from a Doctor who cares.
Options for corrective and cosmetic improvements range from very quick, non-invasive procedures to extensive surgical interventions with hospital stays. Plastic surgeons perform operations to improve, restore, or reconstruct congenital or acquired defects of the human body. Dr. Russell treats patients with congenital deformities of the head and neck like cleft lip and palate or prominent ears. He is a certified hand surgeon and is a member of the American Association for Hand Surgery (AAHS), and the American Society of Surgery for the Hand (ASSH). He treats all types of hand problems such as cut tendons or nerves, broken bones and congenital defects, rheumatoid arthritis, Dupuytren’s contracture, and nerve compression syndromes. Dr. Russell is a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) and treats patients with skin cancer and performs microsurgery such as, replantation or free tissue transfers, repair and reconstruction after traumatic accidents involving the face and extremities or following cancer surgery of the breast, head, and neck. He is also a member of American Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (ASAPS) and performs cosmetic surgery, including rejuvenation the aging face, rhinoplasty, breast augmentation, breast reduction, and body contouring.
It is important to understand that only a board-certified plastic surgeon can make all of the treatment options available to you. Day centers, spas, or specialty clinics are designed to market only specific products or treatments.
Everyone at Heartland respects your need to make an informed choice. This website describes many of the more common procedures, which can be performed by a plastic surgeon and is intended to create a better understanding of this surgical discipline. The patients pictured on this site were all treated by Dr. Robert C. Russell and have all given their permission to have their pictures placed on this Web site. We encourage you to contact our office with any questions you may have.
Body contouring has become popular with a variety of patients seeking to restore a more youthful or shapely appearance. Leg and arm skin can be lifted and/or tightened using incisions in the groin or arm pit. The buttock, waist and stomach can be reduced, lifted and tightened with a belt lipectomy procedure, removing a wide strip of skin and fat all the way around the waist. Body contouring procedures are often enhanced using liposuction. Some contouring procedures in massive weight loss patients are covered by insurance, most however, are not.
Injectable fillers, like Restylane Lyft, can be used to create a smoother appearance of the skin when injected beneath depressed or wrinkled areas. Treatments are usually repeated every 6-8 months. Occasionally the patient’s own fat cells can be injected into depressed areas or places where some loss of volume has occurred with aging. The final correction is usually permanent. Most injection procedures are considered cosmetic and are not covered by insurance.
Botox injections are used to correct skin wrinkles, usually in the forehead or around the eyes. Botox temporarily paralyzes the small facial muscles under the skin preventing wrinkling and allowing the skin to be relaxed and smooth. Botox injections are done in the office as an outpatient and last three to six months.
Young patients with small or asymmetrical breasts or women whose breasts have lost volume following childbirth often seek improvement in the appearance of their breasts by a breast enlargement procedure. This surgical procedure is done by placing saline or silicone gel filled implants either beneath the breast itself or under the pectoralis muscle and the breast. Implants can be placed through an incision beneath the breast or around the areola. This is an outpatient procedure that is usually not covered by health insurance.
Surgery performed to lift and reshape the breast is termed a mastopexy. Breast deformity can be congenital or acquired. Many patients' breasts become ptotic or “droop” with age or with volume loss following child birth/nursing. The nipple may descend below the breast mound creating a very saggy appearance. The breast tissue can be lifted on the chest wall, and the breast reshaped to reposition the nipple over the breast mound. The breast volume is preserved and may be further enhanced with a small implant. This is an outpatient procedure and is not covered by insurance.
Breast cancer occurs in one of every eight women. Surgical treatment often requires a mastectomy. Breast reconstruction can be accomplished at the same time as the mastectomy or at a later date. The breast can be reconstructed using a breast implant alone or by using the patient’s own tissue, taken either from the back or the abdomen. The type of reconstruction possible or recommended varies with each individual patient. Sometimes the other remaining breast may require a lift or small implant to create symmetry with the reconstructed breast. Nipple and areolar reconstruction is also possible, usually as a secondary procedure. This procedure is covered by health insurance.
Patients with very large breasts often suffer with neck, shoulder and back pain. They may experience skin irritation on the undersurface of the breasts and upper chest wall, especially in the summer months. Heavy breasts can cause grooving over the shoulders from the bra straps and the patients’ quality of life is often altered making exercise and other routine daily activities difficult. Reduction mammoplasty is a surgical procedure to reduce the size of the breasts and improve their overall appearance. The patients’ back, neck and shoulder pain is usually eliminated and they are able to wear normal clothes and have an improved quality of life. The procedure is usually covered by health insurance.
Surgery performed to improve the appearance of the eyes and restore a more youthful look is called a blepharoplasty. The skin of the upper and lower eyelids becomes more redundant as we age. Fat around the eyes may increase and bulge forward creating what is commonly called “bags”, especially in the lower eyelids. The excess eyelid skin and fat can be removed and the underlying support structures tightened to improve the appearance of the eyes. The surgical incisions are hidden in the fold above the eye and along the lower lid lash line and are very difficult to see. This procedure is not covered by health care insurance, unless the excessive upper eyelid skin reduces the upper field of vision, in which case, insurance will cover the cost for the upper lids only.
Surgery performed to improve the appearance of the aging face is called a rhytidectomy. The facial skin and soft tissue begin to sag with age, creating loose skin in the nasolabial folds, along the jaw line, and in the neck. This occurs earlier or later in life and is affected by the patients social activities, skin quality, and genetic predisposition. A more youthful and rested appearance can be achieved by pulling the face and neck skin and underlying support tissue back up to its former position. Surgical incisions are made in the hairline and around the ears to hide the scars. This procedure is performed as an outpatient often in conjunction with removal of excess eyelid skin (blepharoplasty) and is not covered by health insurance.
This procedure is done to remove excess fat deposits usually in normal sized patients, in areas which have been unaffected by diet or exercise. These uncorrected fat deposits commonly called “cellulite” are most common on the hips, lower abdomen, upper thighs, beneath the chin or along the flank and upper back. This procedure uses a series of small incisions and suction cannulas to suck away unwanted fat and to improve the overall body contour. This procedure is usually done as an outpatient and is not covered by health insurance.
The surgical procedure done to improve the appearance of the nose is called a rhinoplasty. The appearance of the nose is affected by genetic predisposition and/or trauma. The underlying nasal bones and cartilage create the overall shape and appearance of the nose, while the quality and thickness of the overlying skin contributes to a lesser degree. Improvement in the size and shape of the nose toward a more aesthetic appearance is done by reshaping the underlying bone and cartilage usually through incisions inside the nose and occasionally across the skin supporting the nasal tip, just above the upper lip. Rarely, some skin must be trimmed or removed. Nasal airway obstruction due to a deviated septum or other cause can also be corrected at the same time. The surgery is performed as an outpatient and is usually not covered by health care insurance, unless there is a history of previous nasal trauma or there is a functional airway obstruction.
Surgery performed to remove excess skin and fat from the lower abdomen is called an abdominoplasty. This procedure is usually performed in men or women who were once overweight and have lost weight, or in women who have developed loose lower abdominal skin and fat following childbirth. In these patients, the underlying abdominal wall muscles may be stretched apart creating a prominent midline bulge. The surgical procedure, usually performed as an outpatient, removes the abdominal wall skin and fat from just above the belly button to just above the pubic hair and then stretches the upper abdomen skin down to firm and tighten the appearance of the abdomen. The old belly button is brought through the re-draped skin leaving a scar across the lower abdomen, which can be hidden under panties or a swimsuit. The divergent abdominal wall muscles are sutured together in the midline during the procedure to further tighten the abdomen. This procedure is usually not covered by health insurance, except in cases where it is deemed medically necessary after extreme weight loss.
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