Last Wednesday, March 31st, the FDA announced that a newtreatment for varicose veinshas been approved. The generic name, polidocanol (marketed in the US as Asera) works by causing damage to the cell lining of the veins, which makes them close up and eventually disappear, replaced by other types of tissue. Asclera is designed and approved for veins smaller in diameter than 1 mm in diameter as well as reticular veins that are between 1 and 3 mm in diameter. (For Americans that's 1/24th to 1/8th of an inch).
There are three types of vein problems: varicose, spider and reticular. Spider veins are extremely small—you often get them around the ankles and sometimes on the upper thighs, as well as on the face. They can ache, burn and swell and spider veins on the legs can cause night cramps. Varicose veins are the most noticeable and are often located on the calves. Reticular veins are generally very mild and cause little discomfort. In our practice, sclerosing agents, such as the new Asclera, have been a treatment of choice along with laser treatments.
Imagine transferring your own extra fat into places that you’d like a little more roundness—perhaps your buttocks, the backs of the hands, to fill and plump facial wrinkles, into the breasts instead of implants. This state-of-the-art technology isn’t a dream. It’s already here. Here being all over the world and here in the Delaware Valley/Philly area.
Fat transfer is called by several different names: fat transplantation, fat injecting and microlipoinjection to name only a few.What’s really funny about fat transfer is that it’s actually pretty old. It was created in 1893 by Franz Neuber, a German doctor whose patient had a pit in her cheek. He removed fat from her upper arm and injected it into her cheek and voila! She had no more pit in her face. In 1895, Dr. Karl Czerny used fat from a patient’s flank area to create larger breasts. So you see, this isn’t altogether a brand new technology.
One of the concerns many have about fat transfer is that, even though your body will never reject it, your body might absorb it! In order to avoid this, the fat has to be processed carefully during the liposuction to retain some of the factors and stem cells within the fact. Thankfully, treatments like SmartLipo allow us to extract fat with the SmartLipo system and then inject it into our patients. The factors help the fat to “take” without all of it being absorbed.
If you spend any time out in public, you’re bound to run across someone who has had a nose job here in Delaware (rhinoplasty by its proper name). Although most rhinoplasty procedures are done in the operating room, depending upon the reason to have one, a rhinoplasty can sometimes be accomplished through injectable fillers and Botox. This procedure is often called "the 15-minute nose job."
For those individuals with a severely deviated septum, a huge hump, a broken nose or a nose that is too large for their facial features, the 15-minute nose job isn’t appropriate, as it simply won’t provide enough correction. The 15-minute nose job is best for those who have the following concerns:
A nose that is uneven;
A bump that can be improved by filling out the nearby tissues;
A drooping nasal tip;
Nasal dents, depressions or grooves;
A flat bridge of the nose
A saddle nose or a scooped nose.
OK, it’s not exactly 15 minutes—maybe 20—but it is fast, vastly less expensive, much less risky, and the results are immediate with little down time. The 15-minute nose job requires no general anesthesia, no packing and no sutures. Plus, you’ll leave the office with the finished product, in most cases. You might wish to take the rest of the day off but, depending on the amount of filler needed and any temporary swelling you might experience, it’s possible you’ll just return to your work or social schedule immediately!
If you’ve been thinking about a nose job and want to investigate the potential of having either a rhinoplasty or the non-surgical version, schedule a visit with me. The 15-minute nose job doesn’t work for every nose, but it is appropriate for many of them. And if that’s not the rhinoplasty that works for you, I’ll show you my before/after rhinoplasty photos!
Were you around in 1975 when the Pepsi Challenge commercials were running? Everyday folks were blind-folded in the local grocery store and served 2 types of cola. They were amazed that they liked Pepsi better than Coke.
Well, the makers of Dysport, a competitor to Botox, have created their own version of this popular commercial. It’s called the Dysport Challenge. Now, our office doesn’t use Dysport, we love our Botox, so we aren’t in the challenge, but we wanted our readers to know about the lengths that cosmetic companies will go to to get their business!
Since Dysport was approved slightly more than a year ago by the FDA, it’s taken only 10% of Botox’s thunder in terms of marketshare. However, Allergan, the makers of Botox, were spooked enough to push more of their non-cosmetic Botox uses to the public, such as a treatment for migraines and excessive sweating. In fact, those non-cosmetic uses make up more than half of Botox’s annual revenues!
This kind of medical marketing has upset some medical ethicists. I’d be interested in knowing what you think about this kind of promotion? Is this no different than the battle of the colas or does this signal a trend that might invade even our more disease-oriented medications, like perhaps Lipitor vs Zocor?
According to Science Daily, researchers in Germany report a major improvement in a potential treatment for wrinkles that could ultimately be an adjunct to Botox, dermal fillers and cosmetic surgery. The non-invasive wrinkle treatment combines high-intensity light from light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and a lotion made of green tea extract. According to researchers Andrei Sommer and Dan Zhu, the combination of green tea extract and LEDs is ten times faster at removing wrinkles than a similar anti-wrinkle treatment using LEDs.
Physicians have used light therapy, also known as photo therapy, for almost 50 years to heal wounds and combat skin aging. However, LED lights, much like those used in computers, have also been shown to reduce skin wrinkles when applied daily. Unfortunately, a byproduct of such extensive exposure to LEDs is the risk of cell damage. As a response, epigallocatechin, a potent antioxidant in green tea, is applied in a cream to counteract the potential for cell damage.
Researchers daily applied a LED light and green tea extract to the facial wrinkles of a human volunteer over a period of one month. The treatment resulted in smoother skin, including "less pronounced wrinkle levels, shorter wrinkle valleys, and juvenile complexion," according to the scientists. Not only could this study form the basis of a new facial rejuvenation protocol, it could lead to better understanding of cellular aging.
