Give the gift of beauty with Garcia Facial Plastic Surgery.

What better holiday surprise than the gift of beauty? Garcia Facial Plastic Surgery offers a range of gift ideas perfect for the both the girls and guys on your holiday shopping list:

• A luxe new look: Facial cosmetic procedures, both surgical and non-invasive, are increasingly popular gifts. If someone you love has talked about a chemical peel, brow lift or Botox injection, consider a Garcia Facial Plastic Surgery gift certificate toward a procedure of their choosing. A favorite this year is the Garcia Institute’s Contoura, a proprietary procedure designed to take years off a face in a matter of minutes. Certificates for a SunFX spray tanning session, hand rejuvenating treatment or lash and brow tint make great stocking stuffers.

• A sweet respite: Everyone can use a little R&R now and then. A luxurious facial treatment or massage is always a welcome gift. The Swedish massage is a favorite. The athlete in your life will love a sports massage, designed to release lactic build-up in the muscles and prevent injuries. And if someone you care about is carrying a stress load, our deep tissue massage will help him or her relax, rejuvenate and refocus.

• A little knowledge: If someone on your holiday shopping list is considering facial plastic surgery, make sure he or she is well informed. Penned by Dr. Phillip Garcia and Dr. Roberto Garcia, Just Faces: A Guide to Facial Plastic Surgery provides a comprehensive look at all you can expect while preparing for, undergoing and recovering from a cosmetic surgery procedure.

• A little swag: Garcia Facial Plastic Surgery and Reviva Medical Spa offer a full battery of top-quality skincare and beauty products to fill any stocking. We carry the LaLicious line of all-natural bath and body products including luxury shower scrubs, body oils and scented lotions in a variety of sumptuous scents. Known as the “skin care makeup,” Jane Iredale cosmetics are best known for their mineral makeup products that offer beautiful, smooth coverage while allowing the skin to breathe. And our DecoCandles soy blend jar candles fill your home or office with soothing scents.

• A little love: For the person who already has everything, consider a donation in his or her name to F.A.C.E., the Foundation for the Advancement of Children’s Aesthetics. This nonprofit organization provides free facial reconstructive surgery to underprivileged children with facial trauma or disfigurement throughout Northeast Florida. It’s a gift that will positively and permanently impact a child’s life.

For any of these gift ideas, stop by Garcia Facial Plastic Surgery at 700 3rd Street, suite 102 in Neptune Beach near Jacksonville. Happy holiday shopping!

Reconstructive plastic surgery after a Mohs procedure can help restore your look.

Learning that you have skin cancer can be tough enough. But if your cancer is located on your face, it can be particularly tough emotionally. Garcia Facial Plastic Surgery are specialists in post-cancer reconstructive surgery and can help beautifully restore your look.

Named for its originator Dr. Fred Mohs, Mohs surgery also is known as Microscopically Controlled Excision. The technique first became available in the 1940s and involved using a chemical fixative to kill the cancer and still its movement in the skin, allowing for its removal. It gave way to “chemosurgery,” a term widely used today although the surgery has been refined over the years and rarely makes use of the chemical fixative today.

The aim of Mohs surgery is to remove cancerous tissue in an extremely precise manner, leaving as small a wound as possible. But even a small scar can mar a patient’s face, causing feelings of self-consciousness. That’s where Garcia Facial Plastic Surgery comes in. Dr. Phillip Garcia and Dr. Roberto Garcia work closely with Northeast Florida’s top Mohs surgeons to help patients heal with little or no scarring. The Mohs dermatologist typically will remove your cancer in his office, then place a dressing over it. You’ll then see one of the Drs. Garcia, who will carefully repair the defect at Garcia Facial Plastic Surgery’s JCAHO-certified office-based surgery suite.

If you’ve been diagnosed with skin cancer on your face and plan to undergo Mohs surgery, call Garcia Facial Plastic Surgery at 904-247-8522 to schedule your post-Mohs reconstructive procedure. We’ll make sure that people see you – not your scar.

A new study concludes that facial bones – not just skin and muscles – show signs of aging, too. Study results are confirmation of something long suspected by the best facial plastic surgeons, Jacksonville’s Dr. Phillip Garcia and Dr. Roberto Garcia say. Both are double board-certified surgeons specializing in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery, with training and experience in otolaryngology, head and neck surgery.

The best facial plastic surgeons know that aging happens in your bones, as well as in your skin and underlying soft tissue.

The study involved computerized tomography scans of facial bones of patients in three age groups: young (20-40); middle-aged (41-64); and older, 65 and up. Detailed measurements in 3D reconstructions of the CT scans, conducted at the University of Rochester Medical Center, showed definite differences in facial bone structure between the various age groups.

Study results were reported in the January issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). They show that the orbital aperture (eye socket) becomes wider and longer with age in both men and women. The length and height of the mandible (lower jaw) decreased with age. And there were reductions in the brow, nose and maxillary (upper jaw) angles as well. These changes typically occurred earlier in women (between young and middle-age) than in men (between middle age and old age).

“The bony components of the face are important for overall facial three-dimensional contour as they provide the framework on which the soft-tissue envelope drapes,” reads the report, coauthored by researchers led by Dr. Robert Shaw, Jr., MD. For example, the decreased brow angle and enlarging eye socket can lead to forehead wrinkles, crow’s feet and drooping of the lower eyelid.

What does this mean for your facial plastic surgery? Jacksonville’s Garcia Institute (a.k.a. Garcia Facial Plastic Surgery) uses carefully developed techniques that address all of the aging effects of the face – not just those of the skin and underlying soft tissue and muscle, but those of the bones as well.  By taking all these facets into consideration, Drs. Garcia are able to deliver optimal results that look beautifully natural. To find out more, or to schedule a consultation at Garcia Facial Plastic Surgery near Jacksonville, call (904) 247-8522.

Patients of Garcia Facial Plastic Surgery, Reviva Medical Spa and other local businesses joined with the F.A.C.E. Foundation to collect toys for Remar, an orphanage in El Salvador. And we’re thrilled to say the toy drive was a success!

In addition to Garcia Facial Plastic Surgery and Reviva Medical Spa, area businesses including Frangipani Salon, Miko Salon, and Brucci’s Pizza graciously allowed F.A.C.E. to place drop boxes and collect toys on their premises.  Brucci’s also opened the doors of their restaurant on December 17th and donated ten percent of their profits to the toy drive.  The generosity of these businesses and the community members will allow the children of Remar’s impoverished orphanage to have a fun-filled Christmas in January!

With many struggling in this tough economic climate this holiday season, the giving spirit of the community was awe-inspiring.  Locals opened their hearts and their wallets, donating $315 and approximately 120 stuffed animals.  Dozens of books, art supplies, board games, puzzles, Lincoln Logs, Legos, building blocks, card games, baby dolls, rag dolls, baby toys, miniature cars, action figures, Polly Pockets, Barbie dolls and cans of play dough were also donated to this worthy cause.  In addition, Pilot Pen donated hundreds of pens, highlighters, markers, mechanical pencils and fountain pens to be used in Remar’s onsite school.

Remar is home to Antonio, a young boy who recently received life-changing surgical treatment from Garcia Facial Plastic Surgery’s through the FACE Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free facial reconstructive surgery to underprivileged children. Volunteer medical professionals offer their services to help children who are victims of facial injuries from dog bites, auto accidents, congenital deformities, violent abuse and other traumas.

Starting January 10, the boxes of toy collected and cash donations will be packed and sent to El Salvador.  Garcia Facial Plastic Surgery and Reviva Medical Spa want to thank their clients and friends for their generosity.

“The kindness and benevolence of all those that participated in this endeavor is greatly appreciated,” says toy drive organizer Kristi Mansouri, who, with husband Safa, fostered Anthony while he stayed in Northeast Florida for several months of treatments.

“Anthony and the other children at Remar are very close to our hearts,” adds Dr. Phillip Garcia, founder of Garcia Facial Plastic Surgery. “Imaging the smiles on their faces when those toys are delivered is a gift in itself. We are so thankful to our clients and others who donated.”

Garcia Facial Plastic Surgery and the FACE Foundation are joining together to put big smiles on the faces of children who have very little this Christmas season. The two organizations are holding a toy drive through December 23 to collect new and gently used toys for the Remar Orphanage in El Salvador. It’s a project that’s very close to the hearts of the Garcia Institute’s Dr. Phillip Garcia and Dr. Roberto Garcia.

Antonio received life-changing facial reconstructive surgery thanks to the FACE Foundation and Garcia Facial Plastic Surgery.

Remar is home to Antonio, a young boy who recently received life-changing surgical treatment from the Drs. Garcia through the FACE Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free facial reconstructive surgery to underprivileged children. Volunteer doctors and medical professionals offer their services to help children who are victims of facial injuries from dog bites, auto accidents, congenital deformities or other traumas. Antonio’s story is particularly moving. As a young boy living in one of the poorest slums of Central America, he experienced a horrific betrayal at the hands of his own grandmother. Angry that Antonio was crying, she took a burning amber from a stove and held it to his mouth, causing injuries so severe that the entire middle sections of his top and bottom lips had to be removed.

Antonio was left with a disfigured smile and a constant reminder of the abuse by someone he loved and trusted. But thanks to the FACE foundation and other charitable organizations, the boy was brought to Jacksonville in 2008, where the Drs. Garcia performed reconstructive surgery to repair Antonio’s lips. He recovered at the home of Safa and Kristi Mansouri, who cared for him throughout more than a year of multiple surgeries and recovery periods. The couple continues efforts to help Antonio and other children living with him at the Remar Orphanage and will coordinate sending toys and money collected throughout the toy drive to Remar.

“A smile is a simple but powerful thing and it’s something that most of us take for granted,” said Dr. Philip Garcia. “Giving a little of our time and expertise to help give children the ability to smile and feel normal after a traumatic experience, or even for the first time in their lives, is something that gives us great joy.”

If you would like to donate toys, look for the drop boxes at Garcia Facial Plastic Surgery and Garcia Reviva Medical Spa in Neptune Beach and at Brucci’s Pizza in Ponte Vedra Beach. Speak with staff at these locations about making monetary donations to Remar. Everyone who makes a donation to the toy drive will automatically be entered in a drawing for a chance to win a Four Layer Facial from Reviva Medical Spa.

You also can make one-time donations or set up monthly or bi-weekly gifts to help support the FACE Foundation’s ongoing efforts via its website. Besides performing surgical procedures, FACE also develops educational and outreach programs to promote child safety and offers fellowships for medical students designed to introduce them to advanced facial plastic surgery techniques.

Plastic surgery can be a sensitive issue between significant others. In fact, broaching the subject can be a real challenge for husbands and boyfriends of female patients. Often, a woman wants a cosmetic procedure that her man shuns – sometimes because of financial concerns, other times because he truly loves the way she looks already. Some men, however, fit the exact opposite description, pressuring – even demanding a wife or girlfriend to undergo a procedure she doesn’t want or that is more intense than she wants.

Couples shoud discuss plastic surgery, but the ultimate decision lies with the patient alone.

In a 1997 legal case against one of Hollywood’s most famous celebrity plastic surgeons, actor Sylvester Stallone reportedly burst into the room where then-girlfriend Angie Everhart was undergoing a breast augmentation. The surgeon’s employees testified that Stallone demanded bigger implants than Everhart had agreed to, and the surgeon acquiesced. The couple soon parted ways and Everhart had her implants removed. While this case may sound more like a tawdry Hollywood script than day-to-day reality, you’ll be hard pressed to find a plastic surgeon who has not witnessed such pressure situations in his or her office.

If you feel you’re being pressed to undergo a plastic surgery or other cosmetic procedure that you’re not absolutely sure you want, put the brakes on immediately.

“Undergoing plastic surgery or even a simpler, non-evasive cosmetic procedure is, and should be an intensely personal decision,” says Dr. Phillip Garcia, founder of Garcia Facial Plastic Surgery near Jacksonville, FL. “Here at the Garcia Institute, if we have any cause to believe that a prospective patient is being unduly pressured by a husband, boyfriend or anyone else, we will politely decline our services. Any ethical plastic surgeon in Jacksonville or elsewhere will do the same.”

If you are truly interested in facial plastic surgery but your significant other is hesitant, talk it out. Find out what his concerns are and carefully consider your own. A great celebrity example is Lisa Rinna’s recent decision to undergo facial plastic surgery to remove a 22-year-old silicone lip implant. Scar tissue had formed around the implant, giving her lips an odd shape and she arguably endured more than her fair share of public and media ridicule. Actor husband Harry Hamlin felt she didn’t need surgery, but understood why Rinna wanted it.

“My lips started to define who I am,” Rinna told People magazine. “That bothered me.”

Hamlin supported Rinna’s decision and she reportedly is very pleased with the results of the corrective surgery.

“Couples should discuss plastic surgery and carefully consider all the ways it will affect them as a couple,” Dr. Garcia says. “But the decision ultimately lies with the patient.”

If you are considering undergoing a procedure contact us at (904) 247-8522 or via our online email form to schedule a consultation.

If you’re wondering about ear surgery, Jacksonville’s Garcia Institute has answers to all your questions. Formally referred to as “otoplasty” and often called “ear pinning,” cosmetic ear surgery is designed to change the appearance of your external ears. Most often, the surgery is performed on patients who feel their ears too noticeably protrude away from their scalps. When this is the case, an ear surgery procedure reshapes the cartilage in a way that brings the ear closer to the scalp.

However, other reasons for otoplasty exist, including genetic disorders such as Treacher Collins syndrome, hemifacial microsomia and Stahl’s deformity (known as “Spock ear”); and traumatic ear injuries caused by car crashes, fights or dog bites, for instance. Reconstructive or cosmetic ear surgery can involve moving, reshaping, adding or removing ear elements.

Before and after photos of an otoplasty procedure by Garcia Facial Plastic Surgery. Click the image to see more patient photos.

Otoplasty was first developed in ancient India around 600 BC and often was used to reconstruct ears that had been amputated as a punishment for crimes. Those same early procedures form the basis for the very procedures that are performed today. The most common ear surgery procedures involve removing excess cartilage from the center back of the ear, then reconnecting the ear closer to the scalp using absorbable sutures. In pediatric ear surgery, Jacksonville surgeons typically perform the procedure under general anesthesia. Adults are treated under local or twilight anesthesia. Immediately following the procedure, patients wear headbands that keep their ears in place 24 hours a day for three weeks. And most are able to resume normal athletic activity within two weeks following ear surgery.

Jacksonville’s Drs. Phillip Garcia and Roberto Garcia focus exclusively on facial reconstructive and cosmetic surgery. Otoplasty is a specialty for them, so rest assured that you are in the best of hands. To discuss your ear surgery, contact Jacksonville’s Garcia Institute at (904) 247-8522.

Betcha didn’t know this tidbit about plastic surgery, Jacksonville – It’s been around for some 4,000 years.  Archaeological and written evidence suggests that medical treatments for facial injuries were performed as early as 4,000 years ago, typically involving the formation of skin flaps to reshape or mold defects caused by injury or cancer. And ancient Indian physicians may have been performing skin grafts as early as 800 B.C. However, it wasn’t until the 19th and 20th centuries that the plastic surgery specialty saw major medical and scientific advancements. Read more »

Whether insurance will cover your plastic surgery in Jacksonville depends chiefly on the type of plastic surgery you choose. The primary consideration is whether your will undergo a cosmetic plastic surgery or a reconstructive plastic surgery. Jacksonville’s Garcia Institute defines the two using the same definitions adopted by the American Medical Association and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. We define cosmetic plastic surgery as a surgery “performed to reshape normal structures of the body in order to improve the patient’s appearance and self-esteem;” and reconstructive plastic surgery as one “performed on abnormal structures of the body, caused by congenital defects, developmental abnormalities, trauma, infection, tumors, or disease.” Reconstructive plastic surgery primarily is performed to restore or improve facial functions such as the ability to smile, open and close your eyes or speak clearly, but may also be done to restore or approximate a patient’s normal appearance. Read more »

The word “plastic” has long been assumed to infer something artificial or fake-looking, causing many to be apprehensive about undergoing plastic surgery. Jacksonville-area residents considering plastic surgery invariably are concerned about the results of their procedures looking anything but natural, so this is a common question for staff at Garcia Facial Plastic Surgery (aka the Garcia Institute).

Actually, the “plastic” in plastic surgery doesn’t refer to artificiality at all. Instead, the term is derived from the Greek word “plastikos,” which means to mold or give form – which is exactly that plastic surgeons do for patients’ faces and bodies. The term comes from the practice of the earliest known plastic surgeons developing skin flaps to close wounds or replace tissue lost to injuries or skin-deforming diseases such as skin cancer in an effort to restore the patient’s original appearance. Archaeological and written evidence suggests medical treatments for facial injuries were performed more than 4,000 years ago, and in ancient India, physicians are known to have performed skin graft procedures as early as 800 B.C. Read more »