Ear Surgery (Otoplasty) Questions and Answers

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Question:

Good day, At 44 years old I am a colon cancer survivor. After surgery and 7 months of cemo, I am doing very well. Now that I am well, I would like to look better. I am considering Botox for the lines on my forehead and around my eyes. Approx. what is the cost of that procedure, and is there any risk involved? fondly, Lisa

Answer:

Botox varies in price across the country. I charge $300 for injection of each paired muscle group (like the frown lines between your eyebrows) and I do not charge for re-injection if necessary, one week later if it has not been 100% effective. Different people charge different amounts. It is very safe with the biggest risk being incompetent injection and thus effect on other surrounding muscles (like those that keep the eye open). I would suggest that you visit with a plastic surgeon for your injection to minimize the risks.

Gregory Caputy, MD, Chief Surgeon
Honolulu, HI

Question:

I had a breast augmentation done a year ago. (300 each side, saline). The results were bad: One side dropped and passed the infra mammary line and it looked bad. My doctor agreed to do it again (He claimed it was "my body's fault..") and I had another surgery done in the left side 3 month a go. It does look better then before- but I'm definitely not satisfied. You can see clearly that the implants are located in 2 different places (One implant is much higher). Besides that, one implant (The old one) feels much harder than the other one, and I'm worried about that. I'm pretty desperate, I don't know if it's even worth fixing and I don't trust my doctor anymore. What do you suggest? Can the hardness of the implants be dangerous? Would you recommend another surgery?

Answer:

The hardness is not dangerous and yes I would recommend seeing another doctor because it is possible to repair your problem. Call the American Society or Plastic Surgery to locate a qualified surgeon iin your area. The number is 1-800-635-0635.

Question:

What is the best non-surgical way to get rid of deep stretch marks caused by rapid weight gain during pregnancy? Does plastic surgery for stretch marks work well?

Answer:

Dear Lea, If the stretch marks are red, they can be reduced with a laser. They tend to progress to white anyway and these are very poorly treated by laser, DermaPeel, dermabrasion, etc. If you have a lot of excess skin, a tummy tuck procedure can be performed to surgically remove the stretch marks. All other treatments, in my opinion, improve things, at best, 10 to 15%.

Gregory Caputy, MD, Chief Surgeon
Honolulu, HI

Question:

I am in my late 40's andwant to have liposuction on my double chin but have read that they use epinephrine to inject the sites with to control bleeding while they are performing the procedure. I have mitral valve prolapse and epinephrine in dental shots causes my heart to beat very fast and I have panic attacks so I have to take plain carbocaine. Can I still have liposuction or plastic surgery without the epinephrine?

Answer:

Good question. You will need to have epinephrine when you have liposuction. Epi will make your heart race. You should make sure that the plastic surgeon you are using discusses this with you. I think that the amount of epi given is so little that it should not cause a problem. You should discuss this with your anesthesiologist as well as the surgeon; Good luck

Question:

I had the LASIK surgery 8 months ago on both eyes and I am still having dryness problems in my right eye. I have been telling my doctor about this but he just told me to keep using artificial tears. I finally went to see a different doctor and he told me that there is a gap at the edge of my flap and gave me AlLrex to take for this. Now he is talking to me about wearing a contact lens. Will this ever heal up by itself? I have also been using Theratears and Bion Tears like crazy and they haven't been helping. I was told that my other option was to have my flap relifted but then I was told I will loose my 20/20 vision. Is this true?

Answer:

I'd return to your original doctor or go to see Dr. Barry Slloway in NYC.

Question:

I have a 16 year old daughter who has 36DDD size breasts. It causes a lot self esteem problems, and is in tears every time we shop for clothes. I wanted to know how old you have to be to have breast reduction surgery and the cost.

Answer:

Breast reduction is commonly performed for virginal hypertrophy (the case with your daughter). Although some growth can be anticipated after breast reduction surgery, the huge excess can be reduced permanently with breast reduction surgery. The problem with scarring is usually a minimal price to pay for the reduction in size. Breast reductions cost from $5000 to $8000 across the country.

Gregory Caputy, MD, Chief Surgeon
Honolulu, HI

Question:

I had RK surgery 10 years ago. My nearsightedness seems to be returning now. Is lasik surgery an option for me?

Answer:

Yes in most cases.

Question:

My husband has major back pain & spasms. When he was 18, he broke his back. The doctor said that if he did walk again, by age 35 he would be in a wheelchair. He is now 33 and his back pain is getting worse. Now, he is a big man (6'4" and approx. 400lbs.) We know that is part of it, but, he has been big his whole life so we know that's not the cause. Could you give us an idea if what the doc. said is true or what it might be? thank you.

Answer:

Dear Melissa, This is a very difficult question to answer without your husband being right infront of me. But I will try to help you. First of all. Breaking your back is not uncommon. But how badly he broke his back may determine if future care can help him. For example did they have to perform major surgery in that he has a lot of "hardware" inside. Did he have any fusion performed. If the answers are no then you may have some options. First of all he has to lose atleast 150 pounds. This is important to slow down the degenerative process. Just because he has been big his whole life doesn't mean as he gets older his body will handle it easily especially with this type of previous history. Have you seen a chiropractor? If there has been no fusion performed and no hardware inserted and after viewing a possible MRI to determine if there is no spinal cord compression of any nature then this should be your next step. if you have already tried chiropractic and it did not work then you may want to consider giving another chiropractor a chance. Many practice differently. If you have not seen a chiropractor and you have followed all of these steps to make sure that manipulation is ok then i would go for it. I have changed peoples lives who felt that there was no hope. This is not a guarantee that it will work. I have not examined your husband therefore I can not assure you that it will work. But give it a try. There are alot of factors. First start losing the weight. Second Consult a chiropractor as well as see what the orthopedic surgeon says. Just be aware that it is unlikely that the orthopedic surgeon is going to give you the green light. As i stated before as long as there are no contraindications to manipulation this may be your next step. good luck.

Question:

Can plastic surgery be performed to correct and inverted nipple? I am a 40 year old female.

Answer:

Correcting inverted nipples is a very commonly performed procedure with excellent results. If the inversion is recent, I would certainly have a breast examination by a competent physician to rule out any concerns over what is causing the inversion.

Gregory Caputy, MD, Chief Surgeon
Honolulu, HI

Question:

I am 29 years old and have endometriosis. I had laproscopic surgery May 1999 and 6 months later took lupron shots for 6 months. I have been trying to get pregnant for almost 4 years now. A couple of months ago I tried the chlomid fertility pills, but got scared because the pain of my endometriosis came back. So, I haven't taken them again. My doctor seems to be out of answers. I don't know what else to do to try to get pregnant. I've tried just about everything. My question is: Do you think I will need to go through surgery again before I will be able to become pregnant? Also, how expensive is invitro and how does this procedure work? My husband and I want a baby so bad and I'm afraid time is running out. Would you suggest meeting with another doctor or would i be wasting my time? Hope to hear from you soon

Answer:

Find a reproductive endocrinologist in your area and have a thorough fertility evaluation. They should be able to help you.

Question:

Hi Doctor, My son is 13 years old. When he was 8 he fell from a tree and cut his lower lip real bad. It was bitten into 3 sections. I took him to the emergency room and the doctor sewed it together. Actually he did a pretty good job getting the white line straight. He did say that he'd need plastic surgery though. About a year later he cut the same lip by jumping and kneeing himself. The cut sas fairly small and was on the inside of the lip. It developed a bump that was removed by a plastic surgeon. Actually its still there. Its on the inside and gives the lip a puffy look. That makes the scars show up more in front. The scars are like a X shape right in the middle of his lip. I took him to an oral surgeon who says to leave it alone, that its not that bad. Well I think it is that bad and anything that could be done to improve the looks is what I'm looking for. I thought that maybe if there was a way to stretch the skin or maybe graph over the area (about a quarter inch) and convert these crossed looking scars into scars that ran up and down like the normal lines on the lip, that it would be much less noticable. I want to do this before he gets too old. Can scars on a lip be improved with surgery? I'm not sure if I should take the advice from the oral surgeon by leaving it like it is. If there are any surgeons around that can do a lip as a specialty, I'd take him there. The only ones I see advertising are basic face lift and tummy doctors. I need a doctor that can perform such a surgery. My mom said that a graph could be done for a lip using some skin from private part areas. Is this true? I'm in Louisiana, and any recomendations of this type of specialist will be greatly apreciated. I'm hopeing someone can direct me to the right specialist who can improve the looks of my sons lower lip. The scars are right in the middle. I'm willing to drive. Please help. Thanks, a loving father. Mark

Answer:

If something can be done for your son's lip this decision would be best made by a Plastic and Reconstructive surgeon. Might I suggest you contact a nearby Hospital for names of such surgeons on their staff. Or call the a American Society of Plastic Surgery(1-800-475-2784)for a referral in your area.

Question:

I understand that there is a corrective surgery that puts in a permanent lens and if and when your visions changes the correction can be made to the permanent lens. If this is true, what is the name of this procedure and what is success rate? How long has this procedure been around? What is the cost? Is it done in Utah? Any information regarding this procedure will be helpful. Thank you.

Answer:

This procedure is still experimental, and no one knows about the long term safety. There are several variations that are being tested; most are referred to as phakic implants. It is expected that it will be many years before safety is confirmed by the FDA. Andrew Caster, MD

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