Boston Plastic Surgeons

What do I do about red stretchmarks; lasers, creams, wrappings?

First question: will faded stretchmarks with Vbeam still become a scar or not, or if there will still be a scar, will it be smaller compared to if I don't use Vbeam at all?

Creams, injections, wraps and most lasers are ineffective in treating Stretch Marks.The only effective treatment I have ever found to improve Stretch Marks is the 1540Fractional Non ablative laser. Fortunately red or pink stretch marks respond the best to the 1540 laser trreatment.

Brooke R. Seckel, MD

Boston Plastic Surgeon

Hollow Dark Circles: What to Do? HA Filler, Blepharoplasty, Fat Grafting, Laser? (photo)

Hello Doctors, I have genetic dark circles. Their darkness is exacerbated further by the hollowness around my orbital bone and the indentation of my tear troughs. This is something that would be remarkable for me to fix. I've tried expensive creams w/ no luck & want tangible results. The 2-fold problem seems to only be solved by restoring volume & diminishing darkness. Should I get laser Arcus Marginalis release (transconjuctival incision), fat repositioning, laser therapy? Thank you!

There are 3 problems contributing to the Dark Circles:

1. Thin Eyelid Skin- The eyelid skin is so thin that the purple color of the muscle under the eyelid skin is transmitted through the skin-this cannot be effectively changed

2.The Arcus Deformity or Naso Jugal Fold is deep and accentuated because of a lack of normal fat around the eye and frequently there is an unusually deep depression in the bone underlying this area

3. Pigment on the upper layers of the skin.

Many many people have been severely disappointed with filler injections beneath the lower eyelid. Unless they are placed absolutely perfectly by an expert familiar with the anatomy, the contractions of the Orbicularis Muscle around the eyelid actually pushes the filler down out of the depression which makes the depression look worse. Often in inexperienced hands the filler is placed incorrectly and can create visible lumps-sometimes grey discolored lumps.

For over 15 years and in 2500 cases I have found Composite Fat Grafting through a Transconjunctival Blepharoplasty with Release of the Arcus Marginalis an excellent procedure to correct the hollow depression that you write about. It is a permanent solution which does not have to be repeated as do filler injections. It uses your own natural tissue which is an additional plus.

Pigment can be treated with topicals and if necessary the 1540 Non ablative fractional Erbium laser.

The benefits of using the CO2 laser in incisional mode have been well demonstrated in the Medical Literature repeatedly since 2000.

For details on the procedure check the link below

Brooke R. Seckel, MD

Boston Plastic Surgeon

Will I Grow into my Nose? Nose is Bigger then All my Features (photo)

My family has pretty big noses, but the difference is for them, it works with there facial features. I'm 17 and my nose isn't bumpy, it's straight. The problem is it's very WIDE at the bottom and I don't think it goes with my features. My lips are small, my eyes are small, and im not a large kid. I don't understand why my nose is so unproportional. I want to be a actor someday and I don't think ill get to if my nose looks so bad. I feel if my nose was smaller i'd look good. Help? :(

I am afraid that I don't see everything that you see.   I see a nose that is balanced with your face, and small on profile.  The width could be a little less from the front, though it is perfectly acceptable and attractive as it is.

The problem that most men have is that their skin is not  very elastic, so that changes made to the skeleton may not be followed by desirable changes in the surface--you may just lose shape. 

If you decide to go ahead, be extremely careful as you select your surgeon, and ask to see photos of noses like yours with results that you like.  Not every surgeon will be able to give you what you hope for.

Good luck!

Mark B. Constantian, MD

Nashua Plastic Surgeon