A Google search on "home laser" yielded 154,000,000 website links overseas and 48,000,000 when searched in the US. Most of the initial listings are for hair removal devices but there are also ones for treating acne and for facial rejuvenation and others treat skin conditions like psoriasis, vitiligo and dermatitis. Many of these home laser and light or ultrasonic devices can be purchased on the Internet. Sellers tout the benefits of these products in treating acne, age spots, large pores, wrinkles, sagging skin, puffy eyes, rosacea, cold sores, and many other skin conditions. However, few of the devices have been studied or approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Some of them sound sort of scary and could be a waste of money or at worst harmful. Sales of home cosmetic devices totaled $500 million last year, and are expected to nearly double to $950 million in 2015. Women have been removing hair from their legs for quite some time. Now it is a multibillion dollar per year industry.

These new home devices tend to fall into four categories:
Diode or intense pulsed light devices that target hair removal,Light-emitting diode (LED) or heat devices that claim benefits for acne treatmentRejuvenation devices to treat wrinkles using laser or infrared light Home phototherapy devices that provide UVB light.Home devices use lower fluences and longer pulse widths (lower power and less penetration), compared with office-based treatments.

Hair Removal Devices
To be effective, energy in the form of heat must be absorbed by the hair shaft, penetrate deep enough to affect the follicle or root of the hair, and be administered quickly enough to stop transference of the heat to skin surrounding the hair follicle and shaft. Since hair grows in cycles and is most sensitive to treatments during the active growth cycle, it takes several laser treatments to remove hair for good. All of the devices work best and are safest on dark hair in the presence of light skin color.

One of the first home laser devices to be studied was the Tria diode laser.

Studies showed average hair reductions of 60% at 1 month, 41% at 6 months, and 33% at 12 months after three home treatments in 77 appropriate users (Lasers Surg. Med. 2007;39:476-93). In another study 86 percent of patients experienced more than 30 percent hair reduction, and 38 percent had more than 80 percent hair reduction at one year after the last of 8 monthly treatments. Hair removal was complete for 31 percent, and of those who experienced regrowth, 69 percent reported that the hair was finer and lighter than before treatment. A skin color sensor blocks the device on darker skin colors otherwise these individuals will form skin blisters. The FDA approved the device for off-face use; it costs approximately $395.

The Silk’n SensEpil by Sephora uses intense pulsed light at low energy and short pulse durations. It also has a built-in Skin Color Sensor that locks the device on darker skin tones.
It is FDA approved for use on skin on or below the cheeks, it costs approximately $499 plus the price of disposable parts. Three studies in 34, 20, and 10 females, respectively, found it works best for thin hair on the legs and arms, and is less effective for hair in the armpit or groin areas (J. Cosmet. Laser Ther. 2009;11:106-9; Dermatol. Surg. 2009;35:483-9; and Lasers Surg. Med. 2010;42:287-91).

The No! No! Hair device uses patented Thermicon technology employing a thermal filament to deliver heat to the hair shaft without a light so they claim it is safe for all skin and hair colors.

It is the most heavily advertised hair removal device at least on late night television. In a study of 12 patients, twice-weekly treatment for 6 weeks with the low-energy device removed 44% of hair on the legs and 15% of hair in the bikini area at the 12-week follow-up (J. Drugs Dermatol. 2007;6:788-92).

In another study of 23 patients (7 men, 16 women) aged 18-55 years two sites on one leg of each patient were shaved 4 days before baseline, and then were treated every 3-4 days with the No! No! device on one site on the leg and by shaving the other site for 8 weeks. There was no significant difference between the 2 areas in terms of number of active hair follicles, hair regrowth, thickness or color after 1 month. That is to say singing the hair away with the device was no different than shaving it off. The No! No! device is basically an expensive razor.

The No! No! costs approximately $270.

Devices to Treat Acne
Eight studies since 1999 have shown that doctors' office treatments with blue light are effective in eliminating Propionibacterium acnes bacteria the causative agent of acne. Just clearing the bacteria isn’t enough a lot of the time because the bacteria produce irritating proteins that can be left behind so additional medical treatment with prescription or over the counter medications is frequently required. The Tria system comes with washes and topical creams, or patients can use the device with whatever prescription regimen they are on.

Four home devices now offer self-application of this blue light. The power density of the various devices makes a difference. Lower power density requires twice-weekly, 20-minute applications on each side of the face, which can be difficult for patients to do. Higher-density blue light devices, such as the Tria skin clarifying system, require less than 3 minutes twice a day.

The TRIA Skin Perfecting Blue Light uses blue light to kill bacteria in the pores thereby unclogging the pores and eliminating break outs.

Studies have showed 70% clearance of treated areas within 2 weeks. A company-sponsored study of the Tria device in 33 adults showed significant reductions in inflammatory acne lesions after 3 weeks of treatments (J. Drugs Dermatol. 2011;6:596-602). The device's blue light cartridge has to be replaced about every 2 months. The FDA approved the device for the treatment of acne, it costs approximately $245.

The No! No! Skin uses heat generated by light to treat acne. A green light releases oxygen from porphyrins produced by the bacteria to kill the bacteria. A red light diminishes pain and swelling.
It also costs about $270.

The Claro home device by Sephora
 combines heat and intense pulsed light:
-Blue Light (400-430nm): stimulates the production of oxygen, which attacks the bacteria that causes acne
- Red Light (600nm): combines with heat to soothe the inflammation, redness and soreness of each pimple while accelerating the healing process 
- Infra-Red Energy (700nm): creates heat that helps to kill the acne bacteria while increasing the effectiveness of blue light
It costs approximately $195 and comes in 3 colors - red, black and blue.

ThermaClear Acne Clearing Device delivers a 2-second pulse of targeted heat to each pimple to kill acne causing bacteria.
It's FDA cleared and advertised as safe and effective on all skin types and tones.

Zeno uses the combination of a topical medication containing 1% salicylic acid and skin moisturizer followed by the application of a small vibrating heat generating hand held device to treat acne.
At $40 it may be the cheapest device available.

Skin Wrinkle Removal - Rejuvenation
The PaloVia fractionated laser (Palomar Medical Technologies) was the first FDA-cleared at-home laser for treating wrinkles around the eyes.
There are two phases to the wrinkle treatment plan – the Initial Phase of one treatment per day for 30 days and the Maintenance Phase of one treatment 2 times per week. It costs about $500. A blinded study of 34 subjects presented at the 2010 meeting of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery reported a 1-point improvement on the 9-point Fitzpatrick wrinkle scale in 90% of patients after 4 weeks of daily use and in 79% after 4 weeks of twice-weekly maintenance treatments.

Phototherapy

The Levia UVB device (Lerner Medical Devices) is approved for home use to treat psoriasis, vitiligo, and atopic dermatitis.
It directs concentrated ultraviolet B (UVB) light, which has a long history in treating psoriasis, to psoriasis plaques. The treatments require a prescription and programming of the device. Multiple studies have shown that home UVB therapy is as effective as office treatments.

I have not covered the scarier sounding devices in this blog. In conclusion I think we will see doctors doing laser hair removal as a thing of the past. It makes we wonder if the home laser tattoo removal kit is just around the corner.

Anyone watching television lately has been exposed to a mass marketing blitz by Lifestyle Lift. The infomercials claim over 150,000 completed surgeries and are filled with satisfied customers who in before vs. after photos look remarkably younger and happier after surgery. In 2012, Grammy®-winning singer, author, and television personality Debby Boone, best known for her 1977 RIAA Platinum-selling #1 hit "Theme from You Light Up My Life," became the spokesperson for the company in its television commercials and its half-hour infomercial; the song is well-represented in both the commercials and in the infomercial.

The ads promise “minor one-hour procedure with major results designed exclusively to improve jowls, frown lines, wrinkles, loose neck, and facial skin” that "requires no dangerous general anesthetic” and you can “return to work quickly compared to a traditional procedure.” They boast locations across the nation – in 42 cities and 22 states. The concept that is conveyed in this marketing is that this procedure is equally effective regardless of the surgeon doing it. Lifestyle lift is the company's name and is also a trademarked brand name used to market the procedure of the same name. Doctors sign up with the company and give a percentage of their fee to the company for performing their advertising. Prospective patients call the company or go to its website and are then referred to a nearby participating surgeon. The procedure itself is performed under local anesthetic and generally costs half the price of a regular facelift. Patients are lured in by the mass marketing, price and use of local anesthetic without general anesthesia (which is presumed to be riskier than local anesthetic). The model is high volume, low cost facelifting.

A regular facelift involves making an incision around the ear lifting or dissecting the skin off the underlying soft tissue in the neck and almost to the corner of the mouth. A variety of techniques are then employed to lift this deeper soft tissue of the cheeks and neck and the excess skin is removed from around the ear to yield the least noticeable skin scar, one that is hidden in the natural creases around the ears. Over many years after cumulative experiences of surgeons worldwide this became the standard facelift which gave the most reliable and longest lasting result.

Over the last few decades further modifications have been applied to the process to individualize it since no 2 people age exactly the same way. Beginning in the 1990s younger than previous patients began requesting the procedure. In these cases less aggressive surgery or only parts of the original procedure were necessary. The s-lift was born. In this procedure an s-shaped incision is made in front of the ear that extends under and in some cases around the back of the earlobe. The original s-lift involved a skin incision in front of the ear only and excising-suturing a deeper layer of tissue to give a tightening effect without elevating much skin as a separate layer by itself. The original procedure had little or no effect on rejuvenation of the neck. This was later modified by a number of physicians to include numerous different variations of the original procedure including pulling the deeper tissue upward using a suture tightened around the cheek bone. All are basically minor facelifts performed without doing all the steps of a full face lift. I personally do not use this misleading nomenclature as it gives rise to prospective patients asking for a specific procedure rather than asking for resolution of a specific cosmetic issue they want addressed. It has also facilitated incompletely trained or incompetent physicians to advertise their performance of specific procedures. They are incapable of going over the different procedures available with the patient much less performing those procedures. The lifestyle lift is basically an S-lift procedure with a neck tightening component including suturing tightening of a muscle in the neck. Instead of extending the skin dissection towards the mouth it is stopped a short distance from the ear and sutures with or without excision of deeper tissue near the ear are used to get a transmitted lift or tightening towards the center of the face beyond where the cuts are made. Other similarly trademarked lifts have appeared including "Quicklift", "The Weekend Facelift”, “The MACS Lift" etc. but none has been advertised to the extent of the Lifestyle Lift which has turned the procedure into a multimillion dollar business.

Almost since its inception LifeStyle Lift has been involved in multiple lawsuits. At one point the company sued Realself who had posted negative reviews as well as some positive reviews from LifeStyle Lift patients on their website. The allegation was that Realself infringed their patent by including the LifeStyle Lift name in their URL. Lifestyle Lift tried to use trademark law to wipe the negative reviews off RealSelf and keep them from influencing prospective consumers. Realself counter sued LifeStyle Lift for their employees allegedly placing false positive reviews on the Realself website. That case was settled with confidentiality agreements. Another company was sued by LifeStyle Lift for posting negative reviews on a webpage using a URL containing the term LifeStyle Lift again alleging patent infringement. The judge who heard the case dismissed it on May 2, 2008. In 2009 Lifestyle Lift reached a settlement with New York state over claims it had employees post false customer endorsements on third-party websites, including RealSelf.com, and on some 10 websites the company had created to appear as consumer generated praising of the procedure. Lifestyle Lift was ordered to pay $300,000 dollars to the state, and it agreed to cease the practice. In 2010, the Florida's attorney general office received more than 60 complaints about the company, including several contesting its claims about fast recoveries, minimal pain and results that take years off one's appearance. The office then opened an investigation to determine whether Lifestyle Lift's marketing practices constituted deceptive advertising by claiming its procedures were safer, less expensive, with faster recovery times than other types of facelifts. According to USA Today, Lifestyle Lift's advertising used the term "revolutionary" to describe a variation on longstanding face-lift procedures since the LifeStyle Lift did not really involve any new procedure other than the mass marketing of facelifts. In 2008, an Orlando, Florida facial plastic surgeon filed a complaint with the Florida Board of Medicine, seeking payment for emergency room services he provided to a Lifestyle Lift patient; the company denied that it was negligent in the case. The patient was "bleeding from the face" and needed emergency assistance with breathing and surgery for hematomas. The patient, who settled a lawsuit against Lifestyle Lift out of court, was in intensive care on a ventilator and breathing tubes for six days. Since the complications were the result of cosmetic surgery her insurance presumably did not cover the emergency room care, the surgeon was forced to treat the patient by federal laws and she likely had no more money after the lift procedure so the surgeon could only get reimbursed by LifeStyle Lift. In July 2009 a Massachusetts woman had a seizure during the procedure presumably from the local anesthetic injection, was not hooked up to any continuous-monitoring equipment during the procedure, and no anesthesiologist was present. The medical staff did not know immediately how little oxygen she was getting. Forty-eight minutes after her first injection, the staff called for an ambulance. She was taken by ambulance to Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge,Massachusettes where her heart stopped twice and she was diagnosed as brain dead; she was deprived of oxygen for far too long. Her family took her off life support a week later and is now suing for wrongful death.

Now that there is blood in the water the sharks are circling and Meyerkord & Meyerkord, a St. Louis based personal injury and medical malpractice law firm, announced it is currently investigating claims related to the Lifestyle Lift® cosmetic procedure in pursuit of a class action lawsuit.

A Fort Myers, Fla., facial plastic surgeon, says he's treated several patients who were unhappy with the results they got at Lifestyle Lift. Most had "visible, poorly executed face-lift scars with no discernible aesthetic improvement," he says. USA TODAY interviewed six other plastic surgeons who did not want their names used but made similar comments.

Although a min-facelift, LifeStyle Lift or other type of lift, may appropriate in some patients it is not appropriate for all patients just as local anesthesia alone is not appropriate for all patients. The highly variable reviews of the LifeStyle Lift could be due to a one size fits all approach (the procedure is not for everyone), false positive reviews by the company (as they have a history of doing so), differences between actual surgeons or some combination of the above. The ads would have you think that all surgeons performing a LifeStyle Lift and advertised on their website are the same but we all know that is not the case. It is the surgeon that is important not the name of the procedure performed or machine used at surgery just as it is the tennis player not the racquet that wins the tennis match.

Critics call this the commoditization of cosmetic surgery. Procedures that once included lengthy consultations with plastic surgeons and trips to the hospital, now often involve meetings in office-park surgery centers with salespeople who tell prospective patients what "work" they need and how little it can cost when performed in their offices as opposed to a private plastic surgeons office. The patients are pulled in by aggressive marketing programs on television the internet etc. This started some years ago with hairgrafting in the Bosley clinics and has spread to liposuction, facelifts, laser treatments and god knows what else. Proponents claim this way of doing plastic surgery allows those who otherwise would not be able to afford it to undergo cosmetic surgery.

While these clinics may employ plastic surgeons who are either board-certified or up for certification, lawyers, victims and other plastic surgeons say these new-style surgery clinics are under so much sales pressure they often don't sufficiently screen patients for medical problems, do inadequate follow-up and persuade patients to undergo procedures that are either unnecessary or unlikely to get good results. The surgeons work there because they have few other options in a long term recession where few have access to money and their case loads are disappearing to these heavily marketed companies offering steeply discounted procedures. I have personally witnessed this with one company who offered to hire me for liposuction procedures under only local anesthesia but would not let me see the facility until I signed a non-disclosure agreement. The facility had poor patient follow up, substandard operating facilities lacking emergency equipment, inadequate consent forms and other paperwork and high rates of patient dissatisfaction requiring revision. When I broached some of these issues I was suddenly persona non-grata and none of my calls or emails were answered. After some prodding they told me the job opening had basically dematerialized.

3 business models have arisen in this commoditization process. The first involves the surgeon working in the companies facility as an employee as in the Bosley model for hairgrafting and the Sono Bello model for liposuction. The second involves the surgeon using their own office to see referred patients like the LifeStyle Lift and Vampire Facelift. The third involves the company referring patients and stationing their own employees in the doctor's office like the American Laser Clinics. The end result to the practice of Plastic Surgery though is just as destructive.

Lupus is a rheumatic condition which affects the muscles, joints, and connective tissue. About 1.5 million people in the US have lupus which includes as many as 10,000 children. Nearly 90% of those diagnosed with lupus are female. It's an autoimmune disease. A healthy immune system produces special proteins or antibodies and these normally protect the body against bacteria and viruses that cause infections. In the case of lupus, the immune system confuses the body's healthy cells and sees them instead as if they were a bacteria or a virus, and the result is that our antibodies then attack some of our own body's healthy cells. You become allergic to yourself.

So, what causes lupus? The cause is unknown although genetic factors may be important. Certain things can trigger the disease such as infection, medications, and even extreme physical or emotional stress. There are different types of lupus; the commonest is something called systemic lupus erythematosus or SLE and this affects multiple organs, and there is also form known as discoid or cutaneous lupus which only affects the skin, and in as many as 10% of all lupus cases, they're classified as drug-induced lupus.

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease where self generated antibodies attack different organs systems in the body including blood vessels, liver, eyes, kidneys, joints, heart, heart valves, skin, lungs, brain...and/or form complexes with their protein targets (antigens) that damage these organ systems. The degree of damage to each organ system is highly variable. Arthritis and joint pain is the most frequent complaint. It is thought to be due to a genetic predisposition combined with viral infections. The disease can spontaneously remit, respond to corticosteroids or be unresponsive to available medications. 50% of those with SLE have some degree of heart and/or kidney involvement. Much of this organ damage can be masked and then suddenly become apparent especially during flare ups of the disease. I am aware of one women in her 30s who died in the recovery room after breast augmentation by another surgeon due to a heart attack caused by SLE induced damage to her coronary arteries.

So, what are the symptoms that are commonly associated with lupus? There are many. Classically, there will be butterfly rash. This is a rash that is across the cheeks and the bridge of the nose. There may be sensitivity to light that results in a rash. Also there can be ulcers in the nose or mouth, which are usually painless. There's a long list of many other symptoms that are associated with lupus including things like arthritis, inflammation of the lining around the organ such as the heart and the lungs, kidney problems. There may also be neurological disorders including problems with seizures or even psychosis. Blood problems and problems with the immune system are also found in lupus. And in addition to that, there are some nonspecific symptoms such as fever, weakness, fatigue, and weight loss. There is no known cure for lupus but the symptoms can be controlled with drugs, for example steroids, and sometimes more aggressive treatment is needed with immunosuppressive therapy.

Therefore it is imperative if you have systemic lupus that you have a complete examination of all major organ systems before undergoing any elective cosmetic surgery. This may include cardiac stress testing and blood tests for liver and kidney function. If you cannot be weaned off of prednisone that may be an ominous sign and may preclude any elective cosmetic surgery especially if any implants are involved.

If you are taking prednisone for lupus the medication can also prolong the healing time after surgery and weaken your ability to fight infection so proceed with caution before undergoing any elective cosmetic surgery.

For detailed information, support groups and to live the fullest life that you can with lupus visit the Lupus Foundation of America and the Lupus Research Institute.

A google search on Vampire Facelift yielded 1,020,000 results. The term was first used by the press in a July 2010 ABC News report on the use of Selphyl for facelifting. Selphyl first became available in 2009 and involves taking a small sample of blood from the patient mixing it in a test tube to separate blood components, which takes about 20 minutes and then injecting some of the components (platelets) into the area to be filled. Your body then makes collagen to fill the depression or fold. The process takes about 3 weeks from the date of injection to become visible. Because the result was rejuvenating and the material came from one's own blood the term Vampire Facelift was employed. Although hyaluronate injectable fillers like Restylane had been around for 7 years at this point the injection of hyaluronate together with this platelet material began around this time.

A business wise endocrinologist in Alabama saw an opportunity in this and filed a trademark for Vampire Facelift in September 2010. He then marketed the term and courses to doctors on the double injection procedure and also developed a website for which he charged $97 monthly listing fees to those doctors. The charge for a course on doing the injections is $995 and that fee is waived if the doctor buys the $5995 "Vampire PRP System". The manufacturers of dermal filler injectables on the other hand give frequent symposium to doctors all over the US free of charge. This is off label use of both injectable fillers and the fillers are doing just that filling not lifting. This same doctor was reprimanded by the FDA in 2008 for not following proper investigational protocols with injections. In 2009 the Alabama Medical Board issued a cease and desist order to prevent him from injecting testosterone and thyroid hormone because of documented injections of the medications by him in cases where they were not medically indicated. After business discussions with the manufacturer to license the Vampire Facelift trademark collapsed Selphyl was replaced by another high platelet content solution in this injection process.

More recently he trademarked Vampire Breastlift. Now he advocates something called an O-shot where the same injection into female genitalia is proposed to increase sensitivity in the area and hence increase sexual desire and arousal as well as improve/increase orgasm. The next step was the Priapus Shot advocating the same injections into the penis to increase size, strength, circulation, sensitivity, pleasure etc.

If there was any credibility to this initially it was certainly lost after O-shot, Priapus Shot etc. It's no different than a snake oil salesman with an ever increasing number of indicated uses for their product. I would be very suspicious of this treatment methodology and anyone who uses it based on this history. I am not opposed to the treatment itself but the way it has been marketed and the misleading terminology employed in describing it. It is not a substitute for facelift surgery. Furthermore, congress outlawed the patenting of medical procedures some years ago so I do not see how this can be an enforceable patent.

Injectable Fillers
Dr. Aaron Stone - Plastic Surgeon Los Angeles
Dr. Stone's Twitter

What the world needs now, is love, sweet love… and so the song goes.

Remembering this little line even in your online dealings will definitely get you a thumbs up from your web friends.

The question now is this: how can you spread the love when all you’ve got in front of you is your computer?

The answer is simple: let your fingers do the talking.

The easiest way to do this is by commenting, whether it’s on your friends’ blogs, facebook profiles, myspace accounts or youtube videos. Let them know that you’ve seen their posts… and that you appreciate their efforts at sharing a part of themselves with you.

Another thing you could do is to engage your online friends in conversations. They don’t have to be about deep topics like philosophy or the woes of life… even a simple discussion about music, your favorite vacation spots or even just your favorite Thanksgiving food will pave the way for creating relationships. And at the end of it all, that’s what you want: to be able to connect with people and form relationships.

A word of caution, though. There’s a thin line between being friendly and being annoying. You’d want to be careful that you’re the former rather than the latter. Here are a few things that you may want to remember:

Make sure that your comments are relevant to that which you are commenting on.Exert the effort to follow through with conversations that you initiate (Don’t you hate it when a friend starts a conversation and leaves you in mid-air after you reply? Well, the same principle applies online.)Moderate the number of comments and posts that you make in other people’s sites. (You don’t want to be “un-friended,” do you?)Always be polite. There’s no need to cuss or be rude.

Commenting may be something that’s taken for granted but it’s a simple way to appeal to people’s desire to be appreciated. And doesn’t everybody like to feel appreciated? We know we do so, feel free to send some love our way.

No related posts.

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According to gazettelive.co.uk, a little girl has become the first in the country to receive Botox as a treatment for cerebral palsy.

Five-year-old Amy Bolton has been receiving Botox injections at University Hospital of North Tees. The Botox has been injected into her calves to relax the muscles with the aim of giving her an improved stance.

Cerebral palsy is an abnormality on the brain which affects posture, movement and co-ordination. Amy walks on tiptoes at the moment but it is hoped that the Botox treatment will help her walk from her heel instead, relieving the pressure on her hips.

Her mum, Joanne Bolton, 35 told the website: “To begin with I thought Botox? – What are you going on about? She is five years old, she has no wrinkles – I said I will have it as well thank you very much!

“But once you understand the theory you can see why it will help and I have total faith in the doctors at North Tees.”

After being discovered as a treatment for cerebral palsy in the 1990's, this is great news for sufferers, with hopes that it will become a more popular treatment for the condition.

Via KevinMD: This issue has come up before, most recently when the New England Journal of Medicine asked whether doctors should friend their patients on Facebook.

Pediatrician Bryan Vartabedian looks further at the issue, and sees it fraught with potential risk.

He points out that sharing privileged information requires written consent. But what if the patient initiates the conversation? Some attorneys say that can imply consent, but the laws in this area are not yet clear.

Also, every communication between doctor and patient needs to be documented. Dr. Vartabedian notes that “the documentation on most social platforms isn’t detailed enough for other medical professionals or auditors to follow what’s gone on between you and your caregiver [and] let’s not forget that Twitter has a habit of disappearing after a couple of weeks.”

And perhaps most concerning is the privacy issue. When someone shares personal medical information in a public forum, like Twitter or a Facebook page, it has to potential to get indexed by search engines, making it permanent on the web.

There’s tremendous potential for doctors to better use Twitter and Facebook to interact with patients. By guiding patients to reputable sources of medical information, for instance.

But social media isn’t mature enough for doctors to provide personal medical advice to patients. Yet.

Related Botox Patient posts: Avoid A Facelift: Medical Spas, Laser Clinics, Skin Clinics & Laser Treatments.Clinical Exchange of Laser Treatments for Medical Spas, Laser Clinics, & Skin ClinicsBotax: New Taxes on Botox + Plastic Surgery?Cosmetic Surgeons enlist patients to fight Botox Botax.Plastic surgeons get Botox too

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There is mounting concern about a vaginal plastic surgery procedure more and more Australian women are having.

Each year more than 1,200 Australian women undergo surgery on their genitalia in a procedure known as labioplasty.

Doctors and surgeons fear that some women may be having the operation unnecessarily and there are concerns about operations being done by unqualified medical professionals.

In Britain, where the procedure is equally popular, medical experts are warning of a shocking lack of information about the risks and long-term impact.

It is controversial surgery but it is booming nonetheless.

For some, labioplasty is an exercise in Hollywood-style vanity, while for others it is a transformative procedure that trims, sculpts and restores a woman’s genitalia.

But there have been no studies to prove its long-term safety and doctors are worried about its ballooning popularity.

Dr Ted Weaver from the Royal Australian College of Gynaecologists says there are concerns.

“We put out about a statement from our college a couple of years ago, highlighting concerns about this designer vagina craze because we felt that often it did prey on fears of women and women’s insecurity about their particular genital appearance,” he said.

“The surgery’s potentially damaging. It could potentially lead to further problems for a woman as a result of surgery and may not fix her insecurity.”

Dr Kourosh Tavakoli is a member of the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons and a fellow of the Australasian College of Surgeons.

He has been performing the labioplasty for seven years and is seeing a 100 per cent increase in that number year on year.

“Let’s not kid ourselves. The last survey in my practice was 80 per cent for cosmetic and I would say for psychological reasons – that’s what I see as a function,” he said.

“There are two reasons [women give for having the surgery] – I can’t get comfortable during sex and the number two reason is essentially pure physical, in terms of running or jogging and not being able to wear a leotard or cossie.”

Labioplasty can cost between $4,000 and $6,000 and is often covered by Medicare.

Dr Tavakoli says it is a lucrative field, but he fears some practitioners are not up to the task.

“I have seen horrendous results from them. I mean there’s three groups doing it – plastic surgeons, gynaecologists and GP surgeons in their offices, without proper lighting or sedation or anything,” he said.

“I think the last group is a concern because they can take excess tissue and cause problems.”

Research published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology is questioning the value of the labioplasty, with concerns that many women seek the surgery without fully understanding the risks. British medical experts are also questioning the ethics of the surgery.

Dr Weaver says some women are being exploited.

“We think anybody performing these procedures certainly should be well trained, not only in the surgical technique but also have the training in the ability to try to perhaps dissuade a woman from having it done,” he said.

“[They should] also be able to counsel the woman that there is a variation in normal appearance and that she doesn’t have to confirm to a picture that she might have noticed in a girlie magazine or something equally ridiculous.”

He believes there are women in Australia who are having the procedure unnecessarily.

Dr Tavakoli says patients must be psychologically screened and they must have realistic expectations. But either way, he says the procedure is here to stay.

“I believe it’s a good operation. I stand by this operation. I’ve had enough experience to see the mental transformation that this operation can bring and it will become a mainstay operation in cosmetic surgery,” he said.

“But again it needs to be very heavily scrutinised and patient selection is imperative. In the right patient, it will have benefits and patient selection is paramount.”

View the original article here

Hey guys! Have we got a treat for you!

We’re going on a 3-day journey… one, we’re sure, you never thought you needed to take.

By way of introduction, let us share with you the reason why we’re doing this.

While we were doing research for the Botox Guide (which, by the way, we can’t wait to share with you!), we realized how getting into the mind of your physician can help you get safer, cheaper and better Botox treatments. It will help you see things through their eyes and sortof learn to play their game… but you create your own rules.

If you want to discover how they learn to inject Botox, what they actually think of the treatment and how medical malpractice figures into the equation, then you better bookmark our site now. We’ll be dishing out insider information you won’t get anywhere else!

So, without further ado, here is where your 3 days in the shoes of your Botox provider begins:

Day 1: the crash course that is the Botox Training

Medical practitioners, who seek to add Botox to their respective roster of services, usually start with training. Here’s a sample schedule of one such Botox training course:

8:00am – 12:00nn: Botox Training

Lessons include the following:

history of the drug,the science behind how the drug works (or what is known as pharmacology)proper storage, handling and reconstitution,indications, contraindications and side effectshuman facial anatomy and physiologyinjection techniques for different treatment areaspre and post treatment care

12:00nn – 1:00pm: Lunch

1:00pm – 3:30pm: Training on Dermal Fillers

Yes, the other half of the day is devoted to other cosmetic procedures. Botox is usually lumped with dermal fillers because they are both injectables and are, in that sense, similar.

3:30pm onwards: Hands-on Training for Botox and Fillers

This is where the day gets exciting. The physicians attending the seminar get to practice their new-found knowledge on actual people. However, there’s a catch. There’s a limited number of ‘live models’ on whom they can practice. We’re venturing a guess of a maximum of 3-5 people per attendee. While some may think that’s enough, we believe otherwise.

There’s a difference between those who are legally allowed and who are qualified to perform Botox treatments. Anyone with a medical license can inject Botox. But being qualified takes more than just a day’s worth of lectures.

Also, merely reading materials and watching other people perform the treatments do not result in Botox expertise. Experience, specifically performing the procedure on hundreds (even thousands) of patients is still the best way to perfect this skill.

It is through experience that the injector learns about the differences in the facial musculature of every individual, how such differences would affect where the Botox is injected and how much of the drug is used as well as what techniques increase or decrease the risk of side effects. This kind of knowledge cannot be acquired in just a few hours. This is why we can’t stress enough how important it is to check how long your doctor’s been administering Botox and how many patients he’s already treated. Knowing these may help you decide on who you will trust to wield that Botox laden needle.

Note though that the more experienced injectors charge higher than the new ones. Think of it this way: the new Botox doctors charge less because they get to practice on you. You, then, become a prelude to their expertise. We’re not saying that this is wrong. We just wanted to let you know so you can make an informed choice on the matter. At the end of the day, your decision will prevail and we trust that you will weigh the pros and cons carefully.

Related Botox Patient posts: Medical Spa BotoxBotox Patient: Fake Botox or not, Discount Medspa is going to jail!How much does Botox cost your local doctor?The Real Score Between Botox and DoctorsCommon Botox Safety Concerns

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Dr. Ricardo Rodriguez is a Yale trained, board certified plastic surgeon specializing in multiple procedure makeovers. He performs unique procedures such as the body lift, Brazilian butt lift, stem cell facelift, endoscopic brow lift, and lip lift. He is Medical Director of his own AAAASF accredited surgery center in Baltimore, Maryland.

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The latest kind of recycling has nothing to do with soda bottles. It entails liposuctioning fat from thighs or buttocks and injecting it into breasts to augment them. After being condemned in the early ’90s, this procedure is generating newfound excitement among the handful of doctors nationwide who offer it and patients keen to enlarge their breasts without resorting to implants.

Almost 20 years ago, the association now known as the American Society of Plastic Surgeons issued a warning to its member doctors to not inject suctioned fat into patients’ breasts, for fear that mammograms would be misread. Since some injected fat dies and calcifies, the thinking was that radiologists would not be able to distinguish between those calcifications (or calcium deposits) and suspicious ones that may indicate breast cancer.

A second concern was that too little injected fat survived being transplanted, because techniques for harvesting, refining and placing fat were not advanced enough. Even today, the success of fat grafting to the breast, as the procedure is also known, depends on the physician.

But this year, the plastic surgery society reversed its former position. A report from its task force reviewed the limited research on fat grafting to the breast and concluded that it “can be considered a safe method of augmentation.” On the issue of mammography, the report said fat grafting “could potentially interfere with breast cancer detection; however no evidence was found that strongly suggests this interference.” Thus, the task force’s statement turned a red stoplight into a yellow one, signaling to plastic surgeons: Proceed with caution.

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The following is from a string of emails that were circulating among some of Medical Spa MDs Members. I’ve edited this somewhat to make it readable and get rid of all the extraneous copies. I’m also not displaying the identity or email addresses of the physicians in this thread.

Note: Some of the comments below might be out of order from the original thread. Emails’ somewhat difficult to follow as a thread but you’ll get the gist.

Thanks for the filler tips.Can you explain how you get the Lido with epi mixed into the Juvederm syringe? –PD

Hi Jeff,–I agree w/ #6.  I seem to get good augmentation, less redness, swelling and bruising with Evolence.  I use it for deeper fills in cheeks, NLF, etc.  Don’t use it for lips or under eyes.  I do same with Lido w/ epi.  I tend to use Juvederm in lips.  Perlane / Restylane for other areas.  I agree w/ why Allergan uses 0.8 cc syringes. I’ve moved away from Radiesse.  I feel that the duration is not that much longer than a good correction with the HA’s.  Besides, I believe a fair amount of the volume of Radiesse is a gel carrier, thus needing touch-ups at 2-3 months.  Perhaps that’s why the went to the larger syringes? — Don

The push ahead technique also moves small blood vessels out of the way, so you may notice less ecchymosis is overall pts. — Greg

I would not use push ahead around the eye, I agree with Tom’s comments. It works great for NLF. I was actually taught this by a PS — Greg

Interesting discussion.  So Kevin, how do you account for the difference in that anterograde injection you need less filler than in retrograde injections, assuming all else being equal?

Second, I am understanding one group claims anterograde injection carries a higher risk of vessel cannulation and possible intravascular injection, while another group claims that anterograde injection “pushes away” blood vessels, thus decreasing the risk. Not sure how anterograde increases risk of intravascular injection any more than retrograde.  If you push the needle ahead, transfixing a vessel, then begin injection, you can still conceivably deposit some material intravascularly, can you not?  Am I missing something here?

I also found an interesting idea of sub q bolus technique in areas of thin skin, ie crowsfeet, etc.  Anyone else try this method? ~ Don

I do agree with you about those risks with anterograde injection. The key is always the skills in doing it, be it retrograde or anterograde. One always has to be very carefully doing anything around the eyes. However, the anterograde techinique has been advocated some of the best known experts such as Arnold Klein, MD and Kent Remington, MD. I also believed that the filler amount used was critical. It takes much more amount to get the same result with the often taught retrograde technique compared with the anterograde one. For example, I almost never required more than one full syringe in correcting bilateral NLF’s vs what was typically used ( 2 syringes) by most others. I attached the before and after of a case wherein I used Readiesse to correct her NLF’s and Marrionette’s lines with anterograde technique. The after photo was taken right after. You can still see some of needle marks. I used one full 1.3 cc syringe, 1/2inch 30g for the Vermillion border and 1/2inch for NLF’s and Marrionette’s line. Notice also there was no “puffy/swollen look” medial to the Marrionette’s line often seen with retrograde and fanning technique used by most others. ~ Kevin

I came across this old thread way down in my inbox and read it again.  I’m not sure who wrote #4 below.  It sounds interesting but I’m having a hard time visualizing it.  Do you steadily move the needle forward  toward the lip edge as you are injecting or do you hold it in place while the area fills?  I’d love to see a drawing on where you start.  ~ SD

Something worth knowing. How is your plastic surgeon or dermatologist communicating with other physicians to keep abreast of the latest information about treatments?

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Shine provides professional teeth whitening services to medical clinics using exactly the same process, materials and trained technicians that serve dental clinics. We provide a new way for your medical spa, laser clinic or cosmetic surgery center to offer the most desired cosmetic treatment directly to your existing clientele… and it’s amazingly easy.

How Shine Teeth Whitening Services Work.

Shine’s teeth whitening kits are easy to use. Any member of your staff can quickly administer the materials we send you to capture precise top and bottom “bite” impressions of your clients in the specialized impression putty and trays we provide to you.

Send the impressions to our lab in the package we provide you. Within 48 hours, we’ll ship the completed custom trays back to you for your client to pick up from your office (or, if you prefer, we can mail the completed kit directly to the customer for you with gel and instructions included.)

A return visit by your customer is another chance to provide additional service and purchases such as extra whitening gel and portable whitening pens to supplement your client’s new custom whitening kit.

The possibilities are endless – and in no time, your ability to provide custom teeth whitening kits at a retail price that is up to 70% less expensive than a comparable kit from a dental office will provide extra satisfaction for your clientele, and thousands of dollars per month in additional revenue for you, with no extra staffing, equipment or training required.

How do you begin? Start with the Shine trial teeth whitening kit – a set of materials we’ll provide you at cost to allow you to sample the impression materials and send your own impressions to our lab to receive your first two custom kits, to see how our service works and experience our custom whitening kits for yourself. When you can see how simple the process is, you can order our kits in quantities of 5, 10, 50 or 100 in order to be ready to offer Shine teeth whitening kits to your customers. The greater the quantity of kits you purchase, the steeper your discount.

So what are you waiting for? Try Shine and see what this $300M industry could be doing for you.

Via Shine Teeth Whitening

No related posts.

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The FDA approved the use of Botox for migraine headaches just last October 15. Here’s a little Q&A that addresses your most pressing questions:

How will I know if I have chronic migraine?

You have chronic migraine if you experience headaches on most days of the month (at least 15 days each month).

The common symptom is intense pulsing or throbbing pain in an area of the head accompanied by nausea, vomiting and sensitivity to light and sound. (sidenote: The FDA recognizes that the condition is more common in women than in men.)

What will I experience during the treatment?

During treatment, the physician will inject Botox around the head and neck area. Injections will have to be repeated every 12 weeks for the continuous prevention of headaches.

Reminder: Make sure that your physician is familiar with using Botox for migraines, specifically. Remember that different muscles are treated for varying conditions and expertise in using the drug for 1 condition does not translate to expertise for the others.

Are there any side effects?

The most common complaints of patients who’ve had Botox injections for migraines are neck pain and headache. Note, though, that these are only temporary and they do go away.

What does this mean for me?

This may well be good news for you if you suffer from chronic migraines! You may be able to get your insurance to shoulder the cost of treatments like this. The Director of the FDA’s Division of Neurology Products considers chronic migraine as one of the most disabling forms of headache that greatly affects family, social and work life. Because of this, the FDA deemed it necessary to provide patients with options to address their condition – one of those being Botox.

Despite its only recent FDA approval, doctors have been using the drug off-label to treat this same condition. In case you’re worrying about safety, don’t! Numerous clinical studies have been conducted to test its efficacy and it won’t get the green light from the FDA if it wasn’t safe for use on humans. If you suffer from chronic migraines and would like to try Botox, be sure to consult your physician first.

via Medical Spa MD

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We’ve started writing the Insider’s Guide To Botox and are keeping you in mind the whole time — as much as possible, we’d like to address your Botox concerns from the moment you start deliberating if you’re a good candidate for the procedure until the time you schedule your next treatment.

One of the things that we  decided to do is address the myths surrounding  Botox and give you the correct information.

We came across several erroneous and misleading articles and commentaries online while conducting our initial research and this propelled our efforts into separating Botox myths from facts.  We also took note of common misconceptions and will distinguish which ones are true and which are not.

We figured that if we were to put ourselves in the shoes of someone searching around online for information that will help them decide if they’re going to go through with the procedure, we’d end up having to wrestle with confusing literature especially with topics relating to when you should schedule your next treatment, who are authorized to administer the drug and something as basic as how the drug works.

All this is geared towards creating the ultimate guide for the smart Botox patient.

Here are the general headlines of the Guide:

Botox Basics: Everything you need to know even before your first consultBotox Treatment: Overcoming Botox JittersBotox Aftermath: Making the effects of Botox last

Related Botox Patient posts: Botox Mistakes You Should AvoidGetting Botox For The First TimeCommon Botox Safety ConcernsMedical Spa BotoxThe Insiders Guide To Botox

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In a survey released today by the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (AACS), 71% of respondents think society is less judgmental about cosmetic surgery than it was just five years ago. Furthermore, about 62% said society’s attitude toward cosmetic surgery made them feel more comfortable about getting a cosmetic medical procedure at a skin clinic or medical spa.

“This is a confirmation of what many of us have felt for a long time; that cosmetic surgery has become mainstream,” said Dr. Mark Berman, AACS president-elect. “A variety of factors have contributed to the normalization of our industry, but the bottom line is that people are not afraid to talk openly about cosmetic surgery anymore.”

According to the survey, the most accepted invasive procedures are breast augmentation (42.4%), face lift (32.2%) and tummy tuck (32.1%). Among noninvasive procedures, the most accepted are laser hair removal (61.9%) and Botox (61.6%). Additionally, 52% of respondents said they would tell family about having invasive cosmetic surgery.

Related Botox Patient posts: Cosmetic surgeons ban advertising… cosmetic surgery!Botax: New Taxes on Botox + Plastic Surgery?Cosmetic Surgeons enlist patients to fight Botox Botax.Thoughts Before Your Cosmetic SurgeryBotched South African Plastic Surgery

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Botox, like every other word, has an etymology that can tell you so much about what the word denotes.

Most people overlook the fact that Botox is the brand name that Allergan gave the drug it manufactures for the treatment of wrinkles.  This commercial name is actually a contraction of the words Botulinum Toxin from which the drug is derived.

Let us now deal with the 2 main words involved:

Bot?u?li?num* (n): a spore-forming bacterium that secretes Botulinum Toxin. [From the German word "Botulismus"; coined from the Latin term "Botulus" which means sausage.  The word 'sausage' is a depiction of the shape of Clostridium Botulinum, the bacteria that produces the toxin]Tox?in* (n): a poisonous substance… usually very unstable, notably toxic when introduced into the tissues… [From the Latin term “Toxicum” which means poison]

Bacterium.  Poison.

The two main words associated with Botox involve things that people usually stay far away from.  No wonder most women’s primary concern is the safety of using Botox!

The Insider’s Guide that we are currently creating will include a section that will delve into the safety issues commonly associated with Botox treatments such as:

Is it safe?  If so, how?Important things you need to know to do Botox safelyHow things can go wrong in a Botox treatment and how to avoid themPossible side effects and measures you can take to prevent them from occurringBotox pitfalls that you should avoid at all costs

We’re hoping that tackling this issue head on will give you the answers to common questions you may have regarding the safety of using Botox.  The ultimate goal is to give you eveything you will need to make smart choices every step of the way.

*definition from merriam-webster online

Related Botox Patient posts: Botox Mistakes You Should AvoidThe Truth About How Botox WorksDebunking Botox MythsBotox around the worldBotox and Medical Malpractice

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How Come Fractional CO2 Aesthetic Lasers Are Now The Top Fractional Procedure For Skin-Tightening?

CO2 laser skin resurfacing is not really a new principle. Co2 laser resurfacing has been around for 25 years. While conventional laser ablation had been fantastic for facial lines and wrinkles, scarring, sun damage or elastosis, there were substantive threat of infections, scarring and pigmentary differences. All those negative effects made this complete ablation to drop in favor with laser surgeons and subjects as well.

The concept of fractional laser treatments has been around since 04. Basically, fractional treatments provides for a small fraction of the epidermis is treated even though the all of the intervening areas are not ablated. These untouched areas of dermis all around the treated zones provides for swift healing.

As this methods was combined with with a CO2 laser, exhilaration within the laser clinic community catapulted. There are specific reasons for the medical spa community’s excitement:

First, there’s a smaller amount of downtime.

Conventional full laser ablation methods took extended down times of as many as 6 weeks. A handful of clients might have erythema (redness) for nearly eight months. By using Fraxel remedies, the down-time is from 3 to 6 days depending on the energy levels used. Such fast recuperation gives a much higher degree of expediency for your usual individual.

2. Much less danger of secondary complications.

Utilizing old-school total ablation laser procedures the chance of contamination, scarring like hypertrophic scarring and color alterations like hypopigmentation were much more frequent even with the most practiced laser surgeons. Considering the fact that Fraxel CO2 solutions leaves behind the majority of the dermis intact, the pitfalls linked with the approach are reduced.

3. Improvement.

Though much less of a dramatic end result when compared to old school CO2 laser solutions, the lowered risk and fine effects help make newer fractional laser treatments an alluring laser. In contrast to non-ablative fractional lasers, fractional CO2 lasers allow for significantly greater skin tightening. Fractional CO2 laser treatments are frequently performed again too. For scarring damage, it ordinarily involves 3 procedures in order to lessen the the scars. There are several fraxel CO2 lasers that you can purchase:

1. Smart Skin by Cynosure. This particular laser goes to thirty W in a two millisecond length. There are plenty of various parameters which may be selected so the procedure is personalized to every single customer.

2. Active FX & Deep FX by Lumenis: This fractional skin is also well-known, having said that you will find a couple of spot sizes which end up being switched out through a procedure.

3. Fraxel Repair from Solta: This laser skin penetrates really deeply. Be certain you look at a seasoned MD, since the highest rate of problems have been involved with this particular laser do to the level of penetration.

4. eCO by Lutronics. This fractionated laser is certainly attaining footing inside quite a few skin clinics and has a chaos technology which is good.

Those might be all the main fractional CO2 lasers which are typically though of as lasers which are generally easy to apply and show results. Certainly, there are different lasers, yet, some can be low powered and / or studies are lacking.

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(UPI) — A new California law will prevent doctors from performing elective cosmetic surgery without an “appropriate” physical exam, authorities said.

The law, which takes effect Friday, is named the “Donda West Law” after singer Kanye West’s mother, who died a day after cosmetic surgery in 2007.

The law requires “an appropriate physical examination within 30 days of a procedure and “written clearance” from a doctor, nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant before cosmetic surgery is performed, The Sacramento Bee reported Saturday.

The law will change little since reputable cosmetic surgeons have always obtained a patient’s medical history and made sure the patient had a physical exam before a procedure, said Dr. Terry Zimmerman, head of the Greater Sacramento Plastic Surgical Society.

Autopsy results showed Donda West died of pre-existing coronary artery disease and “multiple post-operative factors” a day after she had an abdominal tuck, breast surgery and liposuction. The surgeon who operated on West surrendered his medical license in April.

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Like Botox, Dysport is a crease treatment using the pure variety of Botulinum toxin. Both products are particularly well suited for the vertical lines between the eyebrows recognized as glabellar lines, and are sometimes used for other dynamic facial wrinkles such as horizontal lines across the forehead and crows feet.

Unlike Botox (that earned approval by the Federal Drug Administration in 1991), Dysport received the thumbs up by the FDA just one year ago. What has the national aesthetic industry learned about the product since then? What are professionals saying about it? What are Dysport’s many advantages over Botox Cosmetic, if any?

Some aesthetic surgeons explain that there are a couple of differences between Dysport and Botox Aesthetic which a doctor will observe, but that won’t make too much differentiation to most clients, explaining which the Botulinum molecules in Dysport are smaller, requiring a different unit of gauge. For instance, where 20 units of Botox might suffice for one area of the face, 50 units of Dysport could be needed. But with Dysport costing less, there’s a slight cost advantage to the doctor and patient.

The smaller molecules in Dysport seem to influence a couple more of its properties, according to many doctors. Dysport seems to diffuse over a wider area of the face, notes two Los Angeles area practitioners. This could be why some doctors believe Dysport works more effectively across the entire forehead than Botox. And some feel that the smaller sized molecules guide to less discomfort at the injection site.

While doctors agree that the two programs are similar except in their molecule size and units of evaluate, there are few other aspects of Dysport and Botox they readily agree on. Many doctors say Dysport acts more quickly than Botox. One noted, however, which the Dysport advantage was measured in just hours, not days. Some doctors have noted no difference at all in onset times for their clients.

The bottom line for all concerned—does Dysport last longer than Botox?

Unfortunately, there’s no clear answer to this question either. Some physicians feel Dysport does last longer, but perhaps just days, maybe a week or a little longer. No one seems to believe there’s a very significant disparity.

It seems there’s little doctors are ready to state definitively when it comes to the two wrinkle blockers. The one thing professionals do agree on is which more will be typically called the employ of Dysport becomes more widespread and years of practice yield more data with many physicians believing that they may end up preferring Dysport to Botox as they gain more experience with it.

Even thought it seems too early to draw many conclusions, there is good news. The introduction of Dysport into the marketplace means there’s competition at last for Botox. And there are at least two other wrinkle blockers in the pipeline, probably more. It’s a safe bet which efficacy will go up and prices will eventually come down.

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New info surfaces about former beauty queen Solange Magnano’s death….

(CNN) — When Argentine beauty queen Solange Magnano approached Dr. Guillermo Blugerman in 2004 about helping her achieve a flatter stomach, the plastic surgeon says, he obliged with liposuction. But when she returned five years later requesting silicone injections for a higher, firmer rear end, he turned her away.

“I said this was not allowed to be done in Argentina,” Blugerman said on the telephone from his Buenos Aires office.

Blugerman, the president of the Argentina Association of Medicine and Cosmetic Surgery said he believes Magnano then went in search of someone who would give her the injections she wanted.

“She found someone else to do this with this forbidden material,” he said.

The former Miss Argentina died November 29, reportedly of a pulmonary embolism, a blood clot that blocks blood supply to the lungs. Embolisms are known complications of silicone injections though they can occur — rarely — after any surgery. It’s still not clear Miss Argentina was given a silicone injection, which is not an approved procedure for “butt lifts” in Argentina or the United States.

Read more about Solange Magnano’s death

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Friend of Michael Jackson joined him on his plastic surgery journey…

David Gest blames himself for having too much plastic surgery.

The 56-year-old TV star-and-concert promoter says he was encouraged by his late friend Michael Jackson to have several operations, but insists it was all his own decision.

David – whose cosmetic procedures include two facelifts and a nose realignment operation – said: “On Celebrity Come Dine With Me, I discuss the plastic surgery I had done between 1980-1981 and blame only myself for being so foolish, especially not Michael Jackson nor anyone else. I was an idiot. I look back at that time and think of myself as being so stupid, and was very appreciative of Michael’s support and being there when I went through all that.”

David appears on the Christmas special of the British dinner party TV show Celebrity Come Dine With Me.

The flamboyant star also revealed he had his cheek implants removed after having a surgery epiphany.

“It was my idea to put in a clef chin and cheek bones – not Michael’s. Sometimes when you are young you are foolish and you get carried away. I remember I was looking in the mirror in an office building when I was with Band of Gold singer Freda Payne. I was mortified and almost fainted. I had the cheekbones removed a week later. I’ve come to realize that it’s not what’s on the outside, but it’s what’s on the inside that counts.”

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Here’s an update to The Insider’s Guide that we are creating.

We just decided to include a discussion of issues that should be considered as Botox no-no’s.  A common denominator among these types of issues is the desire to avoid paying the high cost of Botox treatments.  Sadly, money, or a feeling of lack thereof, can really drive people to make unwise decisions.  We’re hoping that this Guide will protect women from unscrupulous individuals and, maybe, even from themselves, by giving them the information needed to make smart choices.

Here are a couple of issues that we might tackle in The Guide.

Do-It-Yourself Botox treatments

A lot of controversy was stirred by the arrest of Laurie D’Alleva. Suddenly, the issue of Do-It-Yourself Botox treatments was shoved into the spotlight.  I know that there are individuals out there who believe that Laurie was doing the common person a great service by giving them access to cheaper cosmetic medicine.  But, please be wary of distributors, online or otherwise, who allow you to purchase prescription medicine, such as Botox, without a prescription.  The FDA has regulated these drugs for several reasons – most important of which is your safety.  A lot of people seem to overlook the matter of health just to be able to save some money but, as some of the victims of Discount MedSpa admit, reversing the effects of their DIY treatments are causing a much bigger dent on their bank accounts.

Fake Botox

Most of the bad press associated with Botox actually pertain to instances where Fake Botox was used irresponsibly.  You may have heard of the Houston physician who was sentenced to prison for using industrial strength Botox on her patients.  The drug she used was labeled “FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY, NOT FOR HUMAN USE” and yet she still injected some 170 of her patients with it.  Botox, despite being derived from a neurotoxin, is really a safe drug – but this comes with several precautions such as using only the FDA approved version produced by Allergan and proper administration by experienced medical practitioners.  When a person chooses to cut corners and find cheaper alternatives without regard to possible repercussions, you just know that things are bound to get ugly – and with Botox in the equation, ugly might just be right on the money.

I know that deciding to undergo any medical procedure requires giving your physician a little bit of faith but that doesn’t mean that you have to go through the process blindfolded.

The inclusion of a section that discusses these issues in The Guide is made with the hope that we will be making more women think twice about latching on to super-saver deals like these.  We’ll also give you some tips on avoiding Botox pitfalls such as how to choose your physician, what to ask during your consultation and even how to check if the Botox that will be used is the real deal.

I hope this is getting to be as exciting for you as it is for us!

Related Botox Patient posts: Common Botox Safety ConcernsThe Insiders Guide To BotoxDebunking Botox MythsGetting Botox For The First TimeBotox Patient: Fake Botox or not, Discount Medspa is going to jail!

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Contrary to popular belief, very few medical malpractice cases involve doctors and Botox cosmetic.

The prevailing idea is similar to what a respected icon in the makeup industry opines: Women should be afraid of Botox. Her reason: because it involves injecting poison into your skin.

I’d be rich if I got a penny for every single time I’ve read and heard this statement. Here’s the important truth that you, our dear reader, should remember. Botox cosmetic, administered in the proper dosages by an experienced injector, is safe.

Firstly, Botox is not injected to the skin but into the muscle underneath. Its purpose is to calm the muscle, giving the skin a break from repetitive creasing which, in the long run, allows it to return to its taut state. When the skin is allowed to smoothen out and tighten up, your wrinkles become less visible and eventually disappear.

Secondly, Botox is not scary. In fact, even the FDA acknowledges that most common side effects associated with the drug’s cosmetic use is ptosis or drooping of the eyelid.

Yes, there have been several reports linking Botox to paralysis and death but those instances are not from the cosmetic use of the drug.

The FDA’s Postmarket Drug Safety Information has the following information:

Adverse effects for pediatric cases are reported to come from treatments of muscle spasticity in cerebral palsy.

For adult cases, migration or distant spread of toxin effects are reported to come from treatment of spasticity and cervical dystonia. The report also stated that the several deaths connected with the use of the drug cannot be attributable to the toxin itself but to complications of pre-existing conditions.

With regard to the cosmetic use of the toxin, the FDA categorically stated, and I quote, “…there have been reports where some symptoms could be consistent with distant spread of toxin effect following dermatologic use.  However, no definitive serious adverse event reports of distant spread of toxin effect associated with dermatologic use of Botox at the labeled dose of 20 Units (for glabellar lines) or 100 Units (for severe primary axillary hyperhidrosis) have been identified”.

Even with this current track record, doctors are careful with injecting the toxin to the lower part of the face to treat smile or marionette lines. There’s a world of difference between causing droopy eyelids and paralysing somebody’s lips disabling them from speaking. The first only pertains to appearance, the other can affect one’s life and work. Doctors know this so, some of them refrain from performing these treatments. In any case, the effects of Botox cosmetic, both the good and the bad, are only temporary. As such, things return to the way they were after a period of time.

We don’t have any legal authority to say that a malpractice case becomes moot after things return to normal. But at the very least, people should consider the fact that there are few medical malpractice cases involving Botox as a sort of reassurance. Doctors take care of their patients and their reputations and would not intentionally cause harm to clients. Add this to the fact that the drug itself is safe, and you end up with something that should not be feared.

Related Botox Patient posts: The Truth About How Botox WorksCommon Botox Safety ConcernsThe What’s-What of Botox Immunity3 Reasons Why Botox Gets a Bad RepThe Real Score Between Botox and Doctors

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