It may sound crazy, but it is important that you try to stay out of the sun following a liposuction procedure to any area of the body.  Sun exposure can be very harmful to the skin after lipo.  Post-operatively, the skin tends to be numb for 3 months.  During this time period, this area of your body cannot tell you that you are getting too much sun, so you need to remain aware as to how much sun that area of your body is getting.   Additionally, there is deep, unseen healing that takes place for a full year.  Therefore, it is important to always wear sunscreen for an entire year following liposuction to avoid sunburns and potential skin damage.  The incision site areas will appear darker in color and continue to lighten with time. It would be advised to avoid sun exposure, when possible, to your scars during the first year. In fact, Dr. John Millard advises patients to put sunscreen on their scars even when they are wearing clothing.  Sun rays can still potentially reach the skin through clothes.

Last week the Millard Plastic Surgery Center was invaded by the Douglas County Divas for a great night of networking and pampering!  The Divas hosted their May event at the center, and graced us with over 300 guests!  As they dined on appetizers and drank bodtinis, the Divas were able to sample services such as hydrafacials from Skin Essentials, learn about all the new advances in beauty and cosmetic surgery, and even get a behind-the–scenes tour from Dr. John Millard.  Cheers to John and Paula for putting on a great event, and thanks to all the lovely ladies who turned this into a truly memorable evening!  Check out photos from the event on the Divas blog here.

We all know that smoking is a bad habit.  It is bad for your health and adds years to your appearance.  Since a side effect of smoking is premature aging, many smokers look to cosmetic surgery to regain some of the youthful features.   However, smokers need to be informed that their habit can cause serious complications after any type of surgery, including cosmetic surgery.  Dr. John Millard follows strict guidelines in regards to smoking and surgery.  Smoking (both nicotine and marijuana), causes a tightening of arteries and a decrease in blood flow,  thereby restricting blood supply.

This can in turn create a loss of skin, and dramatically affect procedure results and recovery time.  For preventative measures, Dr. Millard requires all his liposuction patients to quit smoking (this includes NO nicotine patches or gum) for 30 days before and after surgery.  In addition, he requires all patients having a tummy tuck and/or breast lift procedure to be smoke free for 60 days. We do test for nicotine in the system and have patients sign a tobacco release form.  This is something Dr. Millard takes very seriously in order to protect all patients from skin loss.

While cosmetic surgery can restore and enhance a person’s youthful appearance, it isn’t a substitute for a healthy lifestyle. Smokers who undergo cosmetic surgery should see their smoking restriction as the first step towards a healthy and smoke-free life.  Your body and appearance will thank you.

Yoga post-surgery

Many patients want to know when they can return to exercise following their liposuction procedure.  After a typical procedure, you must wait at least one week after drains have been removed.  Dr. Millard requires you to be at a specific point of recovery before resuming any strenuous activity.  One popular question we receive constantly is when is it ok to start doing yoga? Stretching your body with yoga is actually very beneficial to recovery.  However, due to the nature of the exercise, one would need to wait at least 2-3 weeks before getting back into their yoga routine.  After that, we recommend a regular routine of yoga and stretching to speed up recovery and promote overall health and balance after your procedure.

We are excited to announce the arrival of the 3rd generation SmartLipo Triplex machine at our facility.  Dr. John Millard is excited about this newest version of the popular SmartLipo body sculpting procedure, because the Triplex is allowing for a faster, more pain-free recovery.  Patients are experiencing significantly less bruising and an overall more comfortable healing process.  We are utilizing this Triplex technology for both minor procedures under local anesthetic, as well as in our main operating room under Local IV anesthesia.  Patients who experience a 3rd generation SmartLipo Triplex procedure can expect significantly less discomfort after their procedure, and faster healing times.  Now that we have the Triplex, we’ll be using it more and more to accommodate our patient’s needs.

This satellite office is a convenient location for Boulder, North Denver, and Cherry Creek patients.  We see patients at this office every other week for consultations.  After doing the initial consultation, the patients would then need to visit our Lone Tree location in order to continue with appointments before and after surgery.  At some point, we hope to be set up to see pre and post-operative appointments at the Cherry Creek facility.  Most commonly, we see patients for liposuction, breast augmentation and tummy tucks at this location.  We welcome you to come and visit us at this location should you be in the area.

Exposing your surgical areas to the sun can cause  damage.  Following plastic surgery or cosmetic surgery, it is important not to expose your body to the sun after surgery.  The surface area in which has been treated becomes much more susceptible to a sunburn then it normally is.  We advise patients to stay out of the sun for at least 6 weeks following liposelection, breast augmentation, tummy tucks, and other various procedures.  After this time frame, it is still important to cover any incision sites (scars) with sunscreen and preferably band aids and/or clothing, for at least a year.  This helps prevent any hyper-pigmentation of the scar/s, helping it fade to white.

SmartLipo has been around Denver long enough now, that it has created a reputation for itself.  It is a successful procedure to remove fat and tighten skin.  Dr. John Millard has been using SmartLipo for well over 2 years and has trained many physicians on this technology.  Now, as of recently, SmartLipo has come out with an even more efficient machine call the SmartLipo Triplex™.  It is designed to deliver high-powered fat absorbtion and tissue tightening through tissue coagulation.  The technology allows for less surgery time creating the same, if not better results, than the previous SmartLipo machine.  Dr. Millard is one of the worlds leading experts in the field of liposuction and is very excited about this new technology.

“Everyday I appreciate the extra skill, time and care you took to assure I ended up with such an outstanding result”.
- From a Male Vaser Hi Def Patient

If you think that you are a good candidate for Vaser Hi Def, or you would like more information on this procedure, please visit our website. If you would like to contact our office and schedule a consult or have any questions answered that you may have, please call us at 303-792-5665 or send us an e-mail at info@millardplasticsurgery.com

I had my surgery in April, and I can’t begin to desccibe how pleased I am with my results! Dr. Millard is an incredible Plastic Surgeon and I would recommend him to anyone who is looking for a Plastic Surgeon who will get them an Outstanding result.

If you would like more information on breast surgery with Dr. Millard, or any other surgery that he offers, please send his office an e-mail at info@millardplasticsurgery.com or call them at (303) 792-5665.