Dentists Doing Dermatology? Cosmetics Lure Docs of All Types

March 3rd, 2015

dentists-doing-dermatology-cosmetics-lure-docs-all-types-n314271

Family practitioners, gynecologists and even dentists are getting into the cosmetic procedure business, and dermatologists say they’re seeing the side effects.

A dozen skin doctors from around the country told NBC News that they’ve had to fix the mistakes of physicians who are dabbling in their specialty — and cutting into their business.

They inject Botox, plump out wrinkles with fillers and zap age spots with lasers, sometimes with nothing more than a few weekend courses under their belt.

As the two sides wage what one doctor called a “turf war,” there are no firm statistics on how many M.D.’s are drifting into dermatology or how many complications result.

But California grandmother Stephanie Goelzer said she didn’t need data to see the dangers. All she had to do was look in the mirror.

“I do want people to know what happened to me,” Goelzer said. “And the reason I want them to know is so it doesn’t happen to them.”

The 57-year-old Livermore, California, resident decided to get a little Botox so she would look her best for the family photos that would be taken after the impending birth of her first grandchild.

Image: Stephanie Goelzer, husband, and granddaughterCOURTESY OF STEPHANIE GOELZER

Stephanie Goelzer with her husband and granddaughter.

She went to the Silhouette Med Spa in her town, where a physician’s assistant injected her with the wrinkle-vanisher and then asked her what other problems she might want to erase.

“I did have a little spot on my cheek,” she said.

Dr. Tam Nguyen, a family practitioner who is not a board-certified dermatologist or plastic surgeon, took a look and told her he could get rid of the spot and also take care of some veins near her temple for $200.

He injected her with a chemical using a technique called sclerotherapy that experts say is most commonly reserved for leg veins.

The result — blistering, swelling, bruising and pain — ensured she wouldn’t be posing for photos any time soon.

“It was a traumatic experience,” Goelzer said. “For three weeks I didn’t leave the house.”

Goelzer said she didn’t know Nguyen — who referred to the people he treats at the med spa as “clients” instead of patients — wasn’t a dermatologist. His business card said M.D. and had “aesthetic specialist” after his name.

His website boasted that he had “lectured” at the American Academy of Dermatology — though he later admitted it was just a “poster presentation,” a visual display he contributed to a gathering. After the academy sent him a letter, he removed the claim from his website.

Nguyen told NBC News that he had informed Goelzer of the risks of the procedure, including possible bruising, and that the outcome fell on “the bruising spectrum.” He said he does think he made a mistake and stands behind his work.

He said his cosmetic training consisted of six workshops or conferences that lasted between two and four days apiece and two one-day laser courses.

“It’s the same training that even dermatologists get after they graduate,” he said.

Not exactly, according to Dr. Jerome Potozkin, the dermatologist to whom Nguyen referred Goelzer after his own procedure.

NBC

The Silhouette Med Spa, where Stephanie Goelzer received sclerotherapy on her face.

Potozkin says that dermatologists may take courses, but only after they have completed three years of intense training in their field called a residency. “You don’t learn this in a weekend,” Potozkin said.

The American Academy of Dermatology suggests that patients like Goelzer stick to board-certified specialists.

“A dermatologist is a licensed medical doctor and the only residency-trained physician fully educated in the science of cutaneous medicine, which includes medical and surgical conditions of the skin, hair, nails and mucous membranes,” the academy said in a statement.

The American Society for Dermatologic Surgery Association says a doctor’s credentials, including whether they are board-certified, should be made clear in any advertising.

“These cosmetic procedures are real surgical procedures that can have real complications that are detrimental to the patient,” said Anthony Rossi, a dermatologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, who recently treated a woman for a burn on her upper lip after she underwent laser hair removal at a medical spa.

“There is an increased risk of complications when they are done by improperly trained personnel and the patient should be fully aware. Also when these procedures are done outside of a professional medical setting, there may be a higher risk of infection.”

The International Association for Physicians in Aesthetic Medicine — which runs training courses and emphasizes the extra revenue doctors can make in its materials — says there is no reason cosmetic surgery should be the exclusive domain of one specialty.

“If a dermatologist can have their nurse perform cosmetic injectable treatments, then a properly trained physician, who has much more medical training, will be more than capable of also performing these procedures,” said executive director Jeff Russell.

Nguyen — who said he went into cosmetic to “do good” not to make money — said that while he believes only cardiologists should work on the heart and only neurologists should work on the brain, dermatologists shouldn’t have a monopoly.

“There will be a turf war,” he said.

If that’s the case, Goelzer knows what side she’s on.

“Don’t make my mistake,” she said. “Don’t do what I did. Be smart. Do your homework. Check out exactly what’s being shot into your face…and get a second opinion.”

Is Botox the right choice for you?

February 6th, 2015

Botulinum toxin therapy is one of the most popular cosmetic treatments available. To help you decide whether this treatment is right for you and to have the treatment performed safely, the AAD provides the following facts.
Warnings
Buying botulinum toxin online jeopardizes your health. This product should require a medical license to purchase. If you do not need to show proof of a medical license, the product differs greatly from what a dermatologist uses.
Injecting a product that you can buy without showing a medical license can cause serious complications. Cases of long-term muscle paralysis, Bell’s palsy, and permanent eye damage have occurred.
Getting botulinum toxin injections in a non-medical setting also can be extremely dangerous. To protect your health, you should never get botulinum toxin injections at a:
Non-medical spa.
Party.
Salon.
Someone’s home.
What happens during this procedure?
A dermatologist injects very small amounts of purified botulinum toxin.
When treating fine lines and wrinkles, the dermatologist injects botulinum toxin into targeted muscles on the face or neck. This temporarily relaxes the targeted muscles, causing fine lines and wrinkles to diminish. The effect lasts about 3 to 4 months — and sometimes longer.
When treating excessive sweating, a dermatologist injects directly into the skin on the underarm. A single treatment can provide up to 6 months of relief from excessive sweating.
Will I lack facial expressions after treatment?
Dermatologists want their patients to look natural. To do this, they inject just enough to weaken and relax the targeted muscles without affecting other muscles. This allows patients to maintain their natural facial expressions.
Will I lose my sense of feeling where I have the injections?
No. This treatment does not affect your ability to feel.
When is it safe to have another treatment?
You can have another treatment when the excessive sweating or lines and wrinkles return. With repeat treatment for lines and wrinkles, the muscle may thin, leading to longer-lasting results.
Is there downtime?
Most people return to the everyday activities immediately. As soon as you leave the treatment room, you can apply makeup.
What must I do after the procedure?
To prevent the injected substance from spreading to areas where you do not want it, you’ll need to take a few precautions:
Do not rub or massage the areas where you received the injections.
If you apply makeup, take care not to press or rub it in.
Wait two hours before you engage in strenuous physical activity. This includes lifting heavy items, working out, and any other physical activity that raises your heart rate.
What are the possible side effects?
If a patient develops side effects, these tend to be mild and temporary. The injections, rather than the botulinum toxin itself, cause most mild side effects. For example, a patient may occasionally bruise. If this happens, the bruising lasts about 1 week.
After receiving injections, people have experienced:
Swelling.
Redness.
Soreness.
Bruising.
Mild headache (uncommon).
Weakness in a neighboring muscle, leading to a temporarily droopy brow or eyelid (rare).
Signs and symptoms of botulism, including problems breathing, swallowing, or speaking (very rare).
What is the safety record for this procedure?
More than 20 years ago, a dermatologist and his wife, an ophthalmologist, began using botulinum toxin therapy to treat signs of aging. Today, medical professionals inject millions of patients each year.
When used by a dermatologist to treat signs of aging or excessive sweating, no serious side effects like problems breathing or swallowing have ever been reported.
Dermatologists continue to make patient safety their No. 1 priority. Each year, the AAD offers continuing medical education sessions that include best practices for treating patients with this treatment. Dermatologists continue to make new research breakthroughs in the use of botulinum toxin therapy.

Botulinum toxin therapy is one of the most popular cosmetic treatments available. To help you decide whether this treatment is right for you and to have the treatment performed safely, the AAD provides the following facts.

Warnings178107680

Buying botulinum toxin online jeopardizes your health. This product should require a medical license to purchase. If you do not need to show proof of a medical license, the product differs greatly from what a dermatologist uses.

Injecting a product that you can buy without showing a medical license can cause serious complications. Cases of long-term muscle paralysis, Bell’s palsy, and permanent eye damage have occurred.

Getting botulinum toxin injections in a non-medical setting also can be extremely dangerous. To protect your health, you should never get botulinum toxin injections at a:

  • Non-medical spa.
  • Party.
  • Salon.
  • Someone’s home.

What happens during this procedure?

A dermatologist injects very small amounts of purified botulinum toxin.

When treating fine lines and wrinkles, the dermatologist injects botulinum toxin into targeted muscles on the face or neck. This temporarily relaxes the targeted muscles, causing fine lines and wrinkles to diminish. The effect lasts about 3 to 4 months — and sometimes longer.

When treating excessive sweating, a dermatologist injects directly into the skin on the underarm. A single treatment can provide up to 6 months of relief from excessive sweating.

Will I lack facial expressions after treatment?

Dermatologists want their patients to look natural. To do this, they inject just enough to weaken and relax the targeted muscles without affecting other muscles. This allows patients to maintain their natural facial expressions.

Will I lose my sense of feeling where I have the injections?

No. This treatment does not affect your ability to feel.

When is it safe to have another treatment?

You can have another treatment when the excessive sweating or lines and wrinkles return. With repeat treatment for lines and wrinkles, the muscle may thin, leading to longer-lasting results.

Is there downtime?

Most people return to the everyday activities immediately. As soon as you leave the treatment room, you can apply makeup.

What must I do after the procedure?

To prevent the injected substance from spreading to areas where you do not want it, you’ll need to take a few precautions:

  • Do not rub or massage the areas where you received the injections.
  • If you apply makeup, take care not to press or rub it in.
  • Wait two hours before you engage in strenuous physical activity. This includes lifting heavy items, working out, and any other physical activity that raises your heart rate.

What are the possible side effects?

If a patient develops side effects, these tend to be mild and temporary. The injections, rather than the botulinum toxin itself, cause most mild side effects. For example, a patient may occasionally bruise. If this happens, the bruising lasts about 1 week.

After receiving injections, people have experienced:

  • Swelling.
  • Redness.
  • Soreness.
  • Bruising.
  • Mild headache (uncommon).
  • Weakness in a neighboring muscle, leading to a temporarily droopy brow or eyelid (rare).
  • Signs and symptoms of botulism, including problems breathing, swallowing, or speaking (very rare).

What is the safety record for this procedure?

More than 20 years ago, a dermatologist and his wife, an ophthalmologist, began using botulinum toxin therapy to treat signs of aging. Today, medical professionals inject millions of patients each year.

When used by a dermatologist to treat signs of aging or excessive sweating, no serious side effects like problems breathing or swallowing have ever been reported.

Dermatologists continue to make patient safety their No. 1 priority. Each year, the AAD offers continuing medical education sessions that include best practices for treating patients with this treatment. Dermatologists continue to make new research breakthroughs in the use of botulinum toxin therapy.

The benefits of Vitamin C for the skin!!!

January 16th, 2015

Secret #1: Vitamin C

Vitamin C is critical for your body and plays an important role in maintaining healthy, resilient skin. While young skin is full of vitamin C, aging skin naturally loses this nutrient over time. Other factors like exposure to UV light, pollutants and cigarette smoke compound the decline of vitamin C, contributing to signs of aging. The good news is that you can fight back by replenishing your skin’s vitamin C levels to help to combat and even reverse time’s effect on your face.

Wrinkles

One of the most powerful functions of vitamin C is its role in the production of collagen, a protein that gives your skin its elasticity. As you age, collagen breaks down and wrinkles begin to form. Stabilizing your skin’s levels of vitamin C can help to counteract wrinkle formation by increasing collagen production.

Age Spots

When it comes to treating age spots, you don’t need chemical peels and lasers – it turns out that vitamin C can have almost the same results! Age spots are essentially sun damage, and vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant, shown to reduce the number of sunburned cells as well as reverse age-related damage to skin. While it’s not a replacement for sunscreen, vitamin C protects against and may repair UV damage like discoloration and fine lines.

Your Anti-Aging Rx

Taking vitamin C through a supplement or food is beneficial to your health, but to specifically target signs of aging on your face, topical vitamin C is best. In fact, applying vitamin C to the skin can be 20 times more effective than taking it orally. Topical vitamin C is sold in a wide range of products from serum to lotions. Look for products that contain between 3% and 10% of vitamin C and include the active ingredient ascorbic acid or L-ascorbic acid. Pay extra attention to the packaging – all antioxidants, including vitamin C, are vulnerable to deterioration in the presence of air and light. Unless the product is in an airtight and opaque package, don’t buy it!

Apply topical vitamin C once a day, ideally after you’ve exfoliated in the morning to utilize vitamin C’s sun-protecting properties. On rare occasions, topical vitamin C can cause some mild dryness or flaking. Counteract this side effect with a moisturizer. This topical nutrient is safe to combine with all your other skin care products and even works synergistically with other antioxidants. For a super powerful anti-aging punch, combine vitamins C and E together.

The length of time from when you start using vitamin C until you see results varies with each person. While some people see changes as soon as 2-4 weeks, it may take others 6-8 weeks to see a difference. After around 6 months, you’ll reach the maximum benefits.Revision_Vitamin_C_Lotion_30__95566.1405418964.1280.1280

December 17th, 2014

Vanquish

Click on the image to watch Whoopi Goldberg discusses her experience with Dr. Doris Day about Vanquish on The View. Whoopi lost inches off her waistline!

December 1st, 2014
Secret to Kate Bosworth’s Flawless Skin... Oxygenetix

Secret to Kate Bosworth’s Flawless Skin... Oxygenetix

One demand she has made is having Hollywood’s best-kept secret, Oxygenetix, on set at all times. The official make-up line for 17 Hollywood film studios.
Make-up artist Rebeccah Delchambre says, “Kate is not the only actress who demands Oxygenetix – it’s simply the best foundation on the market, on set or for everyday use.”