Body

Any woman who has had children knows her body is never the same again. Pregnancy stretches the abdominal skin and muscles, creates "stretch marks," and frequently leaves an unsightly "tummy pooch" after delivery. No amount of exercising or sit-ups seem to help. This wrinkled lower tummy skin and fat create that full, protruding look.

This problem is correctible. By excising the excess skin and fat, tightening the underlying muscles, and trimming excess hip skin, a much flatter tummy can be created.

The operation, called abdominoplasty or "tummy tuck," takes 2-3 hours, and patients are usually back to normal within two weeks. There is very little bruising, and scars can be easily hidden within panty or swimsuit lines. This is an outpatient procedure.

Women who have only a small abdominal roll just below the belly button are excellent candidates for a mini tummy tuck. This procedure can be done in our office operating suite under local anesthesia, and leaves a much smaller scar than a traditional tummy tuck.

PROCEDURE DETAILS

Dr. Hollingsworth injects the area with a local anesthetic. A small incision is made at the hairline level. The abdominal skin is pulled downward, and the excess skin removed.

Liposuction is one of the most commonly performed plastic surgery procedures in the United States. Dr. Hollingsworth performs liposuction on patients who need a little extra help removing fat deposits from targeted areas. Liposuction can be performed on the:

• Abdomen

• Arms

• Buttocks

• Cheeks

• Chin

• Hips

• Inner and outer thighs

• Jowls

• Knees

• Neck

Labiaplasty, is an outpatient surgical procedure performed to reshape or reduce the appearance of the labia minora - the skin that covers the female clitoris and vaginal opening. Women with large labia sometimes experience pain during intercourse, embarrassment with a sexual partner, discomfort during cycling, walking or sitting, and/or problems with personal hygiene.

The length of surgery is usually under an hour and is performed either under local, twilight or general anesthesia, depending upon the patient's preference. After surgery, women may experience some mild discomfort and swelling which typically disappears after 1-2 weeks. Labial incisions are rarely noticeable after healing.

Excess skin is removed to reduce the size of the arm and improve its contour. In mild cases, the excess skin can be removed from the armpit. This results in modest improvement, but causes little scarring. As the problem becomes more severe, the incision must extend down the arm, toward the elbow. The length of the incision is directly related to the degree of the skin excess: the more skin to be removed, the longer the incision.

The incision can be either on the inside of the arm or on the back of the arm. The incision on the inner aspect of the arm usually heals better, but is more obvious and removes less tissue. The incision on the back of the arm is preferred despite more scarring, because it is less obvious and removes considerably more tissue. The choice is usually determined by the patient. An arm lift is usually done under general anesthesia, takes about two hours, usually as day surgery.

Years of sun exposure leaves not only wrinkles and tan, but increased risk of skin cancer. Lengthy exposure to ultraviolet rays damages cellular DNA, causing cells to multiply aimlessly and aggressively. The result is skin cancer.

Squamous and basal cell carcinomas are the most frequent, but melanomas are the most dangerous. Lesions are often present as dark or crusted spots which progressively increase in size. They then become painful, ulcerate, and bleed.

As expected, the majority of skin cancers are found on the most sun-exposed areas of the body: hands, arms, and face. Early cancers can often be treated with burning or the use of Efudex® ointment, but more advanced lesions require surgical excision and sometimes skin grafting. Melanomas in particular require aggressive surgical therapy.

Small lesions can be excised under local anesthesia in the office, but larger or more involved cancers may require general anesthesia in the hospital. Most patients return to normal activities in a couple of days. These surgeries can usually be performed in the office or as a day-surgery procedure at the hospital.