Dr. Elizabeth Slass Lee, MD

The diVa Laser System by Cyton is designed for vaginal rejuvenation, treating changes from childbirth, menopause, and induced menopause (e.g., for breast cancer patients). These changes can include urinary stress incontinence, painful sex due to vaginal mucosa changes, lubrication problems, and bacterial vaginosis. It's an important alternative for patients who prefer not to use intravaginal estrogens. The laser delivers two wavelengths in a controlled, three-minute pass, inducing changes in the vaginal wall and mucosa to correct age-related issues. Patients arrive an hour early for topical anesthetic. The treatment itself is a 3-minute pass, typically feeling like a repeated tapping sensation, with a possible hot sensation towards the end. Most patients find it comfortable. After treatment, some spotting may occur, and patients are advised not to insert anything into the vagina for 5 days. Most women experience no side effects. A course of 3 treatments is recommended, performed about a month apart. While improvement in vaginal mucosa and urinary stress incontinence can be observed as early as the first treatment, the full course is necessary for maximum and long-term benefits. Maintenance treatments are typically required.

Facelift surgery primarily repositions the soft tissue and fat that descends with age, effectively addressing jowls, neck laxity, nasolabial folds, and marionette lines, and reestablishing a good jawline. It is not designed to improve sun-damaged, photo-aged, or overall aging wrinkling in the skin, nor does it correct surface wrinkles. Optimal skin health, including hydration, relative wrinkle-freeness, moisturization, and even pigmentation, significantly enhances the aesthetic outcome of a facelift and should be addressed separately. Dr. Lee emphasizes that a natural-looking facelift avoids an unnatural 'sweeping up' of wrinkles. Facelifts provide long-lasting results by repositioning soft tissue into a more youthful position.

Broadband Light (BBL) by Sciton is a treatment for facial rejuvenation, specifically designed to help with pigmentation issues like reds and browns. It has no downtime. For hyperpigmentation, patients must pre-treat with prescription-strength hydroquinone (and possibly retin-A or other retinol) and continue this regimen after the BBL series. BBL is not a 'one and done' treatment; it requires a series of treatments because the changes are slow and it does not work by creating an injury. Patients must commit to a series and be patient, as improvement develops over time as the skin starts to behave younger. Meticulous sun protection with a zinc oxide-containing sunscreen is required during treatment, and physical sun protection is recommended all the time, every day. To maintain results, a single treatment is typically needed every six months or sometimes sooner after achieving desired outcomes.

Dr. Lee, as a plastic surgeon, strongly advises against thread lifts, including those marketed as 'fox-eye' (which she refers to as a lateral brow lift). She notes that the effect of a lateral brow lift using threads is gone by the time the thread is no longer visible, and thread lift results are generally short-lived. She also points out that thread lifts involve many needles being inserted into the face. For patients seeking collagen building or smoother skin, the practice offers alternatives like advanced skincare, laser treatments, and injectables, which involve fewer needles. If a patient truly requires lifting, a facelift is considered the appropriate procedure, providing long-lasting results.

Dr. Lee's practice is a significant CoolSculpting studio, known for designing treatment plans with a plastic surgeon's perspective. Dr. Lee personally conducts all CoolSculpting consultations, aiming to maximize the technology's benefits. The practice has four CoolSculpting machines, enabling 'quad sculpting' to treat four areas simultaneously. While CoolSculpting Elite is a newer technology with dual applicators (beneficial for faster treatment in offices with fewer machines), its core technology is largely similar to traditional CoolSculpting. Dr. Lee believes optimal results are achieved by treating as quickly as possible, ideally in a single session, to avoid multiple sequential appointments. The practice embraces CoolSculpting as an effective method to get rid of stubborn fat, always applying a plastic surgeon's eye to non-surgical treatment plans.

As plastic surgeons, we create scars. Scars are the natural outcome when skin is cut or injured and then heals; once made, they will never completely go away. An appropriate expectation for a 'good' scar is not invisibility, but rather minimal visibility. Dr. Lee emphasizes that when skin is handled properly, edges are treated delicately, and sutures are placed in appropriate layers to avoid tension on the skin edge, scars can be made pretty minimal. The goal is that a scar should not be the first thing someone notices when they look at you.