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What are the four major arms that cause chronic inflammation?

• Stress (the main cause)
• Sugar
• Smoking
• Processed food

What is stress?
Stress is a mechanism developed by our body. Our body is fine-tuned, and it’s got this fine balance called homeostasis. Stress is a part of what we call a fight-or-flight response.

What happens during this fight or flight response?
During this response, our body pumps out more adrenaline into our bloodstream. It works through a hormone called cortisol which is produced by the adrenal gland.

When cortisol is released to our body, it sets off this fight or flight response, and both sugar and cholesterol are shuttled into our bloodstream.

In addition, the pupils will dilate, muscles will tense up, heart rate and blood pressure will go up. All these things will happen in order to escape from that situation.

What happens when we get stressed?

• Sugar levels rise up
• Cholesterol escalates
• Cortisol increases

The end result is, it actually damages our body.

How do people behave when they are chronically stressed?
The way most people deal with stress in our society is by overeating, consuming sugar, and smoking. We end up doing things that are even more damaging.

What illnesses can stress cause?

• Heart disease/attacks
• Strokes
• Cancer
• Diabetes

It is real, and it is scientifically proven.

Meet Jess – she is an architect. She maintains a good lifestyle to lose weight and stay fit but she still has that stubborn fat that does not go away.

Like Jess, do you have those stubborn pockets of extra fat that may take years to lose?

We feel your pain and we have the perfect solution for you.

Liposuction is a type of cosmetic surgery that breaks up and sucks out the fat from the body. This is an ascetic procedure that will change and enhance the contours of your body but it is not a weight loss solution.

To be a candidate for liposuction you must be in good health without conditions that could complicate the surgery.

Liposuction treatment targets the abdomen, back, buttocks, chest, inner knees, hips, love handles, the neck line and the areas under the chin, thighs and upper arms.

This treatment may sometimes be used for breast reduction or treatment of gynecomastia. Liposuction permanently removes fat cells altering the shape of the body.

An unhealthy lifestyle after the operation can cause the remaining fat cells to increase in size and volume. As with any surgery liposuction carries some risks that may include infection, numbness and scarring.

Discussing with the doctor before the surgery is important. During the operation, some liposuction procedures may require only local anesthesia. The procedure may last up to several hours depending on the extent of fat removal.

Results are subtle rather than dramatic. Within several months the treated area will have a leaner appearance.

Dr. Edmund Kwan can help you find the perfect solution for those stubborn fat pockets.Call us or visit us for more details

Pregnancy, weight loss and aging can all take their toll on your body’s shape, especially in the abdominal area. If you have extra skin or loose muscles in your stomach area, then tummy tuck surgery can be just what is needed to help restore your confidence in your body.

Dr. Edmund Kwan, a board-certified plastic surgeon in the New York City tri-state area, specializes in providing personalized results that suit your body’s shape and preferences so that you can wear bikinis, lingerie, and tight clothing with confidence again.

One of the most important parts of the tummy tuck procedure happens before you step foot in the operating room, and that is the planning process. Dr. Kwan conducts a thorough consultation with every patient before moving forward with the procedure. Dr Kwan can strategically plan your surgery to help you achieve the desired result and you can enter the procedure with confidence that you will love your new body shape.

If you are interested in learning more about tummy tuck surgery and whether it is right for you, call Dr. Kwan at (212) 734-4488 today.

Breast implants have become increasingly popular among women in the New York City tri-state area in recent years. Women have realized that they now have more options available than ever before to enhance their figure with more natural-looking results.

Breast augmentation surgery performed by Dr. Edmund Kwan, a Board-certified plastic surgeon, can not only increase the size of breasts, but also modify their shape and overall proportions to help a woman achieve the figure she wants. Whether a woman has smaller breasts due to her genes or whether her breasts have changed shape over time due to pregnancy, weight loss or the aging process, a breast augmentation can help her feel more attractive and boost self-confidence.

With breast implants, a woman can feel better and more confident when wearing a swimsuit, lingerie or tight-fitting clothing.However, the benefits of breast implants go beyond just looking better in a swimsuit. She can feel more comfortable in her own body, have more confidence when being intimate with a partner, and fit more easily into clothing due to a more proportional body shape.

If you are interested in learning more about breast implant surgery and whether it is the right option for you, call Dr. Kwan at (212) 734-4488 today.

With all the cosmetic advances that have been made in the last decade, there are many ways to turn back the clock on your face. Let’s talk about facelift surgery to tighten and lift your skin.
Patients in the New York City area can trust Dr. Kwan to take the time to understand their concerns, what they truly want, and help them achieve beautiful results.

Most people agree that there are some wonderful benefits that come with getting older, but wrinkles and sagging skin are not among them. Environmental toxins, genetics, and lifestyle choices can accelerate the aging process of your skin. That’s where facelift comes in.
Facelift is great for patients who have moderate to severe wrinkles in the face or neck, jowling in the neck area, excess fat deposits that are resistant to diet and exercise. A facelift addresses many cosmetic issues all at once, making it a comprehensive anti-aging procedure that few other treatment options can match.

Dr. Kwan will conduct a comprehensive evaluation of your skin, as well as review your medical history, health status and treatment goals to determine whether a facelift is the right choice for you.
Dr. Kwan understands the value of having a beautiful appearance that makes you confident, and the effect that can have on all aspects of your life. If you have been considering a facelift, we encourage you to call Dr. Kwan to learn more about the procedure and whether it’s right for you. Our Manhattan office can be reached at (212) 734-4488.

Inflammation is divided into both acute inflammation and chronic inflammation.

What is acute inflammation?
Acute inflammation is a process, it’s an evolutionary process or a mechanism developed by our body to fight off infections and invading organisms.

What inflammation, in essence, is an immune response.

Something foreign enters our body, our body mounts a response to get rid of it.

Why? Because if bacteria and viruses enter our body, and if it just stays there, replicates and multiplies, then our body, our cells will die. So of course we want to get rid of this. So that’s an immune response.

What happens during an immune response?
When you get a little cut on your arm and then there is a little bacteria that enters, it becomes red and swollen.

It’s red because our body is pumping in more blood to bring in all the stuff that you need, and it’s becoming swollen because it’s going to pump in all these immune system right into that area to fight off all of that.

What is chronic inflammation and is it bad for your body?

What’s really bad for us is chronic inflammation. And what is chronic inflammation?

It is an extension of acute inflammation, or it could be a separate thing.

However, what happens if something enters our body not quite like that, let’s say a toxin, let’s say something from a processed food that our body doesn’t recognize?

Then what our body does is it doesn’t unleash this massive acute inflammation. It doesn’t want to, it’s a waste of resources for our body, plus we don’t need that.

So what happens is our body mounts an immune response but not quite like acute inflammation where it does all that, it just mounts a slight response. So it still responds to this, but it goes and checks it out and find out, hmm, it’s not going to cause quite the damage to our body so it sort of keeps it monitored.

Is there a difference between chronic inflammation and acute inflammation?
Unlike acute inflammation, where our body pumps in a lot of blood to that area, in chronic inflammation the opposite happens.

What happens in chronic inflammation? In fact, blood flow slows down.
Meaning that the small blood vessels that are actually feeding oxygen and nutrients to the cells, shut down literally.

Then, the cells undergo these 3 stages. They die, they could become diseased or they could become cancerous. In most cases they become diseased.

Call Dr. Edmund Kwan on (212) 734-4488 for an initial appointment and consultation visit.

V line surgery involves the lower part of the face, both jaw, and the chin area.

V-Line surgery costs range anywhere from USD 10,000 – to USD 15,000.

Part of the V-Line surgery is performed on the chin itself and the jaw muscle undergoes reduction. The chin is also be reduced and sharpened

There could also be chin implants that could be put in.

So if we incorporate inserting a chin implant and reducing the bone of the chin, it’s close to USD 15,000, and if it’s just the jawline, it’s about USD 10,000

Give us a call today to make your appointment.

What is the recovery process of V-line surgery?

Recovery is usually pretty good. Patients might have some difficulty in opening their mouths and chewing food.

I put every patient on a sort of soft, liquid type of diet for about two weeks. However, after that, they can pretty much do everything. They could even go out the next day. The compression dressing that they have on is usually taken off in one to two days.

The recovery is usually relatively smooth. The only thing about the surgery, though, there is residual swelling for up to a month.

So, I think most patients have to kind of plan for that. They must plan if they will be in some big event or want to be out in public. So recovery is usually about a month.

What are the possible complications of V-line surgery?

The major complication with V-line surgery is bleeding and infection. Luckily bleeding doesn’t occur that often.

Since the surgery is done to take down the muscle, some bleeding can occur. Most of the time, this bleeding shows up in the form of bruises.

So patients will have a slight bruise on their face along with some of the swelling. However, every once in a while, they could get a little more bleeding, called Hematoma.

This can be addressed very easily and is a rare case.

However, the disastrous complication that none of us want to see is nerve injury.

When you’re dealing with muscles of the face for V-line surgery, you’re reducing both the bone and the muscle, and you may encounter facial nerves.

These are nerves that move the face and are involved in facial expressions. So, any damage to these nerves can cause problems in asymmetry to the face.

In over 20 years, I’ve not had one single nerve injury. I’m doing this surgery pretty much every week. But for a surgeon that doesn’t do the surgery very often, nerve injury can be a significant complication.

Where are the incisions placed in V-line surgery?

The incisions for the surgery are from inside the mouth. Some of the surgeons choose to use external incisions.

With any external incisions, you are going to get scarring. These scars are very visible and permanent. I use all the incisions intra-orally or inside the mouth.

By using these incisions inside the mouth, the scars are all inside, they are hidden, and patients will never see. It also tends to heal incredibly well inside the mouth.

Give us a call today to make your appointment.

Do you reduce the muscle in V-line surgery?
In V-line surgery, reducing the muscle is a big part. I find that if you only reduce the bone, you only get a limited result.

The reason is, many patients have fairly big muscles. So if you reduce only the bone, you get this sort of funny contour at the jawline. It gives some kind of operated look if you don’t touch the muscle.

So yes, I reduce the bone appropriately by shaving it down. Then I address the muscle by debulking it. The masseter muscle is reduced by about 40%-50%.

This is done from underneath by removing the muscle. It’s a permanent result, and patients don’t have to get Botox ever again following surgery.

Give us a call today to make your appointment.

Frequently Asked Questions with Dr. Edmund Kwan

What is V-line surgery?
V-line surgery is shaping of the lower part of the face, which we call the mandible or the jawline.

V-line surgery reduces it and makes it more like a V shape than a U shape that many patients have.

When the muscle is large, or the bone is protruding, it gives a square rounded look to the face. But patients want a more streamlined face.

When you get a V-shape, it tends to, for women, feminize the face and for men look softer instead of looking crude or a bit bulky.

This is not just a feminized look; it is for both men and women.

Give us a call today to make your appointment.

Can Botox be used instead of V-line surgery?

Botox is short for botulinum toxin. What it is used for is to paralyze the muscle throughout the face.

It is commonly used for frown lines, forehead wrinkles, and cosmetic and aesthetic surgery. However, it can be used on the jawline as well.

In the jaw, there is a muscle called the masseter muscle. This is a very powerful muscle that is used in chewing.

This muscle becomes bigger in patients that tend to grind teeth at night. Most Asians tend to have bigger masseter muscles.

By using Botox, this muscle can be paralyzed and reduced around three to six months. However, this does not address the bone issue.

It is strictly muscle hypertrophy. However, many patients have achieved a great result, but this is only a temporary result. They must get this shot every six months.

Give us a call today to make your appointment.

Do you cut or shave the bone in V-line surgery?

In V-line surgery, two things can be done to address the width of the bone. You can either cut it, meaning remove a portion of the jaw bone along the angle, or shaving it down to reduce the protuberance. However, when you cut the bone at a sharp angle, it tends to show like you had surgery. It doesn’t give you the natural contour of the jawline is an issue. So in a limited amount of patients, I will cut the bone. Usually, I end up shaving the bone. The incisions are made from inside the mouth. The bone is identified, and then I could modify the bone. I find that by shaving the bone, I get a more natural appearance. Give us a call today to make your appointment.

Do you use metal plates in V-line surgery?

In jaw surgery, no metal plates are needed.

They are foreign bodies and usually titanium metal plates.

They tend to add to the bulk and add a foreign body to someone.

So I don’t use any plates on any of my facial contouring surgeries.

You know many people may say you know you’re a plastic surgeon. I know, you know what do you know about any of this stuff, right?

And I’m just simply saying, I did a lot of research. I wrote a book. I’ve had conversation with numerous amount of doctors and people in all specialties and I had discussions and I believe that we need to literally go in a different direction because how we’ve been delivering health care in America just is not working in the research direction, I feel like it’s very unidirectional.

We have to have this conversation with people and I want to reach directly to the people. Not just scientists.

Angiogenesis is simply our body making new blood vessels from existing blood vessels. So it’s a protective mechanism that our body has to deliver more blood flow when there is lack of oxygen and nutrients.

Angiogenesis is a good thing and it occurs in multiple situations in our our body.

One, in menstruating women. Every month when women menstruate, the uterus grows in preparation for implantation. So it needs lots of oxygen and nutrients to support the growing cells. So angiogenesis or growing of new blood vessels will support this.

Secondly, in a situation where we sustained major injuries or burns. Now, these areas need healing, requires a lot of oxygen and nutrients. So again by angiogenesis where new blood vessels are formed that will support these injured areas and will heal much quicker.

Thirdly, when we exercise as our muscles grow we need angiogenesis. The growing muscles need lots of new oxygen and nutrients and the more of it the better. So angiogenesis occurs to support the growing muscles. So all these things angiogenesis is a really good thing.

When I hear people talk about angiogenesis, they talk about it like it’s a bad thing, and you know angiogenesis is not a bad thing. It’s actually a good thing and it’s actually vital for survival.

In fact if you block angiogenesis, we’re going to have heart attack we are going to suffer heart attack stroke and other major health problems. We need to be really supporting angiogenesis, so instead of blocking Angiogenesis we should be talking about how can we improve blood flow to the cells and tissues.

Many believe that Angiogenesis is what allows the cancer cells to grow out of control. Well, I think this is wrong. Angiogenesis is a protective mechanism just developed by our body to deliver more oxygen and nutrients and this occurs in all parts of our body.

It’s not that Angiogenesis, that’s causing the problem because it’s something that our body depends on. It’s vital for our survival. It’s the underlying condition that’s the problem: lack of oxygen and nutrients.

Hi! My name is Doctor Edmund Kwan and I wrote this book called let it flow to really educate the people.

If you know how your body works, you can take care of yourself.

You can’t really depend on doctors to take care of your body. They only see you once a year.

With 25 years of experience as a surgeon and as a plastic surgeon, I noticed that many of my patients come into my office seeking plastic surgery had other medical issues.

And many of them I felt like I could help them just not just externally but help them get healthier inside of their body and I feel like the key to their health is how the blood flows in their body.

It’s all about how that oxygen and nutrients get to their cells and I believe that patients need to understand the, really, the truth about their body in order to help themselves.

Hi! I’m Doctor Edmund Kwan and these are the four things you can do right now to really get your blood flowing and improve your health.

One, be on an anti-inflammatory diet.

What is this? It is a diet filled with whole food that means directly from earth to you without tampering by man.

So this is not processed food. It’s whole food I sometimes refer to this as a Mediterranean style diet. Number two, exercise or moving your body.

Some people don’t like to exercise but regular gym exercise is a great way to move your body.

Another thing is if you want to just clean your car, if you want to just walk briskly, if you want to do chores around the house this is same way that you can get your body moving and the blood flowing. Three, lowering your stress.

Lowering your stress is a difficult one for many people, however you do need to lower your stress, whether you pray, you do yoga, or you meditate. These are all ways to reduce your stress and even exercise can reduce your stress.

Number four, lowering your sugar level.

This is the number-one problem in our society. Sugar levels are too high in many people and because we consume a diet that’s filled with sugar, by lowering your sugar, you reduce inflammation and get the blood flowing to every cell.

What should a future doctor’s offices look like?

Well it should incorporate not just medicine/surgery. While those are very important in taking care of disease, we need to really focus on both preventive and wellness medicine.

What preventive and wellness medicine is, keeping people healthy. That’s by making lifestyle changes. These encompass both nutrition, movement, stress and the doctor’s office should include nutritionists, who’s going to advise you on what to eat and how to eat it and when to eat it.

Also include life coaches. We’re going to track you not just see doctor once a year but to see you frequently and even call you even be in contact with you through social media, Facebook, to guide you to make sure you’re doing the right thing.

Our circulatory system impacts every inch of our body from head-to-toe. So let’s look at some of the areas.

The heart pumps blood to every cell in our body, delivering oxygen and nutrients. So but the heart itself needs oxygen and nutrients to survive, and if the heart doesn’t get those then it will suffer and we call this heart attack.

The skin, if skin doesn’t get enough oxygen and nutrients then it itself suffers in terms of color, texture, and the quality and even premature wrinkling. The best way to get the skin glowing is to get the oxygen and nutrients to the cells and blood flowing.

Let’s look at mental health. When you look at mental health, depression is one of the most common things that people suffer from. Depression is partially due to lack of oxygen and nutrients to the brain. If our brain doesn’t get enough blood flow, then it will suffer.

If you look at the circulatory system like a highway, if there is an accident or jam-up then the flow is interrupted. Much like that in our body, if the circulatory system has a problem and a disease, then the blood won’t reach the cells. If the blood doesn’t reach our cells, then the cells will suffer.