Non-invasive cosmetic surgery is popular both for its effectiveness and its short or non-existent downtime. Halloween is really the beginning of the holiday season and if you would like to quickly improve your appearance before Thanksgiving, you have many choices in how to do it.

Injectables are among the "lunchtime" treatments you may have heard about, which give immediate results. We offer several very effective injectable fillers. They each work differently, but in general they all create volume beneath the skin which smoothes the skin surface.

As we age the body produces less collagen - a fibrous protein which helps support the skin. Elastin is another natural protein and gives elasticity to the skin. The skin's middle layer, the dermis, has a matrix of collagen and elastin like scaffolding. Collagen and elastin are abundant in youthful skin but their reduced production is a contributing cause to wrinkle-formation as we age.

Injectable fillers provide increased volume which substitutes for the loss of collagen and elastin. The results last six months or perhaps longer. We offer Restylane(R) and Radiesse(R) which smooth out frown lines, nasolabial folds and other wrinkles around the mouth and cheeks. We also offer Juvederm(tm) which is effective in smoothing out the fine lines which form around the lips, as well as other fine lines on the face.

BOTOX(R)
BOTOX(R) is an injectable, but not an injectable filler. It does not work by providing volume beneath the skin. Instead, it temporarily paralyzes the muscle where it is injected. It blocks the nerve messages traveling from the brain which tell the muscle to contract, and this prevents the muscle from contracting for as long as the BOTOX(R) is in effect.

Most often it is used for frown lines and horizontal forehead lines, although it can also be used around the mouth. Repeat treatments can "retrain" the muscle to some extent. If you have a series of BOTOX(R) injections, not only does the skin remain smooth for lack of muscle contraction, but also the muscle remains relaxed for all that time. This may break an old habit of frowning or squinting which has caused the wrinkles.

You can see some Before and After photos in our BOTOX(R) Gallery.

Injectables, whether dermal fillers or BOTOX(R), can rejuvenate the face and give you a refreshed, more wide-awake look. Treatments last only about 15 minutes and are done with local anesthetics.

If you would like to know more about the injectable fillers we offer or about BOTOX(R), please call or email our cosmetic surgery office to schedule a personal consultation.

Breast augmentation can be a life-changing event giving you a tremendous boost in self-confidence, but it is not something to rush into. There are important choices to make in planning your surgery and they require some thought. Dr. Bottger will discuss all the options with you and make his recommendations. For best results it's important that you also understand these options and why one is better than another in your particular case.

Type of implant
You can choose saline or silicone gel implants and each has advantages and disadvantages. The choice will take into account your lifestyle, surgery goals, size of implant desired and other factors that need to be discussed with Dr. Bottger.

Location of the Incisions
There are four choices for where to make the incisions, all of which will hide the resulting scars well. Dr. Bottger offers three of these choices which you can read about on our Incision Options page.

Implant Size
Implants are not sized like bras, as 34B, 36C, and more. They are sized according to the number of cubic centimeters of fill they contain. Silicone gel implants come pre-filled. Saline implants are inserted empty and then filled; they can also be adjusted later. But they still have certain sizes according to the maximum volume of saline solution they can safely hold.

Implant Shape
Breast implants can be round or shaped like a pear. It depends on what sort of look you want, how much cleavage, how large your breasts are already, and other factors which you can discuss with Dr. Bottger.

Implant Placement
Your breast implants can be positioned either beneath the breast tissue but over the pectoral muscle, or beneath both. Again there are several aspects to this decision and it is an individual matter you can work out with Dr. Bottger.

For more information, please refer to the Before and After Photos of some of our patients and our Breast Augmentation Questions page.

If you would like a personal consultation about breast augmentation, please contact our cosmetic surgery office today.

Rhytec Portrait Plasma Skin Resurfacing

By destroying the outer layers of skin that have been damaged by age, acne or the environment, Rhytec Portrait Plasma skin resurfacing is one of the latest procedures to give you the smoothest skin possible.

Destruction of the outer layers of skin through heat created by ionized nitrogen gas “remodels” your skin’s collagen and prompts your body to generate new layers of skin that are unaffected by the problems or conditions your previous skin layers had. It can take seven to ten days for improved skin conditions to become apparent.

Rhytec Portrait Plasma skin resurfacing can:

1.Correct spots and pigmentation problems

2.Reduce or remove creases, lines, and wrinkles

3.Improve skin damaged by the sun

4.Treat scars caused by acne

5.Tighten skin which has lost elasticity through aging

If you are interested in finding out more about how Rhytec Portrait Plasma skin resurfacing can help you, please contact Dr. Bottger to set up an initial consultation.

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