Tummy Tuck or Liposuction in Orange County

Liposuction or Tummy Tuck? Which is right for me?

Many people are unhappy with the appearance of their tummies, or abdomens, for a variety of reasons. Some women develop stretch marks after pregnancy, or skin laxity and wrinkles that do not resolve with time and weight loss. Both men and women who have lost large amounts of weight also experience loose skin or redundant skin. Others complain of bulging fat, or prominent love handles (also known as muffin top). All of these concerns can usually be improved with surgery, often liposuction or a tummy tuck, or a combination of both.

Liposuction is most helpful for removal of fat pockets, or decreasing and smoothing fat bulges. For best results, patients undergoing liposuction should have fairly good skin quality and tightness in the areas that are treated. If you can “pinch an inch” (or more) on your abdomen, and your skin is not too stretched, then liposuction can produce excellent improvement. Love handles also often respond extremely well to liposuction.

If you have loose tummy skin or redundant abdominal skin, then liposuction may not help much, or might need to be combined with a tummy tuck, also known as an abdominoplasty. A tummy tuck excises (cuts out) extra skin, and also tightens the abdominal muscles, resulting in a smoother, flatter tummy. The extra rolls and wrinkles can be removed, as can most of the stretch marks. The results following a tummy tuck can be so dramatic, as to be “life changing,” as many of my patients have told me.

It is absolutely critical to consult a plastic surgeon like myself, Andres Taleisnik, M.D., who is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, and who is also a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, for either liposuction or a tummy tuck. As a respected Orange County and Newport Beach area plastic surgeon specializing in body contouring and “mommy makeovers,” I often see patients who received abdominal liposuction from other physicians (usually not plastic surgeons) when they truly required a tummy tuck, mainly because the other physician had nothing to offer besides the liposuction. To schedule a free consultation with me, during which I’ll help you to determine which procedure or procedures will best accomplish your goals, please call my office at 714-835-6500.

Dr. Andres Taleisnik

Posted in Abdominoplasty, Liposuction, Mini Tummy Tuck, Mommy Makeover | No Comments »

Breast Lifts in Orange County

Breast Lift Specialist Orange County

Serving Newport Beach, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, Los Angeles County

Unfortunately for our bodies, gravity is always pulling. This leads to drooping eyelids, drooping faces, drooping tummies, and yes, drooping breasts. Big breasts tend to droop or sag more than small breasts as time passes, but no breast is immune. There are other important reasons that breasts can droop. Pregnancy is a major cause of breast drooping (medically referred to as “ptosis”). I’ve recently written several articles about “The Mommy Makeover,” a combination of procedures (including breast enhancement) designed to counteract the effects of pregnancy and breastfeeding. Some women develop breasts with unsatisfactory shapes, often with ptosis, right from the start, during puberty. Other women experience severe breast drooping after losing large amounts of weight. Fortunately, procedures are available to improve all of these problems.

Breast drooping, or ptosis, is usually improved with a surgery known as a mastopexy, or breast lift. A mastopexy can raise the nipple and the areola (the darker skin around each nipple) to the appropriate height. It can help to restore cleavage, lift the breast off the chest wall, and improve the appearance and feel of breast fullness. If the areola diameter is too big, the areolas can be reduced to a more pleasing size. Many women tell me that it’s much easier to find properly fitting bras, and attractive swimsuits or clothing, after undergoing a breast lift.

The first step is to determine whether you actually need a breast lift, or if your breasts are simply “empty” or “deflated,” as can often occur after pregnancy and breastfeeding. Many patients who see me in my Orange County office requesting a breast lift actually benefit more from a breast augmentation. It’s important to consult a plastic surgeon certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery if you’re thinking about enhancing your breasts. Your surgeon must have the necessary education, training, experience, and judgment to help you to decide which procedure will provide the improvement you desire. Certainly, there are many women who do require a lift, and others who benefit most from breast augmentation in combination with a breast lift. A breast lift alone may not be able to restore the volume and upper breast fullness that some women seek. For such patients, adding implants to a breast lift can produce beautiful results.

Any breast lift will create come scarring on the breast. In most patients, the scars fade and become fairly inconspicuous with passage of time. Some patients, however, will form scars that remain more visible (but not in clothing or a swimsuit). There are different types of lifts, each producing different degrees of scarring. Many factors determine which type of lift is appropriate for any given patient.

When ptosis, or breast drooping, is quite severe, patients require a traditional type of mastopexy, or lift. This type of lift creates more scars, but is also very powerful. The breasts can be totally reshaped and repositioned with a full mastopexy. Once again, it may be helpful to add implants as well to improve upper breast fullness and cleavage.

I often perform a modified type of breast lift for my patients undergoing breast augmentation who also require slight tightening of the breast skin and slight elevation of the nipples and areolas. This is referred to as a “concentric mastopexy.” This type of lift creates a scar around the areola only. Since the scar is at the border of two different colors and textures of skin, it tends to blend in well. Photos illustrating this can be seen on my website

If your breasts are heading south, or if you’re unhappy with them in any way, please don’t hesitate to contact my office at 714-835-6500. We can arrange a free consultation, where I can help you to decide the best way to obtain the improvements you want. I evaluate and treat patients from all over Newport Beach and Orange County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, and LA County, as well as patients from other states, who are dissatisfied with their breasts. I look forward to helping you too.

Posted in Breast Lift Surgery, Home, Mommy Makeover | No Comments »

Orange County Mommy Makeover Surgeon: Breast Enhancement

Mommy Makeover Surgeon- Dr. Andres Taleisnik

As many women know so well, there can be a physical price to pay for having children. Unfortunate changes often occur in the breasts, abdomen (tummy), or other areas. I recently wrote an article about The Mommy Makeover, a combination of plastic surgical procedures designed to help women to regain their pre-pregnancy figures (or even better). A Mommy Makeover almost always includes a tummy tuck (or abdominoplasty), and procedures to improve the breasts. I also wrote recently about the tummy tuck component of The Mommy Makeover in greater detail. This article addresses the enhancement of the breasts after pregnancy.

Many women who were entirely satisfied with their breast size and shape prior to pregnancy complain of decreased volume, emptiness of the breasts, or sagging afterwards. Fortunately, I can offer surgical options to improve each of those problems. It is important to consult a plastic surgeon certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, as I am, since the surgeon must have the training, knowledge and experience to provide an individualized plan for every patient, since every woman’s needs and desires are unique.

Some women complain to me that their breasts are “saggy” after pregnancy, when they are actually just “empty.” Such patients may do extremely well with breast augmentation alone, using either saline or silicone implants (I’ve discussed the differences in a prior article). The implants can restore fullness, which is usually quite lacking in the upper breast and cleavage area in particular. There may be choices as to the final size or volume of the breasts as well. When you meet with me for your consultation, I will help you to determine whether augmentation alone will achieve your goals.

While augmentation alone may be sufficient for many women, there are certainly others who might benefit from a lift, or mastopexy, with or without implants. If the nipples are on the lower part of the breasts, or point downwards, a lift could be helpful. A lift is often beneficial if the nipples are near or below the level of the inframammary fold, which is the crease or fold beneath each breast.

If the breasts already have enough volume, a lift alone may be fine. Often, however, it’s not possible to restore the degree of fullness in the upper breasts that many women want without using implants. Such patients are candidates for an “augmentation mastopexy,” or lift plus implants.

There are also different types of lifts that can be used. If there is significant drooping (breast “ptosis”) or laxity of the breasts, a larger, more traditional type of mastopexy, or lift, must be used. Such lifts create more scars (which usually fade and become fairly inconspicuous as time passes), but are also more powerful, reshaping a severely saggy breast very nicely. If a more minor degree of lifting or tightening is required, there are lifts that involve, for example, scars only around the areolas. These are known as “concentric mastopexies,” “crescent lifts,” and others.

The good news is that a caring, well-trained plastic surgeon can improve MANY of the unwanted body changes that accompany pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding. As you might imagine, it’s critical to seek a surgeon who is not only well-trained and certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, but who will also take the time to evaluate your specific issues and desires, and to review them with you in an understandable fashion so that you can make the best possible choices. I take pride in caring for my patients with more individualized and complete attention than can be found anywhere else, as you’ll discover when we meet. Please call my office at 714-835-6500 to schedule your free consultation.

Posted in Breast Augmentation, Home, Mommy Makeover | No Comments »

Orange County Mommy Makeover: The Tummy Tuck

Now that you’ve given birth to your child or children, one of the most wonderful and miraculous things a woman can do, you may be left questioning “What happened to my body, and what can I do to make it better again?” The Mommy Makeover was designed to help the millions of women who share these same concerns. I recently posted an article about The Mommy Makeover, a combination of surgical procedures performed at the same operative session. The main procedures include a tummy tuck (medically referred to as an abdominoplasty), a breast augmentation and/or breast lift, and liposuction of problem areas such as the thighs. In this article, I’ll discuss the tummy tuck component of The Mommy Makeover in greater detail.

Three unwanted changes can often occur to your tummy, or abdomen, after pregnancy: stretching or sagging of the skin, loosening or bulging of the muscles, and development of stretch marks. Fortunately, a well-performed tummy tuck can often improve all three of these problems. The main purpose of a tummy tuck is to remove excess, loose skin (and some fat at times). Every woman’s skin recovers differently after pregnancy. Some women are fortunate that their skin tightens up nicely, staying smooth and without stretch marks. More often, the skin doesn’t tighten back to its pre-pregnancy state. The tummy tuck excises, or cuts out, the excess skin. The extra skin, accompanied by drooping, folds or creases, and jiggling with movement, can occur in women of any age or size. I have performed tummy tucks, with excellent improvement, on women who are 5 feet tall and weigh over 200 p0unds, and on women who are 5’7″  tall and weigh 110 pounds. ANYONE can develop loose, hanging skin after giving birth. There are photos of women of different sizes on my website.

Another important part of the tummy tuck involves tightening the abdominal muscles. I don’t remember ANY post-pregnancy tummy tuck patients who wouldn’t benefit from tightening and flattening the muscles. Muscle laxity, of varying degrees, is just a fact of pregnancy, and occurs even in athletes and fitness trainers who do hundreds of sit-ups each day. Strong, permanent sutures (stitches) are used to tighten the rectus abdominis muscles. This pulls in the waist and flattens the bulging of the tummy.

Fortunately, tummy tucks can also frequently eliminate or markedly reduce stretch marks. Much of the skin containing the stretch marks may be cut out, with the remaining skin pulled tight and smooth. If the stretch marks are mainly at the level of the belly button or below, you may have few or no stretch marks after surgery.

It’s important to remember that, although Mommy Makeovers or tummy tucks are cosmetic procedures, they are indeed surgeries, and should be performed by plastic surgeons with the highest degree of training, ongoing education, and experience, including certification by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. Dr. Andres Taleisnik has been a highly respected member of the medical community in the Newport Beach and Orange County areas for well over a decade. Please call 714-835-6500 to schedule a free consultation. You will meet only with Dr. Taleisnik, not a nurse or assistant. He will help you to determine which procedures are best and most appropriate for you, and will start you on the path back to the body you had before, or never had and always wanted.

Please watch for upcoming articles on other components of The Mommy Makeover, including breast augmentation/lift and liposuction.

Posted in Home, Mommy Makeover | 1 Comment »

The Mommy Makeover

Mommy Makeover Specialist

Orange County, Newport Beach, Riverside County

Having children is a wonderful experience for most women, but it often leads to many undesired changes in their bodies. Some women are fortunate (not many!), since their bodies recover almost to the pre-pregnancy shape. Most never quite regain the figures they had before giving birth.

Common unwanted changes include deflation or emptying of the breasts, sagging of the breasts, and development of stretch marks or loose skin and muscles on the tummy. These problems can develop even with an excellent diet, vigorous exercise, or use of creams and other “potions.” Fortunately, as a plastic surgeon certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, Andres Taleisnik, M.D. frequently helps women in Orange County to regain their more youthful, pre-pregnancy bodies.

The popular term today for a combination of surgeries designed to reverse or improve the damaging effects of pregnancy is “Mommy Makeover.” Dr. Taleisnik often performs abdominoplasties (tummy tucks) together with breast surgery (breast augmentation, breast lift, or both) to provide a rapid and dramatic appearance improvement. Liposuction, such as for the hips or flanks, can be added as well.

For most women who are in reasonable health, it’s reasonable to do the various procedures at once. This results in a single anesthetic, a single recovery period or absence from work, and a lower overall cost than doing procedures separately. Dr. Taleisnik will help you to determine which procedures will be most beneficial for you, and whether you’re a candidate for the full “Mommy Makeover.” Please call his assistant Linae at 714-835-6500 to schedule your free consultation with Dr. Taleisnik.

Please watch for future articles on the individual surgeries that make up the “Mommy Makeover.”

Posted in Abdominoplasty, Breast Augmentation, Home, Liposuction, Mommy Makeover | 1 Comment »