Contact us to learn more about cosmetic surgery, minimally invasive techniques and aesthetic services for Eagan, Woodbury and other surrounding Minneapolis and St. Paul Twin City suburbs.

Eagan
3440 O'Leary Lane, Suite #103
Eagan, MN 55123
651-452-6676

Woodbury
Midwest Eye and Ear Institute
2080 Woodwinds Drive,
Suite #220
Woodbury, MN 55125
651-632-9700

Performing Facelift, Brow Lift, Rhinoplasty, More for Woodbury, Eagan and the entire Minneapolis/St. Paul Twin Cities Area

A variety of cosmetic and reconstructive surgical procedures - including facelift, browlift, blepharoplasty, rhinoplasty, and laser resurfacing - are performed at the Midwest Surgery Center located within the Midwest Eye & Ear Institute in Woodbury, near Minneapolis.

Restylane® Injection

As we continue to age, components of the skin, elastin, collagen and hyalauronic acid decrease causing lines, wrinkles and depressions. To restore fullness to these deflated areas of the face filler materials are available. Restylane®, one such filler, is injected beneath the skin revealing instantaneous results. Resytlane is also an excellent injectable filler material to add fullness to the lips or perioral region. Restylane® treatments are not permanent and results typically will fade when placed in areas where there is movement such as the lips or around the mouth. Fine lines around the eyes are best treated by other injectables like BOTOX® Cosmetic. To learn more about what treatments are best for you, call our Eagan or Woodbury clinic to set up a consultation with Dr. Tolan or Dr. Campanelli.

Face Lift

The sun, smoking and gravity relentlessly damage the skin. The changes we see are loss of the jaw line, fullness below the chin, jowls near the corner of the mouth and prominent folds from the nose to the corner of the mouth. A facelift or rhytidectomy is used to reposition the important underlying structures along with re-draping the overlying skin, rejuvenating the appearance of the lower 2/3 of the face and neck. A facelift does not affect the eyebrow or lip lines/ wrinkles.

While some of the surgical maneuvers are the same for each facelift, Dr. Tolan or Dr. Campanelli carefully tailors this procedure to address your specific needs. During a facelift an incision is made from the hairline of the temple to behind the ear.

Typically a small incision is made beneath the chin and excess fat and muscle may be removed and tightened. Once the underlying important structures are repositioned, trimmed and tightened, the skin is re-draped and excess removed. In general, face lift surgery takes four to five hours at one of our Minneapolis area surgical centers and is routinely performed under a general anesthetic.

While face lifting cannot itself improve skin texture, other treatments to limited areas of the skin can be performed such as laser resurfacing, chemical peels or fat transfer. Before and after surgery, patients use specially designed pre-surgery and post-surgery vitamin supplements to minimize bruising and swelling to facilitate recovery and promote healing. For most individuals, 10-21 days is required before returning to work.

An absolute requirement prior to facelift surgery is elimination of smoking for one month before and after surgery. Smoking greatly enhances the risk of skin loss, delayed or poor healing, and unsatisfactory outcomes.

Brow Lift

As we continue to age our eye or periocular region changes. The eyebrows can descend or droop, making an individual appear tired or can actually interfere with vision. Elevating or raising the brow by performing a brow lift provides a refreshed youthful appearance.

A variety of approaches can be performed to elevate the brow and tailored to your needs. In addition to brow elevation, the line of the forehead and scowl lines (between the eyebrows) can be softened to further enhance the result. We use three different techniques to elevate the brow: endoscopic, midforehead and tricho.

The brow lift procedure is performed in an operating room at the Midwest Surgery Center. We use a local anesthetic with IV sedation or general anesthesia as an outpatient. It is good typical for patients to experience swelling and bruising which may take 1-2 weeks or occasionally longer to resolve. Dressings are typically removed the day following surgery in the clinic and stitches are removed around 5 days. It is typical for persons to return to their usual activities at 10-14 days.

Learn more about the brow lift offered at our Minneapolis / St. Paul Twin Cities area clinics area clinics in Woodbury and Eagan.

Scar Revision

While no procedure is available to eliminate scars, reducing the noticability or appearance can have a significant positive impact on some individuals. A variety of treatment options such as laser , dermabrasion, re-excision or micropigmentation may be used to minimize the appearance.

A vascular laser may be used to reduce red raised scars, while an ablative laser may be used to smooth out contour irregularities caused by the scars. Dermabrasion is another frequently used tool to smooth out scarred areas.

Which methods are used depends on several key factors regarding the scar and possible may include all of the above mentioned treatment options.

If you are interested in learning more about management of scars contact us at our Woodbury and Eagan clinics.

Facial Implants

At times insufficiencies of our facial bones create noticeable facial disproportions. Augmentation of these deficient areas can be performed using solid facial implants, restoring facial harmony. This is particularly true for the chin and cheek area. Augmentation procedures are generally performed in the operating room under IV sedation or a general anesthetic, with patients retuning home the day of surgery. If performed without any other procedures, recovery is typically minimal.

Skin Cancer Reconstruction

We refer to the area where the skin cancer was, which is now a hole, as a Mohs defect. Reconstruction may be undertaken immediately or delayed for one to several weeks depending on the size and location.

In general there are four treatment options following Mohs surgery. These options are the following:

Healing by secondary intention
Skin grafting
Local Flaps
Regional Flaps

In some instances Mohs defects are not surgically treated and the defect heals by “ filling in” or secondary intention. Whether or not this option is chosen is primarily dictated by the location, size and depth of the defect. The duration of time for healing by this technique varies, but typically is 4-12 weeks. The advantage of this method is that no additional procedures are required and usually minimal visibility of the scar is evident. The potential disadvantages are a depressed, white or hypopigmented scar.

Skin grafting is a frequently employed technique. Typically skin from in front of the ear is used to fill the defect. This area is also the same location that an incision for a facelift is placed. The removal of skin from in front of the ear on one side of the face will not create facial asymmetry. It is very typical that skin grafting is delayed for one to two weeks or even longer so that a deep defect can fill in. Because the skin graft lacks a blood supply, survival of the graft is improved by having a healthy area to place the graft. By cleansing the defect with peroxide and applying aquafor ointment frequently, one can obtain this. Periodic clinic visits are also used for cleaning the wound.

Local flap closure is another frequently utilized procedure. The technique for closure uses skin adjacent to the defect. Frequent types of flaps include: advancement flaps, bilobed flaps, rhombic flaps, and island pedicle flaps. The advantages are that similar tissue or skin is used to reconstruct the defect, and it is completed in a single treatment session. It does, however, frequently require minor additional procedures to minimize the appearance of the scar.

Regional flaps are used when larger defects are present and when multiple layers of tissue have been removed such as skin, cartilage and nasal lining. Typically, a minimum of two surgical procedures are required, with the first being the most involved and the second being relatively straightforward. Each procedure is separated by 6 to 8 weeks. Often skin is borrowed from one area but is left attached from its origin. The site of origin provides the blood supply to the skin used to cover the defect. Once the rotated flap has had an opportunity to develop a blood supply from the surrounding tissue, the original blood supply is removed at the second surgical procedure.

The method of reconstruction of your Mohs defect is dictated by the size, location and presence or absence of supporting soft tissues such as cartilage. We will make every effort to educate you on which method would be best for you. Whichever method is chosen for closure of your defect, it is not unusual that some minor modifications maybe performed to enhance the overall appearance.

Cleft Lip & Palate

A child born with cleft lip and palate can be an overwhelming experience for parents, siblings and relatives. Cleft lip and palate congenital abnormalities are one of most common birth defects affecting approximately 1 in 750 births in the U.S. Although the diagnosis is frequently made by ultrasound during pregnancy, at times it is not discovered until birth. Typically, a staged approach to management is outlined; initially consisting of pre-surgical orthopedics or Nasoalveolar Molding. Usually this is started within the first weeks of life and helps improve the alignment of the lip, nose and palate. It is generally continued for a period of 12-16 weeks. The first stage in surgical repair is then undertaken and consists of placing ear tubes and repairing the lip. Repair of the palate is usually delayed until 9-12 months of age. It is not unusual for some children to undergo intermediate procedures in an effort to restore a more normal appearance.

Utilizing a multidisciplinary Cleft team approach including the cleft surgeon, speech language pathologists, audiologists, dentists, orthodontists, oral surgeons and restorative dentists helps manage some of the complex issues that may arise.

Dr. Tolan and Dr. Campanelli perform cleft lip and palate surgery; and also is part of the Cleft Lip and Palate panel, which is held at St. Paul Children’s Hospital and Clinics on a monthly basis. In addition, he has traveled with the medical mission Operacion Esperanza, an all- volunteer organization dedicated to providing surgical management for children and adults who have cleft lip/ palate congenital malformations. To learn more about cleft surgery contact our Eagan or Woodbury office to schedule an appointment.

Otoplasty

Congenital ear abnormalities such as prominent ears are very common and vary in severity. The ear has reached near adult size by 5-6 years of age. While this is typically the age at which surgical management may be undertaken, many people may delay treatment until a later age. Persons of all ages may elect to undergo ear surgery, or otoplasty, to correct prominent ears. For children the surgery is performed under a general anesthetic at Midwest Surgery Center on an outpatient basis. It typically takes about two hours. To learn more about Otoplasty contact our Woodbury or Eagan clinics.

Laser Resurfacing

As we continue to grow, our skin endures the effects of excessive sun exposure, at times smoking, and our genetic preprogrammed rate of aging. As a result, lines and wrinkles become more prominent around the eyes, mouth and cheeks. While several options may be available to improve them such as chemical peeling, Ultrapulse carbon dioxide resurfacing remains the gold standard to minimize the wrinkles and improve skin tone. Although quite dramatic results are possible, laser resurfacing does not replace facelifting to remove excess skin. Depending on the areas to be treated, laser resurfacing may be performed either in our clinic or alternatively under a general anesthetic at Midwest Surgery Center. To ensure optimal results, a tailored skin care program, outlined by our aestheticians, is mandatory 4-8 weeks prior to the procedure. Recovery is typically 10-14 days, but it may be 8-12 weeks before redness may fade. To learn more about laser resurfacing and determine if it is right for you contact our Woodbury or Eagan clinics.

Learn more about facial implants and plastic surgery procedures at our office in Woodbury, near St. Paul and Minneapolis.