Does BOTOX® Cosmetic Really Work?

Question:
Does BOTOX® Cosmetic Really Work?

Answer:
BOTOX Cosmetic is the “crack cocaine” of cosmetic surgery. BOTOX Cosmetic is just so very attractive because it works so very well. It has also been a great thing for our patients because with BOTOX Cosmetic, most people can see the results within a short period of time and sometimes overnight, occasionally it takes as long as a week. We can in many cases erase many years of age from a person’s face. Our new injection technique involves smaller needles than have been available before. These needles are less painful. We can produce nice quality brow lifting, as well as upturning of a person’s mouth and removal of "crow’s feet" and lines under the eye. Additionally, many people can get an improvement in the smoker’s lines around the mouth or the wrinkles around the mouth that a person gets as they mature.

Unfortunately, small doses of BOTOX Cosmetic just are not as effective and you should receive about 45 units of BOTOX, minimum. The results sometimes are disappointing if you get less. BOTOX Cosmetic costs between $8 and $15 a unit at the MD's office. It certainly is important who you have injecting your BOTOX, because inexperienced or un-knowledgeable BOTOX injectors can produce effects that can look like Mr. Spock and/or effects that can drop the eyebrow into the eyes and make for a very unattractive look. Generally speaking, the best BOTOX practitioners put very little BOTOX Cosmetic into the forehead these days, and focus more on other areas.

It is also important to note that BOTOX is not an effective long-term solution. Near Fresno, face lift cosmetic surgery or other procedures such as brow lift are the "gold standard" for smoothing out problems such as crow's feet and brow furrows in a more permanent way, so be sure to discuss your options with your surgeon beforehand. Visit my Pasadena cosmetic surgery website for detailed information on all non invasive procedures.

Fresno Cosmetic Surgery vs. Noninvasive Treatments - Understanding TCA Peel Procedures

The current Fresno cosmetic surgery market is filled with many advertisements for "non-invasive procedures." These procedures' results are proportional to their inconvenience and recovery time. In other words, if you have a tougher recovery, generally speaking, you will have better result. Trichloroacetic acid peeling is the perfect example of this.

This treatment can be performed in a very non-invasive way with a minimal recovery that involves just a little bit of flaking of your skin. For the right patient, this can produce color improvement and texture improvement. On the other hand, if performed in a deep fashion, trichloroacetic acid can produce a tremendous improvement in wrinkling of the whole face. Deep trichloroacetic acid peels unfortunately have a tendency to cause scarring in the area of the jaw and sometimes around the mouth. For this reason, light TCA peels and moderate TCA peels have become the standard and deep TCA peels are practiced only by a few.

At my Visalia office, serving Bakersfield, Fresno cosmetic surgery, I offer both light and moderate TCA peels with or without sedation for patients who do not want to come back repeatedly for non-invasive treatments such as FotoFacials®. These peels can produce a great deal of improvement without all of the driving back and forth and the aggravation in the expense of waiting for your non-invasive treatment to mature.

What is the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery?

Question:
What is the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery?


Answer:
The ABCS is an independent private testing organization that gives an intensive 2-day test to physicians who want to be certified or have some demonstration of their knowledge in cosmetic surgery. Cosmetic surgery is the art and science of beautification surgery. It does not include hand reconstruction, cancer surgery, or other skin surgery skills that have to do with diseases. The procedures covered include, but are not limited to, liposuction, eyelid lifts, hair transplant, facelifts, forehead lifts, resurfacing procedures of various kinds, insertion of fillers to make the face and other parts of the body fuller and more youthful looking, tummy tucks, and BOTOX® Cosmetic. The doctors are tested on emergency procedures in their office as well, and have to demonstrate good knowledge of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and knowledge of the medications and procedures used in case of emergencies of various types.

Currently, doctors testing for the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery need to have had both a surgical training program and also a fellowship (a year or 2) of specialized training in cosmetic surgery. Fresno area cosmetic surgeon Dr. Yoho was privileged to take the Cosmetic Surgery Board’s as a "grandfather," because he had performed over a thousand cosmetic surgery procedures and was considered a very competent individual to join the ranks of the board certified American Board of Cosmetic Surgery members.

This board is the only board that certifies Fresno area cosmetic surgeons purely in cosmetic surgery. The other boards are mixed boards. In other words, they certify surgeons in a whole group of other procedures including procedures to treat diseases and injuries. The plastic surgery board, the ear, nose, and throat board, and the dermatology board are examples of boards of this type, which include some information and testing about cosmetic surgery procedures, but do not concentrate exclusively on cosmetic surgery.

Note that all of the boards including the American Board of Medical Specialties are private organizations and none has any official status except as granted by medical boards and other organizing bodies. They all have their own board of directors and their own agendas to promote their membership and, in many cases, their own advertising budgets.

For a complete discussion of board certification and the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery, please see my Los Angeles cosmetic surgeon website under page "Meet Dr. Yoho" and then "Understanding Board Certification."