Cosmetic and Laser Surgery : What’s New ?

Keeping pace with ‘Ready Made’ & ‘Instant’ lifestyle

Dr. Uddhav A. Patil

MS MCh (Plast. Surg.) MACPhleb.

Cosmetic & Laser Surgeon

9422414324

Better control of infective diseases, improved living conditions, availability of advanced medical care and health awareness has led to increased life expectancy in developed and developing countries like ours.  Now a days, people are actively working in their seventies, eighties and even in nineties.  One’s desire to remain young is a natural instinct.  In most instances it is the body ageing which overtakes ageing of the mind.  And precisely, these are the people who seek help from aesthetic medicine and surgery.  So on one side we have increasing demand for cosmetic procedures and surgeries and on the other side these people do not want to lose their working days.  This has led to development of many so called ‘Office Procedures’.

A) Cosmetic or Aesthetic Surgery

1    1)      Implants Vs Autologous Material

Invention of medical grade silicone has revolutionized the aesthetic surgical practice.  A photogenic face is one which has ‘Prominent Features’.  This means that the nose, cheek bones and the chin is proportionately prominent.    This has become easy with the advent of pre-fabricated facial and body implants.  To name a few they are available for elevating nasal dorsum, to raise cheek bones, to augment chin either centrally or to make it prominent and wide with extended chin implant.  Mandibular ramus implants give male face its masculine square appearance.  Body implants are mainly for the female body and consists of breast implants, gluteal implants and calf implants.  Pectoral implants are available for males as well.

 

  Nose & Chin Silicone Implant

2   2)      Dimple Creation

 Everybody will agree that a dimple on cheek adds to the beauty of the face but unfortunately not everyone is bestowed with it.  Now a dimple can be created on cheek by a short cosmetic surgical procedure performed under local anaesthesia from inside the cheek.  Leaving aside the surgical technique, what is most important is to study and pre-visualize what type of dimple will suit that particular face.  Dimple can be a subtle tiny and shallow one which will suit an oval face with non chubby cheeks of a thin girl.  A long, narrow and prominent dimple suits face of a middle aged lady on whose face already a prominent laugh line or naso-labial fold is existing.  For a chubby cheek dimple needs to be short, broad and deep.

 

                Unilateral Dimple Creation

3    2)      Natural Beauty Spot Creation

A jet black, perfectly round, raised dome shaped mole on the cheek, chin or upper lip of a lady’s face definitely increases her face value.  When such moles occur naturally at certain strategic locations on the face, they are known as ‘Beauty Spots’ and even have been linked to the identity of certain celebrities.  Now if a lady wants a beauty spot and has a mole anywhere else on her body it can be transferred to the desired strategic location on the face permanently.  If someone has a mole on the face but it is too large to be called as a beauty spot, then it can be reduced to a perfect size.  On the other hand, some girls and boys have too many moles on their body and face.  ‘More the merrier’ does not apply here and these moles can be easily removed by a combination of radio frequency to flatten them to the level of skin surface first and later on Q-Switched laser to remove any residual pigment in a few sittings. 

 

Beauty Spot on Lip

B) Cosmetic Procedures

1          1)      Botox

a)   Wrinkles:

                 Appearance of wrinkles and prominence of laugh lines and lines of expression are one of the early signs of ageing of the skin.  Botulinum toxin Type A causes prolonged and controlled neuromuscular blockade of the responsible muscles of facial expression, thereby eliminating the frown lines of forehead and crow’s feet creases by the sides of the eyes.  It’s an office procedure wherein calculated dose of Botox is injected by 30 gauge needle at predetermined points.  The action starts immediately and creases disappear as they disappear from a cloth after ironing.  Botox has gained popularity because of simplicity of use, immediate result and fairly prolonged effect lasting for 6 to 9 months.

                

                  Crow’s Feet Before & After Botox

b)   Hyperhidrosis:

                 Some people have excess and / or hyper responsive sweat glands in armpits which embarrasses them socially.  Botox reduces hyperactivity of these glands and relieves them of the problem.

2   2)      Fillers

With over activity of underlying muscles of facial expression, overlying skin gets permanent folds over a period of years.  These wrinkles for example laugh lines are called static as they are visible even without animation.   Dynamic wrinkles e.g. frown lines of forehead can be eliminated with Botox as described above but skin furrows need to be filled with something to make them disappear.  Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a natural constituent of dermis which is used to fill surface irregularities of the skin.    It is now available as a liquid of various viscosity in pre-filled syringes of one ml.  It is non allergenic, can be easily injected through a 30 gauge needle, draws water to the layer of skin where injected and remains there for a few months.  

 

Hyaluronic Acid  Filler used for Naso Labial Folds 

C) Laser Procedures

1    1)      Dark Lips, Pigmentation & Birth Marks

Though associated with some diseases, the commonest cause of dark lips in females is familial and in males smoking.  Though the pigment removing lasers like Q-Switched 1064 nm Nd:Yag laser are in use for last 2 decades, they were never used on delicate lip mucosa.  We at our centre have developed laser parameters which have proved effective on lips without causing any side effects.  With every treatment, the pigment reduces and the results remain permanent.  

 

                Dark to Pink Lips by Laser Treatment

2   2)      Hair Growing Laser

A triple therapy consisting of cyclical medicines, local scalp applications and laser helmet gives assured hair growth in a period of 4 months.  It is based on sound principle of strengthening the hair roots rather than attending the dead hair strands.

First, cyclical medicines are supplied in separate monthly kits for males and females and consist of 14 B-Complex and other vitamins, 18 amino acids, 20 minerals and trace elements, 10 Ayurvedic medicines and plant extracts and 12 anti-oxidants and other nutrients.  Secondly, a special shampoo improves scalp condition and other local application increases its blood supply thereby helping to carry above health and growth formula to the hair roots.

 

Lastly, low level diode laser and LEDs emerging out of 51 points are applied rhythmically to the entire scalp by wearing a helmet for 25 minutes which stimulates the already primed hair roots to produce thick black hairs.