Q: What initially drew you to the field of plastic surgery?

When I first started into medical school, of course, it’s a huge opportunity to pick almost anything that you would want to be. You finish your first couple of years of medical school that are really intensive (I have friends who said it was like drinking water through a fire hydrant) and after those first two years, when you’re introduced to all of the basic sciences, you get to start rotations.

The first rotation that I did was surgery. The first time that I was ever in surgery, it was just miraculous. First of all, surgery is very ritualistic. You scrub your hands to prepare, you gown, and you glove, and so there’s literally some theater involved. The two surgeons that I happened to get to observe at that level of my training were the senior resident and another attending, and they were treating a Vietnam veteran who had a bowel obstruction. I will just never forget not only how definitive the surgical process was, but how incredibly beautiful it was as well.

Obviously, needles and blood don’t bother me. After some reflection, I realized that general surgery wasn’t as creative as I thought, so it didn’t appeal to me. I did a plastic surgery rotation, and at that point, I was pretty much hooked. I never have thought that I “came to work.” I always have felt that I come to do my art and to hopefully transform people and their experience with that particular operation into something that they’ve always wanted to be. Not that we’re able to change people, because we’re not. We’re not able to make you into a movie star. But we work with what you have, enhancing your own natural characteristics and beauty. And it’s just the most incredibly rewarding thing I’ve ever done.

Q: What skills make a surgeon a good surgeon?

I started sewing my own clothes when I was a child. I grew up in a small town in southern Arizona, and I was, of course, a Girl Scout. We did some merit badges, but we also were involved in something called 4-H, which was a rural program where you could either raise cows or do other things, but I made clothes.

And so, I started sewing my own clothes when I was very young. I continued to do that all through college and pretty much stopped when I was in medical school just because there was not a lot of time to continue that. So, the ability to do things with your hands, whether it’s playing the piano, creating, drawing, painting, or sewing I think does give you an edge when you start thinking about the aesthetics of the human body and what you want to do. You learn what’s going to work and what’s not going to work.

What really ends up making you a better surgeon or a good surgeon is, of course, practice, but also the ability to reflect and to think about your own ability to express that artistry through that other person.

Really, it’s a combined effort. Because what you have to do is you have to really find out what’s at the heart of what is bothering the other person. Then you have to realize what the constraints are within the confines of what you want to do. Let’s say it’s a tummy tuck or a breast augmentation. Those are things that, through your interactions with the patient, you ultimately determine not only what the patient wants, but what their budget is going to be able to afford and what they’re going to feel comfortable doing.

Q: What’s your favorite part of being a plastic surgeon?

It’s a real privilege to be able to take care of patients, and even though everything we do is for cosmetic concerns, we truly do make a difference in people’s lives. I can’t tell you how many patients have expressed this to me. Whether we are addressing an overhanging stomach, sagging breasts, loss of breast volume through pregnancy, or aging of the face, being able to see a patient’s confidence increase after surgery is incredibly rewarding. Of course, all of those things are things that we have really tried to pride ourselves in, and to, ultimately perfect, as I have practiced the art of plastic surgery. Plastic surgery is very different from other fields in medicine because it’s very definitive, it is more invasive. But because it’s more invasive, it’s also more effective.

So, what we try to do here at Maxwell Aesthetics is present an honest representation of what you can expect and where you’re going to get the most value out of your money. Everybody has a limited budget, and certainly, you have limited time. People have constraints with family, for recovery, so we really try to dispel all of the myths and come up with an operative plan and a surgical plan that really fits with all of the things that we want to accomplish for that patient.

Q: How critical is it for a surgeon to have a good surgical staff?

Every surgeon can be good or bad on their own. But, just like John Donne said, no man is an island. No person or no surgeon is an island, and I certainly can’t do any of the things that I do without all of the support staff behind me. I have been so fortunate in my life and in my career to be able to attract extremely talented people, and for them to have stayed with me.

A good staff is absolutely critical, I mean they’re the first ones that greet the patients. I can only spend so much time with them and a huge part of the time that I do spend with them is time in surgery.

So that extra extension of myself becomes actually the essence of Maxwell Aesthetics. I can really feel that a lot of these patients really feel like they’re family to us and I think that they reciprocate. I think that they feel that we would take care of them.

There are so many times that we have been asked questions that aren’t even related to cosmetic surgery. We’ve diagnosed everything from venous insufficiency to gallbladder disease to various neurologic things just based on the fact that we have time and take the concern to be able to listen to what patients have to tell us. We always like to feel like we’re the go-between because patients need advocacy in medicine these days because practitioners just really don’t always have the time to listen to them.

Q: Plastic surgery really seems to be very challenging, yet you enjoy it. Why?

Very simply, for the creativity, it’s hard. It’s easy to take out a gallbladder or an appendix or treat high blood pressure. Those are very formulaic. You do it the same way every time. But plastic surgery is unique and individual for every single patient. I never do the same operation twice.

I do some of the same steps every time when I’m doing breast augmentation, for instance. But every breast is slightly, subtly different. And that becomes the challenge and responsibility; to pay attention, to really learn the anatomy, and to learn some of the nuances that different patients bring to you.

Another thing that’s really important in plastic surgery is Making sure that the patient understands the constraints of their own anatomy. That was a skill that took me a while to learn. And that’s probably one of the reasons why we take a lot of before and after photographs. Patients never remember all of the subtleties of their anatomy that I am tuned into. And so afterwards… There will be many times that people will say, oh what about this little fold here? It’s always due to some anatomic issue that existed prior to surgery, not something that gets created by the surgeon.

Surgeons are good at changing some things, but we’re not gods, we don’t create the different parts of the anatomy that existed before we got started on patients.

Q: Do you have a favorite surgical procedure you perform?

Favorite procedures are one of those things that evolve with time. So, when you start out, even a breast augmentation can have some challenges and some subtleties and nuances that require different techniques. Then, you start becoming fond of tummy tucks; that’s probably the next amplitude of difficulty. You finally get to the face because the facelift has the most nuance. Each of those particular things require a certain discipline and certain observations of anatomic variations that have to be held to very specifically or your results will really show it.

Now the patient may not notice it, but I notice it. And I think that’s only fair. The surgeon should notice things that the patient would never notice. And the real challenge of integrity then comes from noticing things that the patient probably has noticed but you’ve got the courage to say, “hey, I think, this could be just a little bit better.”
I’m fairly liberal with doing fine little tweakings or little refinements to my procedures based on little things that I see that I think could be improved. Similar to that though, the other side of that coin is sometimes things can’t be better. They are as good as they are going to be, given what the patient wanted and was prepared to pay for.

Q: Do you have any big success stories of major transformations?

I guess there are a few that I can think of. I think that obviously there’s something that we talk about in plastic surgery that the degree of the deformity oftentimes can be transposed into the most dramatic results. And so, we’ve done some extensive bariatric surgery on patients where we take off a lot of the extra skin.

And I remember one patient in particular whom we had done this particular surgery on where we had taken off the whole skirt, it’s called a belt lipectomy, all the way around. And she was walking through a store with her husband and her husband couldn’t find her because he was looking for somebody bigger. And here she was multiple sizes smaller after the surgery. So, when you hear stuff like that, it melts your heart…

When you see a facelift and they look at themselves in the mirror and they tear up because, this is something that they’ve saved for the last ten years and they are naturally beautiful people but all of the soft tissue has gotten in the way. Seeing somebody tear up over that is very rewarding.

A lot of times the person who is the recipient of the gift is the husband. Because the wife has better self-esteem, or the girlfriends feel better about themselves, their sexuality, their sensuality is improved with the breast procedures that we do. I can think of hundreds of cases where that has been the reality. And so, you get to make sometimes, not just one person happy, but two people happy. And I can’t think of any other field where that’s the case.

Q: Are there any people who are not a good candidate for plastic surgery?

There is something called Body Dysmorphic Syndrome, and every plastic surgeon has operated on somebody with Body Dysmorphic Syndrome and regretted it. And so, you do have to be very careful with your patient selection. And I think over time the surgeon can get a feeling, and certainly the staff can get a feeling for the patient, for their motivation, the things they say, the way they say it, the way they carry themselves.

So, you become a study of patients and patients’ psyches, if you will, if you’re good at your job and you’re paying attention. I can honestly say that in my entire career, I have never tried to oversell or upsell based on my own gain or my own greed. I have tried to really keenly listen to what the patient has to tell me, what they want, what their ultimate goals are, what their motivations are, and it’s only then that you get somebody who’s happy.

I still make little slips in judgment, but not to the degree that we see sometimes people coming to see us who have inadvertently picked the wrong surgeon for the wrong reasons and have either no results or bad results. Those are the real heartbreaking things. It’s patients who have been sold a bill of goods, who have spent their money and not only now don’t have a good outcome but have a poor outcome and have to spend more money to correct something that they were misguided in believing was going to be the result that they had paid for.

That’s the hard part of cosmetic surgery. The reason for that is because it’s a fee for service. So, we don’t charge or bill insurance. Patients pay for this out of their own pockets. And I think that because of that there are a lot of charlatans who really do take advantage of patients and their naivete. It’s sad.

Q: What’s your favorite part of your job?

It has been, and it still continues to be just wonderful; I cannot imagine working for better people. I can’t imagine having more lovely clients to be able to operate on. And I don’t know if there’s such a thing as a perfect storm, then this is it. It has been a real pleasure.

Q: How long have you been working at Maxwell Aesthetics?

I’ve been working for Dr. Maxwell for almost 20 years.

Q: What makes Maxwell Aesthetics unique?

What makes it unique is how personable Dr. Maxwell is, how real she is with her patients and how all the employees here can connect with our patients and have a professional attitude and professional performance with kind of a relaxed mannerism, so that they feel like they’re getting good care but they also feel like they’re one of us.

Q: At what stage in the process do you meet patients?

I usually meet patients in the pre-op area at the Surgery Center, and then I do follow them during their recovery.

Q: What is your favorite part of working with patients?

I think seeing how excited they are the morning of surgery. They’ve been all prepped and everything, they know what to expect, and for some of them, they’re on a journey that they have been planning for a long time. It’s something they’ve worked up to, they deserve to have, and they’re doing something for themselves.

The morning of surgery, you can see that they’re not nervous anymore, they’re just excited. You do actually bond with the patients a little bit, you get to spend a lot of time with them in the evening, or if you’re here at night with them, and they connect with you.

Another aspect that I’ve connected with some patients on is that I’ve also been a patient here with Dr. Maxwell. Once they know that you’ve been through the same thing they’re going through, they not only trust you more, they know you can empathize with what they’re really going through. That helps you connect with the patient.

Q&A About Laser Treaments with Loida Fraija, our Certified Laser Technician

Q: What kinds of lasers do you use at Maxwell Med Spa?

We have several lasers we use in our med spa for laser treatments. The one we’ve had the longest is the PROFILE™ laser by Sciton, which we’ve been using successfully for 16 years. Then we have the JOULE® Platform (also by Sciton), which has both the HALO® and BBL laser in that platform.

We also have our newest laser, the mJOULE Platform, which has two lasers: the MOXI® (“Multiply Oxygenated eXcited State Ionisation”) and the BBL® HERO™️ (“BroadBand Light High Energy Rapid Output”). Finally, we have the Candela GentleYag (“Yttrium Aluminum Garnet”) which we use for laser hair removal.

Q: Why are there so many different kinds of lasers?

We have so many laser choices because there are different treatments for different concerns and conditions. What it all boils down to, though, is that different lasers have different wavelengths which target different layers of the skin or different areas of the skin. For example, if you do hair removal, it’s not going to benefit your skin. It’s only going to target the follicle of the hair.

If you use the MOXI or HALO, they are not going to remove your hair because they both have different wavelengths that target different areas of the skin. Those two are more for prejuvenation or rejuvenation. It all depends on the individual and what their needs are.

If I had a patient with concerns about hairs on the upper lip, I would never use a HALO; I would treat them with a YAG because that’s what the wavelength targets. With all laser patients, we start off with a complimentary consultation to determine which treatment would be appropriate for their needs and put together an individualized treatment plan.

Q: Are the newer, more expensive lasers better than the older ones?

It’s just like other technologies: take your cell phone for example: every year there’s a newer, better version of your cell phone that comes out and has more features than the last. It’s the same with laser technology: older lasers are able to do their job, but lasers just keep getting better and better year by year.

Now, the older laser technology still works just fine for the intended purpose. The newer lasers just have better wavelengths that target different areas of the skin. Actually, the biggest difference between the older and newer lasers is the difference in “social downtime,” where your skin is still recovering from the treatment and might be red and puffy. So that’s part of the reason we have several lasers: the older technology still works great and is going to be more affordable for our patients. With the newer technology, it’s going to cost a little bit more but may have better results and shorter social downtime.

I always try to educate my patients so they know their options and can go for the more modern technology if they can afford it.

Q: What is the difference between “prejuvenation” and “rejuvenation?”

Many of our patients have mature skin, so sometimes patients who get into the game a little bit later need rejuvenation treatments. These treatments are more corrective, where we use the laser to repair the damage that has already happened in the past.

Prejuvenation is more preventive, where you’re preparing your skin for aging in the future. This is for younger patients who want to prevent aging or to slow down the aging process by getting started early by doing treatments.

We can even help teenagers: as long as parents provide consent, we can offer laser treatments to them. Actually, most of our acne cases are teenagers or younger adults. We can treat all ages and skin types, depending on individual needs. Prejuvenation for younger patients and rejuvenation for older patients.

Q: When and how did you decide to become a laser technician?

I was going to school for photography and the math was just killing me. I’ve never been good with math and I was really struggling with it. Around that time, my sister was actually getting laser treatments, and she said: “You should look into lasers.” And I was intrigued by that and decided, “You know what? I think I will.”

I never cared for the beauty industry before that time. I did always have an artistic eye, but the art I liked was photography. Once I got into lasers, I just, fell in love with it. And I still use a lot of math! …but it’s different math. It’s “laser math,” so it’s math that I actually like. And I still get to make art because the way that you can transform someone’s skin is really an art form. So actually, it’s like I’m still using math and making art, but it’s just a different field.

I’m so passionate about what I do. I love working on a patient’s skin and seeing it change and seeing it transformed—it’s magical. The very first time I realized I was changing people’s self-esteem or the way they looked at themselves is when I did laser hair removal on a patient’s face and she came in later for a touch-up treatment. She was wearing a ponytail and she told me, with tears in her eyes, “This is the first time since I was a little girl that I’ve been able to wear a ponytail because I was always hiding behind my hair because I wanted to hide the hair on my face.”

So for me, it was like, “Oh my gosh, I am doing something good that affects people’s lives!” It’s not just vanity, it’s actually life-changing for them in a positive way.

Q: Does your job require you to have any sort of training or certification?

Yes. You have to be certified in order to give patients laser treatments. In Arizona, we are required by the State to be a “CMLT” or Certified Medical Laser Technician. This is pretty important because lasers can be dangerous, obviously. So we are required to be certified and trained and educated on their proper use. And, in my case, I’ve been doing this for over 13 years, so our patients know they’re in good hands!

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Injectables – What Are They, Exactly, and How Do They Work?

There are different injectable categories, and they do different things:

1. First, neurotoxins are injectables that include things like Botox, Dysport, and Xeomin.
2. Second, dermal fillers, which are gels.

Neurotoxins (Botox, Dysport, and Xeomin)

Neurotoxins like Botox and Dysport, just like they sound, are toxins. But we like to call them neuromodulators so they sound less scary. Because, really, they’re very safe. There are billions of these used every day.

What neuromodulators do is inhibit muscle movement. If you look in the mirror and make a frown and squeeze your eyebrows together, you might have some little lines show up between the brows, or if you raise your eyebrows up, you might have some horizontal lines there.

So, when we inject Botox or Dysport, it inhibits that movement from happening so that you’re not able to raise your eyebrows like that, or frown or crease as much. This doesn’t mean that your smile is going to be frozen. It just means that you won’t be expressing those muscles in certain ways. What that does is cut off the ability of those wrinkles to form or deepen.

Growing up, as children, we have all this beautiful collagen and other good stuff in our skin. We can make those expressions like frowning or smiling, and it just bounces back. And then in our early to mid-twenties, our collagen production decreases drastically. That’s why we start to see those lines when we make those expressions.

Botox and Dysport are very popular for a lot of upper face lines, around the eyes, forehead, and between the eyes. But then there are also some beautiful uses in the lower face: it can even help smooth out your chin. It can lift the corners of the mouth, and you can use it around the lips to soften lines or make them appear a little fuller.

Dermal Fillers (Gels)

Dermal fillers, or just “fillers,” are different. Fillers are good for creating contouring and shaping in very specific areas. In the lips, for example, or maybe a little bit in the cheeks, or giving someone a little more projection or structure in the chin or jawline.

Contrary to what their name would suggest, fillers do not go in the entire face and “fill it.” When it’s used artistically and judiciously, filler can look absolutely beautiful. Where people get into trouble with fillers sometimes is when they get their lips done once and they think, “Oh my gosh, this is amazing. It looks so natural, my lips look soft and smooth and plump and beautiful.” So later they go back and they get more fillers, and think, “This is so amazing,” but they keep going back and getting more, and nobody ever tells them it’s time to stop.

There is a limited capacity in our lips, for example; if you keep adding more filler, there are only so many places it can go and that’s when it starts to get that weird, duck-lips kind of look. That’s from adding too much filler and from going to an injector who never tells their patient, “Hey, I don’t think this is a good idea.”

I always have that conversation with my patients. because there are times when adding more lip fillers will not make those lips look bigger — it’s going to make them look deformed, unusual, or abnormal. It’s hard a lot of times for people to realize that when they’re looking at their own faces, which is why you need a trusted injector to be able to look at you and tell you. That’s why we’re here!

The other thing to keep in mind with fillers is that, for the most part, they’re dissolvable. That is both for safety reasons, and, if something bad happens or someone does come to my office and they have too much and it’s migrated around the lips, which can happen, we can actually dissolve that down and get them back to that more natural look.

Another thing is with “perioral lines,” or those little, tiny lines around the lips, I have to find ways to address that artistically, because I’ve seen it done where some people will just pump a whole bunch of filler in that area. But then that makes them look like a monkey; it just puffs out your face (like your cheeks are full.) That’s not cute…we don’t do that here. But I have seen that done a lot.

If you’re interested in coming to Maxwell Med Spa for injectables, please contact us online or call us at (520) 751-1225 to book your appointment today.

SkinPen Microneedling vs Vivace RF Microneedling

The Takeaway

• Controlled injury builds collagen and elastin.
• Collagen and elastin give skin a youthful glow.
• SkinPen microneedling and Vivace radiofrequency microneedling build collagen and elastin by creating a controlled injury.
• Vivace radiofrequency microneedling adds the element of heat to improve results.
• Treatments are safe and approved for all Fitzpatrick skin types.
• There are some key differences between each type of microneedling.
• A series of 3-6 of either is recommended for best results.

What Concerns do SkinPen Microneedling and Vivace Radiofrequency Microneedling Address?

• Fine lines and wrinkles
• Improved tone and texture
• Tightens the skin
• Decreases pore size
• Improves the appearance of scars including acne scars (RF microneedling can be used on active acne)
• OTHER

What are Microneedling and Radiofrequency Microneedling?

Microneedling and its wealthy cousin Radiofrequency Microneedling (RF Microneedling) are skin treatments that use tiny, sterile needles to make itty bitty injuries to the skin. RF microneedling adds the benefit of thermal stimulation to create more dramatic results. The microneedles stimulate the body’s healing response and result in an increase in collagen and elastin, which help give skin its plump, supple appearance. We call this “collagen induction therapy” and many aesthetic treatments utilize this mechanism to do their job. Lasers and chemical peels also get their amazing results from this process.

How does Collagen Induction Therapy work?

Our bodies’ capacity for healing is impressive. Remember when you were a kid and you tripped and scraped your knees?

You were probably convinced that it would never heal.

Your knee would hurt forever!

Mom tried to comfort and reassure you while she wiped your tears and applied your band-aid. Fast forward a few days or so and your scabbed-over knee was making its way towards healing. Mom was right. But did mom understand how your body did that?

A Very Brief Description of the Wound Healing Process

1. When there is a break in the skin and underlying tissues, it may bleed. Those blood cells contain platelets that help the wound clot. Think about a garden hose that has a leak; the first thing you do is put your finger over the hole to prevent water going where you don’t want it to go (like all over your clothes instead of in the garden).
2. The break in the system also signals the inflammatory response. This response contains white blood cells to help fight infection and produce growth factors.
3. Those growth factors produce our beloved collagen which repairs the damaged tissue (How Wounds Heal, 2021).

This process takes a few months to complete. The remodeling of collagen can result in scars when the injury is uncontrolled and traumatic. My sister still has a scar from dinging her shin on a table when she was 10.

What to Expect at a Microneedling or Radiofrequency Microneedling treatment

Unlike the pavement you may have skidded along as a kid, microneedling creates a controlled injury to produce just the right amount of healing response.

You are probably thinking that the words “needles” and “controlled injury” sound painful. It certainly can be in the wrong hands. Microneedling and RF microneeedling are performed with devices that create an injury in a precise, targeted manner so the result is uniform and beautiful. They both can be used on almost the entire body. Most often they are used on the face, neck, and decolletage. Because the needles a quite tiny, the procedure is not particularly painful. But because most trained aesthetic providers are super nice, we numb you up with a topical ointment beforehand. Most patients don’t feel much and some even doze off during treatment.

Once you are assessed, numbed, and properly cleansed, the procedure begins. Here is where there are a few key differences between microneedling and RF microneeedling.

Microneedling, the Traditional Version

At Maxwell Aesthetics we use a device called SkinPen to perform these treatments. SkinPen is the first FDA-approved microneedling device. It uses a motorized mechanism to create tiny punctures in the treatment area. The depth is customized based on your skin sensitivity, concerns, and area of treatment. The SkinPen is moved around the treatment area for and even distribution of penetration. Specific areas, such as scars, can be targeted with more passes to induce a greater response.

Your aesthetic provider may use a targeted serum or Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) to enhance the results and stimulate faster healing.

You may have some redness after the treatment that usually resolves in one to three days.

Radiofrequency Microneedling, the Next Level

The process looks a little different for RF microneedling with Vivace. Vivace is stamped all over the treatment area for several passes. The needles create a physical puncture while the addition of radiofrequency adds heat into the dermis to remodel collagen and elastin from within. Targeted serums and PRP are also often used during treatment. You may have mild redness immediately after treatment but it should go away within a few hours. In fact, most patients look amazingly glowy right afterward. There is virtually no downtime.

What are the Differences Between SkinPen Microneedling and Vivace Radiofrequency Microneedling?

Both SkinPen and Vivace have great benefits for the skin. Vivace ups the ante with the use of radiofrequency yielding quicker, longer-lasting, quicker healing results. The best way to know which treatment is right for you is to schedule a complimentary consultation with one of our skincare experts.

Call (520) 751-1225 to book your appointment today.

If you are curious about labiaplasty, you are not alone—the procedure is becoming more and more common over recent years. There are many common misconceptions about labiaplasty, and patients often have similar questions during their consultations. Here are some of the basics you should know about the procedure.

What is the Labiaplasty Procedure Like?

Labiaplasty is an outpatient surgery that can be completed in an hour or less. While a labiaplasty can be completed under local anesthesia, IV sedation or general anesthesia are also options.

Are Labiaplasty and Vaginoplasty the Same?

Labiaplasty is the alteration of the external genitalia, in particular the labia minora. Vaginoplasty is a separate procedure and is alteration of the vagina itself.  It is best performed with a laser procedure known as FemTouch, which is intended to treat vaginal health concerns. (we do not offer this procedure as we feel it is best performed by a Gynecologist).  Labiaplasty, however, is a surgical procedure which reduces or reshapes the outer labia for cosmetic reasons or to make patients more comfortable. Labiaplasty can help patients relieve discomfort caused when the labia minora protrudes past the labia majora, resulting in pain or discomfort when wearing certain clothing, having intercourse, or inserting a tampon.

What is Recovery Like After Labiaplasty?

Recovery after labiaplasty is relatively simple. Patients are up and walking the same day as their surgery, but should wear loose clothing and avoid friction in the area as much as possible. Most patients take about 2-3 days away from work or school after their labiaplasty to rest and recover. In the early stages of recovery, swelling and itching are both common; these symptoms typically peak at 2-3 days after the surgery and subside within a week. During the first 18-24 hours after your surgery, you will likely be numb in the treated area. Once this subsides, ibuprofen alone is typically sufficient to keep comfortable. Showers and sitz (Epson salt) baths are both permitted through the recovery period, and stitches will dissolve. It is important to avoid intercourse or tampons for six weeks after surgery and refrain from exercise or activities including cycling, horseback riding, motorcycles, etc. for at least three to six weeks. If itching persists, see your doctor as soon as possible, as this can be a sign of a yeast or bacterial infection or allergic reaction.

After labiaplasty, scarring should be minimal and well-concealed by the natural contours or wrinkles of the area. Often, labiaplasty patients find that even their OB/GYN does not notice any scarring or signs that they have had surgery.

Will Labiaplasty Affect Intercourse?

For many labiaplasty patients, their increased self-confidence and reduced labial tissue improves their experience with intercourse. Sensation should not be negatively affected whatsoever and in many cases is improved following labiaplasty. Throughout the procedure, your surgeon will take care to avoid causing any injury to the clitoris to prevent damage or loss of sensitivity. It is important to avoid intercourse for at least six weeks after labiaplasty to ensure you have fully healed.

Schedule a Consultation

To learn more about labiaplasty, schedule a consultation with Dr. Maxwell. Call Maxwell Aesthetics in Tucson, Arizona at (520) 751-1225 or contact us online to schedule your appointment.

Every year the American Society of Plastic Surgeons tracks the popularity of cosmetic procedures for facial aging.  Leading in popularity are volume enhancers and neurotoxins.  These procedures help soften facial lines and fill volume loss and are popular because of their effectiveness, affordability, and minimal downtime.  These same attributes have attracted an influx of providers who are cashing in on the trend to profit from providing these treatments.  Many have taken crash courses to become injectors, some have no credentials and pass themselves off to the public as “experts”.

Then how do you go about choosing a competent and qualified injector?  The choice is important and should be taken as seriously as you would when choosing a medical provider to care for your family.  Here is a list of what you need to consider:

1. Credentials:  Is this a qualified injector?  They must have a valid state license and can be a Registered Nurse, Nurse Practitioner, Physician’s Assistant, or Medical Doctor.
2. Specialized training:  It takes hours of specialized training to learn the anatomy, injection techniques, and safety.  Most people do not know that one of the complications of injections around the eyes is blindness!  You want to go to someone who knows how to recognize serious complications and has a protocol to be able to treat these rare problems.
3. Do they have an eye for aesthetics, proportion, and beauty?  Ask to see before and after photographs of patients who had similar treatments.  Can you see a difference between the before and after?  Do not be fooled by makeup and lighting.  These should be standardized between the two comparisons.
4. Is there a commitment to quality?  This will include a consultation that clarifies your expectations, outlines an adequate treatment strategy, reviews the procedure risks, and includes photographs to document your before and after results.  Do they offer a professional guarantee?
5. Do they only offer a “one size, one procedure fits all” approach which can lead to an overfilled, bloated appearance?  Your injector needs to know the limitations of the treatments they offer and know when to refer you to someone skilled at more invasive, permanent, and effective treatments to achieve your goals.

Do not be afraid to ask questions.  Any competent provider should be able to answer all questions and take the time to help you understand the process.  Facial fillers and neurotoxins are a safe and effective anti-aging solution that has radically changed cosmetic rejuvenation for men and women.  Just be careful who is behind the syringe!

At Maxwell Aesthetics we have only trained Registered Nurses and a Nurse Practitioner, all of whom have dedicated their time to education and training to prioritize the safe delivery of natural-looking results.  All procedures are performed in a safe medical office with a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon overseeing your treatments.  Each injector has an eye for detail, skill in injecting safely, and are trained to not overpromise and underdeliver.  Schedule a Consultation with one of the experts at Maxwell Aesthetics and begin the journey of aging gracefully and beautifully.

BBL (Broadband Light), commonly known as Fotofacial, is a treatment with no “social downtime” and minimal discomfort. An FDA-Cleared skin rejuvenation treatment with a broad range of wavelengths allows targeted treatment for many skin conditions such as pigment like sun damage or age spots, rosacea, broken vessels, acne, and collagen productions if treatments are done for a prolonged period of time. 

BBL for pigmentation and rosacea will improve skin tone, reducing redness and erasing brown spots. This corrective process will restore your skin to its natural beauty making it clearer, smoother, vibrant and younger-looking. Reversing years of damage to the skin due to sun exposure. We recommend a series of treatments for better results and the number of treatments varies from patient to patient.

BBL Forever Clear is a cutting-edge acne treatment that uses the power of light to comfortably and effectively clear acne without creams or medications. With BBL Forever Clear and the ability to treat the skin with, blue BBL, yellow BBL and infra-red lights in one treatment, we can target bacteria, inflammation, and redness with no ‘social downtime”. We recommend a series of treatments for better results and the number of treatments varies from patient to patient.

BBL Forever Young is a revolutionary treatment that sends light energy deep into the skin to boost your body’s natural ability to fight aging. It was proven in a long-term clinical study that patients who received BBL treatments over the course of a decade at the end of the study doctors judge the patients to appear eleven years younger than their actual age. BBL Forever Young isn’t just a beauty treatment it’s a preventative regiment. A clinician will personalize a plan based on the level of improvement you desire. 

If you want a more refreshed, rejuvenated and youthful appearance BBL is for you! Call us at (520) 751-1225 to book a free consultation and learn more about how BBL can specifically benefit YOU!

Hit the reset button on lackluster skin with Halo! See improvement in your skin’s texture, reduce the appearance of enlarged pores and revitalize your skin tone and health. Restore the luminous glow you had when you were younger.

HALO is a hybrid laser that works with two different wavelengths (ablative & non-ablative) that target the dermis and the epidermis at the same time. HALO combines deep dermal rejuvenation with epidermal renewal for a combined synergistic effect. There are treatments that use one or the other, but this combination treatment is what really makes Halo special.

With HALO you have what we like to call “social downtime” meaning there is no discomfort in the healing process but you will have redness, swelling and the debris that resurfaces from underneath the skin for a couple of days after treatment is performed. The average healing time is 5-7 days, during this time is up to the patient how socially active they want to be as long as they follow aftercare guidelines. Halo is an innovative and technologically advanced process that sets our patients up for success no matter the condition they meet with us in.

Preventative treatments can also benefit younger patients to slow down the aging process and improve skin texture and glow. Halo knows no age! Anyone can expect to see results from the treatment and reap the benefits in little to no time. Halo is used to treat or prevent, fine lines, and a dull complexion, which makes it a viable option for both men and women.

Still unsure what Halo can do for you? Call Maxwell Aesthetics and book a free consultation to see just how beneficial Halo can be for you. We want to help by making our patients glow one Halo at a time.

Full lips are a key component to a youthful look which is why lips are a highly sought after area for treatment. While some are simply born lacking desirable shape and volume, every lip becomes thinner and more deflated looking as aging takes place. Thankfully, modern aesthetics provides a variety of treatment modalities for lip augmentation and the professionals at Maxwell Aesthetics have the skill and expertise to tailor treatment to each and every patient they see.

Lips come in all shapes and sizes, and patient preference and expectations are key components to achieving the best result. At Maxwell Aesthetics, we carry an array of products that allow us to customize treatment to each individual’s specific needs. Juvederm Volbella and Restylane Refyne are great options for subtle lip enhancement, lip hydration, and restoration, whereas Juvederm Ultra XC, Juvederm Ultra Plus XC, and Restylane Defyne allow for added volume and size building, as well as hydration. All of the injectable fillers we carry are HA (hyaluronic acid) fillers, which are the preferred product of choice at our practice due to the safety of the products and the natural-looking results they produce. Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring sugar molecule produced by the body and is responsible for retaining water and moisture in the body’s tissues, therefore, HA fillers are well tolerated and a safe option for injectable treatments.

If you are amongst the many looking to enhance your lips, our staff is highly qualified to set you at ease and ensure that you receive the best care possible. A Registered Nurse Injector or Nurse Practitioner perform all injectable treatments and have been thoroughly trained in providing the safest treatments with optimal outcomes. A full hour is scheduled for each lip treatment to allow plenty of time for numbing and customized treatment. Results are noticeable immediately, though some degree of swelling and bruising are commonly experienced with treatment and typically resolve within 2 to 14 days. Final results last between 6 and 12 months and treatment may be repeated if additional volume is desired.

We respect each patient’s individual needs and ensure that they’re identified and respected with every visit to Maxwell Aesthetics. To learn more about lip fillers and determine whether it is a good fit for you, we encourage you to schedule a complimentary consultation.