuss the possible side effects with your cosmetic surgeon. Some amount of bruising and redness of the skin is to be expected for a few days. Also, a little bit of swelling is normal. But if these side effects do not abate in a hurry and get progressively worse, then it would be a good idea to report the changes to the doctor for further treatment.

Women are usually conscious about her look and prefer to actively participate in all kind of sports, and wear all kind of clothes. It becomes embarrassing when hair appears in the places like face, abdomen, neck, underarms or leg, and prevents them from wearing skirts and sleeveless clothes.

But with the advancement of technology there are numerous ways to get a rid of unwanted hair growth all across the body and it can give you a permanent solution from your factors that holding you back.

The treatment involved in hair removal:

Laser treatment is a successful way to remove unwanted hair from your body.  This is a non-invasive method designed specifically to remove unwanted hair from all parts of the body. It is done with the help from long pulse light through the actively cooled ‘cooling tip’ of the laser machine that effectively deactivates unwanted hair follicles, which impairs its growth and selectively damages the root of unwanted hair permanently. During the Light Sheer process, the hair is treated gently while maintaining a healthy and normal appearance of the surrounding tissue.

Steps involved in hair removal treatment:

1. Usually, the treatment areas are shaved before the few days of hair removal treatment.

2. An anesthetic cream may be applied on the day of laser treatment.

3. Both the patient and the doctor must wear sunglasses in order to avoid harmful rays.

4. The power, size and frequency of the pulse is adjusted in order to optimize the treatment for the patient’s comfort.

5. The duration of the treatment depends on the size of the area to be treated

6. The laser uses safe light to remove unwanted hair from all over the body within few minutes.

7. The entire procedure is guided with the help of a computer.

How long does the treatment take?

The laser treatment may take few minutes to an hour, depending on the size of the area to be treated. Hence the facial hair treatment may take around 10 minutes. Whereas, treatment for back hair or both legs may take up to 60-80 minutes.

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!