Valentine's Treat For Your Loved One

By Don J. Fontana, MD, PA

Don Fontana, MD

More Heart Disease, Stroke and Diabetes Articles

Valentine's Treat For Your Loved One

Valentine's Day is a day celebrating love and affection for one's spouse or sweetheart. The typical gestures of giving flowers and candy with a romantic evening out are expressions of our love for our mate. The memory of fine chocolates, flowers or a good meal is a fleeting one and after the credit card bills are paid, these gifts are quickly forgotten as the reality of daily life quickly returns. Why not consider a gift far more lasting that your beloved might relish for months and perhaps years to come? What gift would all of us wish to have if it were available? What part of life and aging is irretrievable? The answer to these questions is one's youth. Youth is defined by age that is defined by time spent on earth. Just as the passage of time can not be reversed, nor can one's aging process. If one could slow down or reverse the signs of aging wouldn't this be an attractive gift for Valentine's Day?

Plastic surgeons have at their fingertips numerous procedures and techniques for modifying the passage of time and the aging process. Many of them are quick and show immediate results, which can last months to years. Cosmetic procedures can turn the clock back or slow it down, even though the clock continues to tick. And the best part is that many of these procedures are performed in the plastic surgeon's office and are amazingly inexpensive.

The in-office non-invasive procedures are among the most popular in cosmetic surgery. If your sweetheart complains of dry or rough skin, a series of facial chemical peels can rejuvenate the texture, color and feel of sun damaged skin. Those pesky crow's feet around the eyes can be nearly erased in many patients using Botox cosmetic. Deep wrinkles in the forehead and between the eyebrows are frequently eliminated using Botox cosmetic injections.

Does your beloved complain of unwanted facial or body hair? Now is the time to treat this with a laser specifically designed for hair removal. Whether it is facial hair, the underarms, bikini area, or generalized body hair, now is the time to seek plastic surgical evaluation. How about the unsightly spider veins of the face and legs? Laser treatment or sclerotherapy of unsightly veins should be performed now before the sun bathing and tanning season begins. The procedure is quick and the results are evident when you leave the plastic surgeon's office.

Does your beloved complain of lax skin, sagging brows, cheek skin, neck, arms or even looseness of the skin of the abdomen or inner thighs? Thermage may be the answer to treating these difficult areas without surgery. This is a specialized device used to tighten skin without any incisions or down time. The patient will notice an immediate tightening effect that improves progressively over time.

In addition, plastic surgeons also have at their disposal a wide range of fillers, designed to fill wrinkles, depressed scars and even enlarge lips. Among the most popular are Restylane, Juvaderrn, Perlane, and Radiesse each of which is best suited to particular regions of the face. These fillers are known to last many months, some as long as two years. The result is immediate with no down time. If performed by an experienced plastic surgeon, the injections are painless.

Consider giving your beloved the option of a lasting Valentine's gift, one that she will thank you every time she looks in a mirror a gift that will last for months to years.