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Expert: Alan M. Engler, MD, FACS - 6/16/2009


Question
i had severe acne on my cheek, which left me with large pores. I was wondering if a plastic surgeon can switch the the area with large pores(cut it the area) and cut anothere section(piece of skin somewhere else on my body) and switch them?

Answer
from Dr. Alan Engler
www.bodysculpture.com

Hi Sherry,

The answer is:  yes and no.

Actually, exactly that technique has been tried and used for many years.  The general idea is that if you can replace a deep pitted scar with a small punch graft of skin, it will look better.

The problem is that although the contour is often better (ie, you see much less of a pitted scar) the overall look is not always good enough.  Sometimes the skin graft looks like a patch, sometimes there's a color mismatch (grafts tend to be lighter or darker than the surrounding skin, depending partly on where they're taken from and also how they heal in their new environment) and sometimes the contour is not improved as much as one would hope.

So - in sum - although it has been done, and may make sense in certain situations, it's not always the simple solution that everyone seeks.

The best thing is to have a consult with a few plastic surgeons to get their ideas.  Also, it is often a good idea to do a few sample grafts, to see what the result is like, before proceeding with a wide-scale grafting procedure.

I hope that this helps, and good luck,

Dr. Alan Engler
www.bodysculpture.com

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Alan M. Engler, MD, FACS

Expertise

Dr. Engler has answered over 3100 questions as a volunteer expert for AllExperts. His expertise includes breast surgery (breast enlargement with implants, breast reduction, breast lifts), liposuction, eyelid surgery, tummy tucks, facelifts, skin cancers, cysts, etc. Dr. Engler has been listed as one New York`s Top Doctors, and as "One of the World's Most Famous Aesthetic Surgeons" (Aesthetic Surgery, TASCHEN Books, Angelika Taschen, Editor). He is the author of 4 books, including "BodySculpture" (a best-selling plastic surgery book on breast surgery, liposuction and tummy tucks), "EyeScapes" (Plastic Surgery of the Eyelids), "Restylane," and "The Slim Book of Liposuction." Dr. Engler has two US Patents for surgical instruments that he's designed, and has appeared on numerous television shows, including The Tyra Banks Show, The Ricki Lake Show (four times), and the Dr. Keith Ablow Show. Videos of his appearances are available on YouTube (search for "DR. ENGLER"), and his discussion of breast implants, also on YouTube is "How to Choose a Breast Implant." His website is www.bodysculpture.com. Thanks for "Likiing" Dr. Engler on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-York-NY/Alan-M-Engler-MD-New-York-Plastic-Surgery-and-Aesthetics/107206405967267?ref=ts&__a=8

Experience

Dr. Alan Engler is a board-certified plastic surgeon in New York and the author of BodySculpture - Plastic Surgery of the Body for Men and Women (ISBN 0966382749) one of the top-selling plastic surgery books on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, etc.

Education/Credentials
Dr. Engler graduated from Yale University (BA, Russian Studies) and the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (MD). He did his residency training in General Surgery and, after that, Plastic Surgery, at the Montefiore Medical Center in New York. He is on the faculty of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, and is a Special Lecturer in the Department of Dermatology at Columbia University in New York. He has admitting privileges at Beth Israel Medical Center and Montefiore Medical Center, both in New York.

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