Despite its overwhelming media presence plastic surgery continues to be the most misunderstood surgical specialty. It is my contention that this is the case because plastic surgery does not claim any specific disease (e. g. coronary artery disease in case of cardiac surgery) as its own nor does it focus on any single organ system […]
The Culture of Aesthetic Surgery
It is entirely personal. The motivation to seek enhancement of physical appearance (e. g. shape) or rejuvenation (e. g. the reconstruction of a youthful shape) should come from within the individual person. The individual perceives some aspect of his/her shape, which in their totality makes up his or her appearance, as a problem in a […]
CEO Announcement: Aesthetic Medicine and Skin Therapy
I am pleased to announce the cooperation of Trinidad Institute of Plastic Surgery and A. M. E. Skin Care Center. A. M. E. Skin Care Center is a full service skin therapy clinic, owned an operated by Areana Emmanuel, certified aesthetician. A native of Trinidad, Areana has been intrigued with the beauty industry from a […]
Electrical Injuries – The “Great Masquerader” in Burn Surgery
Electrical injuries comprise only a small fraction of burn injuries admitted to specialized centers. High voltage injuries may not be survivable. The flow of current through the body interferes with tissues conducting electricity on their own (nerves, heart) and expends its energy on tissues with highest resistance, the bones, causing high temperature damage from the […]
Midface Lift
Midface lift in our Caribbean plastic surgery clinic at Trinidad Institute of Plastic Surgery addresses the aesthetically most important region in the face during facial rejuvenation, which Ramirez termed the “central oval” encompassing an elliptic area around the eyes, cheeks, forehead, lips and chin. It is what we see when we look directly from in […]
Correcting Crooked Noses and Faces
The correlation between structure and appearance is most straightforward when the skeleton is involved. Today’s case involved a young women after a motor vehicle accident more than a decade ago. The forehead was uneven, the brows in unequal position, old hardware palpable over the roof of the eye socket and the nose was crooked and […]
What is cosmetic surgery, what is reconstructive surgery, what is everything in between ?
All too often a difference is made between reconstructive and cosmetic surgery, most often to elevate the status of reconstructive surgery and lower the one of cosmetic surgery. I am a cosmetic surgeon and I do complex reconstrucive surgery. So I never could understand how someone could come up with something so artificial, neither based […]
Malar Bags and Festoons
The sometimes baggy area beneath the eyelids overlying the cheek bones are called “festoons”. They represent a difficult problem, which is not solved by standard facelift techniques or a “classical” blepharoplasty. The former pulls and tightens in the wrong direction to have an effect in this area of the midface, the latter usually overresects fat […]
Trinidad Institute of Plastic Surgery Review Rhinoplasty
Dr. Schleich performed plastic surgery on me in early 2011, which comprised decompression of multiple nerves in the craniofacial region, reshaping of my skull as well as septo and rhinoplasty. While being done with techniques used in cosmetic surgery, the primary purpose of the entire procedure including the rhinoplasty was to relieve my severe migraine […]
Laser Tattoo Removal in Dark Skin Types
Laser energy splits the colored particles in a tattoo into portions small enough to be removed by the body’s scavenger cells. Different wavelength are required for different colors for optimal absorption and energy transfer. However, part of the laser energy is also absorbed by the skin’s melanin (dark pigment) producing cells and may ultimately kill […]