The Today Show
Selecting a Plastic Surgeon
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Welcome back, everyone. One business that's benefited
from the booming economy is plastic surgery, and
new treatments with quick recoveries are fueling
the demand. Dr. Darrick Antell is a leading
New York plastic surgeon, and he's got some advice
on what to look for if you're thinking about a nip
and tuck. Dr. Antell, good morning. Thanks for joining
us.
Dr. Darrick Antell (New York Plastic Surgeon):
Good morning.
Cannon: What do you look for if you want
to get something done in terms of the plastic surgeon?
Dr. Antell: The most critical part of getting
a good result from plastic surgery is the surgeon
that you choose. Some people spend very little time
in picking a doctor. They may spend more time buying
a toaster oven. You want to check the credentials
of the doctor. You want to look for board certification
in plastic surgery.
Cannon: Is that a dangerous thing if you
go to someone who's not?
Dr. Antell: Well, it may mean that you may
have someone performing surgery who is a pulmonologist,
a dermatologist, an anesthesiologist, any of a number
of specialties that are not board certified specifically
in plastic surgery.
Cannon: People are going in and they're
getting, what predominantly? The neck? The eyes?
The forehead? What?
Dr. Antell: Well, in the last two years,
you can almost track the number of procedures the
same as the stock market. I would say that the numbers
— statistics have come out. And the numbers
of eyelid operations have gone up about 60 percent
in the last two years. The numbers of face-lifts
are up almost 40% in the last two years.
Cannon: Do you attribute this to not only
the booming economy, but boomers, like myself, are
coming — getting to a certain point where they're
looking in the mirror and saying, "Need a little
nip and tuck?"
Dr. Antell: Absolutely. We're seeing people
at younger ages having smaller procedures. Some
people think of it as maintenance, almost part of
good hygiene. They'll come in at an earlier age,
have smaller procedures done.
Cannon: Let's go to some photos.
Dr. Antell: Yes.
Cannon: And then — so what happens?
This is the after. Clearly a big difference in the
neck area. It has been lifted, not the sag there.
What happens there?
Dr. Antell: In that — in that operation,
the skin is lifted, but also the underlying tissues
are readjusted. I compare it to a carpet and a carpet
pad. You need to lift up the carpet pad to get the
wrinkle out, some of the fullness along the jawline.
The incisions are all hidden around the ear area
and in the hair.
Cannon: How long to recover from that kind
of...
Dr. Antell: Most people look presentable
in two weeks. And it takes three weeks before it
really settles in. Three months before you forget
about it.
Cannon: So if anybody says you're going
to heal quicker than that, then they're not telling
you the truth.
Dr. Antell: That's true. Or they're not
doing the full operation.
Cannon: OK. That was a neck lift. What about
an eye peel? Let's look at before and after there.
Dr. Antell: Sure. Eyelid surgery is one
of the most important operations we do at an early
age. This lady had surgery on her upper eyelids,
as well as her lower eyelids. But men have this
procedure very commonly, as well.
Cannon: This gets — gets rid of the
crow's feet, and it looks even underneath the eyebrow,
also, it, like, straightens out.
Dr. Antell: On her upper eyelid she has
excess full tissue. It makes her look tired. A little
puffiness on the lower eyelid. And she also had
a resurfacing of her lower eyelids to smooth out
some of the fine wrinkles.
Cannon: So how long does it take to recover
from this? You said the neck lift was about three
weeks. And for the eyes?
Dr. Antell: About two weeks for the eyes.
Most people return to work clearly in two weeks,
some as often as one week to 10 days.
Cannon: What about lip peels?
Dr. Antell: Lip peels are very common, particularly
in women. On the upper lip, they'll get vertical
lines from smoking or just from puckering their
lips. And we treat that with either a peel or a
dermabrasion.
Cannon: So we talked about the — all
of these look really good. Impressive.
Dr. Antell: Thank you.
Cannon: And it doesn't really take that
long. Two, three, four weeks and you can go back.
How much does it cost, on average, for, say, like
a neck/face lift?
Dr. Antell: The costs vary depending on
the level of expertise of the surgeon. Our fee for
a face and neck lift is $15,000. Eyelid surgery
is $6000. And those are exclusive of the operating
room and anesthesia fees.
Cannon: And the — lip peel would be?
Dr. Antell: A lip peel is in the range of
$2500.
Cannon: Yeah.
Dr. Antell: To maybe $3500. But this is
an important area in life where it's an investment
in your future. It's an area in life where it pays
to pay retail.
Cannon: All right. Dr. Antell, thank you
very much for joining us.
Dr. Antell: Thank you.
Cannon: Appreciate it.
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