Video: Allergan CEO on Botox Sales during bad economy

Courtesy of TheStreet.com

Yet another Botox competitor coming: Xeomin

An article this week on Modern Medicine's website had a rundown of Botox's upcoming competitors.  It had two that have been mentioned repeatedly over the last few months: Dysport and PurTox not far behind, but it also threw in Xeomin, which is made by a company called Merz. 

Merz is a well-respected German company.  They sell other dermatology products in the US and will be well-received when they come to the Botox market in this country... Xeomin is already available in Europe.

Here's what ConsultingRoom.com had to say about it: 

"It is widely accepted that the bacterial protein present in other products play a role as promoters of an immune reaction, resulting in a loss of effect and reduction in duration of activity. Studies show that Xeomin(r), without the complexing proteins, has the lowest content of protein of all of the available botulinum toxins and furthermore show that repeated application of Xeomin(r), even in high doses, does not induce the formation of neutralising anti-bodies.

This means that Xeomin(r) is able to provide similar results to those achievable with the other products without the risk of antibody formation, providing continual long lasting effects. This could be relevant when large doses are being used for medical indications, but many industry experts questions the relevance when this product is used for cosmetic purposes."

Thanks for reading,

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

Dr. Jason Pozner
Sanctuary Medical Aesthetic Center, Boca Raton
Sanctuary Plastic Surgery, Boca Raton

Florida Society of Dermatology and Dermatologist Surgery Meeting Wrap-up

Just attended the Florida Society of Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery (FSDS) 2009 annual meeting in Boca Raton, Florida at the gorgeous Boca Raton Resort and Club.

Luckily this is only a few miles from our office so none of the usual trauma of getting there! I gave 3 lectures - thefirst on fractional resurfacing, the second on non-invasive fat removal including Ultrashape, Liposonix and Zeltiq), and the third on body skin tightening and cellulite with the Alma's Accent RF device.

Dr. James Spencer, president of the society, ran a wonderful meeting. There were some excellent presentations by local and visiting doctors.

Dr. William Coleman, a dermatologist from from New Orleans and editor of the prestigious Journal of Dermatologic Surgery also presented on the Ultrashape device as well as on injection lipolysis and mesotherapy.

Mark Nestor and Glynis Ablon gave excellent laser lectures on Sciton and Syneron devices.

Joel Cohen of Denver spoke about filler complications and their management and Stephen Mandy of Miami beach (I found out he was a former race car driver!) gave excellent talks on fillers and facial rejuvenation.

All in all - excellent meeting!!!!

Thanks for reading,

Dr. Jason Pozner
Sanctuary Medical Aesthetic Center, Boca Raton
Sanctuary Plastic Surgery, Boca Raton

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

Guilty Pleasure: Fake or Real plastic surgery show on E! Network

The E! network has had a new show lately that I haven't seen yet, and isn't even advertised on their website or channel, but it's called "Fake or Real."

The premise? A panel of celebrities and Dr. Robert Rey of Dr. 90210 fame judge contestants, who are trying to trick them into either thinking their looks came naturally or with the aid of cosmetic procedures.

Don't think less of Dr. Rey if he gets a few wrong; Dr. Pozner said even he can't tell if someone has had well-done plastic surgery. All the more reason to go to an expert.

Is 'Fake or Real' Fake? [Hartford Courant]

Dr. Jason Pozner
Sanctuary Medical Aesthetic Center, Boca Raton
Sanctuary Plastic Surgery, Boca Raton

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

Wrapup: NYU Conference on Non-Surgical Facial Rejuvenation

Just returned from NYU, where I attended a conference on emerging technologies in plastic surgery. The focus was on non-surgical facial rejuvenation.

It was hosted by noted NY plastic surgeons Dr. Larry Bass and Nolan Karp - there was an excellent faculty including myself, noted plastic surgeon Z. Paul Lorenc and Boston plastic surgeon Brooke Seckel. Also presenting were Long Island dermatologist Jeanette Graf and NY oculoplastic surgeon Joseph Eviatar.

Many subjects were covered, from the new botox alternative Dysport to fillers, lasers and energy sources.

In particular, we performed live demontrations of Botox, Radiesse, Restylane, Juvederm, Sculptra, Sciton Profractional, micro laser peel as well as Fraxel and Palomar's new "groove" laser. I presented new technology such as Ulthera and RFAL (Invasix) facial procedures.

There was also an excellent lecture by Dr. Seckel and subsequent discussion of different wavelengths for laser liposuction.

As an aside - the faculty dinner at Greenwich Village's WD-50 restaurant was excellent!

Dr. Jason Pozner
Sanctuary Medical Aesthetic Center, Boca Raton
Sanctuary Plastic Surgery, Boca Raton

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

Used breast implants for sale on Ebay...

Thank you to @Sarah_Schorno on Twitter for alerting me to this item on Ebay...

"This item is a PAIR of 360CC slightly used silicone GEL implants by McGhan Medical...."
This is a stunt that has been done before by a celebrity, and it seems to be more of a novelty for someone who wants to display them in their home, rather than for placing them in a breast augmentation procedure. Other, more dangerous items like DIY Juvederm and cheap, possibly fake Botox have come and gone on Ebay in recent months as well.

Dr. Jason Pozner
Sanctuary Medical Aesthetic Center, Boca Raton
Sanctuary Plastic Surgery, Boca Raton

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

What did Manny Ramirez do with hormones?

A big shocker came in baseball this week, as it was announced that Los Angeles Dodger slugger Manny Ramirez was being suspended 50 games for testing positive for HCG in a random drug test, as well as having testosterone levels 4-10 times higher than what is normal.

"Although anti-doping experts have said HCG is commonly used to replenish testosterone after a cycle of steroids, sources close to Ramirez have suggested the HCG was prescribed to combat issues surrounding sexual performance."

Dr. Mitchell Matez is our specialist in alternative and naturopathic medicine at SMAC, and is a leading expert on bioidentical hormone therapy in Boca Raton and the country. He offered some insight into this news item, and doesn't buy the PR spin from the Ramirez camp:

"HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin)is used in men to mimick the effects of LH (Luetinizing Hormone). LH is the pituitary hormone that stimulates the testicles thereby increasing testosterone production. It is mostly used by atheletes/bodybuilders/etc. to counteract the unpleasant side effects of testicular shrinkage and decreased testosterone production that is common with anabolic steroid use.

While I tend to doubt the story, it theoretically could be used as a sexual enhancer. A young healthy athlete such as Manny Ramirez would likely have a significant increase in his Testosterone levels with the use of HCG. Higher test levels yields increased libido and better
erectile function. Most likely the lack of native Testosterone production and testicular atrophy seen during and after the use of anabolic steroids played a role here, but he could actually be using this as a primary method to boost Test levels. Either way he's fried."

Dr. Jason Pozner
Sanctuary Medical Aesthetic Center
Sanctuary Plastic Surgery

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

What is Azzalure?

Galderma, a prescription skin treatment business under the umbrella of the L'Oreal and Nestle companies in Europe, is releasing a Botox competitor called Azzalure. According to a Bloomberg report, it is expected to contribute to cutting Botox's international market share by 4%.

The article is a bit misleading because it ignores the fact that Azzalure is actually the exact same product as Dysport, which is already being sold in Europe with Ipsen. It just packaged as a different product.

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

Dr. Jason Pozner
Sanctuary Medical Aesthetic Center
Sanctuary Plastic Surgery