Jaime Bastidas, MD

Put simply, you are a great candidate for hair transplantation to your hairline.  In my opinion, FUT is the best option for you, given that the technique is simple, less expensive, and creates wonderful grafts for transplantation.  The fact you have baby hairs is not a problem.  The baby hairs are normal, but as you described, they do not add to your hairline and they never will because they are fine and short.  Transplanted hairs will grow long and thick and you will not have bald areas when you pull your hair back.  Be sure to see a board-certified surgeon who is experienced with hair transplantation when you go for consultation.  I hope this helps :)   Dr. Jaime Bastidas

Body contouring is very much individualized and pricing can vary a lot depending on your goals, the techniques used to achieve the goals, and how many areas are involved.  Obviously the more you do, the more expensive it gets.  In my practice I focus of body contouring.  I offer non-surgical, minimally invasive, and surgical options.  Some can be performed in the office under local and others at an accredited surgery center if anesthesia is needed.  So anesthesia and facility fees can add to the price as well.

To give you the best answer as to whether CoolSculpting or Smartlipo is worth it, I would have to exam you.  However, based on the photos you provided, I would say you can achieve a very nice change with body contouring that would be very much worth it.  However, I cannot say if your quotes are worth it because I do not know what the plan was for you.  For example, $10,000 for smartlipo just to treat the lower abdomen is not not worth it.  But, $10,000 to treat your entire abdomen, flanks, and chest would be worth it.  Now, good results can be obtained with CoolSculpting as well, and the more cycles you get the better the result.  I would not say CoolSculpting is less dramatic.  Excellent results can be achieved.  Again, it is a matter of treatments areas and the number of cycles.

So, yes, body contouring can be confusing and not cheap because there are many factors involved with the process.  Remember, if you go cheap, you get what you pay for.  Body contouring is an investment for your body and yourself, so get a couple opinions.  Make sure you seen someone who specializes in body contouring, a board-certified plastic surgeon would be your best option.  If you don't feel comfortable with the provider, find someone else.  In the end, you should not feel confused after you see the right surgeon.  I hope this helps.  Dr. Jaime Bastidas.

To be honest, based on the pictures you submitted, you have obvious static lines.  For deep static lines, botox typically won't get rid of these lines.  The ideal patient for botox is a patient who has dynamic lines only (lines that form from active muscle movement, but disappear when the muscle is relaxed).  Static lines (lines that are present even when the muscle is completely relaxed) result from dynamic lines that have been present for a long time.  Essentially, untreated dynamic lines will eventually form static lines and the longer the static lines are present, the deeper and more obvious they become.  Botox will NOT get rid of deep and obvious static lines.  However, it can soften them and make them less severe.  Sometimes mild static lines can go away with botox, but not the deep ones.

In your case, I assume that you had pretty deep dynamic lines and obvious static lines before your treatment.  I would have explained that the botox would have only softened those lines, but not make them disappear.  I often take pictures before the treatment so I can show the improvement after the botox, even if lines are still present post-treatment.  Since we don't have pre-treatment photos in your case, it's hard to say what kind of improvement you had.  I also assume the $500 was not used just for the lines you showed, but for other areas on your face as well.  It would be helpful to get an idea of how many units were used to treat that area, because if it was a lot, then it may be something else altogether such as resistance to the botox.

I recommend you get another opinion about botox treatments and see if your expectations are realistic.  Be selective about the injector.  An skilled, experienced injector will give you a good idea of what to expect and also tell you if Botox is the right treatment.  Also, get photos before any treatment is given to see how much a change you get post-treatment.  Remember, static lines may not go away, even if the muscle is completely frozen with the treatment.  I hope this helps.  Best wishes.  Dr. Jaime Bastidas

Both liposuction and coolsculpting are good techniques for fat reduction in the right candidates.  The key thing is the make sure you are a candidate.  A consultation where the tissue can be examined to determine how much fat there is, see how it is distributed, and to assess the quality of overlying skin is very important to determine the best technique.  Sometimes a bulge like yours can be due to accessory axillary breast tissue which is not a problem with fat.

So, it is important to see someone who can perform all these options to determine what would be best for you in terms of result, cost, downtime, and proper care.  If you go to a place that only offers CoolSculpting, then they will say that’s your best option.  But if you see a board-certified plastic surgeon who is experienced with body contouring and offers surgical treatments (excision of tissue), or minimally invasive treatments (liposuction), or non-surgical treatments (coolsculpting), your options are not limited and you have the best chance of getting a good result that fits your budget.

Cost varies and is dependent on how much fat and how that fat needs to be removed.  Also other fees can be added to the surgeons fee such as the cost of anesthesia and/or facility fees.  For instance liposuction done under local would be less expensive than the same liposuction done with anesthesia.  So to give you a “ball park” cost would not be fair without examining you.  Something minimal could be less than $2000 or it could go over $6000 if anesthesia and facility fees are added onto the surgeon’s fees.  In 2017, the average surgeon’s fee was $3,374 for liposuction according to the American Society of Plastic Surgery statistical report.

I know this answer was a bit long winded, but I hope it helps.  Just keep this in mind, it’s your body, so treat it well.  Find a qualified and experienced surgeon who will listen to you and give you the best treatment possible.  Best wishes to you.  Dr. Jaime Bastidas

Liposuction is a body contouring or body shaping procedure.  So, if the shape of the body is off or there is a problem area due to fat, then that can be corrected with liposuction.  That shape stays with you even with some weight gain or weight loss.  The key thing to remember is that liposuction does not affect body weight and should not be thought of as a treatment for gaining weight.  So yes, weight gain after liposuction can look awful, but weight gain without liposuction can look awful as well.  The key is to maintain a healthy lifestyle and not gain weight!

Keep this in mind.  As adults, the number of fat cells in our body does not change.  So when we gain weight, our fats cells get larger, and when we lose weight our fat cells get smaller.  When we do liposuction, we are removing fat cells in an area and making it smaller and hopefully improving the overall shape of the body.  So, like I said before, that shape stays with you even with some weight gain or weight loss.  If there is weight gain, that treated area won't get as large as it would have before liposuction, but other non-treated areas will increase in size the same way as before.  As long as it's not significant weight gain, it won't be a problem.  Significant weight gain will be a problem, because the rest of the body will look bad.  Remember, those parts of the body would have looked bad anyway even without liposuction.

One last thing to think about.  Say you have a problem area like a bulging lower belly.  When you gain weight, it looks really awful.  The natural response would be to stop gaining weight, watch your diet, and exercise.  So then you decide, I know, I'll get liposuction so I don't have to worry about it any more. You get the lipo and you are happy at first.  But now you have lost your signal for weight gain.  Your big belly which was the sign for weight gain is gone.  You have nothing to encourage the diet changes and exercise.  So what happens?  You get fat!  But now that fat is evident in other parts of your body since your belly now has fewer fat cells.  Those other parts of your body look awful, not because of the lipo, but because you gained weight!

I hope all this makes sense.  If you take care of yourself and live a healthy lifestyle, but have a problem area that can be treated with liposuction, go for it.  Don't worry about weight gained fat redistribution.  If you are a good candidate, you will be happy with the result.  Be sure to see a board-certified plastic surgeon experienced with body contouring.  Best wishes.  Dr. Jaime Bastidas