The Botax Roundup

Usually when plastic surgery is a hot topic in Washington D.C., it's about Senator so and so's alleged facelift. This week, it was popular as an actual political issue.

Reported as a proposed 10% cosmetic surgery tax by Democrats, it was met with a massive wave of publicity. A much smaller wave followed when it turned out that it was never really on the table, but a musing by a Treasury department official.

From Fox News' Speakers Lobby blog:

"OMB spokesman Ken Baer and White House Deputy Press Secretary Reid Cherlin tell Fox this idea actually came from a Treasury Dept official.

Either way, as I reported last night, it appears to be very much off the table. Most members of the Finance Cmte had not even heard of the idea.

Still, the proposal underlines the difficulty negotiators are having in coming up with a way to pay for $1 trillion in health care reform."

The possibility of it was pretty thoroughly debunked on Colin Stewarts' In Your Face blog.
“A number of states have tried to impose excise taxes on cosmetic surgery, with little success. The only state with such a law on the books is New Jersey. Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine vetoed a bill to repeal the state’s 6 percent tax on cosmetic surgery gross receipts in 2007, even after the repeal passed unanimously in both the state Assembly and Senate."

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

Radiesse Mixed With Lidocaine

BioForm Medical, Inc. announced that it recently received FDA approval for mixing RADIESSE® Dermal Filler with Lidocaine.

At SMAC, we have been mixing Lidocaine with Radiesse, as well as with other fillers, for quite some time.

This process has many advantages. Discomfort to patient is minimized - in fact we rarely use nerve blocks. Patients also get excellent analgesia with topical numbing cream and filler mixed with Lidocaine.


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

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

Celution 700 System

The Celution 700 System, put out by Cytori Therapeutics, will now be regulated as a medical device by the Food and Drug Administration.

This distinction will allow Cytori to submit a marketing application to the FDA for Celution 700 to be used as a medical device in aesthetic body contouring and/or the filling of soft tissue voids. The company is in the process of determining whether or not clinical studies of this product will be required.

For more information, visit:
http://www.plasticsurgerypractice.com/eReport/2009-07-27_02.asp


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

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

Patient Safety

The most important aspect of any surgery, especially one being performed in a doctor's office, is patient safety. A recent article about fatalities occurring in doctor's office procedures (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203946904574300971306299860.html) is very concerning. The article highlights the need for regulation among office procedures.

Currently, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) and the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) require members to be accredited by a national or state recognized accrediting agency or organization. Here at the Sanctuary Medical Aesthetic Center, we are accredited by the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities (AAAASF). The ASPS reports that "plastic surgery procedures performed in accredited surgical facilities by board-certified plastic surgeons have an excellent safety record."

At SMAC, we go beyond even these requirements, by using only a board certified anesthesiologist, Dr. Kenneth Kushner, during all of our in office surgeries and during preoperative patient evaluation.

Patient safety is a top priority at the Sanctuary Medical Aesthetic Center.


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

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

Shaving off your eyebrows - A new high fashion trend?

It seems that a new trend in high fashion is removing your eyebrows! Runway models are making their eyebrows disappear by either bleaching them or shaving them off. The result is a very androgynous appearance. Research shows that eyebrows are needed both to protect the eyes, and to signal expressions, emotions, and sex appeal to others. While some are concerned that this trend is making people look mechanical and non-human, fashion editors are saying it is in response to the recession. Shaving off your eyebrows is an inexpensive way to get a completely new look.

The article found at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/beauty/article-1200232/Is-new-trend-remove-eyebrows-profound-social-statement--just-daft-fad-Planet-Fashion.html has more information about this new trend, and an amusing group of airbrushed, eyebrow-less celebrity photos.


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

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

Lifestyle Lift - False Advertising

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo took action against cosmetic-surgery company Lifestyle Lift, which was accused of publishing fake, online reviews of their services. Lifestyle Lift is reportedly paying $300,000 in penalties, and stoping employees from publishing phoney, anonymous reviews of the company's work. Cuomo said that this practice, which led consumers to believe that actual patients were voluntarily posting positive reviews online, is deceptive and illegal. We at Sanctuary Medical Aesthetic Center are dissappointed in the behavior of the Lifestyle Lift Company.


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

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

Plastic Surgery News: New Mixture and Topical Botox Both Fight Wrinkles

The FDA recently approved an injection mixing procedure that we have found works great. A method of mixing a wrinkle-fighting injection, Radiesse, with local anesthetic, lidocaine, has produced in clinical trials, and in our office at the Sanctuary Medical Aesthetic Center, patients that are more satisfied with their results, and feel more comfortable with their procedure overall. In our practice, we have found that a combination therapy of this mixing technique and topical treatments is most effective for patients.

A new product by Revance Therapeutics, Inc., Rt001, is currently doing very well in clinical trials. The product, which is basically a topical form of Botox, is being shown to effectively treat crow's feet wrinkles. Patients who have been treated in trials thus far have been satisfied with the results, and report it to be a safe and pain-free procedure.


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

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

Abdominal Etching Story on WPLG

Last night we were featured on WPLG in a piece on abdominal etching.

Thank you to everyone at WPLG and our patient, Craig, who bravely volunteered to be in the story!

You can watch the story at http://www.justnews.com/video/20111679/index.html


Thanks for reading,

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

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