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Q: I am HIV positive as well as a diabetic with deflated cheeks. Do you think transferring fat from my own body to my face will work? A:  Facial lipoatrophy is a common sequelae from the antiviral medications used in the treatment of HIV. Often this loss of fat is quite severe with the skin […]

Fat is one of those topics that we hear too much about and want as little to do with as possible. Most people feel like they have a little or maybe a lot too much. For some, fat is a definite the enemy that makes the choice between what tastes good and one’s waistline a […]

Q: I broke my cheekbone when I was 16 years old in a car accident. After it healed, I was left with a dimple on the left side of my face that is prominent when I smile. I have been receiving botox injections in the dimple and the results are minimal, although the dimple does […]

Q: Hello Dr Eppley. I am now 23 years old and up until the age of 18 I had a flat brow bone. Now it bulges out unevenly and hangs over my eyes. I look completely different now. It may have happened after I scrubbed my brows with a scourer to remove hair dye 5 […]

Q: I am interested in getting Smartlipo for my love handles. I am a 42 year old healthy HIV positive male since 2005. My CD4 count is 435 and my viral load is undetectable. I am 5′ 9 and weigh 170lbs. I am on HIV medications with no signs and symptoms. I have been recently […]

Q: I had inferior orbital rim implants done with a midface lift about 6 weeks ago. It has left me with upper lips on the right side that I cannot purse and numbness in my top front teeth and extending up my nose to my eyes. I am also numb above the implant on the […]

Q: I am a 59 year old male that has developed breasts from my cancer medication. I have prostrate cancer and am on Casodex. I am told by my doctor that I can not go off this medication for the rest of my life. I want to do something with my breast enlargement not only […]

Q: I have cheek implants that I would like to have taken out. What can I expect after they are taken out? Also, my right side of my face is a little higher then my left. Is their anything that can be done about that? A: While cheek implants can certainly be removed, is it […]

Q: Hello, I have some severe lumps from a previous liposuction therapy on my upper and lower abdomen. I have since attempted corrective surgery, but it has actually made the issue worse. Is it possible to better the results? A: Waviness or unevenness is the most significant risk in liposuction of the abdomen. While it […]

Q:  Hello, I have a rare problem. I think, although I am not sure, I have always slept on the left side of my face. Ad a result, I have an extremely strong left chin and not hardly a right chin at all. I was hoping for implants on the weak side or a reduction […]

Q: I had a face lift a few years ago and now looking into a procedure for the aging, saggy skin on my neck to be tightened.  I’m hoping it will not be as invasive as the face lift.  A consultation would be great so that I could learn more about the procedure,  expense, recovery […]

Q: I have a son who is 5 almost 6. He has a flat spot on the back of his head due to sleeping in the same position as an infant. We were oblivious to the fact that our child’s head wasn’t perfect. Anyway we never got him a helmet and now he has a […]

Q: I am impressed with the results I saw of yours on a patient that I ran accross on the internet while doing plastic surgery research. The patient had cheek implants and I think removal of buccal pads. I am 57 years old and have a lean face. I think this procedure is what I […]

Q: I am a 19 y/o male with a receded lower jaw along with a very small chin. I am very unhappy with my profile and unable to afford corrective jaw surgery nor do I wish to deal with orthodontics for over a year. I have had braces before when I was younger and do […]

Q: I have some severe lumps from a previous liposuction therapy on my upper and lower abdomen. I have since attempted corrective surgery, but it has actually made the issue worse. Is it possible to better the results? I have attached some pictures of my abdomen so you can see how bad it is. A: […]

Q: Hi Dr. Eppley, I have a chin scar that I would like improved. I have lived with it for three years but it has not gotten any better. I fell over my bicycle handlebars and ran my chin into the ground. (ouch!) While it was stitched up in an emergency room, it did not […]

As we begin a new year, it is time to once again throw out some fearless predictions about what we will see in 2011. There are endless lists of predictions this time of year, so why not one for plastic and cosmetic surgery as well. 1) As the economy improves, albeit slowly, expect to see […]

Q: Can injectable fillers adequately fill the buccal facial area?  I have heard that Sculptra is used for that but because the product is synthetic I have read a lot of online complaints about problems with the material causing granulomas and lumps. Could Perlane be used instead? Does Perlane work in the buccal area? I […]

Q: Dr. Eppley, My droopy eyelids are driving me crazy. While I have always had very fleshy and heavy eyelids, they have gotten worse as I age. After my 40s (I am 55 now), they began to sag badly. Putting on makeup has become very difficult. What’s even worse is that it is making my […]

Q: I am suffering from some hyperpigmentation from Fractional CO2. I had a few courses of Medlite (At both 532 and 1064 wavelengths) but have noted little improvement. I am also using bleaching creams – hydroquinone and Retin-A. What in your practice has helped with laser induced PIH? I am Asian and probably have skin […]

Q: Hi Dr Eppley, I have been reading with interest on the extensive archive of questions that you have previously responded to pertaining to scar revision. In one of the replies posted, you wrote that the extremities presents the most difficult anatomical sites on which to perform surgical revision. I have a long fairly wide […]

Q: Dr. Barry Eppley, I am a 15 year old male, and I have a excessive areola projection problem. My nipples have been pointy for about 2 years now, and I get made fun of every day for it. I saw some pictures of your surgeries, and I was wondering I you could help me […]

Q: I am a male who is unhappy with the result of my facelift. My plastic surgeon was way too aggressive when he performed a SMAS rhytidectomy three years ago. The outcome from this facelift looks very unnatural and I know it. I get a lot of eye popping stares from women which leaves me […]

Q: What are the options to put volume back to buccal area underneath the cheek bone? I am in my mid 30s. A:  A buccal or submalar indentation or concavity can occur for a variety of reasons including a congenital facial concern  (developmental), after a buccal lipectomy (iatrogenic), or medication-induced. (retroviral drugs)  This area extends […]

Q: Hi Dr. Eppley, I am interested in nose and neck surgery. In the front view the tip of my nose is too fat. My nose profile shows that my bridge projects too much and the line from my top of forehead down through the bottom of my nose is too straight. I wish to […]

Q: I had a breast reduction in October 2010, and I am thinking about getting pregnant again. I was a DDD before, and now am a B. Surgery went well, but if I gain roughly 20 lbs during pregnancy, how big do you think that the breasts will get? I had a free nipple graft, […]

Q: I would like an opinion by a plastic surgeon. I would like to get rid of the hump on my nose and for it to be smaller and not so wide. My nose is especially wide underneath my eyes. I would like a chin implant to help with my side profile. These are the […]

Q: I am in the beginning stages of considering the possibility of rhinoplasty procedure.  A large nose runs in my family, but what I’m most unhappy with is that my nose is slightly crooked.  I also wouldn’t mind some size adjustment, both length and width.  I am truly unsure of what potential costs for something […]

Q: I’m a little self-concious about my lower face.  I am now 48 years old and feel lilke the sides of my jaw are lacking. When I was a teenager, I had orthodontics which included removal of four permanent teeth to make room for other teeth. This moved by front teeth and my back teeth […]

Q: Is there no way to bringing out the midface with dermal fillers? Are the results not so good as with implants? What is the material of which midface implants are made of? What the advantages and disadvantages of injectable fillers vs implants for midface deficiencies? A: For midfacial deficiency, albeit of the cheeks, maxilla, […]