Dr. Youn has shared the secrets behind the plastic surgery industry and red carpet secrets of the stars, and now he’s revealing the five dos and don’ts of going under the knife! “I turn down about one out of every five people who come to see me for a consultation,” he tells Rachael. “Usually, it’s because of unrealistic expectations; they’re looking for something that I just plain can’t get ‘em. But sometimes it’s because people want a procedure that I just don’t recommend.”

Dr. Youn’s “Dos and Don’ts of Plastic Surgery

Pot Belly: “A pot belly is a tummy that’s protuberant,” Dr. You explains. “This is very different than somebody who’s had children and has loose skin or anything like that. There is nothing plastic surgeons can do to remove this fat because of the location of the fat; because it’s inside the tummy and around the intestines and other organs, it can’t be liposuctioned or removed in a tummy tuck.” Dr. Youn makes the distinction between “muffin top” fat and other fats that can be removed with liposuction: “If the skin and the fat is above the muscle, then that’s something that we can remove in a tummy tuck or even liposuction, but not pot belly fat.” To reduce pot belly fat, Dr. Youn suggests a healthy lifestyle of diet and exercise.

Injections: “It seems like every couple of weeks I hear yet another story about somebody getting injected by liquid silicone,” he says. “And sometimes this is industrial strength liquid silicone that even non-doctors are injecting in hotel rooms ... even restaurants - I mean, it’s crazy!” Dr. Youn explains that this silicone is like caulking silicone that most people use for household repairs, and these injections can cause permanent, hard lumps and make mammograms difficult to read. He emphasizes that you should always see your doctor to discuss FDA-approved products for injections - many of which last from six to 12 months, and is reversible, unlike liquid silicone.

Face Lifts: “Every couple of years there’s a new kind of face lift you hear about, and typically, these are procedures that promise big results with minimal surgery,” Dr. Youn says. “But the problem with some of these procedures that promise quick results is that the results are temporary. The process of the ‘thread lift’ could take 10 years off of someone’s face in 10 minutes, but sometimes people use permanent stitches; I have seen some patients come to see me one, two, three years after the procedure is done and they say, ‘The results are gone but I’ve got this stitch sticking out of my skin,’ or ‘I’ve got tracks coming down.’” Dr. Youn advises if you choose to get a thread lift, do your research and make sure you go to a board-certified plastic surgeon. An alternative, he says, is a mini facelift that requires anesthesia, a 2 1/2 to 3-hour surgery and about one to two weeks of recovery time. He reminds Rachael, “There really is no substitute for a good face lift by a board certified plastic surgeon; if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

Fat Grafting: “[When] the face ages, it deflates and sags,” explains Dr. Youn. He says that some doctors are doing cheek implants to plump up the face as people age and their face thins out which gives a more chiseled look, as opposed to a softer look. Dr. Youn suggests one alternative is fat grafting, which involves recycling fat from other areas of your body and injecting it into the face. He says that the procedure takes about an hour and leaves no visible scars, but patients might experience a little puffiness for about two weeks. “You don’t want to call the pizza boy over because you’re going to scare him away when you open the door,” Dr. Youn says, “but within two weeks, most people look really good!” He adds that the results can last anywhere from five to 10 years, sometimes more.

Cellulite: “There is no permanent cure for cellulite” says Dr. Youn, “but there are treatments that temporarily can reduce the appearance of cellulite.” Dr. Youn shows Rachael the Cellupulse 200, which is not yet FDA-approved for cellulite, but he says that studies being done are showing results that last for three months or longer, depending on the treatments.

Always consult your own physician if you are considering undergoing any medical procedure.

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Dr. Anthony Youn