Because Latisse® is a prescription product, you’ll need to schedule a brief consultation with Dr. Van Raalte to go over the usage and safety information. 

 

Here we are, a month into the New Year.  Some of our resolutions have probably already fallen to the wayside.  We look forward to the days getting longer and eventually the arrival of summer.  You can start a new diet or exercise program, but even they can have their downfalls.  You can lose all the body fat that you can, but your face may look hollow.  Maybe the lines and wrinkles of age are getting deeper and more visible.  Your eyelids are sagging and are dark underneath. 

 

Maybe 2010 is the year when you want to look at yourself and really like what you see.  You have heard of plastic surgery, Botox, fillers, and Glycolics, but what does it all mean?  Dr. Benjamin Van Raalte at Iowa Plastic Surgery can help.  Iowa Plastic Surgery, which is located at 4334 East 53rd Street in Davenport, is a fascinating place in my opinion.  I think you will immediately feel at ease when you see how peaceful and well-decorated the office is.  The staff is very enthusiastic and experienced, and they seem happy to help you.

Dr. Van Raalte has over 20 years of experience in plastic surgery, with 15 of those years being spent in this area.  He went to medical school at the University of Wisconsin, and then headed to the University of Illinois for his surgical residency.  He finished his plastic surgery residency at the University of Indiana.  he is board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and the Amercan Board of Surgery.  Dr. Van Raalte is a member of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, and he is a former president of the Iowa Society of Plastic Surgeons. 

 

Dr. Van Raalte may recommend a fairly new procedure to make your face look younger called fat tranfer/fat grafting rejuvenation.  Dr. Van Raalte says he is especially excited about this procedure, which has been around for about eight years.  It involves fat being “liposuctioned” from one part of your body and then being injected into another part of you body.  In essence, it is “recycled.”  “This procedure adds fullness to the face, adds volume, and fills in lines and wrinkles,” Dr. Van Raalte tells me.  “If you don’t get the results that you want from a facelift, you will get volume from the fat tranfer.”

 

The procedure is said to enhance and add volume to the lips, cheeks, and even the buttocks.  It restores your natural appearance, and Dr. Van Raalte says it is an economical way to add a natural, longer lasting filler.  He adds that the results are both dramatic and beautiful.

 

Dr. Van Raalte has some “before” and “after” pictures of real patients that I found interesting.  They are also on the Web site.  The women in the pictures look younger.  Their faces are fuller but not fatter.  They have more roundness by their cheekbones.  They have a much more youthful appearance, in my opinion.  “We use micro droplets of centrifuged fat,”  Dr. Van Raalte explains.  “We spin it down two or three times before it is inserted under the skin, not into the skin.” 

 

The fat is usually “liposuctioned” from your stomach or another area of your choosing, and then it is cetrifuged twice (to separate the fat from other fluids).  Micro droplets of fat are inserted into your face.  Dr. Van Raalte says you will feel well afterward, and there will only be some bruising for about a week.  Some wrinkles have been present for a very long time and have gotten so deep that they cannot be “plumped” up to the point that you can’t see them anymore.  In this case, the fat tranfer may not rid you of these wrinkles, but they will look better, Dr. Van Raalte says. 

 

This procedure might not be the perfect one for you, which is why you will meet with Dr. Van Raalte first to discuss what look you would like to achieve and what the best and safest thing is for you.  The initial appointment is free, and everything is thoroughly explained.  It is all customized, Dr. Van Raalte says, and every procedure is done with the patient’s safety in mind first. 

 

Fat transfer is not the only facial surgery that Dr. Van Raalte performs.  He also corrects birth defects and abnormalities from accidents, and he does reconstructive surgeries.  He performs face-lifts, mid face-lifts, brow lifts, eyelid lifts, neck lifts, and rhinoplasty (nose surgery).  He can enhance your breasts, making them larger or smaller,  While havng a fat transfer procedure, he can do a “tummy tuck” to make your stomach smaller.  He says he especially enjoys doing body contours, including tummy tucks and liposuction.  “It’s fun, like sculpture,” Dr. Van Raalte comments.  There are also many non-surgical procedures available such as laser hair removal, Thermage, chemical peels, and makeup applications.

Dr. Van Raalte and his staff say they are happy to help people look more attractive and achieve their goals.  The staff has worked with Dr. Van Raalte for many years.  They are so sure of the high quality of work performed by Dr. Van Raalte that they have had some procedures done themselves.  When they tell you what to expect, they know what they are talking about. 

 

Bobbi Lucas, RN*, can tell you firsthand how the fat tranfer procedure works since she has had one done by Dr. Van Raalte.  ”There is no discomfort,” she says.  Some people will have the fat transfer done on a Thursday and be back to work on Monday.  “We have people come in to meet with us twice,” Bobbi explains.  “During the second meeting we will be more specific as to what we can do for them.”  She is a big fan of the fat transfer, telling me that as we age, our skin loses volume and elasticity.  That volume can be restored, however.  “It is more economical than fillers since you have more fat available,”  Bobbi says.  All of the Iowa Plastic Surgery staff members are big fans of plastic surgery, working every day because they enjoy helping people look more beautiful, they say.  Sue Rolsch has been a Certified Medical Assistant for over 20 years.  She knows all of the options that are available, and says she can explain them in terms you will easily understand.  She works with staff member Christina Drumm to explain exactly what can be done and what will happen. 

 

Call Iowa Plastic Surgery at 563-322-8877.  You may also want to take a look at the Web site, which I found to be extremely informative, at www.iowaplasticsurgery.com.

 

*Bobbi Lucas is a licensed Paramedical Aesthetician in the state of Iowa & Illinois and is not a registered nurse.