Boston Skin Rejuvenation - Articles - Zimbio

Beware Non Surgical Face Lift

Thu, 30 May 2008 11:13:55 GMT

posted by wianno168

Everyone over 40, and many in their 30’s, see facial and eyelid aging changes in their skin. No one wants to see these changes and many people consider some type of facial rejuvenation therapy. But no one wants a face lift which is the only way to get the result pictured below: (Contact Dr Seckel)

Whether it is fear of surgery or the stigma of having surgery, almost everyone who comes in to my plastic surgery office tells me they want to look younger but they do not want a face lift.

Many new procedures are widely marketed today as a non-surgical face lift, including:

· Thermage™

· Titan™

· Mesotherapy

· Lipodissolve™

· Smartlipo™

· Threadlift™

· Photofacial

· Laser skin tightening

While the advertisements sound great, the reality is that only an expertly performed surgical face lift can achieve the beautiful results shown in the photo above.

Recent technological advances have resulted in new light based skin tightening devices which are being marketed as the non-surgical face lift. While skin tightening technology is impressive, and does work, the results of skin tightening to date hardly qualify as a face lift, non-surgical or otherwise. Skin is tightened but best results are about 20% to 30 % of what a traditional surgical face lift can achieve.

The new skin tightening is called non-ablative to distinguish the new skin tightening technology form the old CO2 laser resurfacing, the Gold Standard for Wrinkle Removal.

To ablate means to surgically remove, and the CO2 laser resurfacing ablated or removed old damaged skin and new skin grew to replace the old. In the process of Laser Resurfacing, heat generated by the laser injured the deeper skin layers and when they healed, with new collagen, the skin was contracted or tightened.

The newer skin tightening technology uses radiofrequency energy or infrared energy to heat the deep layers of the skin to cause contraction and tightening but first cools the skin before the energy is applied to prevent injury and ablation of the superficial skin by the heat energy. Thus the skin is tightened but the surface is not ablated, thus non-ablative skin tightening. There is no down time following non-ablative skin tightening unlike the older CO2 laser resurfacing skin tightening.

Several new skin tightening machines are available. The LuxIRDeep by Palomar, and the Titan by Cutera utilize infrared energy for skin tightening. The Aluma by Lumenis and Thermage utilize infrared energy for skin tightening. Refirme by Syneron uses a combination of light energies with radiofrequency for skin tightening.

All of the machines achieve about similar results when used properly. Generally there is less discomfort with the Infrared skin tightening machines. Complications have been minimal although some serious complications occurred with Thermage skin tightening early on.

In my practice I find that non-ablative skin tightening is most helpful for younger patients who do not have severe aging changes and significant sun damage, people in their 30’s and 40’s who want to correct or tighten early skin sagging along the jaw line or jowl area, neck and cheeks. I use the LuxIR on these larger areas. For skin tightening around the eyelids I use the Aluma which has a smaller treatment head and a suction device that will pull the delicate peri ocular skin into the treatment chamber for skin tightening.

The field of non-ablative skin tightening is in its infancy and will definitely become more effective in the years ahead. The companies are improving their products frequently. For now however the people who benefit most from the skin tightening machines today are younger people who still have thick healthy skin with early aging changes.

There are new sophisticated skin tightening technologies in development and I am working on one with a major laser company, however we are 1-2 years away from an effective, approved product.

The use of the term non-surgical facelift to describe non-ablative skin tightening is an overstatement with technology available for skin tightening today. At best a 30% result is possible when compared to a traditional face lift. Many of the heavily marketed non surgical face lift procedures in the bulleted list above have no scientific basis for their claims.

Be a smart informed consumer. If it sounds too good to be true it usually is. Consult two board certified plastic surgeons if you have concerns about facial aging. To learn more read Save Your Face or contact me.

Dr Seckel

978-369-4499

Concord, Massachusetts

Boston, Masachusetts,

Fraxel and Lux1540-The new minimal down time “skin plumping” lasers for Fractional Skin Rejuvenation

Fri, 2 Feb 2008 05:15:57 GMT

posted by wianno168

Perhaps you saw the piece about Fraxel on Good Morning America today (2/1/08). What is so exciting is that the new fractional skin rejuvenation is a great improvement over older CO2 laser resurfacing. In the past CO2 ablative laser resurfacing (see photo below) was the “Gold Standard” for wrinkle removal and skin tightening, however prolonged and difficult recovery time with peeling skin made this procedure unacceptable for most people.

During the past three years new technology called fractional laser skin rejuvenation has been developed which does not require significant recovery or anesthesia.

With Fractional laser skin rejuvenation the laser beam is broken up or fractionated into many small micro beams which are separated so that when they strike the skin surface, small areas of the skin between the beams are not hit by the laser and are left intact. These small areas of untreated skin promote a much more rapid recovery and healing with less risk of complications. The small areas of the skin treated by the fractional micro beams cause sufficient laser effect to promote new collagen production which plumps the skin improving wrinkles, pigment and acne scars.

The first fractional laser Fraxel and a newer technology called the Lux1540 have produced excellent results treating wrinkles, acne scars and facial pigmentation and have improved skin texture.

To ablate means to “surgically remove”. The Fraxel and Lux1540 are non ablative lasers which mean that when the laser beam strikes the skin the skin is not removed as it was with the traditional CO2 ablative lasers, rather the laser beam heats the skin to cause inflammation and new collagen production. The benefits of non ablative Fraxel and Lux1540 laser skin treatments are dramatically reduced recovery time. After the treatment your skin is pink the first day and the second day the skin may have “bronzing” which is easily covered by make up.

The new fractional skin rejuvenation lasers safely go deep into the skin (see diagram below) where they can produce more effective new collagen production than more superficial laser treatments. This new collagen production replaces collagen that has been damaged by sun, aging, and acne. The new collagen produced can actually plump the skin wrinkles and acne scars and improve skin texture.

This skin plumping effect can significantly improve wrinkles and acne scars, reduce enlarged pores, remove pigment and actually improve surgical scars. (See below)

Above-Before and after Lux1540 treatment-Photos courtesy of Palomar and Dr Dwight Scarborough

We have the new Palomar Lux1540 fractional non ablative laser in our practice and I am very impressed with the results.

The Lux1540 treatment takes about 30 minutes and we use a topical numbing cream for your comfort. Your face will be pink the first day but your skin is intact, no oozing or open areas. The second day you may have a “bronze” cast to your facial skin but make up can be applied. In some patients who have more significant scars or wrinkles we use higher settings and in these patients there may be peeling and redness for 3-4 days after treatment. Patients with thin skin from prior use of Accutane or previous dermabrasion or laser resurfacing can benefit from the skin plumping effects but may also have 3-4 days of redness

The new fractional skin rejuvenation lasers are very exciting and a very significant development in non surgical facial rejuvenation. For further information on facial rejuvenation and lasers read Save Your Face or contact me.

Dr Seckel

2/01/08

Concord, Massachusetts

Boston, Massachusetts

Lip Rejuvenation- The New Lux2940 Fractional Laser Removes Lipstick lines and Lip Wrinkles with Minimal Down Time

Mon, 12 Feb 2008 16:44:32 GMT

posted by wianno168

Lipstick lines, lip lines and lip wrinkles are one of the most common early signs of facial aging and yet have traditionally been one of the most difficult to treat,

Soft tissue fillers like Juvederm® and Restylane® have been used and can produce a beautiful plumping effect on the lip and camouflage lipstick lines and lip wrinkles (See Photo Below).

Juvederm® and Restylane® however are not permanent and need to be repeated. Fat injections last longer but require surgery with a long recovery period due to over correction and fat eventually, in many people dissolves.

More importantly, in my opinion, the plumping effect of fillers like Juvederm®, Restylane®, and fat do not correct the actual wrinkle or crease in the skin which is the cause of the lipstick line or lip line. The lipstick line or lip wrinkle is a permanent crease or depression in the skin of the lip caused by years of the pursing action of the lip muscle and aging changes in the skin. Lipstick lines are much more common and pronounced in smokers.

In the past, CO2 laser resurfacing was the most effective method for erasing lipstick lines and lip wrinkles. However the difficult recovery and long term whitening or hypo pigmentation (loss of color) on the lip caused by the CO2 laser made CO2 laser resurfacing unacceptable for many people.

We have recently introduced the new Lux2940 Fractional Laser which removes lipstick lines and lip wrinkles with minimal down time, 4-6 days as compared to 3-4 weeks with the older CO2 laser (see photo below). Furthermore, the treatment is much less painful and can be done with only a topical anesthetic cream. Because the Lux2940 is a much gentler laser, an Erbium Laser which causes less skin damage than the CO2, the risk of whitening or hypo pigmentation of the lip is greatly reduced.

The Lux2940 laser lip rejuvenation is done in my office with numbing cream and takes about 5 minutes. Your lip will be red for 2-3 days and you can wear make up by day 4 although you may not need make up.

This is a procedure you can do on Friday and return to work on Monday or Tuesday.

The Lux2940 Fractional Laser Lip rejuvenation is truly a revolutionary new development in non surgical facial rejuvenation and medical aesthetics. The Lux2940 Fractional Laser can also be used to remove the crow’s feet around the eyes (see photo above). Full face Lux2940 Fractional Laser treatments for wrinkle removal can also be done in the office with only 4-5 days of down time.

For more information on facial rejuvenation, laser skin care and plastic surgery read Save Your Face or contact me.

Be sure to sign up for my free email newsletter published monthly.

Dr. Seckel

978-369-4499

Concord, Massachusetts

Boston, Massachusetts

Fractional Skin Rejuvenation-The Real Wrinkle Cure in Boston

Sun, 17 Dec 2007 00:33:29 GMT

posted by wianno168

CO2 ablative laser resurfacing has been the “Gold Standard” for non surgical facial rejuvenation, skin rejuvenation and removal of facial skin wrinkles and photo aging since 1995. CO2 ablative laser resurfacing using the Ultrapulse CO2 laser can achieve very significant facial rejuvenation including wrinkle removal, skin tightening and removal of pigment and photo aging skin changes.

However CO2 laser resurfacing has several limitations including a prolonged and difficult recovery period, often lasting three weeks, prolonged facial redness that can last three months, hypo pigmentation or lightening of skin color, and the potential for infection which can lead to scarring.

During the past three years new technology called fractional laser resurfacing or fractional skin rejuvenation has been developed which has dramatically shortened recovery time and lessened the occurrence of complications.

With Fractional Skin Rejuvenation the laser beam is broken up or fractionated into many small micro beams which are separated so that when they strike the skin surface small areas of the skin between the beams are not hit by the laser and left intact. These small areas of untreated skin promote a much more rapid recovery and healing with less risk of complications. The small areas treated by the fractional micro beams, called micro treatment zones, cause sufficient laser injury to promote new collagen production and resultant facial skin rejuvenation.

The first fractional laser made by Reliant the Fraxel laser and subsequently Palomar Medical’s Lux1540 have produced excellent results treating acne scars and facial pigmentation and have improved skin texture and facial rejuvenation. They have not however achieved the same degree of wrinkle removal and skin tightening as the traditional ablative CO2 laser resurfacing technique.

To ablate means to “surgically remove”. The Fraxel and Lux1540 are non ablative lasers which mean that when the laser beam strikes the skin the skin is not removed immediately, rather the laser beam heats the skin to cause inflammation and new collagen production. The benefits of non ablative laser skin treatments are dramatically reduced recovery time, but the results in terms of wrinkle removal and skin tightening are much less dramatic.

The results achieved by ablative CO2 resurfacing are more significant because ablation removes damaged, aged skin as well as heating the deeper skin layers to promote new collagen production.

Recently several new micro fractional ablative lasers have been developed which have the benefits of fractional treatments, less down time and complications, as well as the benefits of ablative skin resurfacing, better wrinkle removal and facial rejuvenation. The diagram below shows how this new technology works in comparison to previous laser methods.

The first on the left is traditional CO2 and Erbium laser resurfacing. Next is the Lumenis CO2 ActiveFX which fractionally ablated the surface of the skin down to a depth of 70-100 microns. Next are the non ablative fractional technologies which heated but did not ablate the skin. More recently the Palomar Lux2940, the Sciton Profractional, the new Lumenis Bridge Therapy and Reliant’s FDDA or Repair lasers have all developed new ablative or microablative fractional laser systems that reach much deeper into the skin, 200 to 1000 microns, and can produce much more effective wrinkle removal, new collagen production and skin rejuvenation with significantly less down time and recovery than traditional CO2 ablative laser resurfacing.

The photo below shows the wrinkle removal results achieved with Palomar’s new Lux2940 micro fractional ablative laser with 4-6 days of down time and a week of redness as compared to 3 weeks of down time and 3 months of redness with a traditional CO2 laser resurfacing.

The new Fractional Skin Rejuvenation lasers are a very exciting advance in the field of non surgical facial rejuvenation and wrinkle removal. Many new applications are being developed which will likely improve our ability to rejuvenate the skin and possibly improve scars, stretch marks, and remove pigment.

Another very exciting aspect of Fractional Skin Rejuvenation is that unlike older ablative laser resurfacing techniques, the new Fractional Skin Rejuvenation lasers appear to be safe to use on darker skin including Asian Skin and African American Skin. This will make the latest skin rejuvenation techniques available to millions of people with dark skin who could not be safely treated with previous skin rejuvenation techniques.

To learn more about non surgical facial rejuvenation and Fractional Skin Rejuvenation, read Save Your Face or contact me.

Dr. Seckel

Concord, Massachusetts

Boston, Massachusetts

978-369-4499

Dr. Seckel’s 6 Step Facial Rejuvenation Program

Wed, 8 Nov 2007 09:26:21 GMT

posted by wianno168

Concern about facial aging, wrinkles, loose skin, sagging cheeks, jowls, and “turkey neck”, dark circles and bags under the eyes and other signs of advancing age is very common among the 40 to 50 year olds in the United States, both men and women.

Contact Dr Seckel

A startling 12.4 million cosmetic plastic surgey operations were performed in this country last year and estimates are that nearly half of them were to correct facial aging and this does not include the millions of non-surgical facial rejuvenation procedures.

Contact Dr Seckel

As the baby boomers reach their 50’s everyone wants to look younger but no one wants to have surgery. Most people do not want to have surgery especially if it is not for serious medical reasons.

However, revolutionary advances in technology have made it possible for many people to reverse facial aging changes using new non-surgical facial rejuvenation techniques without having to undergo plastic surgery.

On Wednesday, September 28, 2005, I spoke on a panel entitled Non-surgical Facial Rejuvenation at the meeting of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons in Chicago, Illinois. My topic was Botox, the soft tissue fillers including Restylane and Radiesse and the many skin peels used for exfoliation to remove wrinkles and signs of facial aging. I came away from that meeting very excited and enthused about all the wonderful new non-surgical facial rejuvenation therapies that are safe and effective for patients today.

Botox-Contact Dr Seckel

Fillers-Contact Dr Seckel

There are so many new wrinkle removing and skin tightening non-surgical facial rejuvention options available that the patient must understand exactly what facial aging change it is that they want to correct. Usually the patient just feels that their face looks older but cannot pinpoint exactly which facial aging change is causing concern. It is important to seek consultation with an experienced board certified Plastic Surgeon or Dermatologist who understands all the options so that the correct option is chosen for your very unique face. I advise you to avoid doctors who only do one or two facial rejuvenation procedures and tend to push patients to have the procedure that he/she performs rather than customizing the procedure to the patient’s needs.

The 6 Step Facial Rejuvenation Program™ consists of:

Step 1-Exfoliation-topical cremes, microdermabrasion, superficial skin peels with various fruit and salicylic acids to produce exfoliation to freshen the skin and give it a youthful glow and remove wrinkles. These treatments also stimulate the skin to form new collagen to replace the old damaged aged collagen, and help rejuvenate and tighten the facial skin.

Step 2- Stimulation of new collagen production- Controlled inflammation of the deep skin layer called the dermis causes the dermal skin cells called fibroblasts to manufacture new collagen to replace the collagen lost by sun damage and aging. Topical RetinA and the deep exfoliative process in step 1 start this process. Newer technological interventions like the Lux1540, Fraxel, Lux294o, Sciton Profractional, and Lumenis bridge therapy are powerful stimulators of new collagen production.

Step 3-Remove pigment and red spots-In addition to exfoliation new light and laser therapies such as IPL, Photo facial, Lux1540 and Fraxel® can be used to remove brown spots, pignent, broken blood vessels called telangiectasias, and rosacea from the facial skin. Pigment and blood vessels are a classic sign of facial aging and the non-surgical removal of these skin discolorations provides noticeable facial rejuvenation. These high tech yherapies can also remove wrinkles.

Step 4-Remove lines of facial expression wrinkles- Botox can be used to relax the muscles of facial expression and remove crow’s feet, worry lines, frown lines, and bunny lines and dynamic wrinkles, all of which are very early signs of facial aging. Botox® effectively removes these lines in most people for 6 to 9 months after a simple nearly painless injection.

Step 5-Fill deep facial lines called the nasolabial fold lines and marionette lines make the face look tired and old and coupled with the frown lines often make people look angry. Deep facial lines are deeper than wrinkles, and I do not use fillers for wrinkle removal. New soft tissue fillers can soften the nasal labial fold lines and marionette lines when they are injected into the skin beneath the aging lines. Commonly used soft tissue fillers are Restylane, Radiesse, Zyderm, Zyplast, Juvaderm, Sculptra®, Fascian®, Cymetra®, and Isolagen®. Each of these fillers has different characteristics and are better for some facial aging changes than others. For a thorough discusion of fillers consult Chapter 7 “No Down Time Facial Anti-aging Procedures” in Save Your Face, available on line at www.saveyourface.com.

Step 6-Skin Tightening. The final facial aging change to treat is loose sagging skin. While the plastic surgical operation called a facelift is still the “gold standard” for facial rejuvenation, several new technologies are evolving which can tighten aged facial skin. LuxIR and Titan®, devices using infrared waves, and Aluma and Thermage® which use radiofrequency waves, are all being used to heat the collagen in the deep layers of the skin called the dermis causing the collagen to shorten and tighten the skin. While these technologies are new and only about 30% effective and require multiple treatments, they will most certainly be improved in the future and effective skin tightening of aging facial skin will be possible. Some wrinkle removal is seen following successful skin tightening.

Non-surgical facial rejuvenation is here and is getting more effective as new products come out every month. One of my common expressions whenever I speak about the new non-surgical options for facial rejuvination is “plastic surgery is becoming non-surgical” and try to encourage my fellow plastic surgeons to embrace the new technology. I still believe that an experienced board certified plastic surgeon is the best doctor to provide the non-surgical facial rejuvenation procedures to patients because these doctors are the facial aging experts and they have the ability to do what is necessary for the patient whether it is Botox or a face lift. Each face is unique and a “one size fits all” approach just does not work in facial rejuvenation.

Contact me for more information on any of the above procedures, or read Save Your Face.

Dr Seckel

Concord, Massachusetts