Having cosmetic or reconstructive plastic surgery is an important decision. If you’re considering plastic surgery, you’ll want to find the best care in the region.
The specialized plastic surgery team at UPMC Hamot provides the latest and most effective cosmetic and reconstructive procedures. With compassionate expertise, our surgeon and staff aim to deliver personalized, high-quality care.
Cosmetic, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Bayview Centre
100 Peach St., Suite 201
Erie, PA 16507
Plastic surgery is not for everyone. But with realistic expectations, cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery can help improve your self-image or make you feel more comfortable with your appearance.
Yet these procedures are not only for improving appearance: Many can also repair or improve bodily function.
For example, blepharoplasty (eyelid lift) not only makes for more youthful features, it also improves peripheral vision in both men and women. Breast surgery can not only reduce or enhance breast size but also repair and restore the breasts after mastectomy. Rhinoplasty (nose surgery) not only refines the outer shape of the nose but also can fix internal structures that cause breathing problems.
UPMC Hamot offers a wide array of cosmetic and reconstructive surgical procedures and the latest laser therapies. During your consultation, your doctor will build a personalized care plan that's right for you.
Many surgeries may be considered cosmetic surgeries. However, the same procedures used to improve the proportions of the face or body also can be used as reconstructive surgeries after injury or other medical procedures, such as mastectomies.
UPMC can perform many modern cosmetic procedures, including:
Body contouring surgery may be used to tighten loose skin following extreme weight loss, such as after bariatric surgery. It can also be used to improve the appearance of the back, arms, thighs, and abdomen.
Excess skin or fat in the abdomen develops for several reasons, including heredity, pregnancy, or other significant weight fluctuations. A tummy tuck, or abdominoplasty, removes the excess skin and fat, creating a more appealing body profile. It also tightens the muscles in the abdominal wall, resulting in a more taut, well-toned abdomen.
Flabby skin often develops on the upper arm due to weight loss, aging, heredity, or all three. A brachioplasty removes the loose skin as well as excess fat in the arm. The result is well-contoured and better-defined arms.
This procedure removes areas of loose skin following massive weight loss from diet and exercise, or after bariatric weight-loss surgery. No amount of dieting or exercise will make this excess skin go away. This surgical procedure removes a belt of skin, subcutaneous fat, and tissue in the abdomen, waist, and buttock area, resulting in a smoother, more youthful body contour.
Liposuction removes small areas of fat remaining around a person’s hips, stomach, thighs, and buttocks that won’t disappear despite regular exercise and a proper diet. Liposuction uses suction to remove excess fat deposits between the skin and muscle, reshaping the affected area to a more appealing contour. As long as weight remains stable, the improved appearance is usually permanent.
The combined effects of aging, gravity, and loss of muscle tone can result in an expanding waist and backside. A buttock lift, or posterior body lift, removes loose skin and fat from the entire waist, including “love handles.” The procedure repositions the remaining skin and lifts the buttocks to produce a more youthful, shapely appearance.
Excess skin, and in some cases fat, can be removed with a thigh lift to create smoother, better-proportioned thighs and lower body. Through incisions, the underlying tissue is tightened and excess skin and fat are removed, reshaping the upper leg. Results are generally long-lasting if the person maintains a stable weight and remains fit.
From augmentation to reconstruction, UPMC Hamot's plastic surgeon offers several procedures for both cosmetic and medical purposes. We also perform surgery to treat gynecomastia, or male breast enlargement.
You are a candidate for this procedure if:
You are a candidate for this procedure if:
You are a candidate for this procedure if:
From smoothing acne scarring to improving the appearance of wrinkles to treating more complex cosmetic and reconstructive issues, our surgeon offers an array of both surgical and nonsurgical procedures for the face.
Sagging eyelids caused by weakened muscles add years to the face and can hinder peripheral vision. Eyelid surgery, or blepharoplasty, removes or redistributes excess skin, muscle, and fat from one or both eyelids. Usually performed in under two hours, blepharoplasty improves vision and can provide a younger, more alert look.
Drooping eyebrows, forehead furrows, and frown lines can be resolved through a surgical procedure known as a forehead lift. It is usually done with local anesthesia and limited hair removal. The surgeon removes excess skin, tissue, and muscle, leaving more youthful-looking eyes, a smoother brow, and a rejuvenated facial expression.
Protruding ears can be minimized through otoplasty, which can increase self-confidence (particularly among children) without affecting hearing. After studying the ears, the surgeon reshapes them by either trimming cartilage or using stitches to mold the cartilage into a more aesthetic appearance.
Nose surgery, or rhinoplasty, reshapes the nose, making it more proportionate to the face. It also corrects breathing problems. Through an incision made inside the nose or in the tissue separating the nostrils, the surgeon reshapes the nose by removing bone or cartilage. Sometimes, cartilage grafts from the nose or ear are used to achieve the desired appearance or to achieve functional improvements in breathing.
One of the most common plastic surgery procedures, a facelift addresses crow’s feet, jowls, wrinkles, and other signs of aging. During the procedure, the surgeon repositions muscle and connective tissue and removes excess skin. The result is a more youthful-looking face.
This procedure surgically sands down raised areas of the skin to improve the appearance of scars or creases, even out skin pigmentation, and stimulate new collagen formation.
Chemical peels are an effective treatment option for a wide range of skin colors and types. Ideal candidates generally have light skin types, but darker skin types may also achieve great results from chemical peels. The number of treatments needed will vary depending on your skin condition and type of chemical peel treatment. Mild chemical peels can be repeated in one- to four-week intervals until the desired effect is reached. Medium or deep chemical peels can be repeated in six to 12 months if the optimal result is not reached through one treatment.
Lasers produce intense, precisely focused beams of high-energy light that can be used in a wide variety of medical and cosmetic treatments. Laser surgery is used to remove warts, birthmarks, tattoos, acne scars, and even precancerous growths. Lasers are also used to reduce unwanted hair, remove prominent blood vessels or spider veins, and reduce the appearance of wrinkles around the eyes or lips.
The Sciton® Clearscan laser safely treats excessive hair growth on every part of the external body, except for the eyebrows.
At UPMC Hamot, we use this unique laser hair removal system on common areas such as the back, bikini line, chest, legs, and underarm.
This treatment also effectively removes facial hair — including the beard on men — and treats all skin types. Your team at UPMC will design a personalized laser hair removal treatment regimen for you.
The Sciton ProFractional age-reversing and antiaging laser not only temporarily corrects and reverses aging changes, but also improves the overall appearance of skin. It's specifically designed to diminish the effects of time on the skin.
The ProFractional laser is used to treat issues and conditions, such as:
We can treat most skin areas on the face, neck, chest, and hands.
The real beauty of the ProFractional treatment is that is allows more aggressive treatment with less downtime than previous laser treatments.
For many years, the carbon dioxide (C02) laser was a popular surgeon's tool for laser skin resurfacing, or peeling. Its use has been limited due to the risk of scarring and pigment changes resulting from the deep thermal damage or heat build-up produced in the skin.
The introduction of the Sciton Erbium laser now allows the same excellent results but with a lowered risk of complications.
The Sciton MicroLaser Peel is a light to moderate peel that is ideal for treating wrinkles, sun damage, and other skin conditions on the chest, face, hands, or neck.
The Sciton Erbium MicroLaser works best on superficial skin conditions, such as:
The skin in these conditions is resurfaced or rejuvenated by the vaporizing action of the laser.
SkinTyte is the newest Sciton laser technology to tighten and firm skin without downtime. Revive Laser Spa is the first spa in the Erie region to offer this exciting skin-tightening treatment.
The Sciton SkinTyte system delivers infrared light deep into the dermis.
The heat from the special light:
The powerful cooling system maintains the outer surface of the skin at cool temperatures before, during, and after each pulse. This makes treatment comfortable and safe with no downtime.
Common conditions that benefit from this therapy include:
SkinTyte is safe for all skin types and can be performed on any area of the body.
Spider veins on the face and legs bother millions of people. UPMC Hamot uses state-of-the-art advanced laser technology and can remove spider veins anywhere on the face or body. Spider veins are caused by:
When spider veins occur on the face, they are referred to as telangiectasias. These abnormally dilated vessels tend to occur on the nose or cheeks of fair-skinned people. Telangiectasias may be related to chronic sun exposure or exposure to extreme temperatures.
Lasers are used to deliver a beam of light with a prescribed amount of energy, which heats the blood in the problem veins. This heating causes thermocoagulation of the vessel, which is then absorbed by the body. The spider veins and vessels then slowly and naturally disappear. This treatment typically takes anywhere from two to six sessions to completely resolve the spider veins.
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