Ersek RA

The American College of Surgeons directs us to encourage mentoring situations, but many people are unaware of how easy it can be. Those of you in a formal program are mentoring constantly, every single day. But in addition to the 100 or so …

Office-based plastic surgery began in the 1960s and has expanded exponentially since then. The majority of plastic surgeons now have their own office-based facilities, and every elective aesthetic procedure from hair transplantation to abdo…

Recent discussions and proposed rules and regulations regarding outpatient surgery facilities have raised the question of the appropriateness of general anesthesia versus heavy sedation. The controversy is based mostly on anecdotal informat…

While abdominoplasty has a long history of development, we have recently had several cases where a lateral hip lift was requested. The goal is to raise and tighten the skin and subcutaneous tissue of the lateral thigh after weight loss or t…

We have used blunt liposuction for removing excess fat from the neck and jowls since 1983 with generally good results and few complications. Under local anesthesia with Valium and ketamine sedation and the use of the super-wet technique, an…

Often, both augmentation and mastopexy are necessary to solve the problems of breast ptosis with hypoplasia. These two procedures can be done simultaneously with no increased risks. Patients who have any degree of ptosis may benefit from so…

Since the development of smooth silicone breast implants in 1962, more than 1 million women throughout the world have opted for breast augmentation surgery. Although initially successful, smooth implants are prone to develop surrounding sca…

The plethora of problematic techniques for improving minor chin recessions has left the plastic surgeon inevitably uncertain of the most effective remedy. Research we began in 1968 has led us to the development of a new biphasic polymer and…

The radiodensity of silicone gel-filled breast implants is well documented. It has been suggested that silicone gel may block the transmission of x-rays sufficiently to prevent visualization of microcalcifications that are frequently an ind…

In 1988 and 1989, we replaced smooth silicone double-lumen implants with Molecular Impact Surface Textured Implants (MISTIs) in 28 of our patients. Of these, 20 had experienced recurrent capsular contracture and sought an alternative prosth…

Capsular contracture results in dissatisfaction and deformity among the 2 million women who have had silicone implants. The literature describes contracture rates as high as 74 percent. I present a comparison of rates and incidences of cont…

Since the development of smooth silicone breast implants in 1962, over two million women throughout the world have opted for breast augmentation surgery. While initially successful, smooth implants are prone to developing surrounding scar c…

The idea of autologous fat microtransplants has recently resurfaced because of interest by the press. Past experiments have shown that small amounts of fat may be transplanted with an expected survival rate between 10 and 50 percent without…

Migration, absorption, or toxicity of prosthetic materials has always plagued the plastic surgeon attempting to ameliorate soft-tissue deficiencies and other contour abnormalities. Our previous work to develop textured-surface breast prosth…

All implants initiate a foreign-body response that leads to their encapsulation by scar tissue. In order to better understand this encapsulation process and the differences between soft (comfortable) and firm (contracted) breasts, we studie…

Textured breast implants are difficult to introduce through a small incision. We have developed two new retractors and a new positioning regimen that enables us to use the transaxillary subglandular or subpectoral approach for breast augmen…

Since its introduction in the United States, suction-assisted lipectomy has proven to be a safe, effective technique for correction of figure faults. It has been greeted with considerable skepticism by many practitioners, however, owing to …

The permeability of inflatable silicone implants to water creates a diffusion gradient which may result in a continuous early disparity between the volume of the implant and its fibrous capsule. We submit suggestive evidence that the additi…