Open House

Saturday, February 4, 2012

11am - 4pm

There will be specials on surgical and non-surgical procedures, injectables, and skin care products.

Live demonstractions

RSVP by Thursday 2-02-2012 to 727-341-2408

We are pleased to announce a Cosmetic Consultation special that is running through the month of July. Our regular consultation fee for cosmetic procedures and/or surgery is $50.00, however for consultations scheduled to take place during the month of July, this fee will be waived. Call our office at 727-341-2408 to schedule your complimentary consultation today! We are looking forward to seeing you soon!

Another article that is certainly worth reading…taken from NY Times.com; August 2011

After two days of discussion and testimony about silicone breast implants, a top government health official said he had heard nothing to shake his faith in the safety of the widely used implants.

The official, Dr. William Maisel, chief scientist for the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Devices, said silicone breast implants were safe.

“We felt that way before the meeting, and we continue to feel that way after the presentations and discussions over the past two days,” Dr. Maisel said.

There are risks to the implants, however, r. Maisel said, including ruptures, a hardening of the area around the implants, the need to remove the implants, scarring, pain, infection and asymmetry.  “Women should feel assured that the F.D.A. continues to believe that currently marketed silicone breast implants are safe,” he said. 

Some patients and women’s groups who testified at the meeting disagreed. 

Diana Zuckerman, president of the National Research Center for Women and Families, a research and education group, told an expert panel that the two companies that manufacture silicone breast implants - Johnson & Johnson and Allergan - had done a poor job of studying patients who got the implants, as the F.D.A. required them to do. 

“And without proper data, we still don’t know how safe or effective they are and whether there are certiain patients at risk for extremely negative outcomes,” Ms. Zuckerman said.

Dr. Maisel agreed that the studies conducted by the two companies had failed to follow as many patients as the agency had hoped.

One purpose of this week’s meeting was to ask the expert panel what the agency and the two companies should do about that poor follow up.  Some suggested that patients should be paid for participating; others mentioned that doctors should get some money, too.

There was some criticism of the 27-page research form that patients who participate in the study are required to complete and whether it could be shortened.  Nearly all expressed hope that a registry could be created that would follow all breast implants patients, but such registries are expensive to maintain and complicated to create.

The committee also agreed that patients should no longer be told that they should get a magnetic resonance imaging test three years after getting implants and every two years following. 

The reason for telling patients to get M.R.I.’s is that silicone breast implants sometimes rupture without women being aware, and an M.R.I. can reveal this unseen problem.

But many patients ignore the requirements because M.R.I.’s are expensive and it is not clear what they should do when an unseen rupture is discovered; the risks associated with ruptured implants may not be greater than the risks of the operation needed to take them out. 

“F.D.A. continues to believe, as does the panel, that M.R.I. is the gold standard for evaluating breast implants for silent rupture,” Dr. Maisel said.  “But there was consensus among the panel that the requirements for ongoing M.R.I.’s should be removed.”

Dr. Maisel promised that the F.D.A. would study whether to follow this advice.

The following was an interesting article I came across and wanted to share.  For the complete story, search- Plastic Surgery SmartBrief on 12/09/2011. 

Television host Giuliana Rancic announced that she would undergo reconstruction immediately after she receives a double mastectomy to treat a recurrence of breast cancer.  Advances in reconstructive techniques yield more natural-looking results and high patient satisfaction, says ASPS member Dr. Eugene Elliott.  “Psychologically, patients that choose to undergo reconstruction tend to be much more positive and forward thinking, anticipating feeling and looking ‘whole’ again as an integral part of their recovery from breast cancer”, he said.

Just a follow up to the recent aesthetic surgery meeting - One of the hot topics was stem cells.  The two largest societies of plastic surgeons declared that a “stem cell facelift” and/or breast “augmentation” could not be declared better given current research.  Many surgeons are advertising these procedures to the general public.  Dr. Peter Rubin led a study that examined 9,000 medical papers about stem cells and said only twenty of the reports turned out to be peer reviewed studies.  The data is very limited he said.  At this point this technology has much promise, but we must await further studies before we can recommend this to our patients.  We have been doing fat grafting for both cosmetic and reconstruction surgery for ten years.  It has excellent advanages and potential but does not work in all situations.  We frequently discuss these issues in detail with out patients.

Hello - I just returned from the ASAPS meeting in Boston.  This is one of the largest meetings for cosmetic medicine and surgery in the world.  It was a great meeting with many new techniques and options for rejuvenation.  Many are non or minimally invasive.  Please seek out a Board Certified plastic surgeon when considering these procedures.  There are many people who are listed as cosmetic surgeons; please check out their training and credentials such as, did they do a formal residency for the appropriate surgical speciality or did they train at a weekend course?  Don’t just shop for price when considering medical care!

Periodically on our blog, I will try to include articles pertaining to Plastic Surgery that have been published nationally.  These hightlight new developments and problems in our speciality.  These do not always represent my opinion but I feel they may be helpful for those looking into cosmetic medicine and surgery.  Here is one such article.  Although we do use awake anesthesia, it is only for very limited, smaller procedures.  We have always used board certified anesthesiologists in our practice. 

Nipped, tucked and wide awake?  - Bargain plastic surgery procedure uses only local anesthesia but can be dangerous, experts warn.        

By Sabrina Rubin Erdely        msnbc.com

Paulette Hacker couldn’t stop screaming.  Lying on her side on a gurney, wearing only a bra and panties, she felt as if she were being stabbed again and again.  In a way, she was.  Through incisions in her upper back, a stainless steel tube called a cannula was suctioning out her excess fat.

“Please stop! You’re hurting me!” she cried to her doctor.  Because although Hacker’s body was limp and her mind bleary from an unknown combination of drugs she’d been given through pills and a gas mask, the 38-year-old was awake partway through the second day of liposuction on her back, underarms, abdomen, hips and neck.  That was the whole point:  She was undergoing the new and aggressively marketed Awake cosmetic surgery, which is performed under local anesthesia. 

“You can’t scream, Paulette,” a gruff voice answered her.  Hacker hazily realized that the voice did not belong to her doctor; the man performing her operation was a stranger who Hacker would later discover was a physician’s assistant.  According to Hacker, whose experience is also detailed in a Los Angeles Superior Court complaint, she could see people coming and going into the “operating room” - more like an oversized exam room - at the Rodeo Drive office of Craig Alan Bittner, M.D., a “liposculpture” practitioner in Los Angeles. (Through his attorney, Dr. Bittner strongly denies all of Hacker’s allegations.)

“Move her into the TV room - she’s making too much noise, ” a confused and terrified Hacker heard another voice say.  Her gurney was rolled down the hall and into a second room, where she could see the assitant jab her while he watched a basketball game playing in the background on a wall-mounted television.  The volume was cranked up loud enough to drown out her cries.

After the five-hour operation, Hacker says the assitant and an office clerk yanked her to her feet and squeezed her into compression garments.  Dazed and sobbing, she struggled into her clothes and found herself face-to-face with a beaming Dr. Bittner.  The doctor gently asked  why she was crying, she says.  Then he maneuvered her beside him and told her to smile for a photo.

……to see the rest of this informative article go to….  

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40950317/ns/health-womans_health/

We are very excited to bring to our Med Spa the newest advance in non-laser skin resurfacing, HydraFacial.  As seen on the NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox television networks, HydraFacial is the only hydradermabrasion procedure that combines cleansing, exfoliation, extraction, hydration and antioxidant protection simultaneously, resulting in clearer, more beautiful skin with no discomfort.  The treatment is soothing, moisturizing, non-invasive and non-irritating.  The HydraFacial treatment improves the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, congested and enlarged pores, oily or acne-prone skin, hyperpigmentation and brown spots.  The treatment is often described as a feeling like “a cool paintbrush moving over the face.” You may put on make-up and return to your normal activities right after the treatment since there is no downtime. 

The HydraFacial procedure is suitable for most skin types, including thin or aging skin, ethnic skin, dry skin and oily skin. 

As a introductory offer, we are scheduling your first HydraFacial treatment for the low cost of $85.00; subsequent treatments at $125.00.  We are also offering a series of six treatments for the special packaging price of $600.00, a savings of $150.00!  Call Cathy at our Med Spa and start your skin maintenance program now with HydraFacial!

We would like to formally welcome Trudy Mock into our St. Petersburg Center for Plastic Surgery family.  Trudy comes to us as a Certified Medical and Clinical Electrologist and is happy to see you in regards to utilizing our Palomar Intense Pulse Light treatments.  She will be available for complimentary consultations in our Med Spa on Wednesday afternoons.  Call the Spa or the office to schedule your consultation with Trudy today!

Organization leads multidisciplinary group to bring Evidence-Based Medicine to Plastic Surgery Procedures and Devices.

New York, NY and Arlington Heights, IL (September 24, 2010) - The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) laud the Los Angeles Times for its balanced reporting on a controversial cosmetic procedure, the so-called “stem cell face lift.”  Stem cell face lifts and other similar procedures and devices lacking anything more than anecdotal scientific evidence are a major focus of the medical organizations as the growing trend of marketing trumping science proliferates in teh plastic surgery field. 

In the Spetember 13, 2010 special to the Los Angeles Times, called “Stem Cell Face-Lifts on Unproven Ground,” reporter Chris Woolston writes about the demand for cosmetic procedures that use stem cells to rejuvenate the face, a so-called “stem cell face lift.”  Retrieved through liposuction, the stem cells, along with fat cells, are injected inot the face.  Woolston notes the lack of scientific evidence at this time to support the claims made by those currently marketing these procedures, such as the claim that the injected stem cells rejuvenate the skin with new collagen and blood vessels.

“Although stem cells certainly have potential for use in the cosmetic surgery field, some of the claims being made about the procedures that are currently being marketed as ’stem cell face lifts” seem far-fetched.  We simply don’t know enough about the safety and efficacy of these procedures.  Once of the major unanswered questions is whether the stem cells actually contibute to any of the positive effects that might be observed, or whether we are simply seeing the effects of injecting fat cells into the face, which can give the face a younger look” said Jeffery Kenkel, M.D., Professor and Vice Chairman of the Department of Plastic Surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and President-Elect of ASAPS.

“Stem cells have incredible potential. But nobody knows exactly what they can do.  So they’ve marketed to do everything.  In time, maybe a decade from now, science will tell the real story, but until then, marketing regarding stem cell face lifts whould be considered fiction,” said Michael McGuire, President of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and a Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of California, Los Angeles.

“Procedures with no solid science behind them, stem cells included, given unproven hope to patients and the marketing of them brings dishonor to our entire speciality, ” said Felmont Eaves, III, M.D. of Charlotte, NC, President of ASAPS.  The Aesthetic Society is working together with the other core societies to address this through an evidence based medicine program that will rate any procedure or device on the legitimacy of the scientific evidence behind it.  This program is in its developement stage and will be available to the public within the next 12 months.”

“The use of ’stem cells’ in advertising for cosmetic surgical applications is a global problem,” says Doug Sipp.  Head of the Science Policy and Ethics Study Unit at the Center for Developmental Biology of RIKEN in Kobe, Japan, who monitors supposed stem cell treatment claims worldwide in all different specialties,  “There have been many cosmetics, nutraceuticals, and device makers who claim either to use stem cells in their products, or to use ingredients that activate the customer’s own stem cells.  To the best of my knowledge, none of these has a basis in scientific evidence.”

The Aesthetic Society and ASPS recommend that patients considering facial rejuvenation procedures avoid “stem cell face lifts” or other fad procedures that have not been demostrated to be effective in clinical trials.  Current facial rejuvenation procedures that are supposted by clinical evidence are described in the “Procedures Facts” section of ASPS’s website, www.surgery.org, and include surgical face lifts, chemical peels, microdermabrasion and various injectables.  Information is also available in the Procedures section of the ASPS website, www.plastic surgery.org.

About ASAPST

The over 2,600-member American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) is the only plastic surgery organization devoted entirely to the advancement of cosmetic surgery.  ASAPS is recognized throughout the world as the authoritative source for cosmetic education.  U.S. members are certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.  Canadian members are certified in plastic surgery by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.  Toll-free referral line: 888.ASAPS.11 (272.7711). Website:  www.surgery.org.

About ASPS

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons is the largest organization of board-certified plastic surgeons in the world.  Representing more than 7,000 physician members, the Society is recognized as a leading authority and information source on cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery.  The ASPS comprises more than 90 percent of all board-certified plastic surgeons in the United States.  Founded in 1931, the Society represents physicians certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery or The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.