New Office Seminar - April 8th

SKIN CARE, MAKE-UP, MINIMALLY INVASIVE SKIN REJUVENATION
We'll cover all these great topics in morning and evening sessions on Tuesday, April 8th, 2008. The first session will be 11am-1pm. The second will be 6-8pm. We welcome patients, their friends, and others with interest to register by e-mail or phone. Contact info available on our website http://www.expertplasticsurgeon.com/

Presenters will be our Skin Care Specialists (Erin Riddle & Stacy Linder), our Nurse Practitioner (Janice Sasser), along with Karen Wiese (Obagi representative) and Shannon Kelley (Jane Iredale cosmetics). We'll feature photofacials, non-invasive skin tightening (aka Thermage, Fraxel or Titan), Botox, Restylane, Perlane, Juvaderm.

New products to improve your skin's appearance will also be featured. Seminar attendees will be offered special pricing on Obagi (10%). Contact us to register soon.

Web Medical Records

EMR stands for electronic medical records. The idea of having all medical information in digital format, easily searchable, and widely retrievable sounds appealing, except for the privacy and confidentiality issues. In the past individuals guarded health data so carefully. The federal governemnt, health insurance companies and large hospital corporations have been the first to adopt various systems of storing and processing your health information.

Individual physicians have been slow to adopt for various reasons. Most won't see additional revenue to cover the $50-100,000 cost. Many systems are not compatable with others. But, many are extremely concerned that stored data will be divulged to unauthorized people, used for marketing or profiling, etc. We all know that secure major data-banks have been tricked, looted, or accidentally released. Microsoft is advertising its version of a web-based health record. Google is soon to release theirs.

Our practice does not use web-based or online digital health records at the current time. We value your security.

Most Popular Procedures - National Statistics

The ASAPS organization today published national statistics for cosmetic surgery procedures. Americans spent $8.3 billion for surgery and $4.7 billion for non-surgical procedures. Minorities accounted for 22% of patients. Tops for women were breast augmentation, liposuction, eyelid surgery, abdominoplasty and breast reduction. Major non-surgical techniques were Botox, Hyaluronic acid fillers, laser hair removal, microdermabrasion, and laser / intense light treatments. Surgical procedures increased by 9% while non-surgical decreased by <1%. We continue to notice increases in all cosmetic procedures in our practice.

Botox - Patient Awareness

The TV news and popular magazines have mentioned an intrest group's request that the FDA increase scrutiny of botulinum toxin use. The FDA records show several deaths from non-cosmetic uses of Botox. The examples mentioned include reducing muscle spasticity caused by cerebral palsy. There were no initial reports of deaths from cosmetic use.

Safety is very important. Importantly, the public needs to be reminded that they should seek qualified, experienced physicians for their treatments. They should expect adequate review of their medical history, discussion of risks, and a properly equiped medical office setting (no "Botox parties"). Board certification in Plastic Surgery, Dermatology or Ophthalmology are good starting points. Ask more questions.

Pick Your Recovery Time

One way to choose among the various options for facial rejuvenation procedures is tell your surgeon how long you have to recover. This will let him or her tailor your procedures to your desired "down-time." If you have no down-time: choose from Botox, Restylane of other fillers, Intense Pulsed Light photofacials, or non-ablative skin tightening. If you have one weekend: you may select the above and /or MicroLaser Peels or Periorbital resurfcing. When you have 1 week available: enhance you appearance with a endoscopic browlift or submental liposuction (under the chin). A 2 week recovery gives you plenty of options: you could have either eyelid blepharoplasty, short-scar facelift, or a combination of the above procedures. A three week recovery is best for: facelift, necklift, and combinations of procedures on several parts of the face. At our office we'll discuss these issues and the features you would like to improve, and make individual personal recommendations. Call if you're interested.

Breast Augmentation with Fat Transfer

It sounds appealing to be able to enlarge a small or disproportionate breast with a patient's own excess fat. Remove it from tummy or thighs and add it to the breast. The surgical term is "autologous fat graft or transfer." The technology exists to provide this procedure. It is very commonly used for contour enhancements in the face, especially the lips. It can correct facial & body contour deformities from various causes. In those areas it is safe, effective, and often partially permanent. Some unique concerns have been raised about fat graft to the breast. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons has discouraged its use until studies demonstrate its safety. At the present time, I would suggest avoiding cosmetic breast fat graft unless you are enrolled in a university research study.

O.K. to Question Your Surgeon

Since the unfortunate death of Kanye West's mother, the media is catching on. We have advised patients to ask about cosmetic surgeon credentials and experience for a long time. The Wall Street Journal (Jan 9, 2008) ran an article "Learning to Ask Tough Questions Of Your Surgeon," emphasizing the American College of Surgeon's new patient's guidebook. (http://www.facs.org/)

In plastic surgery you can confirm board certification through http://www.abms.org/ (the American Board of Medical Specialties). We are happy to discuss our experience with patients. Just ask.