hollywood plastic surgery

2005-12-03T13:44:00.000-05:00

DALLAS -- Dallas-based Charles A. Wallace, M.D. F.A.C.S. is one of the few plastic surgeons in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex to offer the new revolutionary "Thread Lift" facelift, which uses the FDA-approved Contour Threads(TM). The Thread Lift procedure is a minimally invasive non-surgical alternative to the traditional surgical facelift, using specially designed sutures to gently shift sagging facial tissues in an upward direction without major incisions, general anesthesia, or a long recovery time. Contour Threads were approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in April 2005, and Dr. Wallace was the first plastic surgeon in Dallas to receive training and conduct the procedure.

"This new procedure works even better than I originally expected. Although it is not a replacement for a full surgical facelift, the results can be fairly dramatic," said Dr. Wallace, who is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS). "It's the perfect alternative for patients who have a fear of surgery or general anesthesia, or do not want to undergo the longer recovery period required of a surgical face lift." The procedure takes a little over an hour, and is done in Dr. Wallace's in-office surgery center, which is AAAHC(a) accredited. No hospital stay is required.

The F.D.A.-approved Contour Thread Lift is currently used by about 300 U.S. surgeons, according to the manufacturer Surgical Specialties Corp. "Since there has been a large amount of hype regarding Thread Lifts, potential patients should take caution to ensure they achieve the safest, optimal results," Dr. Wallace said. "First, only Contour Threads have been approved by the FDA for this usage. There are many doctors around the U.S. and in Dallas -- including plastic surgeons --using other types of sutures that have not been approved by the FDA.

"Secondly, many doctors outside the field of plastic surgery are accessing training to do this procedure, such as practitioners in Ob/Gyn or Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Just as you wouldn't normally go to a neurosurgeon to have knee surgery, one should be cautioned in going to anyone other than a legitimate plastic surgeon to have your facial tissues manipulated for facial rejuvenation. Although it is a relatively simple procedure, under less-experienced care there are always risks that include threads popping out of the skin, infection, and malposition. Therefore, if I were a patient considering the Thread Lift, I would only go to a board-certified plastic surgeon with many years experience working with facial tissues."

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reported almost seven million minimally invasive procedures in 2004, a 43 percent rise over 2003. The Contour Thread Lift is the latest development in a long line of implantable, specially designed surgical threads used to lift sagging skin on the face, forehead, brows and neck. Dr. Wallace admits the operation is not for everybody nor is it intended to replace full surgical facelifts in which sagging skin, along with some underlying muscle, is trimmed, stretched tighter and stitched back into place. However, the Thread Lift's fast recovery period should bring a wider potential patient base, including more men. "Recovery is faster with much less swelling and bruising than a surgical facelift because the outer layers of skin are not disconnected," Dr. Wallace commented. "This is the perfect procedure for the '40 to 50-something' female or male corporate executive that wants to improve their looks, with minimal to no downtime or any telltale signs of surgery such as swelling, bruising or bandages."

The patented Contour Threads are specially designed sutures that are created from clear polypropylene, a material that has been safely used in the body for many years in other medical products. The Contour Threads have tiny barbs or cogs that when inserted under the skin with a needle, are fixated in an umbrella-like fashion and with slight tension gently lifts tissues of the brow and face. Due to the unique design of the Contour Threads, the surrounding tissues act to hold the threads in place without visible scarring. Once in position, the body generates new collagen bundles that surround each thread to maintain the lifting effect. Typically only one procedure is needed, and the effects can last as long as five years. Cost of the procedure starts at approximately $1,600 and up, depending upon the areas of the face that are treated, and the number of threads applied.

Prospective patients should contact Dr. Wallace's office at 972-380-7090 for a consultation, or email: info@drwallace.com.

From his offices in Dallas on the North Dallas Tollway near Keller Springs Road, Dr. Charles A. Wallace's private practice (www.drwallace.com) offers the full range of plastic and reconstructive surgery, focusing on cosmetic and reconstructive surgery of the face and breast, liposuction, and hand surgery. In practice for more than 15 years, Dr. Wallace is board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, has been elected to Fellowship in the American College of Surgeons, and is an active member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. For press interviews with Dr. Wallace, media are encouraged to contact Karin Wacaser at 214-215-8605, or email karinw@drwallace.com.

Editors Note: Before and after sample photos are available on request.

Contour Threads is a trademark of Surgical Specialties Corporation.

(a)Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care

2005-12-02T20:12:00.000-05:00

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- MedElite, Inc. Will Exhibit Its Talsyn(TM)-CI/bid Scar Cream in Booth 329 at McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, IL on September 24-28, 2005

Dr. Richard Goldfarb, M.D., FACS, President of MedElite, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of eFoodSafety.com, Inc. (OTCBB:EFSF), announced today that MedElite, Inc. has been accepted to be an Exhibitor of its Talsyn(TM)-CI/bid Scar Cream at the most prestigious show for physicians in the field of Plastics and Reconstructive Surgery in Chicago, Illinois, September 24-28, 2005. Talsyn(TM)-CI/bid Scar Cream (www.talsyn.com) is a specially designed compound for the management of Keloids, Hypertrophic Scars, Erythema, and Surgical Incisions. Talsyn(TM) has been clinically proven to facilitate healing and improve the appearance, redness, and strength of scars.

"After a careful review by The American Society of Plastic Surgeons, we were granted the opportunity to show our revolutionary scar cream product to the thousands of attendees at the show. A majority of physicians who deal with scars in their everyday practice will have full exposure to our technology and be able to sample this product, creating the comfort level needed to dispense our Talsyn(TM)-CI/bid Scar Cream to their patients," stated Dr. Goldfarb.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) is the largest plastic surgery specialty organization in the world. Founded in l93l, the Society is composed of board-certified plastic surgeons who perform cosmetic and reconstructive surgery. The mission of ASPS is to advance quality care to plastic surgery patients by encouraging high standards of training, ethics, physician practice and research in plastic surgery (www.plasticsurgery.org).

"This acceptance to exhibit by The American Society of Plastic Surgeons in the $4 billion scar cream market will allow MedElite, Inc. to reach mass numbers of physicians dealing with the MOST important aspect of Plastic Surgery - 'the scar'" added Patricia Ross-Gruden, President and CEO of eFoodSafety.com, Inc.

About eFoodSafety.com, Inc.

eFoodSafety.com, Inc. is dedicated to improving food and health conditions around the world through its innovative technologies. The company's Knock-Out Technologies, Ltd. subsidiary has developed an environmentally safe sporicidal product formulated entirely of food-grade components that eradicates anthrax and a germicidal product that kills six major bacteria: E-coli, Listeria, Pseudomonas, Salmonella, Staphylococcus, and Streptococcus, and avian influenza. The sporicidal product has completed its final efficacy laboratory study requisite for EPA registration; in the study, it eradicated both Clostridium Sporogenes and Bacillus Subtilis with 100% efficacy on both hard and porous surfaces. The company's recently announced acquisition of MedElite, Inc. is expected to provide recurring revenue to the company. MedElite, Inc. distributes clinically proven products to physicians who then prescribe the products for their patients. It is the exclusive U.S. and Worldwide distributor of the Talsyn(TM)-CI/bid Scar Cream that has been clinically proven to facilitate and improve the appearance, redness and strength of scars (www.talsyn.com).

Safe Harbor Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this release that are not strictly historical are "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The forward-looking statements are made based on information available as of the date hereof, and the company assumes no obligation to update such forward-looking statements. Editors and investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements invoke risk and uncertainties and the company's actual results may differ from these forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to demand for the company's products and services, our ability to continue to develop markets, general economic conditions, our ability to secure additional financing for the company and other factors that may be more fully described in reports to shareholders and periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

2005-12-02T04:06:00.000-05:00

Choose your plastic surgeon wisely. Call or go online for a referral from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons[R] (ASPS). Our members are board-certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery[R] and are uniquely qualified to perform cosmetic and reconstructive surgery on the face and all areas of the body. Call 1-888-4-PLASTIC (1-888-475-2784) or visit www.plasticsurgery.org to locate a plastic surgeon near you. When you call, you'll also receive customized information about procedures of interest to you. ASPS, the Symbol of Excellence in Plastic Surgery since 1931.

2005-11-29T09:12:00.000-05:00

AP Worldstream

05-19-2005

Dateline: ST. LOUIS

Surgery arranged by relief workers to correct the severe facial deformity of an Indonesian girl was successful and her prognosis was excellent, one of the surgeons said Thursday.

Eight-year-old Mawarni Zega, whose home was partly destroyed by an earthquake in March, underwent the roughly 12-hour, complication-free surgery Wednesday at St. Louis Children's Hospital, pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Jeffrey Leonard said.

Leonard and plastic surgeon Dr. Anna Kuang managed to remove her birth defect known as encephalocele _ a facial bulge caused when a gap in the skull allows brain membranes to protrude. Doctors trimmed away excess skin and used a bone graft from the girl's skull to rebuild the bridge of her nose.

"Everything went just fine," said Leonard, a Healing the Children volunteer. "Overall, I think they'll be very happy with what has occurred. Her prognosis is very good."

While the healing may take some time and "minor touchup surgeries" may follow, Leonard said Mawarni's face "will look dramatically different from what it did."

Leonard said Mawarni, perhaps as soon as Friday, would be moved from intensive care to her own room, and her hospital stay was expected to last at least a week. Doctors were monitoring her for any signs of infection and hoped to remove her breathing tube later Thursday, Leonard said.

Within weeks of her hospitalization, the girl faces another surgery, this time to remove a kidney stone that has enlarged her right kidney without affecting the organ's normal function, Leonard said.

Given the breathing tube, Mawarni has not spoken since the surgery, Leonard said. But in the days leading up to the operation, the girl appeared thrilled about the prospect of being rid of the deformity.

"I would not see America if I did not get this surgery," she said.

The earthquake that destroyed Mawarni's home on Nias Island, off the western coast of Indonesia's main island of Sumatra, came three months after the stronger quake that triggered the Dec. 26 tsunami. That disaster killed at least 175,000 people in 11 Indian Ocean nations, including Mawarni's country. The March quake killed about 900 people and left thousands injured and homeless.

Among the relief efforts was the U.S. Navy hospital ship Mercy, which was anchored off Nias' coast. Doctors traveled by helicopter to the city of Gunung Sitoli to treat the injured. Among them were Mawarni and her mother, Adilia Zega, who were living in a tent.

Although many surgeries are performed on the USNS Mercy, Mawarni's deformity was too complicated, so an effort was made to bring her to the United States for the operation.

Mawarni _ the daughter of a rubber tree farmer _ is the youngest of 10 children from the village of Hilisebua, in the subdistrict of Gido.

A donor paid air fare for Mawarni, her mother and an interpreter to get to St. Louis, and they've been given a free place to stay at a patients' housing facility.

Copyright 2005, AP News All Rights Reserved

2005-11-24T19:36:00.000-05:00

Boston -- A San Francisco-based plastic surgeon says Botox (Allergan), used prior to browlift surgery, actually leads To an improved permanent outcome in that procedure. He says colleagues are observing changes in sites of previous hyperdynamic lines that suggest more lasting effects among long-term users.

It was while describing how he integrates Botox into his practice at the International Master Course on Aging Skin in Boston that Corey Maas, M.D., described these observations and applications for neurotoxins, including Botox in the United States and Dysport in Europe--a slightly different version soon to be marketed in the United States as Relotox.

"I've found there are several areas where they can add a lot to what we can offer patients surgically," according to Dr. Maas, associate clinical professor at the University of California, San Francisco.

As a supplement

Dr. Maas believes neurotoxins can often accomplish what surgery alone cannot.

"Eyelid surgery and facelifting are great recontouring procedures that provide tremendous aesthetic enhance-ment, but there are some things you just can't do with those procedures," he says.

For example, he notes that even with excellent eyelid or facelifting surgery, crow's feet usually remain in many patients due to the presence of overactive muscles around the corners of the eyes.

"Therefore, as an adjunct to facelifting procedures, we offer the completion of the therapy: Botox to soften those lines."

For the lower face, there are other problems that facelift does not adequately address, he says.

"The corners of the mouth can be elevated a little by using Botox in the muscle in the corner of the mouth in a procedure called 'a corner-of-the-mouth liplift.' It's a nice little non-surgical way of getting that groove between the corner of the mouth and the cheek where the lip looks like it's downturned."

He adds that efforts to achieve this with facelift can backfire by resulting in "a strange appearance sometimes seen in movie stars."

For the lower part of the face and neck, he uses neurotoxins to improve banding and other effects that occur either before or after facelift.

"Typically, we try to treat these surgically, but there are people who can heal those muscles and get that band back, so Botox can be a great adjunct to make sure you're getting good neck contour and not getting playsmal bands."

More than a supplement

Although Dr. Maas says he generally regards neurotoxins as supplemental to surgery, he considers browlift an actual part of the treatment.

"This is because we believe it helps us assure a better outcome from the surgery," he says.

"Prior to surgery we pre-treat patients with Botox to reduce the activity of the muscles that pull the eyebrows down. Therefore, there's nothing to pull the eyebrows back down either during the lifting procedure or during healing. This is an effective way to help to assure that the patient gets a long-term result that is not affected by the downward pull of the brow depressor muscles."

Dr. Maas says he cuts the corrugators during the surgery itself as a permanent way to assure no future activity. However, he admits that some fibers may elude his scalpel, and that the body's own healing may restore some of the severed muscles.

More permanent?

Dr. Maas says that contrary to the belief that Botox is completely temporary, he and some of his colleagues have observed that this may not be entirely true.

"Our impression is that with continued use of the therapy over time, the interval between dosing actually increases. We believe that may occur because many people seem to retrain their muscles so they no longer form those deep forehead furrows. This is true for crow's feet too."

Noting that data is currently being gathered to support these observations, Dr. Maas adds, "Theories exist that the muscle weakens and atrophies to some extent when it's not in use. Another theory is that there's some central nervous system feedback loop that's interrupted."

For more information: Ahn M, Catten M, Maas CS: Temporal browlift using Botulinum toxin. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. 2000;105: 1129-1135.

2005-11-18T22:25:00.000-05:00

Colorado Springs, Colo. -- From advances in cell membrane regeneration to the expansion of cosmetic filler options, the list of breakthroughs from which physicians are or soon will be benefiting is staggering. Nevertheless, one always must separate salesmanship from science.

Among the most exciting developments for plastic surgery is technology that exploits regeneration biology. It likely will change the way physicians repair tissues, according to Rod J. Rohrich, M.D., professor and chair man, plastic surgery, University o f Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

With this technology, he says, "nerve axions could actually be healed so that you can truly repair nerves and eventually allow patients to regain function from their nerve and even spinal cord injuries. If you can control how wounds heal, you can potentially eliminate scarring and fibrosis. That will be a huge arena for burn surgery, trauma surgery and cosmetic surgery. That's an arena in wound healing that s here to stay, wherein we will be able to eventually regenerate some body parts via gene regulation. These advances could happen in our lifetime, possibly within seven to 10 years."

In the stem cell area, undifferentiated stromal cells show equally breathtaking promise for future research. They can be transformed into virtually any kind of cell, from bone marrow and nerves to organ and muscle tissue.

The profusion of fillers now or soon to be available, on the other hand, is more of a mixed bag. For example, Sculptra (poly-L-lactic acid; Dermik Laboratories), approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in patients with altered immune systems, will be used off-label for normal patients.

As a moderate-to-long-term filler, Dr. Rohrich says, "it may last several years. But there may be some problems with granulomas and how it interacts with patients with normal immune systems. There are pending studies to assess the long-term effects of this filler."

Later this year, Artecoll/ArteFill (polymethylmethacrylate; Artes Medical) could reach the U.S. marketplace. Already, it has earned FDA panel approval for nasolabial fold augmentation. Radiesse (formerly Radiance; calcium hydroxyapatite; BioForm Medical), he adds, holds promise for long-lasting augmentation of nasolabial folds if properly injected.

"One must exercise caution when using it in the lips because of the potential for long-term nodularity," Dr. Rohrich tells Cosmetic Surgery Times. "My overall recommendation for these longer lasting, almost-permanent fillers is that permanent fillers can end up with permanent problems. So you need to be very careful about that."

He recommends a similarly skeptical approach to radiofrequency ablative technologies, at least for now. "What's lacking here is long-term follow-up with consistent data from multiple studies done by centers that have not had a financial relationship with these devices," he says.

In similar fashion, the jury is still out regarding Aptos thread (Kolster Methods) lifts involving barbed sutures.

He says, "The use of these self-anchoring barbed sutures potentially has some advantages. However, I have concerns about whether it will really work long-term. Will it stretch through the tissue?"

Dr. Rohrich takes a critical view of diode laser-assisted liposuction, a technique upon which he and his colleagues recently reported (Plast Reconstr Surg. 2004 May; 113 (6): 1796-1804). Previous research suggested the laser could boost liposuction results.

However, he says, "when we performed experiments and a clinical study, it didn't have a beneficial effect. Its application in plastic surgery is questionable."

Likewise, Dr. Rohrich says physicians should be wary of mesotherapy, a method that, theoretically, helps patients by injecting a wide variety of homeopathic remedies, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants through several hundred individual injection sites.

"It's never been proven by any known scientific study," he says. "There are inconsistent formulas, and it borders on human experimentation because there's no good data from peer-reviewed studies comparing it to a placebo"

Dr. Rohrich also warns against using fillers and other treatments that have no FDA-approved indications (in contrast to off-label applications of FDA-approved materials) outside of FDA-controlled clinical trials.

Conversely, he believes noninvasive fat removal will provide cosmetic surgeons with a pleasant surprise. This technology works via focused ultrasound, allowing physicians to remove small amounts of fat by running a transducer over patients' skin.

"In multiple sessions" Dr. Rohrich says, "one can potentially reduce up to 500 cc in one session. That's really going to be exciting. The key is tissue selectivity, which allows you to melt the fat without harming the skin. If it really does do that, then you could potentially perform mild to moderate body contouring without surgery." Equipment now being tested for this purpose comes from UltraShape (Tel Aviv, Israel) and LipoSonix (Bothell, Wash.).

Disclosure: Dr. Rohrich reports no financial interests related to this article. His presentation was sponsored by a joint emerging trends committee of the Aesthetic Society Education and Research Foundation (ASERF) and the Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation (PSEF).

Dr. Rohrich is chair of the Innovative Technology Committee of the ASERF. Dr. Leroy Young chairs the PSEF Emerging Trends Committee.

For more information:

Fillers:

www.drugs.com/nda_sculptra_040326.html

www.artecollusa.com

Nonsurgical Fat Removal:

www.ultrashape.com

www.liposonix.com

2005-11-16T18:59:00.000-05:00

The nasal ala is a common site of cutaneous malignancy, and it is often deformed or resected during oncologic extirpation. (1) Local transposition flaps such as the bilobed flap are often used to close small (<1.5 cm) defects, but for larger defects and for those that involve vestibular lining, the melolabial or nasolabial flap is more appropriate. (2) Defects and flaps that involve the alar facial crease often result in blunting that may require later correction. In an effort to recreate the alar facial groove, a second stage procedure is performed as early as 6 to 8 weeks following surgery. Care must be taken to make incisions within the demarcations of the anatomic subunits and to create symmetry. The pedicle is divided and the flap is thinned of subcutaneous tissue. The edges of the incision are inverted and sewn to the subcutaneous tissue layer in an effort to recreate a sulcus. The small submillimeter gap between the edges is allowed to granulate and contract to further enhance sulcus formation.

A 66-year-old woman with history of facial skin cancers presented to the senior author (JRT) after she had undergone Mobs' chemosurgery for removal of a basal cell carcinoma on the right nasal ala (figure, A). A superiorly based melolabial flap was designed and executed to recreate an external and internal nasal lining (figure, B). A cartilage graft was also placed within the folded graft to augment lateral wall support. Postoperative closure was achieved, but the alar facial crease was blunted (figure, C). Six months after the initial procedure, the alar facial groove was recreated in the manner described earlier (figure, D). At the 1-year follow-up, the result was satisfactory (figure, E).

[FIGURE OMITTED]

References

(1.) Kopf AW. Computer analysis of 3531 basal-cell carcinomas of the skin. J Dermatol 1979;6:267-81.

(2.) Zitelli JA. The bilobed flap for nasal reconstruction. Arch Dermatol 1989;125:957-9.