New technology for New Year

We have actively been involved in adipose derived stem cell banking since early 2008 using CytoResource. This means that patients can opt to have stem cells harvested from liposuctioned fat, which is an excellent source of stem cells.


We pack the cells and then send it to CytoResource, where someday, it can be used for whatever the patient needs, medical or cosmetic. From a previous blog post by Dr. Goldberg:

"There are far reaching implications for this in plastic surgery and cosmetic dermatology. The use of stem cells to grow body parts is something out of science fiction but is now a reality. Someday we may be able to grow breasts or other body parts that have been removed or never formed."

CytoResource is part of the Reproductive Genetics Institute, a well known lab that also stores fetal cord blood.

Patients turning to financing options less

Fox News and the Associated Press are reporting that in Arizona and nationwide, some patients are either exploring financing options or putting off cosmetic surgery altogether, while the rest are seeking "beauty on a budget."

From the article:

"Even in the downturned marketplace, patients are visiting our offices for procedures like Botox an average of 2.9 times a year compared to the national average of 1.3 times," said Gulbranson.

On the other hand, the society's survey found a steep drop in demand for major plastic surgeries including breast augmentation and nose reshaping.

Some lending agencies that provide loans for cosmetic surgery are also struggling.

"Some lenders have gone under, others are tightening credit, but still others are doing fine despite the market," said Kelly Schnarr, account manager for Surgery Loans..."

We probably do financing for about 10% of our patients. Most of our patients pay with credit card or check, and rarely cash. But many areas of the country are different, and we're going to hear from some other surgeons later in the day.

Thanks for reading,
Dr. Jason Pozner
Sanctuary Medical Aesthetic Center

Dr. David J. Goldberg
Sanctuary Medical Aesthetic Center
Skin Laser Surgery Specialists NY/NJ

Two more allegations of illegal cosmetic surgery

There's been yet another arrest in cosmetic surgery:

In Chicago: "Med Spa Patients Say Lasers Scarred, Burned Them"
A chain of med-spas is dealing with lawsuits alleging that inexperienced and unqualified practitioners treated them with lasers when they should not have.

From the article:

"Can your skin type tolerate laser treatments? If so, which laser? At what energy level? And for how long? Those are all decisions that need to be made by an experienced practitioner.

For others the treatments can bring great results, but Garden, the past president of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery warns, "These machines can still cause damage. They can still injure the patient."

This is a bad trend that is getting worse and worse with the state of the economy. Expect some big stories in the media about this type of thing soon.

Dr. David J. Goldberg
Sanctuary Medical Aesthetic Center
Skin Laser and Surgery Specialists, NY/NJ

Update: Latisse approved by the FDA

To update a previous blog item, the eye-lash booster Latisse has been approved by the FDA. Expect to see it being sold in cosmetic practices sometime in February.

To recap, Latisse was originally a glaucoma drug called Lumigan, which has been in use for the last seven years. Patients reported side effects of enhanced eyelashes, which led Allergan to explore cosmetic applications for the drug. This is similar to Botox's birth as a treatment for excessive blinking that happened to smooth nearby wrinkles.

Thanks for reading,

Dr. Jason Pozner
Sanctuary Medical Aesthetic Center

Dr. David J. Goldberg
Sanctuary Medical Aesthetic Center
Skin and Laser Surgery Specialists of New York/New Jersey

Another arrest in cosmetic surgery...

Another arrest in plastic surgery today... from the article:


"A dermatologist was arrested Thursday after being indicted on charges that he injected patients at his West Hollywood clinic with fake Botox that could have caused a muscle-paralyzing condition.

Dr. David Cary Hansen, who works out of a Sunset Boulevard clinic called Skinsation, is accused of buying a dozen vials of a form of botulinum toxin type A, which was not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use on people, the U.S. attorney's office said."

It's never a bad idea to ask to see the actual vial of Botox or filler before it gets injected. If a product is too cheap to be true, then it's probably fake. Only go to a reputable doctor, you really get what you pay for.

Dr. Jason Pozner
Sanctuary Medical Aesthetic Center

Dr. David Goldberg
Sanctuary Medical Aesthetic Center
Skin and Laser Surgery Specialists of NY/NJ

Adult acne linked to stress?

Acne has been around forever. Yet acne has always been thought to be a teenage problem, not one seen in adults. An increasing number of adults are coming in with disfiguring acne breakouts. Could it be the stress of our everyday society? A recent article in the British Journal of Dermatology found a direct connection between stress hormone elevation and acne breakouts.



Adults are clearly breaking out with more pimples; sometimes they can look worse than their adolescent children. Thankfully, there are many ways to deal with this problem. Some patients can be treated with a variety of antibiotics or other oral medications. However, all such medications have potential side effects.

An alternative is the laser approach that has developed extensively over the last 5 years. There are now lasers that decrease the bacteria that cause acne. Some of these light-based devices, known as light emitting diodes, are painless and can be used on all skin types. Other lasers work through a heat based effect and can shrink the oil glands that promote acne. Finally for very difficult acne patients, a topical medication known as amino-levulinic acid (ALA) can be activated by certain lasers to have a profound acne clearing effect. In fact, some investigators feel that this process, known as photodynamic therapy (PDT), may eventually lead to a cure for acne.

One of the greatest benefits of laser acne treatment is that some of these technologies not only help to clear acne, but also improve acne scarring. The scar improvement occurs because such lasers produce new collagen formation. This leads to acne scar improvement and smoother skin.

So it is true that stress does cause acne flares. In our current stressful times, laser treatments can lessen the stress by clearing acne and making skin look healthier.

David J. Goldberg, MD
Sanctuary Medical Aesthetic Center
Boca Raton, FL
Skin Laser & Surgery Specialists of NY/NJ

Jason Pozner, MD
Sanctuary Medical Aesthetic Center
Boca Raton, FL.

Reloxin: Part Deux

I am one of the U.S. investigators performing FDA studies on Reloxin. The stuff works and is safe. The distributor of Reloxin (Medicis) is doing things the right way. We have been following Reloxin patients – and re-treating them – for 3 years. This wrinkle softening material will do exactly what it has done in Europe as Dysport. It will give both patients and their physicians another wonderful choice in the fight against wrinkles.

According to Colin Stewart at the OC Register's In Your Face blog, Medicis' application to the FDA is essentially the same as the one that was rejected just 11 months ago, but has cleared up issues regarding Medicis' "sponsorship and ownership of the filing."

Dr. David Goldberg

Sanctuary Medical Aesthetic Center

Skin and Laser Surgery Specialists of NY/NJ

Reloxin preferred over Botox in tests?

I just returned from a Pharmadura meeting in Dallas, which centered around the upcoming FDA approval for Botox competitor Reloxin. It's called Dysport in Europe and is to be distributed by Medicis in North America.

The advantages of Reloxin are its faster onset and "softer" look. Some proponents claim there is a longer lastings effect, but this is not certain at present. Anecdotal evidence from patients in the U.S. FDA trials who were Botox users are that these patients preferred Reloxin. Adverse incidents from the FDA trials are less then those experienced with the Botox trials, but his may be due to the fact that the physicians in the trials are more experienced injectors.

We await FDA approval and hope to have Reloxin for clinical use by first quarter 2009.

Dr. Jason Pozner
Sanctuary Medical Aesthetic Center

Dr. David Goldberg
Skin Laser & Surgery Specialists NY/NJ
Sanctuary Medical Aesthetic Center