Skinplistic » Plastic Surgery

Hyperbaric hype?

Barbra Schroeder — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 19:12:19 +0000

This is quite interesting…From Daily Beauty:

"You may have heard that some cosmetic surgery patients are being prescribed sessions in a hyperbaric chamber after their operation, as it can increase oxygen flow, possibly helping to reduce swelling and speed up recovery time. However, this is not a post-op norm.

A hyperbaric chamber is a treatment where compressed oxygen helps to speed healing of specific diseases and disorders. While this treatment is purported to speed healing, there is no medical evidence to support its use following cosmetic surgery. This is a costly treatment that is unnecessary and not a standard of care."

Advanced healing helpers

Barbra Schroeder — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 13:23:17 +0000

DailyBeauty.com
When I first saw this image, I was like “whao,” but after reading the article I realized it was ingenious. To me it actually looks pretty comfortable. If you are recovering from an invasive procedure, or possibly even a minor one, this healing mask may actually help you heal quicker and more comfortably. According to Daily Beauty:

"The care you take during the post-op healing period is almost as important as the surgery itself. A recovery device called AqueCool, by Aqueduct Medical is a new approach to that sensitive time. It delivers continuous cool-water therapy at a safe temperature range directly to the surgical site to minimize swelling, bruising, discomfort and overall downtime after surgery.

AqueCool Masques are procedure-specific—pictured from left to right are the Lower Face & Neck Masque, the Full Face & Neck Masque, and the Periorbital Masque—and they’re custom-formable to each patient. They can be worn while watching TV, reading, sleeping, or sitting at a computer without getting in the way. As with any surgical procedure, it’s essential to meticulously follow your surgeon’s post-procedure instructions, so be sure to get the green light from your doctor before trying any recovery aid.

New Technologies Tighten Skin From Head To Toe Without Surgery

Barbra Schroeder — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 05:30:49 +0000

MedicalNewsToday.com

If sagging skin is getting you down, recent advances in skin-tightening technologies can lift your spirits and your skin in a matter of a few office visits to your dermatologist. The beauty of these non-invasive procedures is their ability to treat loose skin virtually anywhere on the body without the risks and downtime associated with surgery.

Speaking today at the American Academy of Dermatology’s Summer Academy Meeting 2007, dermatologist David J. Goldberg, MD, JD, FAAD, clinical professor of dermatology and director of laser research at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, N.Y., discussed the rapidly expanding area of skin-tightening techniques and how they can safely and effectively treat sagging skin on the jowls, neck, arms, and stomach, as well as cellulite.

"The monopolar radiofrequency (RF) technology, which was introduced five years ago and which is credited as the first non-surgical skin-tightening device, has been the catalyst for what is now an explosion in non-invasive skin tightening with different technologies and areas of the body that we can treat," said Dr. Goldberg. "Originally used to lift the eyebrows, monopolar RF was found to be effective in tightening the jowls and neck area with its unique approach of cooling the outer layer of skin while heating the deeper layers to cause tightening. This basic principle is what shaped many of the latest skin-tightening technologies." Read More

Three Patients Sue Inland Plastic Surgeon

Barbra Schroeder — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 23:57:47 +0000

ThePressEnterprise.com
"She was minus a belly button because he forgot to put one in," Brandt said. "He needs to stop."

Three patients have sued an Inland plastic surgeon accused of dishonesty, unprofessional conduct and negligence by the state medical board. The lawsuits, filed in Riverside County and San Bernardino County superior courts, state surgeries that Dr. Borko Djordjevic performed in 2006 left patients permanently disfigured. The lawsuits accuse Djordjevic of negligence, battery and fraud. Two of the surgeries were performed after the Medical Board of California filed its accusation against Djordjevic on July 21, 2006.

"This guy’s trouble," said Upland attorney Brian Brandt, who filed lawsuits against Djordjevic and the now-defunct Beverly Hills Surgical Institute in Upland on behalf of patients Gina M. Chaney, of Rancho Cucamonga, and Patricia Gross, of Claremont, in San Bernardino County. "And he’s out there still operating." Read More

Have you noticed how unattractive most plastic surgery advertising is?

Barbra Schroeder — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 23:36:15 +0000

AdvertisingIsGoodForYou.com
You would think people who are promoting a service related to aesthetics would know enough to insist on communications materials that are exceptionally well designed and attractive. Yet, that’s usually not the case with advertising for plastic surgeons’ offices.

This is a charming exception.

These cups are impeccably designed and even witty — one wouldn’t assume wittiness would be appropriate for a service that requires cutting one’s face open, yet it works very well here. Read More

The Endoscopic Advantage

Barbra Schroeder — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 05:46:17 +0000

DaillyBeauty.com
A mid-facelift can be achieved through incisions of 1 to 2 cm in length using endoscopic technology. Endoscopes allow surgeons to view and reach distant anatomies through very small incisions and require very specific training, as your surgeon will be relying on a camera and screen. Among the pioneers in endoscopic plastic surgery is Salt Lake City plastic surgeon Renato Saltz, MD, who explains, “Endoscopy is minimally invasive surgery. It may take a three- to four-hour procedure down to one hour, with less trauma and ultimately less recovery time." For a mid-facelift, Dr. Saltz favors endoscopic methods. “The results can be much better, as the endoscope allows us to reach deeper or more contained pockets of fat we otherwise could not.”

Permanent (yet removable) Tattoo Ink

Barbra Schroeder — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 03:08:34 +0000

PopGadget.com
If you belong to the category of people who would love to have a tattoo on your body but have been scared of its permanency, here is some good news. Based on research done by scientists from Massachusetts General Hospital and Duke University, a company called Freedom-2 LLC will start offering a tattoo ink that can be easily removed completely after just one laser treatment.

Current methods of removing tattoos suffer from multiple disadvantages. The root cause is the inks that are mainly derived from substances used in car paints and printing. Since these inks are meant to leave a permanent effect, removal involves multiple expensive laser treatments and in many cases undesirable scarring. The Freedom-2 (F2) ink adopts a body friendly approach to solve this problem. The ink consists of biodegradable dyes encapsulated in tiny polymer beads, and the same traditional delivery methods are used to make a permanent F2 tattoo from it. Removal is done using a single laser treatment that breaks down the beads in the ink, allowing the body to naturally expel the dye contained within it. Read More

Jessica Simpson Says ‘yes’ to Surgery… Someday

Barbra Schroeder — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 22:29:37 +0000

DailyBeauty.com
Although she doesn’t admit having anything done just yet, Jessica Simpson recently told Bazaar magazine that she’d be up for cosmetic surgery down the line. “Maybe after having kids, if my boobs dropped down to my belly button, I would get them lifted. Maintenance,” she says. “But… my boobs are real.” Most people don’t doubt that Jessica is naturally endowed (high school pictures of the singer show she’s always been curvy); however, some tabloids have recently speculated that she has already had a breast lift.

Jessica has no near-future surgery plans, and she’s sure the media would have picked up on it if she had gotten facial surgery. Her sister Ashlee may have gotten a nose job, but "I love the bump in my nose," Jessica insists. "People have said that I’ve had things like a jaw replacement or implant or something. I’m photographed every day of my life and have never worn any bandages or anything, so how could that be right?" Read More

Can Botox replace Prozac?

Barbra Schroeder — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 05:00:45 +0000

NewBeauty.com
Millions turn to Botox to erase the external signs of sadness. Conversely, Darwin first suggested that facial muscle and skin movement might contribute to our moods and emotions. So Eric Finzi, MD, PhD, and Erika Wasserman, PhD, set out to see if alleviating furrowed brows could impact depression.

Ten clinically depressed patients between 36 and 63 who had never been treated with Botox were given injections. Two months later, the patients were found to have an absence of frown lines and given a repeat test for depression. Read More

The Future of Skin Care: Laboratory-Manufactured Human Skin

Barbra Schroeder — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 05:09:14 +0000

We constantly saturate our skin with expensive serums and face creams to prevent future damage, but what we don’t realize is how lucky we are that our skin has not undergone a serious trauma (aside from the emotional trauma we experience due to aging). There are people out there with much worse problems than crow’s feet or frown lines (though at times these may seem equally devastating). Some people have had the misfortune of experiencing tragic skin damage or loss due to a serious injury or birth defect. This week, a revolution in skin care has occurred. According to Medical News Today, “laboratory-made living human skin has been fully and consistently integrated into the human body.” Past skin grafting attempts (adhering new skin to seriously damaged skin) have proven unsuccessful, and tend biodegrade in a matter of weeks.

The Clinical Trial:

“A full-thickness skin sample was excised from the upper arm of six volunteers and replaced with Intercytex’ skin graft replacement product, ICX-SKN. After 28 days both visual and histological analysis showed that in all volunteers the ICX-SKN grafts were rapidly vascularised and overgrown with the hosts’ own cells, resulting in a fully integrated skin graft that had closed and healed the wound site.”

So what’s The Big Deal?

Well, ICX-SKN the product used in these clinical trails is supported by a collagen-based matrix produced by the same human skin cells that are responsible for the collagen structure in our skin. I am talking about fibroblasts. According to Medical News Today these manufactured “fibroblasts weave a collagen structure which mimics that found in skin and which shares many of the structural attributes of skin.” Also, the physical stretching of these fibroblasts induce collagen production, so it will help the “artificial” skin adhere to and permanently merge with the patients’ skin very well. “Intercytex’ scientists believe that the combination of living human fibroblasts in a human fibroblast-produced matrix underpins the integration and acceptance of ICX-SKN by the host skin.”

Skin grafts may be conventionally performed on certain wounds or burns where as skin is taken from a different part of the patient’s body. This procedure however, is extremely painful and creates a new wound. ICX-SKN as an artificial skin substitute that may confirm great promise and benefit for desperate patients as well as their doctors.

[ Via MedicalNewssToday.com ] Read entire News Release