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Q: I have had forehead reshaping surgery about a year ago with PMMA resulting in a very unsatisfactory result. None of the areas I was concerned with have been addressed and there is significant visible irregularities as a result of the surgeons incompetence at the task. I wanted to know how long I should wait […]

Q: I am interested in having several plastic surgery procedures done. Do you know if I can use my health insurance for plastic surgery? A: Your health insurance is intended to cover medically necessary procedures. From a plastic surgery standpoint, operations such as breast reduction, large abdominal panniculectomies, repair of cleft lip and palate deformities, […]

Q: My friends had fat taken from her stomach and put into her upper lip lines.  Is this a procedure you do or recommend? A: The search for a long-lasting injectable filler to the lips has naturally led to the use of one’s own fat. Even the thinnest person has a little bit of fat […]

Q: Hello! Do you perform the laser eyelid rejuvenation procedure? I am 48 and have eye hooding and really don’t want to have the surgery at this time. I have read that there is laser treatment that is quite successful. Thank you for your help! A: I am not aware of any laser eyelid procedure […]

Q: I would like to have breast augmentation. I have never had because I feared the curvature of my spine might be a problem. I have curvature of the spine, two curves to be exact. I have NEVER really had any problems with it. However, I am not even an A cup and want to […]

Q: I was just curious about whether I am a good candidate for liposuction on the buttocks and my abdominal oblique areas.  I am pretty small as it is but I have always had stubborn fat no matter what I do. I work out and eat right, I only weigh 105lbs and I am only […]

Q: I have been attempting to learn the pros and cons of chin surgery. I really want my chin longer and want to know in your opinion if it would stretch my lower lip and expose too much of my lower teeth when I smile? In addition, if I had a chin implant could a […]

Q: I have read that paranasal implants can be done in local anesthesia. Is this right? Is local anesthesia possible also with malar implants which are placed right next to paranasal implants? Does not the lifting of the periosteum from the bone hurt in spite of the local anesthesia? Thank you very much for your […]

Q: I have sleep apnea and a very thick fat neck. I was wondering if liposuction of the neck would help my sleep apnea? My thought is that if the fat was removed from my neck it would not be so heavy when I laid down. That way it would not push down on my neck […]

Q: I am interested in trying to get my face to look less fat. I want to make my face slimmer if possible. I have a small double chin and fatter cheeks and jowls. I have read about Lipodissolve injections and this seems like a good and easy solution for my small areas of facial […]

Q: I am 30 yrs old and am tried of people telling me that I am in my mid to late 40s. Ugghhh! I usually just walk away and cry and I am tried of crying over this and want to get something done about it. I have had a brow lift and a neck […]

Q: I have had severe migraines for years. My migraines start in the back of my head and shoot up into my scalp and down into my shoulders. It usually feels like there is a vise on the back of my head. I have been to a lot of doctors and have tried everything from […]

Q: I would love to have breast augmentation before my 21th birthday which is later this spring. My preferred approach would be breast augmentation with an incision through armpit area But  I also considering the option of an inframammary incision using Memory gel breast implants. Which do you think would be better for me? Thank […]

Q: I am going to get a facelift and want the scars to heal to that no one will know that it was done. I have read about a Laser-Erase procedure that can get rid of the scars almost immediately. Does this really work? What are your thoughts? A: Over 100,000 facelifts and an equal […]

Q: For my bulgy forehead, is it possible to burr down the forehead and then do a forehead/eyebrow lift at the same time, just removing the extra skin? The reason I ask is because my head is misshappen and my hairline is too high. I want my hairline to be lower so burring down some […]

Q: I was wondering if it is possible to shave down certain parts of the skull. My forehead isn’t the way I want it to be shaped. I am trying to get my forehead to stick out a little less. Is it possible to shave the skull down? And if so how much can be […]

Q:  I had a chin reduction a couple of years ago and although I am happy with the new shape of the bone, I now have hanging soft tissue. Needless to say I am not happy with these results. I have visited five plastic surgeons and none of them wanted to fix this problem saying […]

Q: I wrote you a couple of months ago about the possibility of undergoing a forehead contouring surgery to address my possible forehead bulging, to which you asked me to provide you with pictures. This is want I would like to do now and i have attached some forehead pictures for you to review. I […]

Q: I have a long and wide forehead scar that I would like to be made to look better. I have attached some pictures of it for you to review. I was wondering if you think that laser resurfacing will help. I have read that it can make scars go away. What is your opinion […]

Q: I am interested in learning about the cosmetic effectiveness of doing both zygomatic osteotomies with orthognathic surgery. I have seen some plastic and oral surgeons and I am told I have what they call a class 2 malocclusion with a restrusive mandible and maxilla, low sunken zygomas and mid-face with the outer edges of […]

Q:  I am considering scar revision but need some direction. I basically have two small scars on my butt. They are small and they look like chicken pox scars However they are perfectly centered on each cheek. They are from a liposuction surgery I had many years ago. What is the best way to correct […]

Q: I am interested in getting a chin implant to make my weaker chin look better. It seems like a fairly simple procedure but this bone resorption underneath the implant sort of scares me. Why does this happen? Is there any way to avoid this bone reorption if I get a chin implant? A: The […]

Q:  I have an unusual question. I’m half Chinese but my eyes are more Caucasian-looking. So I was wondering if there is a surgery to create an epicanthal fold at the medical canthus? ( the one that half covers/hides the tear duct). Some doctor once told it’s possible with a w-plasty or a jumping man […]

Q:  I have heard of rib graft nose augmentation. Is this method better than using silicone implants? It seems that most people use silicone so why rib? Can a rib graft be carved like silicone with  a nice shape ? Can it get warped  and twisted? How many people are fixing their nose using rib […]

Q:  My daughter has grown in the past two years a strange looking abdominal growth. It doesn’t look like any abdominal pannus picture I have ever seen. She is very obese but has a normal looking white abdomen which hangs down a little. However, directly under (and separate from) this normal looking abdomen is a […]

Q:  I want to have breast implants done. I am not happy with the way my breasts look. But I have lupus and am not sure that I can have this procedure with this medical condition. A: Whether breast augmentation with the medical history of lupus is a good idea would depend on what the […]

Q:  What do you think of hyaluronic acid for buttock augmentation? It seems like it would be  a lot easier to do than using your own fat or putting a synthetic implant in your body. A: While the family of hyaluronic acid fillers are commonly used for very small volume facial augmentation, they are very […]

Q: Dr. Eppley, I would like your opinion on my nose condition. My history is that I have always had a big nose, it being very big and fat particularly at the tip. During my first rhinoplasty, they shortened the bridge between the tip of my nose and the upper lip but the size of […]

Plastic surgery, unlike some medical specialties, seems to always find its way into the news. 2010 was no exception in this regard. As a plastic surgeon, most of the items that become newsworthy were an incredible mix of the freaky, incredulous and even fantastic events. Breasts always seem to make the news and the more […]

Q: I would like to get my eyelids done as they are very heavy looking and make me look bad. People tell me all the time that I look tired even though I am not. I am sick of hearing that! My only real concern about the surgery is recovery. How long is the recovery […]