Cosmeticsurgeon.co.uk - UK Cosmetic Surgeons

There are many different types of cosmetic procedures and they are divided into two categories: surgical and non surgical. Surgical procedures include breast augmentation, liposuction, and tummy tucks. Non-surgical procedures include accent laser treatment, Botox, and collagen injections. A non-surgical procedure that is becoming more and more popular is chemical peels.

The Press Association reports that chemical peels have actually become more popular than face lifts. The number of chemical peels performed in 2009 was three times the procedures performed the previous year. The Harley Medical Group’s Obagi Blue Peel is a treatment which gets rid of blemishes, acne scars, uneven pigmentation, sun damage, and wrinkles. It has been called by some the ‘recessions facelift’ due to
the increased popularity of the treatments. Liz Dale, director of the Harley Medical Group, said, “Non-surgical procedures, which saw big growth last year, have continued to be a strong area for us and now account for 32 percent of all our business.”

Chemical peels are a skin resurfacing procedure, in which the top layer of skin is removed so that the body can replace it with new skin. The new skin will grow back without whatever problem had been on the old skin. There are three different classifications for chemical peels. There are light peels which are basically
exfoliants. Intermediate peels are good for fine lines and superficial hyper pigmentation from sun damage. Deep peels can remove deep lines, medium sized wrinkles, and darker pigmentation. Many people find that they do not need to get a face-lift and are happy to settle for a chemical peel which makes their facial skin
look fresh and young.

In the plastic surgery field chemical peels are indeed increasing in popularity but the most popular cosmetic procedure is still, by far, breast augmentation. The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons reported that in 2009 there were a total of 8,565 breast augmentation procedures, in the UK. Studies done in January of 2010 also show that breast augmentation should prove to be the most popular
procedure in 2010. The Press Association reported that 75 percent of breast up lift patients in 2009 were mothers.

Undergoing a plastic surgery procedure can help to make a person look and feel young. Chemical peel are a way for some people to achieve this without a surgical procedure. The popularity of these effective yet non-invasive treatments has been increasing quickly and shows no sign of slowing.

 

Experts have decided to investigate the possibilities of a specially designed laser treatment aimed at improving the skin condition of patients with darker skin suffering from acne scars.

Dark skin with acne scars has always been particularly difficult to treat. Usually, in order to treat acne scars the outer layer of the skin is removed with lasers or by chemical peeling. However, in this case dark-skinned patients develop a discolouration.
 
The new laser method would not remove any skin, but induce collagen in the deepest layers of the tissue to grow., thus causing the skin to become smoother without damaging it.

“This is breaking new ground in that there’s been very little research published in this area,“ commented Dr Natalie Semchyshyn, assistant professor of dermatology at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine.
“Most of the studies involving non-ablative lasers for acne scarring have been done on patients with lighter skin – yet an increasing proportion of the population…has darker skin tones.”

The initial trial will last for 18 months and if it brings positive results, it could be a revolutionary way to treat people suffering from acne without surgical procedures.

Are dermal fillers an effective treatment for acne scarring?

It has been announced that a new research will be investigating the effectiveness of ArteFill, a non-resorbable dermal filler, as a treatment aimed at improving the condition of skin affected by acne scars.

The product is originally intended to treat smile wrinkles, but some specialists claim it could work just as well for non-invasive cosmetic procedures for treatment of acne scars.

Florida-based dermatologist Dr James Spencer will be conducting the research by using the filler on patients suffering from acne scars and calling them back in after one month to evaluate the results of the treatment.

Dr Spencer, who is also a professor of clinical dermatology at the Mt Sinai School of Medicine, added that the patients will be monitored for another year and the analysed results will be published in a cosmetic surgery journal.

“I use temporary fillers in my practice to treat acne scars and other types of scars,” claimed Dr Spencer. “Unfortunately, temporary fillers necessitate expensive repeat injections so a permanent dermal filler would be desirable to correct a permanent scar. “I’m using ArteFill in my medical practice for smile lines and I can now document the use of ArteFill for acne and other facial scars,” he said. This method could be useful to a number of patients who suffer from acne scars.