If you’re planning facial plastic surgery, Jacksonville’s Garcia Institute (aka Garcia Facial Plastic Surgery) wants to make sure your experience is a positive one. That means taking every necessary safety precaution, including eliminating certain medications and supplements in the months leading up to your procedure. Many medications and dietary or herbal supplements can remain in your body for weeks and may interact with other medications and anesthesia required at the time of your surgery. A negative reaction between two drugs could put your health or life at risk.

It's imperative that you tell your surgeon about any medications or supplements you're taking prior to your facial plastic surgery. Jacksonville's Garcia Institute can advise you.

For your safety, be sure you tell your Jacksonville facial plastic surgeon about all prescription and over-the-counter medications, dietary and herbal supplements and recreational drugs you have taken in the six months prior to your scheduled facial plastic surgery. Jacksonville-area patients are advised to avoid all types of aspirin and ibuprofen for two weeks prior to your procedure. Both of these medications are temporary blood thinners and thus can cause excessive bleeding during your surgery. If you need a pain reliever, ask your plastic surgeon if it’s okay to take acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol. Acetaminophen may be safer because it does not interfere with blood clotting.

If you have been prescribed antidepressant medications, make sure tell your surgeon immediately. Antidepressants and other drugs classified as MAO (monoamine oxidase) inhibitors can negatively react to anesthesia. Telling your Jacksonville plastic surgeon and your anesthesiologist early allows them to make necessary adjustments and keep an extra cautions eye out for any potential problems.

Don’t make the mistake of assuming that because herbal remedies are naturally derived they are safe. St. John’s wort, a popular natural supplement believed to help treat depression and premenstrual syndrome, is known to interact with anesthesia. St. Johns Wort, ginseng and Ginkgo Biloba can increase bleeding. Ephedra and kava can affect blood pressure and heart rate and interfere with anesthetic medications, and kava in particular can intensify anesthesia’s sedation effects. Echinacea can contribute to allergic reactions.

The Garcia Institute’s Drs. Phillip Garcia and Dr. Roberto Garcia also strongly recommend that you not smoke cigarettes for at least two weeks before and two weeks after your facial plastic surgery. Jacksonville patients who do not smoke heal quicker and have less noticeable scarring than do patients who continue smoking.

If you’re considering facial plastic surgery, contact Jacksonville’s Garcia Institute for a consultation today.

If you’d love to look younger without the downtime of a traditional plastic surgery procedure (and who wouldn’t?) consider an endoscopic brow lift. Jacksonville’s Garcia Facial Plastic Surgery, also known as the Garcia Institute, offers this less invasive procedure as an effective alternative for its busiest clients.

An endoscopic brow lift offers a rejuvenated look with a fraction of the downtime, post-operative discomfort and scarring than a traditional brow lift.

With an endoscopic brow lift, Jacksonville patients who require less extensive treatment enjoy a rejuvenated look with a shorter recovery time than a traditional brow lift procedure entails. This procedure raises the eyebrow line and smoothes out wrinkles – much like its traditional counterpart. However, it’s achieved removing less skin. The difference is in the way incisions are made. A traditional brow lift involves the making one long incision from between the tops of ears, arching over the top of the forehead within the hairline. An endoscopic browlift instead requires just four to six small (about one inch) incisions behind the hairline.

In an endoscopic brow lift, Jacksonville’s Drs. Phillip Garcia and Roberto Garcia use an endoscope, a long, slender medical device that allows them to see the tissues beneath your skin on a monitor. This further allows them to work with smaller, fewer incisions. Less extensive incisions mean less recovery time, less post-operative discomfort and less scarring than is typical with a traditional brow lift. However, results may be less pronounced and shorter-lived. That’s why the ideal candidate is younger and does not need as much skin removed to achieve ideal results.

Both traditional and endoscopic brow lift procedures help address drooping brows, horizontal lines across the forehead, deep furrows between the brows, heavy upper lids and an angry or tired appearance that often comes with age or high-stress lifestyles. If you are interested in a traditional or endoscopic brow lift, Jacksonville’s Garcia Institute has the experience and expertise to offer you beautiful, natural looking results. Visit our website for more information and use our convenient Click to Call feature to schedule a consultation.

As specialists in facial plastic surgery, Jacksonville’s Dr. Philip Garcia and Dr. Roberto Garcia know that the work they perform will yield the best results if patients are healthy and their skin is in optimal shape for their ages and lifestyles. That’s why they developed the Reviva Anti-Aging System, featuring anti-oxidant and Omega 3 vitamin and mineral supplement formulas specifically designed to help Jacksonville plastic surgery patients heal faster, ward off skin-damaging free radicals and keep not just their skin but their entire bodies healthy and strong.

The Reviva anti-aging vitamin line includes four formulas/stages: Stage I Multivitamin, Stage II Anti-Oxidant, Stage III Healing and Omega-3.  Each is designed for a specific result and together, they keep help keep the

Reviva Anti-Aging System by Drs. Phillip and Roberto Garcia

body’s internal processes healthy, promote healing after plastic surgery in Jacksonville, rejuvenate and protect your skin and hair. Read more »

If you’ve been putting off facial cosmetic surgery because of a packed schedule and a busy social life, consider opting for a Lifestyle Lift®. Jacksonville’s Garcia Facial Plastic Surgery Institute caters to many patients with hectic careers, full social lives and heavy travel schedules. Downtime is an elusive luxury for many, but Northeast Florida residents still want to look their best. After all, our year-round mild climate means lots of sunny days and clear nights to get out and about with friends and network with professional colleagues.

When you opt for a Lifestyle Lift at our Jacksonville surgery center, you’ll get a less-invasive approach to traditional facelift surgery performed by our highly qualified, board certified plastic surgeons. We use the most advanced cosmetic surgical techniques to tighten and smooth your face and neck, eliminating wrinkles and leaving you with a natural, youthful and refreshed look. The procedure is designed to address common signs of aging including a sagging jaw line, droopy eyelids and facial creases. The result is more significant than you’ll see with dermal fillers, but not as drastic a change as you would get with a traditional facelift.

Lifestyle Lift Before & After

Lifestyle Lift Before & After

With the Lifestyle Lift, Jacksonville area patients undergo local anesthesia (sometimes called “twilight anesthesia”), rather than general anesthesia. You’ll feel incredibly relaxed, even sleepy, but you’ll be able to respond and follow your plastic surgeon’s simple directions. While the thought of being awake during facial plastic surgery may sound a bit unnerving, local anesthesia typically causes a patient to forget all about the actual surgical procedure. The primary benefit, however, is that local anesthesia poses far less risk than does general anesthesia, which can be dangerous at worse and leave you feeling groggy for days afterward at best.

Fast becoming one of the most requested cosmetic procedures in Jacksonville, the Lifestyle Lift surgery typically takes about an hour for a skilled plastic surgeon to complete and most patients are able to return to their normal routines in a week’s time. Less time spent in surgery and the use of local anesthetics rather than more intense general anesthetics makes the Lifestyle Lift among Jacksonville’s most affordable options for effective, long-lasting facial rejuvenation.

You’ve just made an investment that’s sure to pay off in multiple ways – an expertly performed facelift. Jacksonville area patients are anxious to get out into the beautiful Florida sunshine and show off their rejuvenated looks. While it’s important that you rest and take certain precautions while you heal, there are ways to minimize your post-surgery downtime.

The best recommendation we can make to ensure a quick recovery time is to get healthy now! Younger, healthier patients fare better post-surgery than others undergoing most any medical procedure. If your nutritional and exercise habits aren’t up to par (be honest) begin as early as possible before your facelift to adopt healthier habits like eating right and exercising each day. But it’s not just your physical health that counts. Reducing stress and going into your procedure with a positive mindset and realistic expectations make a world of difference.

Te ensure a quick recovery after a facelift, Jacksonville area patients follow these simple tips in the weeks surrounding their procedures:

•    Exercise each day. Just a 20-minute daily walk can help you lose weight, de-stress and get fit.
•    Avoid caffeine, aspirin and other blood thinners before and after your facelift, as thinned blood can delay healing.
•    Eliminate alcohol. It thins your blood, dehydrates you and can have dangerous interactions with anesthesia.
•    Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, drink water and avoid salt so that you’re skin is well hydrated but not retaining water – there IS a difference! Hydrated skin is more resilient. But retaining water can worsen post-operative swelling.
•    Stop smoking. Smoking inhibits blood flow to the skin, slowing healing of incisions and putting you at a higher risk of scarring.
•    De-stress. Plan ahead to get your bills paid, your grocery shopping done and your home cleaned. Arrange for childcare, pet care and your own assistance and pampering.
•    Avoid excessive bending and heavy lifting in the two weeks following your facelift to minimize swelling and avoid bleeding.
•    Avoid sudden movements of the head and, when turning around, turn your shoulders as well to reduce tension on the sutures.
•    Avoid the sun or excessive heat including saunas, hot showers and hair dryers for four to six weeks to help minimize swelling.
•    Avoid excessive use of cell phones and telephones for two weeks after a facelift, as pressure from the receiver around the ear can damage tender skin. Instead, use a speaker phone or buy a cushioned ear piece to cover the receiver.
•    Take vitamins and minerals, but be sure to let us know of all the prescriptions, over-the-counter medications and supplements you’re taking as some can adversely interact with anesthesia and medications we may prescribe. Our Reviva vitamin and herbal supplement system developed by Drs. Garcia and compounding chemists is designed to boost your body’s healing mechanisms. Patients using the Reviva system report nearly 30% less swelling bruising and overall recovery time following  a facelift.
•    Avoid mirrors for the first few weeks. We know you’re anxious to see your results, but even the smoothest procedure results in temporary bruising and swelling. Be patient. Your beautiful new look will emerge soon.

Following these tips are sure to help keep your post-facelift recovery time at a minimum. Be sure to read all literature and follow all additional recommendations