DON'T MISS THE NEWEST SPA AND WELLNESS  TRADE SHOW!

 

The Monaco Spa Event- The International event for the Spa and Wellness Industry.

 

The Monaco Spa Event, the international gathering for the Spa and Wellness Industry, is the exclusive gateway to the spa industry in Europe; a unique opportunity for the entire industry to take a fresh look at the Spa culture, in the wonderful setting of Monaco.

 

Register now, reserve online your Monaco Spa Event entrance ticket and save 50% off the full entrance fee. Pre-registration is now available till December 22^nd and is exclusively reserved for Spa professionals. For more information visit: www.monacospaevent.com.

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MEET THOUSANDS OF DOCTORS, GUEST SPEAKERS, EXHIBITORS, AND KEY MEMBERS OF THE INDUSTRY AT:

14th Congress on A4M Anti-Aging Medicine & Regenerative Biomedical Technologies

 

The Venetian-

Las Vegas, NV

 

14th Annual International Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine and Regenerative Biomedical Technologies 2006 is the largest and most influential academic and industry event worldwide in the space of preventative medicine and bio-medical technologies. We invite you to attend and make your mark in the fastest growing new medical specialty, among the most influential physicians, scientists, educators, industrialists, investment bankers and journalists from around the world. 

 

Don't miss Cheryl Whitman medical spa expert and CEO of Beautiful Forever Medical Spa Business Consulting, as she speaks on The Future of Medical Spas, on December 7th, 2006 at 4pm-4:30pm.  Data and information regarding demographics, and market projections will be presented as well as an overview of the medical spa of yesterday, today and tomorrow.

 

If you are interested in meeting Cheryl Whitman in Las Vegas please contact our corporate office at 201-541-5405 to set up an appointment.  

 

For more information visit: www.worldhealth.net/event/ 

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EYELASH TRANSPLANTS SET TO SWEEP NIP TUCK WORLD

LOS ANGLES (Rutgers) - Think you've seen it all when it comes to cosmetic surgery? Look more closely.  Eyelash transplant surgery wants to become the new must-have procedure for women- and the occasional man--convinced that beauty is not so much in the eye of the beholder as in front of the eye itself.

 

Using procedures pioneered by the hair loss industry for balding men, surgeons are using "plug and sew" techniques to give women long, sweeping lashes once achieved only by glued on extensions and thick lashing of mascara.

 

And just like human hair--for that is the origin--these lashes just keep on growing.

 

"This is a brand new procedure for the general public and it is going to explode," Bauman told Reuters during what was billed as the world's first live eyelash surgery workshop for about 40 surgeons from around the world.

 

Under the procedure, a small incision is made at the back of the scalp to remove 30 or 40 hair follicles which are carefully sewn one by one onto the patient's eyelids.  Only light sedation and local anesthetics are used and the cost is around $3000 an eye.

 

The technique was first confined to patients who had suffered burns or congenital malformations of the eye.  But word spread and about 80 percent are now done for cosmetic reasons.

 

More than 10 million cosmetic procedures--from tummy tucks to Botox--were performed in the United States in 2005, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.  The figure represents a 38 percent increase over the year 2000.

 

The surgery is not for everyone. The transplanted eyelashes grow just like head hair and need to be trimmed regularly and sometimes curled.  Very curly hair makes eyelashes with too much kink.

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MORE DOCTORS TURNING TO THE BUSINESS OF BEAUTY

 

(New York Times)- In her three years as an obstetrician and gynecologist in Brooklyn, Dr. Ngozi Nwankpa-Keshinro delivered several hundred babies, conducted several thousand pelvic exams and diagnosed everything from infections to infertility.  But this year, with a little additional training, she has entered a new field: cosmetic medicine.

 

As one of the owners of a medical spa in Brooklyn that opened in January, she has given dozens of clients Botox injections to relax their wrinkles and Restylane injections to fill out their smile lines and plump their lips.

 

"The two fields are as alike as an apple and an orange," Dr. Nwankpa-Keshinro said. "One can be lifesaving, while the other is not. But when you clear up someone's acne or facial hair, they are as grateful as if you delivered their baby."

 

Five years ago, cosmetic medicine was primarily the domain of plastic surgeons, facial surgeons and dermatologists -- medical school graduates who undergo several years of training in facial skin and its underlying anatomy. But now obstetricians, family practitioners and emergency room physicians are gravitating to the beauty business, lured by lucrative cosmetic treatments that require same-day payments because they are not covered by insurance and by a medical practice without bothersome midnight emergency calls.

 

Dermatologists and plastic surgeons refer to their new colleagues as "out of scope" or "non-core" physicians, and they strongly object to the intrusion, insisting that cosmetic medicine requires lengthy training.

 

But the dispute also has all the elements of a turf war, with specialists reluctant to cede ground in a field in which Americans spend an estimated $12 billion a year.

For their part, some doctors from other fields contend that the latest cosmetic procedures, like facial injections and vein removal, are far less complicated and risky than Caesarean sections or appendectomies and that the fundamentals can be learned in continuing-education classes.

 

"We are all doctors with the same primary training whose education continues after medical school by learning new techniques," Dr. Kilanko said. "I know core physicians don't want non-core physicians like me in it, but dermatologists and plastic surgeons can't own aesthetic medicine by themselves."

 

In the United States, all doctors with state medical licenses are allowed to administer all kinds of treatments, regardless of their training. But after residencies in specialties like ophthalmology or anesthesiology, doctors have not commonly set up shop in fields far outside their expertise, administrators at medical associations say.

 

That has been changing. Some see a danger in the trend, especially as non-specialists move into more-invasive cosmetic procedures like breast augmentation and liposuction.

"You can't assume that everyone with a pilot's license can fly a 747 as well as a Piper Cub," said Dr. Stephen H. Miller, president of the American Board of Medical Specialties.

 

 *Note- To see the rest of this article, please visit the New York Times at www.newyorktimes.com. 

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NEW COLUMN WILL SIMPLIFY LASER CHOICES & USE

 

Are you confused about lasers?  Are you afraid to admit that you don't know the difference between "Q-switched" and "pulsed dye"? You are not alone and we are here to help "shed the light" on the confusing array of lasers and light devices.

 

The laser industry has blossomed from the first laser invented, in 1960 to a multimillion-dollar industry.  Each month a new laser hits the market.  Some of these new lasers are based on entirely new principles in laser science while others are just a new marketing spin.  Understanding and using these new devices is very difficult unless you are a laser specialist who has the time to attend all the conferences and keep up-to-date on these issues.

 

As the number of devices and operators increase, so does the incidence of complications.

Misunderstandings and misuse can also result from the fact that we can use a single laser or light device for much more than its original purpose.

 

For example, the ruby laser was invented in 1960, yet it was not until Anderson and Parrish explained the term selective photothermolysis that we were able to use this device for hair removal in 1996.  Less than 10 years later the ruby is no longer even used for this purpose.  Understanding the physics behind how we remove hair with lasers has led us to safer and more effective options.

 

It is remarkable that in any field to see such a dramatic change in such a short period of time.  Wonderful as it may seem, the rapid advances in laser technology makes it very difficult to stay abreast of the changes.  A device that is the latest and greatest today may be obsolete tomorrow.  Before investing in one of these devices, some basic knowledge in necessary, and we are prepared to give it to you.

 

Lasers are amazing devices with possibilities to do things that we have never imagined.

A goal in teaching is to bring enough awareness to the possible downsides of lasers, so that we can accurately choose which procedures to perform, and which not to perform.  Patients believe that lasers can do anything and are the answer to all of their problems.  It is our job to give realistic expectations and explain all the risks and benefits, so the patients are not disappointed with the outcome.  Lasers do have their limitations and safety is one of them.

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 NEW GENERATION HA-BASED FILLER IMPROVES RESULTS

 

National report -- Results of a pivotal study evaluating a new generation hyaluronic acid (HA)-based gel filler (Juvéderm, Allergan) for correction of nasolabial folds show that all three formulations of the injectable product provide significantly greater and longer-lasting improvement than crosslinked bovine collagen (Zyplast, Allergan) reports Leslie Baumann, M.D.

 

The HA filler was approved for marketing by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in June, 2006, and is available as a family of three products, which vary with respect to their amount of HA crosslinking and formulation consistency. The line is based on proprietary technology (Hylacross) that facilitates the production of particle-free, malleable smooth gel fillers able to flow easily when injected.

 

Study design

All patients were randomized to receive one of the three HA fillers into the nasolabial fold on one side of the face and were injected with the bovine collagen on the contralateral side.

 

All injections were delivered by a treating investigator into the mid-dermis under topical anesthesia using a 30-gauge needle. Based on the judgment of a second, masked evaluating investigator, up to two touch-ups were allowed over the next four weeks to achieve optimal correction.

 

Follow-up visits were scheduled at least every four weeks for up to 24 weeks after the last injection, and both the patients and evaluating investigator rated the severity of the nasolabial fold on a scale of zero (none) to four (extreme). All fillers resulted in significant improvement in nasolabial fold appearance. The peak benefit was achieved at two weeks after the last injection in all groups. However, at that visit and all visits thereafter, there were differences favoring the HA fillers in the magnitude of improvement. The differences increased as follow-up continued due to more rapid dissipation of the benefit in the collagen-treated side.

 

"This family of HA fillers based on novel technology has been available in Canada and Europe for many years and has demonstrated favorable performance with respect to injection ease, tolerability, safety, efficacy in providing natural-appearing correction and longevity. The results of this clinical trial demonstrate their superiority to crosslinked bovine collagen. Their more durable efficacy seems to translate into greater patient satisfaction, and so these new filler products are certainly a welcome addition to our options for soft tissue augmentation," Dr. Baumann, tells Dermatology Times.

 

The HA in the new filler products is derived from Streptococci equi. In addition to being particle-free, they differ from other HA filler products (Restylane, Q-Med; Hylaform, Allergan) with regard to containing both a higher concentration of HA and a higher amount of crosslinked HA.

 

Clinically meaningful differences

Patient preference ratings further underlined the advantage of the HA fillers. A total of 423 (96 percent) patients were seen at 24 weeks. When asked at that visit to rate which filler they preferred considering the overall effects of treatment, between 78 and 88 percent of patients in each of the three treatment groups chose the HA filler over the bovine collagen.

 

Persistency

Patients enrolled in the study were allowed to return for additional treatment when they felt it was necessary.  About three-fourths of the participants sought repeat treatment, but the time to return was at least eight months after the last treatment in 57 percent of those individuals, not before one year in 18 percent, and ranged up to 17 months.

 

Safety was excellent in all groups. Injection site reactions were common, but were generally transient, mild to moderate in severity and self-limiting.

 

Disclosure: Dr. Baumann is a clinical investigator for Allergan and is also an investigator for Medicis and Dermik.

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SOME PATIENTS STOP NEEDING ANTIDEPRESSANT MEDICATION AFTER HAVING PLASTIC SURGERY

It has been proven that plastic surgery can improve self-esteem, but can it also act as a natural mood enhancer? A significant number of patients stopped taking antidepressant medication after undergoing plastic surgery, according to a study presented at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) Plastic Surgery 2006 conference in San Francisco.

 

"Plastic surgery patients are taking a proactive approach in making themselves happier by improving something that has truly bothered them," said Bruce Freedman, MD, ASPS Member Surgeon and study author. "While we are not saying that cosmetic plastic surgery alone is responsible for the drop in patients needing antidepressants, it surely is an important factor."

 

In the study, 362 patients had cosmetic plastic surgery -- 17 percent or 61 patients were taking antidepressants. Six months after surgery, however, that number decreased 31 percent, down to 42 patients. In addition, 98 percent of patients said cosmetic plastic surgery had markedly improved their self-esteem.

 

All of the patients, who were primarily middle-aged women, had an invasive cosmetic plastic surgery procedure such as breast augmentation, tummy tuck or facelift. The authors did not identify any other major life changes that may have affected patients' use of antidepressants.

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