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A new non-invasive procedure has been launched in Canada which looks set to shake the foundations of the cosmetic and plastic surgery industry. 

It claims to offer long-lasting results with minimal maintenance; as well as smoothing wrinkles it is also designed to plump up fallen skin which has lost its volume due to illness or the natural detrimental effects of the ageing process.

Known as Sculptra, the new kid on the block is said to work progressively by naturally stimulating the body to produce its own collagen (rather than simply injecting the collagen in as many non-invasive surgical procedures do). Three treatments over a two or three month period should, according to the company’s own press release, result in a natural and youthful look which could well be much more subtle than some of the treatments which are already on the market.  The director of the Toronto Cosmetic Skin Surgery Centre, Dr. Sheldon Pollack, has spoken out about the innovation, saying that: “The arrival of Sculptra is great news because it represents a unique niche in facial rejuvenation that yields smoother, longer-lasting results. “Sculptra has been used in the cosmetic dermatology field since 1999 in more than 30 countries. It’s a safe, long-lasting, non-surgical option for Canadians aged 40+ wanting to significantly reverse the effects of aging by several years.”
There are warnings of possible side-effects from the treatment but these are no different to the ones which are warned about when undergoing most procedures. At the site of the injections, there could be bruising, swelling, redness or mild discomfort and, of course, bleeding as the skin itself is being pierced by the needle. However, these are relatively minor side-effects on the road to a much more confident and younger-looking face.  Small papules may also develop around the area of treatment, especially in an over concentrated area, but these are often only visible if pressure is applied to the skin.

The anti-ageing non invasive treatment area of the surgery world is one of the biggest and, with the growth of new and innovative techniques such as this one; it is likely to keep on growing. As results become more natural, and the stigma around having surgery subsides, many more people are likely to take the plunge into looking younger. Would-be patients in Canada will certainly be excited by this news and the industry may see a profit boost as a result.

It has been suggested that an increasing percentage of people are opting for non-surgical cosmetic procedures in order to see them through the difficult financial times until they can afford invasive treatments again.

Recent studies have shown that plastic surgery industry has not been struck by the worldwide economic crisis just yet, but researchers have already noticed an increased tendency towards tummy tucks and non-surgical facial treatments.

A new report published in the Miami Herald has revealed that there is growing demand for procedures such as non-surgical liposuction and Botox injections.

Dr Carlos Wolf, plastic surgeon and journalist, commented to the publication: “People are not willing to give up all of their cosmetic care.”

“We have found more people are coming in but they are not willing to take big-ticket items. They are doing minimally invasive procedures, things that will not keep them from going to work, with not much down time.”

These observations are possibly linked to a warning issued by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) for plastic surgery patients not to cut down on the costs of cosmetic treatments at the expense of quality.
 
Dr John Canady, the president of ASPS, recommended: “The search for bottom-basement prices may impact safety and patients should proceed carefully before putting their faces in the hands of just anyone.”

Cosmetic Surgery Flourishing Despite The Current Recession

BBC News is reporting that cosmetic surgery is still managing to hold its own despite the economic downturn, with the number of those going under the knife increasing as ever.

The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) has released figures showing that the rise in procedures is much higher than expected, including a 1,000% rise in male breast reduction surgeries since 2003. It includes a 44% rise from the previous year and a total of 323 operations in 2008.

Unsurprisingly, breast augmentation procedures for women played a large role in the rise as well, with the amount of surgeries undertaken increasing by 30% in 2008 and a total of 8,000 operations.

But the amount of men undergoing cosmetic surgery has also been on the rise, as is consistent with reports to the same effect in October. As well as opting for breast reduction procedures to treat the effects of a condition known as gynaecomastia, men have also been going under the knife to receive ear correction surgery (otoplasty), eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty) and brow lifts.

It seems that even as people’s wallets tighten, the demand for cosmetic treatments remains strong, with the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons referring to a number of possible reasons.

Rajiv Grover who is a consultant plastic surgeon for BAAPS as well as the Secretary in charge of the UK national audit of cosmetic surgery accounts for some of it, “There has been a dramatic rise in the number of procedures such as male breast reduction and brow lifts. This may be due to heightened media attention, which has allowed men to realise the positive outcomes that can be achieved.”

The results do not follow suit for liposuction, with figures down as well as those for women undergoing otoplasty, which Grover also refers to,

“It is also the first year since records began that we have seen a fall in liposuction and eyelid surgery, which may be due to the great number of non-surgical alternatives now available for those areas.”

The figures also show a 1.5% rise in rhinoplasty (nose job) procedures, a 30% rise in abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) procedures and a 1.7% rise in face/neck lifts. In 2008, a total of 34,187 procedures were carried out by BAAPS members.

Experts have warned that although dermal fillers are categorized as non-surgical cosmetic procedures, it is still important to address only fully qualified and experienced surgeons to carry out the treatment.

Face to Face, a recent documentary shown by ITV, pointed out how important it is to find a fully qualified plastic surgeon after deciding to undergo a procedure involving dermal fillers.
 
As a rule, a medical doctor is considered qualified enough to perform cosmetic procedures after having spent six years in undergraduate and two years in postgraduate education as well as a further two years of plastic surgery experience, according to the British Association of Cosmetic Doctors (BACD).

Dr John Curran, who is a cosmetic doctor and the president of BACD, pointed out: “Without clear regulation it appears it is a ‘buyers beware’ market open to abuse. It is clear from the Face to Face documentary that the prescribing and administration of dermal fillers needs to be regulated.”

Dr Patrick Bowler confirmed how important it is that patients are only treated by a fully qualified medical doctor, dentist or nurse. He said: “Cosmetic dermatology must, no ifs or buts, be delivered in a safe medical environment by a competent, well trained healthcare professional who makes your interests as the patient his or her first concern. It may be cosmetic but it is still medicine.”

A research has reported that botox injections can really make a positive impact on your skin.

The study was published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology. It investigated the skin condition of two patients who had their wrinkles and fine lines treated with Botox injections, a non-surgical cosmetic procedure.

The research was of very small scale, but it was noticed that botox had caused positive effects on the quality of both the patients‘ skin conditions. The patients were monitored for a total of 7 years.

The participants did not notice any new wrinkles forming and enjoyed smooth, youthful and naturally looking skin. “I have found that with short-term use, expression lines still remain, but over the long term creases actually disappear, meaning the smoothing effect does not wear off when the botox does.”

Another way Botox injections are used in cosmetic surgery is stopping underarm sweating.

Media has broadcasted an ad for a ‘cosmaceutical’ product for the first time in the UK.

Restylane, the medical product shown in the commercial, is categorized as ‘cosmaceutical’ since it is a crossover between cosmetic and pharmaceutical use. The non-surgical cosmetic product is an injectable dermal filler which evens out fine lines occurring around the mouth and nose of the patient.

Colette Skilling, marketing director of Q-Med UK that manufactures Restylane, commented: “Restylane was the first dermal filler to market over 12 years ago and is now the leading dermal filler worldwide with over nine million treatments performed.”

“Our press advertising has been very successful over the years, but with research now showing increased consumer dissatisfaction with creams, we believed that the time was right as market leader to take the initiative and be first to television with a clinically proven and credible alternative.”

Datamonitor reveals that British people invest more money in plastic surgery than in other European countries. The total annual expenditure on cosmetic treatments is predicted to increase from £497 million in 2006 to £1.5 billion in 2011.

Aside from the newly launched Restylane, Allegan’s Botox is the most famous filler in the cosmaceutical area.

According to the researchers, chemical peels that use alpha-hydroxy or beta-hydroxy acid are an effective way to treat mild and moderate spots on the face.

Scientists at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine used the two different types of acid peels in 20 patients, who were averagely around 24 years old.

The volunteers Participants were treated with a chemical peel every second week for six weeks, with one side of the face being treated with alpha-hydroxy acid and the other with beta-hydroxy acid.
Both types of chemical peel significantly reduced acne lesions within the first two weeks and, one month after the final treatment, 94 per cent of patients had a good or fair improvement on both sides of the face.

After a further month, the sides of the face treated with alpha-hydroxy had developed a few new lesions, but 75 per cent of patients were still deemed to show good or fair improvement.

The findings are published in the journal Dermatologic Surgery and Dr Dee Anna Glaser, vice chair and professor of dermatology, described them as “good news”. “This provides more options for patients and doctors to choose from when it comes to tailoring a treatment programme for each individual,” she added.

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.

Specialists have concluded that the quality of lip augmentation procedures could be significantly improved by separating lips into certain zones.

Lip enlargement, which is a non-surgical cosmetic treatment, is very popular among women seeking to become more attractive, since plump, full lips are seen as a sign of good looks.

The authors of the study, which was published in the Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, notice: “There has been a dramatic increase in cosmetic surgery in western culture in the past few decades, with an increasing focus on achieving aesthetic ideals and maintaining a youthful appearance.”

A New York Centre for Facial Plastic Surgery researcher who conducted the study performed 137 lip enhancement treatments on 66 patients. The lips were divided into 15 separate zones and injected with a gel filler Restylane.

Dr Andrew Jacono claimed that the technique added precision to the procedure by enabling the surgeon to have more control over lip shape and size. The patients rated their satisfaction with the procedure very highly, since the average score was 4.5, on a scale from 0 to 5. Dr Jacono summed up: “This technique was met with high patient satisfaction and no adverse effects.”

BAAPS Reveals New Statistic To Highlight Risks

An increasing number of doctors are turning away patients who have unrealistic expectations regarding cosmetic surgery, according to a study by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS).

The study was carried out to highlight why some patients might not be suitable for cosmetic surgery with a third of surgeons reporting that some patients have unrealistic expectations regarding the treatments, including the notion that the procedure will be the solution to all of their problems.

It comes in light of a tragedy in December in which a woman suffered a stroke during surgery due to high blood pressure, a condition that should have prevented her from undergoing the surgery in the first place. Surgeons want to highlight the danger of being taken in by marketing campaigns offering cheap procedures,

“This unnecessary tragedy reiterates the importance of a thorough consultation with a qualified aesthetic plastic surgeon” says Nigel Mercer a consultant plastic surgeon and President of BAAPS, “In the current economic climate, some unscrupulous clinics might be tempted to boost their numbers by operating on unsuitable patients so it’s important the public not be seduced by marketing gimmicks and financial incentives.”

The report also showed that surgeons were turning a number of people away because of medical conditions. “There is risk in any surgical procedure but this can be minimised by choosing the right practitioner who can evaluate an accurate history and educate the patient about the choices available,” adds Mercer, “As a surgeon, the patient’s health and well-being should always come first and sometimes that means turning that person down for cosmetic surgery – no matter how much they want it or for how long they’ve been saving up for it.”

The study also showed that people were arriving at surgeries with photos of celebrities and supermodels, hoping to attain the perfect look. This is despite advice given by various sources that people should not have unrealistic expectations and that instead of aiming for the ‘perfect’ look; they should be looking for an ‘improved’ look.

All in all, nearly half of surgeons turned away one in ten patients in the last twelve months with some turning away up to 30 % for the reasons mentioned.

The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons is a non profit organisation that seeks to educate and advance the field of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.

Source: BAAPS Press Release