Strife Against the Knife

Graduating from the mass plastic surgery fad that came with the K-Pop wave, non-invasive surgeries are now hotter than ever because of their lack of downtime. Alicia Nikkolette Lee cuts further into the issue. 

As of late, non-invasive surgery has been all the rage; no knifes, no potential scarring, little to no downtime… everything sounds like a dream, but what lies beneath the surface? We speak to Dr Martin H.S. Huang of The Cosmetic Surgery Clinic about the pros and cons of going under the knife… or not.

In your opinion, what are some of the procedures that should be done invasively VS non-invasively? (E.g. eyelids, nose job, chin / jaw augmentation, fat removal, etc.)

Although continuing advancements have provided us with many effective tools for non-invasive enhancement of the face and body, there remain certain issues that are still best addressed surgically, e.g. narrowing and refining the tip of the nose, lengthening the tip of the nose without widening it excessively, increasing the height of the bridge of the nose without widening it excessively, optimal chin augmentation, correcting eye bags, achieving an optimal facelift, and removing excess fat from the cheeks.

For some issues, surgery is not just the best way, but the only way, e.g. creating double eyelids, correcting droopy eyelids, reducing excessively wide cheekbones, reducing an excessively wide the lower jaw, and chin reduction.

Could you share what are some of the more popular non-invasive procedures that are in trend right now? 

Botox, fillers, skin rejuvenation and skin-tightening and lifting treatments (such as Thermage) are the most popular treatment right now.

What are the more popular treatments that are being demanded by the youth of today? 

Surgical: double eyelid surgery by the stitching technique, rhinoplasty, facial contouring surgery (cheekbone reduction and lower jaw reduction), chin augmentation, breast augmentation.

Non-surgical: Botox, fillers, acne treatment, and acne scar treatments.

What are the usual concerns expressed by your patients? 

Young patients usually want to change their facial features, such as their eyelids, noses, chins and facial shape. Older patients focus more on addressing the signs of aging in their faces and bodies. Mothers are mainly concerned about addressing the damaging effects of pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding. Patients are always concerned about downtime, which is a major reason why non-invasive treatments are so popular.

Is it good enough to maintain a certain face shape or even figure with non-invasive procedures these days? And how long do the effects last?

Depending on the nature and severity of the condition, it is often possible to achieve significant improvement in facial shape and body contour using only non-invasive treatments. However, repeat treatments are usually required to achieve the desired results and to maintain them.

The interval between treatments varies among the different treatments, e.g. weekly for some fat reduction and body contouring treatments, monthly for skin rejuvenation treatments, 3 to 6 months for Botox, 6 to 12 months for fillers, and 1 to 2 years for Thermage.

With invasive procedures like eyelid surgery, nose jobs or even breast augmentation, how long will the effects last and how soon can one see results? 

Surgical results are often very long lasting, and are measured in years or even decades, e.g. eyelid surgery, facelift surgery, liposuction. Sometimes they can even be lifelong, e.g. rhinoplasty, chin augmentation, facial contouring surgery and breast augmentation. Surgical results are sometimes visible immediately after the procedure, but are often at least partially masked by postoperative swelling.

The result then gradually becomes more visible as the swelling subsides, and final results are usually seen about 6 months after the surgery.

Would you be able to share how much should one set aside for the various surgical procedures and perhaps the downtime needed for recovery? 

The downtime for surgical procedures of the face ranges from around 10 days (eyelid surgery) to two to three weeks (facelift surgery). For the body, the range is less than 1 week (breast augmentation, minor liposuction) to 2 weeks (major liposuction, tummy tuck). There is a very wide range of costs depending on the procedure.

For example, procedures that are under $5k are: double eyelid surgery; $5k to $10k: eyelid rejuvenation surgery, chin augmentation, simple rhinoplasty; $10k to $20k: complex eyelid surgery, complex rhinoplasty, facial contouring surgery, facelift surgery, breast augmentation, breast lift, liposuction, Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation, Designer Laser Vaginoplasty; above $20K: complex facelift surgery, major liposuction, tummy tuck, other complex procedures or revision procedures.

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