What is proportionate?

So many patients come to the office wanting a “proportionate” outcome, and one of the things I’ve learned over the past 17 years of practice (has it been that long?!?!) is that proportionate means something different to each patient.  When a breast augmentation patient here in Santa Barbara tells me that they are looking for…

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The ASAPS Aesthetic Symposium in Las Vegas

Sitting in the United Club waiting 3 hours for my flight to Santa Barbara…. at least I have time to reflect on a fantastic facial plastic surgery meeting in Las Vegas, as well as the donations I made at the craps tables last night. I came out well ahead if you count the time spent…

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Breast implant surgery in Santa Barbara

Yesterday I did three breast implant operations at my plastic surgery center here in Santa Barbara. One of them was what we call a primary breast augmentation, which means I operated on a woman who did not previously have breast implants and I did her breast augmentation for the first time. The other two patients…

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Tuberous or constricted breasts- how to correct the breast shape

Tuberous breasts are more common than you would think- a large part of my Santa Barbara plastic surgery practice involves reshaping breasts to a more aesthetic shape, and I see patients with tuberous breasts with great frequency. Tuberous breasts are often referred to as constricted breasts, because it seems that part of the breasts (most…

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Fat Injections, Cheek Lifts, and Timeless Beauty in Santa Barbara

A quick discussion about the cheek lift… Many plastic surgeons, instead of a cheek lift, will do fat injections, cheek implants, or temporary injection of fillers. Some patients who have had these operations can very often be seen as having fullness in regions of the face that are not quite normal. We recognize that something…

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Is it time for a Santa Barbara Mommy Makeover?

A mommy makeover is a very vague term that can mean lots of things, and can be performed on women who have had children or not. Usually, mommy makeover corresponds to a combination of breast enhancement and body contouring…. but there are many ways to do both. In my Santa Barbara plastic surgery practice, we…

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Our new Virtual Tour!

Looking to find out what it’s like to walk around our Santa Barbara Plastic Surgery office? Check out our new virtual tour of Montecito Plastic Surgery. Although being a plastic surgeon in Santa Barbara is fantastic, Dr. Lowenstein is even luckier in that he has been able to design his state of the art plastic…

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Liposuction gone bad

Many have seen the photos of Tara Reid showing what is being called “botched plastic surgery”.  Having seen a few patients with similar problems in my office following liposuction from plastic surgeons in Los Angeles, I thought it important to address what is going on here and the reasons behind these kinds of results. Liposuction…

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A Neck Lift with hardly a scar and minimal downtime!

We are SO excited about our new J-Plasma minimally invasive neck lift at our Santa Barbara plastic surgery office. With a bit of sedation and less than a week of down time, we can now actually SHRINK SKIN!! Using small incisions hidden below the earlobe and below the chin, our cool helium plasma stream is…

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Cancer Associated with Breast Implants- An ALCL Update

An updated statement by the FDA today has lead to a wealth of sensational news about breast implants causing cancer.  While there is an association with SOME breast implants (those rarely used by Dr. Lowenstein) with a rare form of lymphoma, the current statistics support an incidence of 33 cases in 1,000,000 breast augmentation patients.…

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What kind of tummy tuck do I need?

Every week in my office I see patients for abdominoplasty (also called tummy tuck) consultations who are confused about the difference between the “mini” tummy tuck and a full tummy tuck- it’s not just about the incision. Most patients of course want a mini tummy tuck because the perception of the smaller scar is most attractive.  While…

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Breast Implant Tendencies

Trends come and go- in fashion, in food, and believe it or not… in breast implants.  Before there were shaped implants, the fluctuation between preferences for smooth and textured surfaces of breast implants seemed to change every few years.  With the introduction of anatomic or shaped implants a few years ago, the shape of the…

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What’s it like at a Plastic Surgery Meeting?

This weekend I’m traveling to San Diego for the national meeting of the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (ASAPS). This is a yearly event that moves around the country and this year I’m fortunate to have the meeting relatively close to home (as opposed to New York where I recently attended another meeting.)   These…

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Perspectives on Plastic Surgery in Santa Barbara

We have been very busy here at Montecito Plastic Surgery! With more and more patients doing more and more procedures, we have actually been pretty swamped. I’m frequently getting asked what surgery we do the most of, and I’m struggling with that answer. This month we are doing several face lifts (with and without eyelid…

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breast augmentation with silicone implants

Saline vs. Silicone: Making the Choice

The decision to undergo breast augmentation leads to a series of complex choices that are very important to consider — from implant type to size and placement. Your implant type selection is one of the primary ways to tailor your procedure to your aesthetic goals. With many different options to navigate, Montecito Plastic Surgery wants…

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j plasty patient

Surgical Lift and J-Plasty: The Ultimate Anti-Aging Solution

The art of reversing time is one that experienced plastic surgeons like Dr. Lowenstein at Montecito Plastic Surgery have mastered. With a wide range of tools and techniques at their disposal, these experts can reduce signs of aging and create a smoother, refreshed appearance to the face and other areas of the body. Dr. Lowenstein…

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skin tightening on neck patient

How to Tighten the Neck

Aging is a nondiscriminatory process that can affect every area of the body over time. One of the areas that can cause significant embarrassment and dissatisfaction with the appearance due to its visibility, is the neck. Even people who have put in a lot of effort into maintaining a youthful mien may have neglected their…

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Planning Plastic Surgery? Know Your Must-Haves for Optimal Recovery!

Every year, numerous plastic surgery procedures are performed. In most cases, excellent results are achieved with little inconvenience. Still, recovery is an aspect of plastic surgery that cannot be avoided. Many patients ask about their recovery and what they can expect. Primarily, they want to know that they will not be intolerably uncomfortable as they…

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Busy day for plastic surgery in Santa Barbara

Today we did two breast augmentations and a rhinoplasty at our surgery center. I’m very grateful for the outstanding team we’ve assembled here- everyone got a great operation and should be very pleased with their results. Our newest team member’ Nena Santoyo, is an extraordinary operating room technician who has come to work with us…

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Beauty for Life

Beauty for Life is a fantastic source of plastic surgery information, developed by the ASPS/ASAPS joint Cosmetic Medicine Task Force. This program has been designed to help you learn about procedures that can help you meet your personal beauty needs, at any age. By clicking on the link above, you can download the information to…

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ASPS Meeting

Next week is the national meeting of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons which is in Chicago this year.  This is the largest national forum for plastic surgery, and a great educational opportunity for everyone who comes.  I haven’t missed one of these meetings in nearly 10 years, and every time I learn something new. …

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Happy Holidays!

Everyone here at the Montecito Center for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery would like to wish all of our patients and friends a very happy holiday season, and a fantastic 2009. Be safe, be happy, and be healthy! Best wishes from all of us!

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Coming from Beverly Hills for Plastic Surgery

We are seeing more and more women come from Beverly Hills and Hollywood to have their plastic surgery in Santa Barbara. I find this a very interesting phenomenon. I’ve never been one to gawk at celebrities- I see them as people just like you and I, with very interesting careers. (I have some friends, whoever,…

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The Plastic Surgery Schedule is Filling Up Fast!

As many of you have heard, Dr. Sheffield is planning on retiring at the end of the year. His presence will, of course, be missed by all of us in the office, as well as so many of his patients who have worked with him here in Santa Barbara for over 15 years. Dr. Lowenstein…

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Help fight the pending taxation on your cosmetic surgery!

Help fight a bad idea!! Congress is soon to debate the Health Care Reform Bill, which is a great move towards increasing the number of insured Americans. Unfortunately, it is filled with several bad ideas, like a taxation on patients who undergo cosmetic surgery. This has been attempted previously in New Jersey, and has failed…

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Help Fight the Proposed Plastic Surgery Tax

Congress is currently debating a 5% federal taxation of users of cosmetic medical treatments like you. As a plastic surgeon, I urge you to oppose this tax for several reasons outlined here. Please get involved! The tax is punitive and places an additional burden on the middle class – According to the American Society of…

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Keeping busy with plastic surgery and more in Santa Barbara

As many of you know, following Dr. Sheffield’s retirement at the end of last year, some gentle transformations have kept us busy at Montecito Plastic Surgery. New paint adorns the walls, and new furniture can be found throughout the office. This week, the finishing touches will be placed with new flooring in two exam rooms.…

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A tight February for plastic surgery in Santa Barbara

I’m heading back east today, after another short week of plastic surgery in Santa Barbara. Last week was a bit of vacation in Aspen, and I was swamped for the short time that I was in Santa Barbara early in the week. Today, I’m actually running back home to see my mother who is having…

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Our new additions at Montecito Plastic Surgery

As some of you might have heard, one of Santa Barbara’s excellent plastic surgeons, Dr. Russell Stokes, recently relocated to North Carolina. Dr. Stokes is a well respected peer, and I’m sorry to have had him leave town. The North Carolina opportunity is an excellent one, and as an avid golfer, Dr. Stokes is sure…

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Bridalplasty- An embarrassment to plastic surgery

Having just come across the show called Bridalplasty, I’m so thoroughly disgusted that I felt I had to write about it. It seems that Dr. Terry Dubrow has involved himself in this television show in which women will compete for the opportunity to have a plastic surgery makeover. I fully agree with the opinion of…

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Natural Appearing Breast Implants

In the course of my discussions about creating the most natural appearing breast augmentations, I always review the reasoning that I use the dual plane technique with my patients. A lot of information about breast implants can be found on the breast pages of my website, but I want to reiterate why this technique seems…

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Be safe with your plastic surgery!

This recent USA Today article highlights several tragic but avoidable situations in which unqualified and dangerous physicians who were not boarded by the American Board of Plastic Surgery- and not properly trained in plastic surgery- caused the deaths of patients who were seduced by a sales pitch and a discount. Particularly with liposuction, the overdose…

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More plastic surgery “experts” on E!- NOT Board Certified!

I just watched a plastic surgery segment on E! which was, again, very disappointing. In discussion about plastic surgery trends with respect to breast implants, the show interviewed two plastic surgeons. After hearing what they had to say, I looked them up on the internet, to find that while they are good looking and charismatic,…

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Liposuction or CoolSculpting?

Today I had a patient come in for liposuction, but like most Santa Barbara residents, she has a very active lifestyle. We talked about the fact that liposuction results in nearly complete fat evacuation, but requires somewhat intense postoperative care, with a compression garment and a lack of excessive physical activity for a few weeks.…

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Keller Funnel and the no-touch technique

Today we tried out the Keller Funnel which is a great tool that allows me to place a silicone gel implant through a very small incision. Additionally and perhaps more important, the implants is placed directly into the funnel, and then via the funnel is placed directly inside the pocket without ever being touched by…

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The TouchMD Advantage in Breast Augmentation

We have been very happy with our TouchMD system over the past few months, and patient reaction to this remarkable software has been outstanding. With TouchMD patients are able to log into their own web portal and view information about our practice as well as a multitude of different plastic surgery procedures. Everything from videos…

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