With many effective non-surgical cosmetic treatments available today, you may wonder why anyone would still opt for surgery to achieve their aesthetic goals. The reality is that while non-surgical treatments offer a myriad of benefits, there are times when surgical procedures still offer the best results. If you are debating between plastic surgery and non-surgical treatment, the staff at Ocean Plastic Surgery has a few factors for you to consider.

Switching Out Surgery

Non-surgical procedures are available for both face and body treatments. For example, injectable treatments can be used in place of a facelift in certain circumstances to turn back the clock on your appearance. In addition to smoothing away facial creases, these treatments can restore youthful volume to areas of the face where skin laxity is beginning to show.

Surgical liposuction may also be replaced with non-surgical body contouring treatments for some patients. Vanquish, for example, offers elimination of small areas of fat in problem areas like the midsection and thighs using radiofrequency energy instead of surgery. Other procedures use targeted cooling or thermal energy to destroy fat cells without damaging surrounding skin and tissue.

Patient Age

Your age may be one of the first factors to consider when choosing between a surgical and non-surgical procedure. As a general rule,patients in their 30s or 40s seeking anti-aging treatments often enjoy satisfactory results with non-surgical treatments like injectables or chemical peels. Patients moving into their 50s and 60s may have too much skin laxity and facial creasing to achieve desired results with anything except a surgical lift procedure.

Specific Concerns

Your specific concerns will also dictate the best type of procedure for you. A few wrinkles may be sufficiently reduced using injectables or other skin treatments, while a significant amount of loose skin will likely need to be removed surgically. This is particularly true in problematic areas like the neck, jawline, and eyelids, where sagging can become pronounced relatively quickly.

When it comes to body contouring, patients who have achieved a healthy weight but have small areas of fat remaining may benefit from a non-surgical body contouring procedure. Larger areas of fat may see better results with liposuction that actually removes fat cells from the body, rather than simply destroying them and allowing the body to eliminate them over time. Significant amounts of excess tissue accompanied by sagging skin may require a more comprehensive surgical lift procedure to remove skin and tissue from the area.

Cost and Time Commitment

Many patients are drawn to non-surgical procedures because they believe they will cost less and require less time than surgery. While this may be true at first, keep in mind that most non-surgical procedures have to be repeated regularly to maintain positive results. This can bring up the cost and the time commitment significantly over time. In fact, many plastic surgeons estimate injectable treatments may cost just as much as facelifts when the cost is factored over many years.

When it comes to choosing between surgical and non-surgical cosmetic treatments, there is no right-or-wrong answer that fits every situation. Some patients may enjoy positive results from non-surgical treatments while others will need surgery to achieve their aesthetic goals. To find out which procedure will meet your needs best, contact Ocean Plastic Surgery at (732) 255-7155 to schedule your personal consultation with Dr. Small today.