Plastic Surgery FAQs

Dr. Pautler performs surgery only at accredited surgical facilities. These surgery centers must meet stringent health, equipment, and sanitary requirements to be accredited, and are therefore the best place for your surgery to take place. Small procedures done under local anesthetic and nonsurgical procedures, like BOTOX®, are performed in our office because they require little or no recovery time.

Dr. Pautler is committed to creating as beautiful and natural a result as possible for residents of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and surrounding areas. For example, during the breast enlargement procedure, she takes skin condition, initial breast size and shape, body type, and the patient’s desires into account when outlining a treatment plan.

Some procedures leave short scars in very concealed areas such as in breast augmentation and facelifts. While most procedures offered through our Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area practice – such as breast reduction – will leave a short scar, strategic placement goes a long way in minimizing the appearance of short scars.

Dr. Pautler is one of the few surgeons in the area to perform breast reduction through a short scar of scar minimizing technique also known as a ”LeJour“ ,”Vertical“ or “Hall-Findlay” technique.

The duration of your surgery will depend upon many factors, including the type of surgery, the extent or level of correction, and the number of procedures done during your operation. More complicated procedures and multiple procedures take longer than single procedural operations.

For example, patients at our Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area practice who undergo breast augmentation can expect to be in surgery for one to two hours, while total body recontouring after weight loss can take up to 8 or 9 hours.

Prior to your surgery, Dr. Pautler will clearly explain what to expect.

We show several pre-op and post-op photos of patients with similar body types or characteristics so you can get an idea of what results you can expect. This eases your mind as it also shows what the doctor can accomplish.

It is important to remember that plastic surgery cannot make you look like a completely different person – it will not change who you are or how people treat you. Patients that expect improvement, and not perfection, are typically the happiest with their results.

The length of your recovery depends on many factors, including which surgery you choose, your overall health prior to surgery, and the extent of the surgery itself. Most surgery patients can expect to return to work and resume normal activities within a month. Swelling often lasts beyond this time, but will subside shortly.

For most surgeries, such as breast augmentation, patients can usually see their final results in several months. For injections, such as BOTOX® or Restylane®, recovery time is significantly shorter. Patients can continue normal activities that day, and they can expect to see the complete results of their injection within a week.

Insurance does not offer coverage for cosmetic procedures. Dr. Pautler is non-participating with all medical insurances. We accept payment by credit card, cash, or check. We work closely with several financing companies and can arrange the details of your transaction. 

As with any surgery, plastic surgery carries with it some risks. Bleeding, infection, an unexpected reaction to anesthesia, or a prolonged recovery can occur with any surgery, big or small. We will inform you of any specific risks associated with the procedure(s) you are contemplating so that you can make an informed decision.

Anyone who is healthy may be a candidate for plastic surgery. However, some patients can expect better results than others for certain procedures.

For example, breast augmentation candidates with heavier breasts may not be able to maintain their results for as long as someone with lighter breasts due to the increased pull of gravity on the breasts.

Patients with greater skin elasticity and localized pockets of fat may be able to expect better results from liposuction, while patients with many stretch marks and saggy skin will have a lesser result.

At the initial plastic surgery consultation, Dr. Pautler will discuss your expectations, describe all of your options and procedures, show you “before and after” plastic surgery pictures of similar patients, and answer all your questions. Regarding plastic surgeries involving the breasts, Dr. Pautler guides her patients through all the plastic surgery options currently available in breast implants. The patient’s breast volume, shape, placement of the nipple, and individual plastic surgery desires are all factored into the decision of what breast implant is best. Dr. Pautler also guides her plastic surgery patients though deciding on breast implant size, based on the width of the breast base, the compliance (stretch) of the breast skin, and the height and weight of the plastic surgery patient. Also, by looking at several “before and after” plastic surgery photos of other plastic surgery patients with similar characteristics, plastic surgery patients can make a very informed and confident choice of breast implant size.

Vitamin C: This vitamin helps boost plastic surgery wound healing. It is available over-the-counter and is helpful to take two weeks before and two weeks after plastic surgery. Drink plenty of pineapple juice before and after plastic surgery. Pineapple juice contains natural ingredients to help minimize bruising.

It is rather common for women to think silicone-gel implants are unsafe. The FDA has approved silicone-gel implants after numerous scientific studies. These studies have shown over the years that silicone gel-filled breast implants are both safe and effective for breast augmentation and reconstruction. You must be over 22 when your body is considered fully matured to receive silicone-gel breast implants.

You should massage your plastic surgery scars a few times a day with a product such as vitamin E oil, cocoa butter or Mederma applying pressure while massaging the plastic surgery scars. The pressure during the massage is more important than the type of cream product used. Combined with massage, these emollients can help accelerate softening, fading, and maturation of scars from plastic surgery. Silicone preparations are also available, but costly, and more suitable for patients that have a known tendency to form poor scars. Every individual is unique. Some women heal quickly and some heal slowly. In general, skin type determines the quality of the plastic surgery scar. Despite the most meticulous plastic surgery technique, some individuals heal poorly, while others heal beautifully. Age can also play a factor in healing time after plastic surgery. The older you are the less red and tender your plastic surgery scars may appear while younger women may have pink or reddish scars that will be tender for several months and may take up to a year to fade.

During the initial consultation, Dr. Pautler may discover a potential plastic surgery patient is not in good health, or a potential plastic surgery patient is under 18 and does not have parental consent, the plastic surgery is unwarranted or there is a complication or issue that prevents a potential plastic surgery patient from going forward with plastic surgery.

At the initial plastic surgery consultation, Dr. Pautler will discuss your health history, examine your desired plastic surgery area, discuss your plastic surgery expectations, describe all of your plastic surgery options and plastic surgery procedures, show you “before and after” plastic surgery pictures of similar plastic surgery patients, and answer all your plastic surgery questions.

You should also be prepared to inform Dr. Pautler of the type of exercise, sports or physical activities are important to you, provide Dr. Pautler with a complete list of prescriptions, over-the-counter medications, herbals and supplements you take and to be very clear regarding your plastic surgery expectations. Regarding breast plastic surgeries, inform Dr. Pautler of the largest breast size you have ever been. This information provides insight into the ability for your breast skin and tissue to stretch.

Plastic surgery risks and complications can vary based on plastic surgery procedures. Dr. Pautler will discuss all the potential risks and complications with you prior to your plastic surgery.

Every breast augmentation patient needs to accept the remote possibility of needing a revision at some point in her life after the initial breast augmentation. Issues that tend to increase this risk are breast implant placement above the muscle, very large volume breast implants (because they are heavy), and underfilling of saline breast implants. However, there are factors that are beyond the surgeon’s control and are unpredictable, such as unusually stretchy breast tissue or asymmetric chest walls that make symmetric breast augmentation impossible. Equally unpredictable are the effects of gravity, pregnancies, weight gain or loss and breastfeeding on a patient’s breasts.

Although rare and unlikely, there is always a possibility that you may not be able to breastfeed after plastic surgery that involves the breasts. If the ability, to breastfeed your children is very important to you, you may want to post-pone plastic surgery involving your breasts until you no longer intend to breastfeed.