Archive for December, 2020

Get silky smooth skin with laser hair removal

If you’re tired of plucking, shaving and waxing, then you should consider laser hair removal to help you achieve smooth skin before the summer months. Imagine wearing your bikini, shorts and dresses and not having to worry about daily shaving. Read on to learn more about laser hair removal and why you should be getting it done now.

What is laser hair removal?

Laser hair removal removes unwanted hair by using a highly concentrated light into hair follicles. Pigment in the hair follicles absorbs the light, which destroys the hair.

Where can laser hair removal be done?

The most common areas on the body where laser hair removal is done include the legs, underarms, arms, bikini line, face, chin and back.

How do I prepare for treatment?

You will need to avoid sun exposure for six weeks before and after treatment, as sun exposure makes treatment less effective. Before your first treatment, you should limit waxing, plucking and electrolysis for about six weeks. Why? Waxing and plucking removes the root of hair, which is what the laser targets.

How can I expect during treatment?

Hair in the treatment area will be trimmed back. A topical numbing medicine may be applied before the treatment to help with the slight sting of the laser. The technician will use a cold gel or cooling device to help the laser light penetrate the skin and destroy the hair follicle.

What is recovery like?

After the treatment, you may use ice packs or anti-inflammatory creams to help ease any discomfort. Your skin will feel and look as if it’s sunburned for the next day or two.

How many treatments will I need?

You will need to space your treatments 4-6 weeks apart. This is because you are only able to successfully treat hair that is in the active growth phase. That’s why now is a good time to get started on a treatment plan, just in time for warm weather months.

If you are interested in learning more about laser hair removal and whether you are a candidate for treatment, schedule a consultation by calling (908) 879-2222.

Posted in Laser Hair Removal on December 30th, 2020

New Year, New You: A Mommy Makeover

As you ring in the New Year, you may be making resolutions for self-care and self-improvement. That’s why now may be the time to consider a Mommy Makeover. Read on to learn more about this popular surgery that can address multiple concerns in one surgical setting.

What it is

Pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding can do a number on a woman’s body. Sagging breasts, excess stubborn fat and loose skin are the three major concerns women have after having children. What’s great about a Mommy Makeover is that it’s an all-in-one surgery that combines multiple procedures in one. This is safer and more convenient as it means only one recovery period rather than multiple surgeries and recovery periods.

Combination of procedures

A Mommy Makeover is customized to fit each patient’s needs. The most common procedures include a breast lift, breast augmentation, breast reduction, tummy tuck, liposuction and facial rejuvenation.

Breast enhancement will help women address the loss of elasticity, firmness and shape of their breasts due to pregnancy and breastfeeding. A breast augmentation will change the size and shape of the breasts using implants. A breast lift will help reshape and lift sagging breasts. Women who have abnormally large breasts may opt for a breast reduction to help alleviate chronic pain in the neck and back, reduce skin irritations and improve posture.

A tummy tuck tightens the abdominal muscles stretched during pregnancy and childbirth and removes excess skin. Liposuction removes those stubborn fat pockets in various areas of the body that resist diet and exercise, giving you a more contoured, slimmer appearance.

Sometimes smoothing and tightening the sagging skin on the face are desired as well. Facial rejuvenation may consist of a neck lift, jowl lift or eyelid surgery to address tired-looking eyes.

The ideal candidate for a Mommy Makeover will be done having children and breastfeeding, has lost as much of her pregnancy weight as possible before surgery, and has waited at least six months after giving birth to her last child. If you’re done with childbearing and longing for your pre-pregnancy body, schedule a consultation with Dr. Weinstein by calling (908) 879-2222.

Posted in Mommy Makeover on December 15th, 2020

Plastic Surgeon Larry Weinstein ’75 Restores Hope, Renews Lives in Underserved India

Larry Weinstein ’75 considers himself hyper-vigilant—a quality that has served him well in 30 years of practicing medicine.

As a pre-med student majoring in psychology, he was keenly aware of his surroundings at all times. “Personal safety and community awareness are important to me,” says the renowned plastic surgeon, speaking by phone from his office in Chester, New Jersey. “At Syracuse, I was a member of the University Senate, and paid close attention to drug and alcohol abuse. Still do. I like to know where everybody is, especially my friends, and that they are OK.”

Weinstein’s concern for others is apparent in his private practice, in which he has treated more than 30,000 patients, and in underserved communities in India, where he has performed thousands of surgeries, free of charge.

Such compassion has yielded a string of accolades, including the prestigious In Chul Song Award for Philanthropic Service from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. No surprise that Castle Connolly Medical, publisher of the acclaimed “Top Doctors” book series, has recognized Weinstein nationally and regionally every year for the past decade. He also is honored to be included in Inside Jersey magazine’s annual roundup of the state’s Top Doctors.

Nevertheless, people are surprised to learn that Weinstein did not go to an American medical school. An ongoing interest in Spanish, which began at P.S. 208, The Elsa Ebeling School, in Brooklyn and continued at Syracuse, eventually took him south of the border.

“I think I got the highest grade possible on my final exam for ‘Organic Chemistry II,’ which was one of Syracuse’s most difficult pre-med courses,” says the Brooklyn native. “Although I probably would have liked to have gone to med school in the United States, I was fortunate for the opportunity to immerse myself in Spanish.”

After graduation, Weinstein made his way to western Mexico, where he enrolled in the School of Medicine at the University of Guadalajara—the oldest private medical school and the oldest private university, respectively, in the country. By dint of hard work and perseverance, he earned an M.D. in 1979. That all of his coursework, including labs and lectures, was in Spanish only adds to the significance of this feat.

Upon returning to the United States, Weinstein embarked on a series of residencies throughout the Northeast, including ones at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Columbia University Medical Center. It was during rigorous plastic surgery training at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center that he befriended Sharad Kumar Dicksheet, an Indian-born, American plastic surgeon. As founder of The India Project, Dicksheet organized pro bono surgical missions to India. His impact on Weinstein was swift and intense.

“[Dicksheet] literally wouldn’t stop to eat or go to the bathroom when performing surgeries,” Weinstein says of his mentor, who was wheelchair-bound and did not have a larynx. “It is estimated that he performed more than 100,000 free surgeries in India before his death [in 2011]. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize six times.”

In 1988, Weinstein opened a private practice in Chester Woods Professional Park, situated among the green, rolling hills of historic Chester. His warm, affable personality, combined with a skilled, conservative approach to treatment, has made his practice a leader in cosmetic, plastic and reconstructive surgery.

While Weinstein has garnered a cult-like following throughout the Tri-State Area, he has a larger fan-base in India, which he has visited 15 times since 1993. Most of his trips are several weeks long, and take place in large, sprawling cities, such as Pune and Nagpur, where public health care is overburdened or virtually nonexistent.

At first, Weinstein treated only a few hundred people per visit. He eventually brought along two other plastic surgeons and a half dozen surgical specialists to boost capacity. During his latest trip, Weinstein saw more than 870 people in one week. (“We worked from nine in the morning to nine at night, and didn’t take breaks, except for the occasional cup of chai tea,” he says.) Most of his patients were children with facial defects, caused by genetic problems, environmental issues or lack of proper nutrition during pregnancy.

“These kids often are ostracized from their communities, and cannot attend school, hold down a job or get married,” Weinstein says, adding that iron deficiency, anemia and infections account for many of the deformities. “We fix a lot of bilateral and unilateral clefts because the Indian healthcare system is overburdened with acute injury problems, which take priority over congenital cleft-lip treatments. We also open eyelids, mend deformed ears and smooth scars and burns.”

Weinstein recalls a trip to Hubballi, a large industrial city in southern India, where he treated a boy with a cleft lip. Two years later, his parents came to see Weinstein, and presented him with a school photo of their son. “He looked so handsome. I shared his photos with my colleagues,” he beams.

One thing Weinstein has learned is that plastic surgery is not always about vanity. In fact, the many breast augmentations, tummy tucks and facelifts he performs allow him to donate his time to helping India’s impoverished communities.

Congenital problems (e.g., cleft lips and palates), burns, hand injuries and cancer-causing defects may represent the less glamorous side of Weinstein’s work, but he considers them vitally important. He also knows they require the special atraumatic techniques of a plastic surgeon.

“You’d be amazed at how many patients, especially older ones, are stigmatized or ignored by society,” says Weinstein, who, in his quest for beauty, also is an avid gardener. “It’s gratifying to make someone feel youthful or sexy again.”

Weinstein explains how people in the West sometimes drop tens of thousands of dollars on “magical machine treatments” to make themselves look younger, but then realize that the only magic involved was the disappearance of their money.

He is particularly proud of his gentle, rejuvenative procedures that remove jowls, restore necklines and instill confidence.

“A facelift with SMAS [superficial muscular aponeurotic system, which is an area of musculature of the face] in the hands of a skilled surgeon can help restore a more natural-looking, youthful appearance,” says Weinstein, who has performed face-lifts on men and women from North Carolina and New Jersey to England, the Ukraine and Russia.

Weinstein credits the College of Arts and Sciences for instilling in him the virtues of hard work and good citizenship. He also learned how to collect, analyze and interpret data—skills that prepared him for medical school, and have come in handy throughout his career. It was in the Department of Psychology that Weinstein was exposed to the work of B.F. Skinner, whose theory of operant conditioning (in which behavior is controlled by consequences) fired his imagination. “Syracuse helped me develop my research and analytical skills. It showed me the importance of scientific literacy, regardless of one’s career path,” Weinstein says.

He also is proud of his recent induction into James Madison High School’s “Wall of Distinction,” which includes Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and New York Senator Chuck Schumer.

“I was not a straight ‘A’ student, but I’ve worked hard,” Weinstein adds. “I also have surrounded myself with good people, who have inspired me. It’s my turn to give back.”

Posted in Uncategorized on December 11th, 2020

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